This is an excellent well thought out list. Robert Reich is calling on everyone to consider themselves an activist and to participate in saving American democracy.
Republicans are acting so extreme that their actions led by Trump seem to be something fantastical such as out of an apocalyptic science fiction movie of the future. The Democrats are just beginning to get into action but not in a united fashion. It’s easy to organize against something and difficult to visualize a plan and work towards it. The Democrats are having trouble even uniting against The Trump Musk coup that is occurring under their noses and in their halls.
I am giving serious thought to Robert Reich’s suggestion that a third political party be formed that actually represents the needs and aspirations of the American people. We used to think of the Democratic Party as being in that role, but only a few brave individuals willing to face the wrath and retaliation from Trump are standing forward where the rest seem to be hiding under their desks.
The fascists have seized the day, and will have their way, because no one has even tried to stop them.
I don't watch MSNBC anymore, complaining, hand wringing is not a counter attack, and the only way to stop the juggernaut is via an effective counter attack.. not a defense, one does not win on defense.
Robert's articles are all defense., well meaning good advice but defensive.
Looking back at History
Remember the Cliven Bundy Stgandoff when he wouldn't pay his grazing fees.
Militia types from all over the U.S,. showed up, he never paid his grazing fees. Then there was the Oregon standoff.
The right forcibly stands up, with rifles at the ready, and won't give ground.
The left holds signs and chants, and when a handful of armed right wingers show up, they give ground.
Kyle Rittenhouse shot two people and walked away slowly. The demonstrators did nothing.
In 1956 in Hungary, a man knocked a cop over the head took his pistol, then used that pistol to take out more cops and their weapons and in no time at all, people were digging up the rifles they had buried, when the government had forbidden gun ownership and there we have the Hungarian revolution, it took Soviet tanks to put down the revolution.
Liberals were once good at organizing protests, waving signs, little else, now not even good at that.
One burly dude with no authority, no badge, no weapon bars the entrance to the Treasury Department and five or six of our "brave" congress critters are afraid to take him on, such hero's.
Look at the shit Musk and Trump are pulling, and not even a useless street protest. A few law suits, and one hell of a lot of comments on the internet.
Due to the fact that there are at least two, not. one, numbskulls behind what's going on right now, I see a higher chance of things imploding. Trump can't do what Musk is doing by himself, and vice versa.
Trump may be unhappy with Musk, but Musk is insulated against Trump, by virtue of the one thing that Trump respects. Money and control.
Musk is interfering in Europe now, with AfD, and Meloni in Italy, and I am sure with Marine le Pen. America is his ATM machine.
The Trump regime is beset with internal contradictions and the competing forces in MAGA will erupt, but not before irreparable damage is done to America, In fact irreparable damage has already been done by Musk and Trump
Humpty dumpty has fallen off the wall and nothing can put him together again.. nothing.
Remember the U.S. of A as it was before Jan 20th, 2024, because when the last of us who witnessed that day die, so will the memory and history.
We will never be the same again.. This is only day 17 of this regime, and it is not an administration.
An administration administers, and what it administers are the laws. This is a regime that ignores the laws and does as it damn will pleases.
There miight be some back tracking till it gets a firm footing. Two steps forward , one step back, for the moment, yet it advances till it gets all of its people and power in place.
Down the road, there is bound to b e conflict between Opus Dei, 7th Mtn Dominionists, New Apostolic Reformation, Southern Baptists, Mormons.
Down the road there is bound to be conflict between the various Right Wing Organizations that constitute the force arm of MAGA.
Each one will demand recognition, their place in the power structure, privileges and thus infighting.
As the regime tries to placate one element of his base, he will do so at the expense of another. It is a zero sum game., Nothing but winners and losers.
Right now there is still very strong support from the right. When Musk decides to pull some crazy stunt like stopping 30% of all social security checks because of fraud, THEN the right will start to get worried.
Idon't,know about crooks some maybe, But isn't it interesting how someone who spends a couple of years in Congress becomes a millionaire.
Of course when you sit on a committee that passes a bill that you know will be approved when brought to the floor, and you know that it will affect some corporations, and you immediately get on the phone with your broker . well.
But not all. Here is one that I don't trust. Adam Schiff and former head of the DCCC, former Congressman from NY Sean Mahoney, in the election of 2022 ran off to Paris junketeering, when they should have stayed home helping their candidates. And NY lost four previously safe Democratic seats including Sean Mahoney's, I guess the junket to Paris was worth it.
I agree with the essence of what you point out. I agree offensive actions now but some are not ready for General Strikes, Walk-outs, Sit-in to obstruct/to be arrested, Boycott every purchase that is not essential, actually protect people who are being threatened, i.e. (I would serve as General Milley's bodyguard free for some weekly shift work.) WE must be ready to lose money, comfort, security, our lives in non-violent protests first to test our resolve. Anything that gets media attention, causes shame, disgust, horror will draw supporters over time. I never had a gun but if an army is formed to save our democracy, I'm not a bad shot.
Americans are soft and spoiled. They whine about being poor when they have a cell phone, a TV and ISP and a vehicle. With people like that, what army do you have.
Here is the truth. "Freedom is another word for nothing left to lose" (credit: Kris Kristofferson)
Dave DiDomenico, I think I understand your point and one response to your question is MLK, but to his credit for staying the course for the long haul, it took YEARS and even then gradually and so very, very hard won (and now under "government" attack again, horrible to say!!) As to Bundy and his ilk, well, the January 6 thug-attack on OUR government, as well as so many other examples of the vile, violent underbelly of America and the persistence of traitorous militia groups, etc. as well as the return of thump, musk - AND the thug-army, now even more shielded from prosecution - might be seen as the "more effective" at bringing about change. Not all change is good. The change that thump, musk, the criminal organization now occupying our government have brought is the absolute antithesis of good, but they sure did bring it about, so that makes them - for the time being anyway - "more effective." And believe me, I hate having to say that. Otherwise, I agree with you about the armed resistance issue. Even if one were inclined to that kind of activity, when faced with thump, his "commander-in-chief" position, the number of law-enforcement members who support him, the members of the rogue sheriff's organization and thump's (and mob) stated intention to use force against protest (unspecified what THEY mean by "protest" but I suspect we can all guess), it makes "armed resistance" seem romantic, noble and fool-hardy.
My nearby family member wants to ask: Who was "more effective" - Neville Chamberlain or Winston Churchill?
Still..... we are "made of" strong stuff; remember the small group of resisters standing up to what was at the time the mightiest army and King in the world. Now we have a delusional gangster who believes himself to be King of America..... so do we know the way to the bridge at Concord??
Idiot, and I am calling you one that on purpose. I am no fool. Only a fool would argue for armed violent resistance, esepcially when they are unarmed and not empowered. So don't put words in my mouth.
No I am not arguing for armed violent resistance. But be aware is that "they" have an army of "brownshirts" all well armed and ready for violence, and Trump just pardoned 1,600 of them ready for revenge. agains them all you have is non violence, so lots of luck.
Here you go CIA declassified guide to sabotaging Fascism
To answer your last question; Who was more successful in bringing about change? Cliven Bundy. Look what he and his ilk have wrought. They are sitting in the White House.
Cliven didn't just go away, he and the movement he represented continued on, built steam and the ideology resurfaced as MAGA.
MLK's movement has always been on the backfoot, always on the defensive, the Bundy movement broke through the gates and demonized it and is abolishing it in their war on DEI , Woke and CRT.
Ha! Not quite. She's a sorta boxer-shepherd mix from a shelter, and weighs around 75 pounds.
I acquired her in either 2015 or 2016 here in rural South Carolina. I named her Chiquita to honor Mexico and Mexicans (of which are are a GREAT MANY living and working in this area. And I named her Chiquita to piss of the cultists, of which there are also a great many living and working here.
Oh, Eugene, I couldn't agree more. I can't believe that anybody wants to be bombarded with election material for months on end (here in the UK our elections are much shorter although I confess with not remarkably better results in recent years). However, the problem is getting those ideas across to Americans. Trump and his campaign have been spectacularly successful in doing this and the Democrats comparatively at least very poor. Some would say that their messaging has been inept against Trump. Part of the reason is that social media platforms ensure that people get corralled within echo chambers where they only hear what they want to hear. And the only way that campaign money could be directed to social programmes and good causes is by taxing those billionaires more fairly and closing loopholes that allow them to evade tax. I don't see any party too keen on doing this because of the power of money in elections. I don't know how you break this cycle - let's hold hands and stop the madness!
"And the only way that campaign money could be directed to social programmes and good causes"
I mean the campaigns themselves, which are NOT "government agencies." TBC, I don't oppose govt. doing that as well, but private concerns, like campaigns, have much more flexibility in many ways.
'And with your campaign contributions, we have purchased land and built this community center for the people of this district! Not one penny went to a right-wing media oligarch!'
If you mean the Super PACs, they are largely funded by very wealthy people and corporations who do so for their own purposes. I read that there were 1,959 Super PACs filed with the Federal Election Commission and that's a whole lot of money. The Supremes opened this particular Pandora's Box and they have a lot to answer for (the liberal justices on the court in 2010 clearly described the dangers in their partial dissenting opinion).
"Private concerns" are more often interested in making money and distributing it to politicians who will do their bidding. Non-profit NGOs can't hold a candle to them.
I believe that a third party that truly understands our needs and issues would also understand they can not climb into the pockets of billionaires and mega corporations! Working Families Party is totally grass roots organization. Since republicans and it seems most Democrats are working for the oligarchs, a third party must step in and take over for those of us in the working middle and lower classes. We must have representation that brings our issues and needs to the forefront. There are so many more of us than there are oligarchs, mega corporations and the orange man's cult.
But how would such a party succeed given the iniquities of the current system? In the current system, you're not even voting directly for who you would like to be president - instead you vote for a slate of electors, most of who you've never heard of before. Nearly all states have laws binding electors to vote for the winner of their state’s popular vote, but that doesn’t mean the presidential candidate who gets the most Electoral College votes is the one favored by the majority of voters. Hilary Clinton won the popular vote in 2016 by a margin of 2.6m but still lost the Electoral College.
Totally understand what you are saying, Russell, and I completely agree. First, we must get the orange man and his cartel out. Once we have done that, we need to work hard at getting the electoral college abolished completely and only use the popular vote as it is actually the will of the people. Then we have to work on stopping the gerrymandering that has occurred which leaves many voters out completely. Then we have to end Citizen's United to stop oligarchs and corporations from buying our president and congress. We cannot do anything until we have people elected that will remove the horrors the orange man has done.
Perhaps a look at the some aspects of a Parliamentary system (Canada) might prove useful:
1-Cap on campaign donations: In Canada it's a total of $3300 ($1650 to a given federal political party, $1650 to a given party's riding associations, $1650 to a given party's leadership candidates).
2-Three party legislature: Conservative(Right), Liberal(Middle), NDP (Left). This allows for majority or minority rule, in which case the minority parties can form coalitions for important issues.
3-The no-confidence vote : a defining constitutional element of a parliamentary system, in which the government's/executive's mandate rests upon the continued support (or at least non-opposition) of the majority in the legislature.
4-A shortened election period (not the endless campaigning we see in the US which never seems to end)
It is near impossible to get the electoral college "abolished" as long as those favored are needed to participate. The current "workable" solution requires all of the states electors to represent that states winner of the popular vote. This is the rule in 19 states so far, for a total of 196 Electoral Votes. Getting all states to join this will be impossible, but a few things will work to its favor. With a mobile voting population, those recognizing the dilution of their vote in their new environment will move towards equalization. It is also possible that the native in the state will no longer agree with his neighbors and will also wish to be counted fairly.
It's not an easy answer, but the only viable option so far. Make sure your state is adopting it, if they have not so far.
"In the current system, you're not even voting directly for who you would like to be president - instead you vote for a slate of electors, most of who you've never heard of before."
Wrong! You are voting for a Candidate and "some person you have never heard" of before is assigned the task of carrying your vote to Washington. This "simple'' process is muddied by the fact that the votes being carried to Washington do not represent the numbers voting. No matter the margins of victory, if it is only counted as one vote by the electors. The electors will also represent a certain number in one state and another number in a different state.
"Nearly all states have laws binding electors to vote for the winner of their state’s popular vote, but that doesn’t mean the presidential candidate who gets the most Electoral College votes is the one favored by the majority of voters."
True! The issue is "Nearly all". Remnants of the old system remain and corrupt it in several states notably "the Swing States".
An elector is not a candidate. A candidate most often will be a party member and s/he will make an effort to advise voters on what they may expect if they're is elected. The leaflets that come through your door from the candidate will bear the signature of the policies of the party s/he belongs to but it will also make pledges specific to the constituency to which you belong - the youth centre that is in dire need of refurbishment, the need for a new maternity unit in the area, the pressing need for a new road to carry traffic around the town rather than through it etc. A candidate will knock on your door and ask how you intend to vote and explain why you should consider voting for them. An elector might as well be a mailbox for all you know about them - you don't even see their names on the ballot paper. In the words of Jesse Wegman: "The Electoral College as it functions today is the most glaring reminder of many that our democracy is not fair, not equal and not representative. No other advanced democracy in the world uses anything like it, and for good reason. The election, as Mr. Trump would say — though not for the right reasons — is rigged."
I do not understand how a third, minority, party will fit into our system to the benefit of all of us. In the Civil Rights era, the Dixiecrats were powerful but never influential enough to change the course of the nation. Instead they mostly stalemated the other two.
Russell, perhaps a 3rd party that started to have legs could help galvanize the Dem Party. Like the Tea Party did for the Repub Party. I don't remember the Tea Party as actually being a 3rd political party. Though there were tea party candidates, so identified. There are probably some good lessons in what occurred with the Tea Party. But it's hard to see a left 3rd Party as other than a divider and spoiler for the Dems at election time.
There are alot of old farts in leadership in the party at all levels(sorry but being blunt here). This Party is ready to be taken over.
The Democrats seem to want to learn the lessons from their defeat, which wasn't actually as comprehensive as Trump and some commentators have suggested. I don't know much about Democratic party politics, but Timothy Snyder seems to think that their new chair is a good egg. The government has in the last day or so been issuing a kind of voluntary redundancy offer to 2 million federal workers and so far some 40,000 have accepted. In the meantime, hundreds of thousands of them are being put on gardening leave - essentially being paid to do nothing. I suppose that if no adverse consequences arise from this startlingly irresponsible measure than the Republicans will feel vindicated, but that hardly seems likely. However, the offer is full pay up to 30 September, yet thanks to the Republicans themselves, the government is funded only until March. Democratic senator Chris Murphy has promised that he and his colleagues will not cooperate on the budget deadline unless the government halts its crazy policies. More chaos looming in the near future.
Russell - There’s also a clause in there that says that the person who accepts the buyout cannot sue them if they don’t live up to rules of the buyout. So if they stop getting paid before September 30th there’s nothing that they can do to get their money.
You seem to accept the slander offered by the Right. There are a lot of us old farts in leadership and as active members of the Liberal movement. Need we point out we were once young rebels like you and fighting for "change". There is no reason to believe that once your hair turns white your brain turns Right.
If all you are voting for is "a younger guy", you may not be getting what you expect. There are a few other attributes you might want to take into account.
Ah, but I suggested no such thing, although Sanders might be content for one of his younger proteges to take up the mantle of progressive politics. In 2008, the electorate voted for an urbane Black senator from Illinois whose middle name was Hussein. He conveyed a message of hope. Why shouldn't it happen again?
Marc, great and inspiring text of Robert Reich, agreed completely.
I can understand the thought about a third party, but it is of a different nature. I mean, thinking is not resisting now.
Maybe 5 parties and proportional representation would be better still then a third party. In the meantime the coup d'état goes on.
And a point missing: when my name was Trump or Musk, Robert Reich would be in the top of my enemies list. I don't need to have them spelled out, but what defenses are put in place for normal thinking and discussions about truths?
Tom, Robert Reich, and everyone on his list for providing accurate information are setting examples of bravery by their own behavior. There is a risk in standing up to bullies, but if enough people follow their examples, then those who would take actions against them would have to think twice.
I would not dismiss a discussion of forming a third-party out of hand. In creating a platform for a truly progressive party, not beholden to wealthy interests we could present innovative ideas to a very large audience.
Unfortunately, the Democratic Party is no longer the progressive party of FDR. Numerous analyst are considering the Democratic Party as it stands now to be somewhere to the right of Center. One thing it is not is innovative. We need a platform for creative, innovative solutions, not just to the current crisis, but to larger crisis, such as climate change and the rise of authoritarianism in general.
Marc, as a former teacher/vice principal, I totally concur with your statement about standing up to bullies - if everybody does it, they lose power. There is personal risk involved - and I sadly watched many kids be too afraid to do it. It takes courage and I am so grateful to Robert Reich and the truth-telling organizations/people he listed, AOC and the squad, Maxwell Frost, Lateefah Simon, Working Families Party. There are truth-tellers and leaders out there, and we need to support them. Taking action on our own and collectively per Reich's list is also essential.
I most definitely do not want to be considered anywhere to the right of center! That is not my mind set! We must move further to the left with more progressive ideas and solutions to problems we face.
Professor Reich was able to stand up to bullies, because we had a Constitution. Nobody--not even Musk or Mellon--will be able to stand up to Trump once he gets full control of the DOJ and the FBI.
Marc, I do not dismiss a third party discussion. It is very urgent to have a discussion, but where about?
How does democracy work? By forming ideas in discussions amongst the people about how we want to live together.
That is hardly what we do. We knock on doors, looking for voters, we visit mass meetings to applaud leaders yelling abstract sentences to us, we donate to pay for the happenings.
But serious debates over the distribution of income, the accumulation of capital, taxes, welfare costs, fighting against what we do not want?
I feel a bit hesitant: the suggestion of Bob is that the struggle is on and needed. That is the case, but should the reaction be a Gingrich-like polarisation? Or could we gain by a more nuanced style?
I think the Trump and Musk goons earn maximal resistance, because they seem to believe in the demolition that their bosses want. But the elected representatives need some care: a few votes are enough to moderate the idea that Trump is saved by God and supported by the election.
But yes, innovation, creativity and a revolution in the function of political parties is urgent.
"But yes, innovation, creativity and a revolution in the function of political parties is urgent."
America is what it is today because of "innovation and creativity" have sustained a democracy. We have a democracy as a result of a revolution against a king, and it was only won at some cost. The change secured was that democracy.
We do not need another "revolution". Less than half of us are on either side. In 1776 there was a wider gap between factions.
Surely it is wiser to pursue an established democracy with innovation and creativity and 'evolution'.
Given America’s first-past-the-post electoral system, a third party is a disastrous suggestion - the Republicans are much more homogenous and it is the complex Democratic Party that would much more likely split handing to MAGA a permanent winning plurality.
It was the argument the nonvoters and Stein voters made (again) right up to Election Day. Their selfish shortsightedness (again) has brought widespread harm. Why are so many Americans willfully . . . rolled, even when they know they’ll bring great harm across the country and the world?
I once worked for a corporation dominated by a religious sect of which I was not a member. They punched well above their weight because, after an issue was settled, they stuck together as one. They had a saying, "When the elders speak, the thinking has been done". I kind of admired them for that.
The fact that we are not homogeneous is the reason I am a Democrat, Robert. I like that we are diverse. I like that we include everyone and want equality for everyone is what makes our party really great. The homogenous republicans only want white and male. That is not for me. Why would Democrats split? If a third party includes everyone but doesn't accept oligarch or corporation money, those that have become disillusioned with the Democrats would have a party they could join and work with. We can't go on sitting quietly while the orange man and his ilk destroy our country which it seems a lot of the Democratic leaders are willing to do. Also quite a few are voting with the republicans sending a clear message to me they have acquiesced to the orange man!
That is a great list from Robert. Correct that we must pull together and become more activist, like the few forward Dems in Congress and in our statehouses. Care for the vulnerable, take to the streets and march! trump, musk and their cadre will be stopped only by the People'
Yes! Working Families Party is gaining traction. I am all in for a party that will actually work for the people, listen to the people and stand up to the orange man!
Steve, when I read up on the Working Families Party, I liked their platform because it included everything I want from my party. They are in it for the working middle and lower classes and their ideas and solutions line up with mine. You are right, they have not been in power, but sometimes from a tiny acorn, a mighty oak is born. This may be the party that will actually get in there and do the work most of us want to see done. I am just saying that if we are going to go with a third party, I feel it must be one that reflects what all of us want.
Tell me how many third party politicians are in positions of power and I'll consider your suggestion. Otherwise, the best approach would be reforming the Democratic party.
Enough with the 3rd party idea!!! Pay attention to the Democrats who ARE stepping up and taking action - they need our support loud and clear, not complaints and whining! PLEASE!!!
Laine, I wasn't complaining or whining. I was simply stating that if others are looking for a third party, the Working Families Party is one they might want to look at. Even when you aren't in complete agreement with the conversation, telling me I am complaining and whining does not help anything. I know there are Democrats like the AOC, Elizabeth Warren and Bernie Sanders who are fighting and fighting hard. I also know there are Democrats who are voting with republicans to put ill equipped people in the orange man's cabinet.
Nevertheless, the only folks voting against putting the ill equipped in the orange man's cabinet are Democrats. Would you like too see their support diluted by additional division?
Proportional Representation is worth looking into... multiple parties where more people feel represented and are engaged in the political process rather than feeling unheard.
Given the extreme and nearly unprecedented difference between the two parties, it seems impossible to be torn between them. That is the cry we hear, "They are both 'flawed'". If unable to differentiate between "flaws", you are certainly not going to be helpful to either side, or a third, fourth fifth ....party.
Right now the Democrats in the Senate especially are all we got to obstruct Republican fascism. Let’s focus on them, at least until Trump/Musk are gone.
With best wishes with the third party idea, Marc (and RR)! We have a large number of independents (mainly women) in the lower house of our federal parliament in Australia (as well as Green parliamentarians), while they emphasize issues that really matter such as climate change, integrity in government, greater equality, housing for all, reducing the cost of living etc. ...Yes, check out our system for inspiration, while I'm hoping that they will get to hold the balance of power in our House of Representatives after May.
It is the only option if they refuse to do anything to slow down or stop the coup happening before our eyes. Quorum, roll calls for every Unanimus Consent request, keep GOP in DC over weekends and holidays. Never vote for any crazy nominee. Pass a bill that punishes, subpoenas and person confirmed who completely abandons everything they have believed, said,, written in their past. Lying under Oath used to be a crime but in Governments it is just absolutely fine, known by those who confirm them, lying carries no penalty. Liars just claim they changed their opinion and their mind. Taxpayers pay so many lying turds in DC because WE have no real power to get what WE need and want to restore our faith in our government of, by and for the people. WE do not want criminals, liars, insurrectionists, foreign agents, bought and paid for representatives, timid puppets of a wealthy, powerful, Heritage/Musk/trump Mob, people who want to reelected no matter the treason they must commit for the KINGS of the Mountains.
I agree that it is time to start thinking about a third political party. I was hesitant at first, thinking it might split the democratic party, but now I'm wondering where the democratic leadership is. I was hoping that after the election of a new DNC chair there would be some movement toward organizing the party. Instead all they want to do is a review of the 2024 election (which should have already been done) and assess their finances. That takes us months down the road and too much damage will already have been done. Then I saw something about Chuck Schumer out protesting in the streets, like he's really doing something. Protests are staged to get the attention of leaders who can take action. Apparently, Schumer isn't one of those leaders who can take action. Time to look for leaders with liberal values who are interested in the concerns of the people.
There were no standards, no procedures, no audit plan.
What Elon did was more than just audit, he outright hacked the Treasury system and brought along willing participants. The teenagers have absolutely no experience, and Elon has absolutely no experience performing government audits.
The system of payments is absolutely compromised and what they have done to the system of checks and balances to prevent fraud, is committing the very fraud they claim to be preventing.
The biggest Ponzi scheme artist of a system of companies built on the back of US Treasury payment system contract payments and IRS tax credits is nothing more than a scam artist selling the idea of technology. He now claims to be an auditor, under absolutely no standards. And left behind hard drives controlling access to manipulate transactions in the Treasury at his own will.
There is a term called Yellowbook for Government a. Accounting education and that is just the beginning. Standards of Ethics and Integrity and passing tests with standards of continuing education and a degree with industry experience at a firm holding up standards of compliance and professionals who engage in the act of performing an audit and communicate with the oversight committee and governing bodies.
Everyone. Use this link to find an Indivisible group in your community and join up: https://indivisible.org/groups. If one doesn't exist yet, join with others to start one. (Guides for doing this will be on Together for Good soon.)
How about starting a Pro Life Democrats group? Real pro-life: like a living wage, affordable health care, affordable housing, fair taxation, no wars and no genocide. Wouldn't that make America great again?
Yes, it would be wonderful. However, to have a strong impact I think we would do better with an independent third-party even if we didn’t win elections, we would have a platform for the things you mentioned and get it heard.
“Like” substack and other social media posts that support the truth, democracy, etc. The large number of “likes” and “restacks ” is a way of showing how many people are with this side and it encourages others to keep engaged.
I live in a red state, I can not contact any Congressional dems bc they dont accept calls/emails from non constituents. I have called, emailed postcarded the ring kissing reps we do have & I get bullshit lies back if anything. I will persist & like Al Green I call for IMPEACHMENT. REPUBLICAN PARTY LIES , I guess there is nothing in the 10 commandments re lying so it is ok.
I do not understand why everyone wants to protect all the people who are in this country illegally. Do you really want open borders with other countries like we have open borders between states? I think the cause of them being here is that they come here work, but they work for people who are knowingly breaking the law by hiring them. Make the businesses force Congress into changing the laws.
You are falling for the Trumpian Version of "Open Borders". There is no comparison between the "open borders" between the united states and the borders between nations. The American Border is "Open" only to those whom are willing to accept American law. This is meant to be tested upon entry, but the sheer volume of applicants makes this near impossible. The challenge is met with applications filed in the home country at the US Embassy. However, if the political situation in that nation makes it dangerous or impossible, the recourse is to show up at the border in person.
Those who do so are called "Refugees" and asked to wait in the inevitable lines for processing. The numbers make this a nightmare for applicant and Border Security.
Bottom line? The borders are not "Open". There are just not enough "turnstiles" to regulate the flow. Liberals want to add "turnstiles". Conservatives want to keep the issue alive for Political gain and choose to suggest "only rapists, thieves and traffickers" are filing across undeterred.
Sample letter to your Representative in a Blue state --
Re: Initiate Criminal Proceedings
Dear Representative _____:
Under the direction of President Trump, the private and personal information of all government employees has been breached, a list with all employees of the CIA for the past two years has been sent to DOGE in an unsafe and unencrypted email. This is criminal behavior. I urge you to do the following:
· Initiate the impeachment of President Trump. I know that this action has been tried before. But in light of the Supreme Court’s decision on Presidential immunity I see no legal alternative to this action.
· Initiate criminal proceedings against Elon Musk. Musk is initiating a coup by taking over the Treasury of the United States Government.
· Block all Trump appointments and Republican initiatives in Congress
· Delay all special elections for Congressional Seats made available by Trump’s appointments.
For my part, I will back you in your efforts to thwart the takeover of our system of government. I will support your reelection with monetary donations and donations of my time in your reelection process. I will travel to political rallies and demonstrations in protest of the current administration. My power to effect any change in this crisis is small. However, I an one of a multitude of your supporters in this effort.
Unfortunately all of my state’s elected officials are Trump loyalists (Arkansas) so while I could call the switchboard it wouldn’t do any good.
I’m disabled which means that not only is protesting in person impossible but also probably dangerous.
What I can do is spread articles like these so that maybe enough people will start to understand the danger this country and those who live here are in.
So are mine. The Republicans have done a hostile takeover of Ohio over the last 30 years and they have made our lives incomparably worse. The former Secretary of State, Frank LaRose, was permitted to place a misleading ballot initiative that fooled voters into thinking voting no would stop gerrymandering. Instead, voting yes would have done so, and we Ohioans lost, while the gerrymandering continues.
While Slotkin has her issues, I've voted for her every time, but in November, following the most recent gerrymander, and her election to the Senate, she was replaced in the U.S. House by one of the most noxious Rs in the state, whose campaign ads featured him in camo, flying a copter and ranting about how we need to go to war with China...
Our media ecosystem these days in itself seems to foster mania. I think this is an issue that transcends left-right politics and needs to be better understood. The medium is the message kind of thing of McLuhan. Who writes on this ?
There are no real "non-Republican" state-wide media orgs in Michissippistan, the Detroit Free Press is probably as close as it gets, and 'it ain't it.'
Eric Schmitt the freshman senator from Missouri did the same thing. Ahead of an election in which a duly filed voter's initiative Prop 3 restored the state Constitutional right to reproductive health he had the ballots printed up with language specifying legal abortion up to and including live birth, obvious fiction. When taken to court, the judge removed it. The second draft restored the original language but paired it with a law to revoke the citizens' right to ballot initiatives and only be permitted to vote on laws passed by the state legislature.
I’m in Ohio as well. The fact that they tried to overturn issue 1 results that passed last November (abortion access and legalized marijuana) and AG Yost has extended power has the mark of Trump fascism allover it. So contacting them about cabinet appts would be useless.
Derek, I, too, live in a very red state (Florida). I make the calls but am usually either not connected or when I do get through, they hang up when I start talking. I'm not being rude or saying anything ugly. I generally follow the script about what I am calling about. The point is, keep calling! It ties them up! Being an old woman, there is probably danger if I protest, but I will if one is called here. You should most definitely NOT try protesting in person. Not only is the orange man's followers going after immigrants, LGBQT+, blacks/browns, dwarves, mentally ill and now, disabled, they could possibly hurt you and that is totally unacceptable! Do what you do, Derek, because EVERYBODY is needed in this fight! Stay safe!
I am 80 and joined a protest rally at my Republican senator's office yesterday. There were over 400 participants. He, being Thom Tillis of NC, dismissed us as "belly aching". I call and email John Thune and other senators to implore them to stand up for their Constitutional rights and responsibilities and powers. Why aren't Republican members of Congress outraged by having their appropriations and other authorities stripped from them?
I call my senators in very red TX every day, the voice mail boxes are sometimes full so I dial 0 and leave a voice mail or talk to an aide. I am always polite and thank them or giving the senator my message. But I am firm. You can call regardless of whether or not you think they will listen. the more we call, the louder our opposition is.
Absolutely! We must flood them with call after call after call, email after email after email, letter after letter after letter! I do it every single day and sometimes if the orange man or his sidekick do something illegal again, I make more than one call! We absolutely MUST show them we will not sit quietly while they destroy our country. By flooding them with calls, emails and letters, many may be getting the picture that an enormous amount of us are NOT HAPPY with the current situation!
But (one presumes) the reality that they will have to actually pay someone to actually LISTEN to the recorded messages may actually become an annoying economic reality...right ...about... NOW!
Ditto in Florida. We’ve been a one-party authoritarian rule state since Ron DeSantis won the governorship in 2018. They don’t pretend to care what the Democrats have to say. But I will send them emails nonetheless. Yes, someone has to read them and make a note somewhere. Our Republican legislators are all MAGAs so it feels like a lost cause. I’ll find other ways to contribute.
Keep at it, Sally! Don't stop! Flood them with phone calls, letters and emails! I will not stop. I get the same form letter back from only one of them. The others do not even respond, but I do it every single day regardless. We have to start locally here in Florida and slowly get our state back on track.
I went through the 8th and 9th grades in central-ish Florida around 1968, and at that time DeLand was a wonderful place to live.
But then, as a cis, white, male (and then, an active Christian), pretty much anywhere in the Deep South would have seemed pretty wonderful.
As far as contributing, this is the dumb-ass thing that I do every day to try make some tiny difference. (But it's more a long-term effort (and potentially dangerous.))
I disagree. They need to know there are Arkansans who are not happy with the dismemberment of our government. The more calls like yours they get---it all goes into their calculations of what they should do.
Your belief that it will do no good is the same reasoning for why vote for a Presidential nominee if you live in Arkansas.
The Republicans in Missouri in the 60's were in no mans land---where the Dems in that state are now.But by slowly building Repub clubs and grass roots organizing, and alot else, they over time came to dominate our state polictics except for the 2 big cites.
Try spinning it. You are watching your member of congress have their power stripped away. They were sent to Washington to do a job and that job has been taken out of their hands and put into someone you didn’t vote for and it should be stopped.
this is what they want you to think! You are NOT powerless. Call them! Every day! They freak out when too many people call. that means that they might have to actually do something. Please call. It's especially important for people in Red states to call. I wish you the best
Do it anyway. My state is the probably the most corrupt red state of them all and I know many of the leaders personally so I can see how flustered they really are by all the calls and messages. I see it on TV. They're body language doesn't match their words. Will it change anything necessarily? No, but at least it will make them miserable while it's happening. Why let them sit back and enjoy their cognitive dissonance without being bothered?
Professor Reich: but DID trump actually win the election? if musk and his teenaged incels can access the department of treasury computers, why couldn't they invade our votes totals? just kinda wondering this ...
and yes, letter-writing! this is a thing i can do, even from overseas! so yes, this will be my ongoing project.
one thing that i think everyone here needs to do is to keep your head low & find where you can fuck things up quietly.
Lie. Forget. Obfuscate. Be vague. Engage in collective work slowdowns. Be a bad employee.
forgot to mention that you should wear your new "bad employee" title with pride. as long as trump, musk and their tribe of raging incompetent thugs are in power, there is no shame to be associated with being a raging incompetent yourself. you are simply blending in with the crowd.
If It DIDN'T, then I'd say President musk is an even biglier failure than we thought! 25% to 23.5%?!? Now Bunkerboy has ZERO mandate to do ANYTHING, ESPECIALLY with a equally pathetic 3 house minor majority in the house . . . and 5 in the senate? I forgot.
Let's demand a recount. GrrlScientist is correct. If those punks can get into the department of treasury, they would be able to access the voting system.
This collection of ways to stop Trump’s destruction of our democracy is so important and needs to be implemented ASAP! The backlash against this nonsense has to be at the highest levels possible. We all have to put the heaviest pressure on our elected representatives to stop this madness! Elon Musk, as of right now, has access to our most personal classified information!!! How Congress has allowed this to happen is a total disgrace!
Put Paul Krugman also on the list: Very clear and concise! Yes, and stop panicking. By that I also mean myself. I'm so angry and disappointed... But psychologically, you can't achieve anything like that. I really have to pull myself together.
Marcel, I agree with your post. Panicking is not useful to you or others. Quorum calls are a good idea—I suspect my Senators have thought of that, but I’ll call their offices and ask their aides. I can donate $20 to SPLC and ACLU, but the election tapped me out financially. I am sure you will pull yourself together.
Marcel I think this video might help , perhaps you've seen it.
Ezra Klein talks about the real limits to Trump's power while he tries to convince people he is unstoppable. If people believe such lies he will gain more power when people give up opposing.
But he has already been stopped more than once and the resistance is growing.
My optimistic guess is the GOP people in Congress, those who have not completely lost their minds, are waiting for the courts to stop the madness so they don't have to risk themselves politically. Not sure how realistic a view this is.
Dr. R the election was lost and now trumpet 🎺 is our president. Your plan is short term actions. To beat trumpet 🎺 imo the democrats have to cross the isle recruit R’s out of the trumpet 🎺 maga BS. Long term we all die but the democrats have to bp for
The democrats have to reorganize its self into relevance; not relevance to the LBQT- xyz part of the voters Kamala Harris definitely captured all the Al alphabet to the complete and total lost To the maga crowd. Last time I voted on democrats party representatives I was restricted to ( I forgot the %) a certain ratio of women vs men in a D ‘s acquiescence gender POLTICS.
Silly but stupid idea. I voted for just the males and did not vote for any female candidates because that not relevant to me… until the D’s cast off the special interest groups the D’s are dead as a political force in Washington DC .
Might be time to let the special intrestsc D Party DIE.
Rebuild or Completely REPLACE THE D’s with a new party
Special interests has rendered the D’s totally irrelevant to our historical roots…
Since when are women, who comprise over half of the population, a special interest? (Perhaps you do not like women; that does not make them a special interest) It seems that you are throwing the baby out with the bath water in your frustration with the results of the election. I agree that the alphabet emphasis is more amusing than helpful, but do not let the waters close over the head of our recent President Biden, who was not a member of a special interest group, unless you count males as such due to their lower share of the population.
In regard to roots, when did our new President’s ancestors arrive here? Well after our nation was rooted.
Lastly, our Founders were able to form proper sentences. A sentence is a complete thought. I suggest you get and read a copy of “Elements of Style” in order to make yourself better understood.
Ii like women I’ve had a mother sisters and daughters. I’ve never found any persons worthy more respect or less respect than men.
Gender does not make you smart or dumb .
Codifying the selection of political leadership into the structure of the political creates genitalia politics .
The American populace has rejected women as presidential politics three time in my lifetime… I voted for two of them.
An Elizabeth Warren would make a great president by alas she and Bernie Sanders have been kicked to the curb… but the self aggrandizing Hillary Clinton succeeded in alienating the voters to the point where a seriously warped djt into the presidency…
You have clarified your position. I do not think Elizabeth Warren was electable in the general election as she could not garner the votes in her own Party. I think it is a fantasy that if only Warren or Sanders could be the nominee, then Republicans and Independents would vote for them. I agree that it appears at this time to be imprudent to run a woman for the Presidency in the USA. But it is the opposition and not the supporters who focus on gender, in my observation. Certainly if one has teh patience to listen to long-winded introductions at conventions and what not, everyone appears to have checked all the boxes of virtue, probity, and sameness with the groups in the room, but that has always been the case.
I see no need for name-calling in regard to Senator Clinton. You may have preferred another candidate, but she did get the popular vote, so she had a chance. What her quality of leadership would have been in office is and shall remain unknown.
I agree that Harris did not have general appeal outside of her state, which was shown in the primaries She did her best, and you can’t do more than that. I think it was Trump’s to lose once the incumbent edge was lost, and no man or woman I saw was going to beat him. The Dems seem to need charisma to win, while Republicasn jsut say “taxes” and there they are. I have thought about this enough so I am signing off the subject. Thanks for the clarification of your position.
IMO Hillary paid off the entire Democrat party structure. This caused Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren to be given the bums rush to prevent any discussion inside the Democratic Party structure .
There was no “honest” selection of the Democrats candidate…
Bill and Hillary are/were the darlings of Wall Street and imo republicans in sheep’s clothing.
In general Hillary was hated by most because of her personality…
I believe in the 1960 the D party decided to include women into the party structure by “rule” . I was taught in college in sociology class that women’s rights movements seem to coincide with blacks rights movements in order to prevent black men from succeeding in achieving equality. Women’s rights are theoretically a blocking action to prevent black men from achieving equality.
A black women was considered a two for one hire checking off the women and minorities check box simultaneously…
I'm going to emphatically disagree with you on this one, not just because I stand with my LGBTQ brethren but because this administration is using violations of this group's rights as a warm up and precedent for violating other people's rights. Once successful, they WILL branch out.
Right now, the state department is not only refusing to honor gender change requests, for example, they are holding the vital documents of the people who have gender differences with what they were assigned at birth and still keeping the hundreds of dollars people paid whem submitting their applications. If we let this stand, they can pick some other arbitrary measure next, deny you identification you need, and confiscate all your documents. This is just one of many examples. You should be livid about these violations not specifically because these people are LGBTQ but because nobody should be subjected to that treatment by the government.
This topic is very valid for the individual of those persuasions ; as a topic for a national election it is irrelevant.
The D party structure is oriented toward these little issues and misses the main area of concern the personal economy of the voters. Genitalia politics and sexual politics are single issue subjects that most citizens the actual voters DO NOT care about.
Getting lost in the personal pronoun jungle is a typical dispersion of the D Party energy in at best a peripheral issue.
( please don’t interpret this as an attack on any of the individuals who prefer a pronoun battle) my personal pronoun is “Almighty “ but I can’t get any traction with my friends…
Perhaps personal pronouns should be remain strictly personal…
It would be SO easy to focus on the "ignorant" part, and I could write for days (from here in the absolute (metaphorical and literal) darkness of rural South Carolina.)
Thank you for this. I'm in the DMV area, and many federal employees who live here are being victimized by these goons. Aside from the economical threats to their livelihood, there is massive psychological harm being inflicted. These people have done nothing wrong. They keep the federal government running.
I know of this damage. I was laid off two years ago from a state institution during a purge because I dared to speak out about bullies in leadership. My layoff was done under the guise of a reorganization so I couldn't argue retaliation. That ended my 20-year career there. As an older person, I could not find another position. There have many repercussions to my mental health.
I am so concerned that these human beings who are collateral damage of these unconstitutional takeovers and destruction of our functioning government will have nowhere to go.
I have direct personal experience of my own when in comes to dealing with the illegal actions of employers, in my case, two public agencies.
One of the more 'amusing' aspects of one of them was when the employer, a public community college, was simultaneously claiming in arbitration that I was AND wasn't an employee. Fortunately, the person with the highest ethical standards that I encountered in that debacle was the arbitrator, who dismissed my grievance based on blown time lines, but in a way that sent the other 2 parties scrambling to get me back to work ASAP.
Among the many issues were nepotism, use of a public agency to promote the religious beliefs of administrators, plagiarism (from me), openly making racist jokes in faculty meetings (disputed by no one, BTW, as the instigator simultaneously rose from p/t faculty to a Dean of the college during the 8 year battle during which I had no work.)
This is the most helpful, proactive, announcement I’ve seen yet. Thank you. Over and over I’m begging online - don’t wait for someone else to save you - only The People can save Democracy. We need to save our Government, our Nation, and then we need to stay active and find real solutions to the very real problems we have in society. This is not a partisan issue nor should we allow anyone to try to make it such. One is either an American who is committed to protecting our Constitution and the absolute, inalienable rights of all people-human rights-that protect all of us, or one is against America. Change of any kind must always come from the people, via the means laid out by the Constitution. no one in the government has the right nor has been granted the power to take over our government and ignore the Constitution.
It doesn’t matter if you are left or right, Democrat, Republican or Independent. You are an American. Whatever complaints or critique one has of our government, know that you have no rights, no Constitutional Protections if we stand by & allow President Trump & Elon Musk to simply ignore the Constitution and laws approved by Congress The Constitution cannot protect us if it can be waved off, dismissed and contradicted at will by anyone who decides they are above the law.
In fact, I believe we should make it clear to any person elected, appointed or employed by the Federal Government and who has taken a pledge to respect and protect the Constitution, that we will hold them accountable if they carry out clearly illegal or unconstitutional actions. It doesn’t matter if the President or any one claiming to speak for him orders you to engage in an illegal or unconstitutional action; there is no excuse.
I’m not sure that we should even accept any unprecedented SCOTUS majority ruling that significantly alters the standard interpretation of Constitutional Law in support of the Presidents and Elon Musks coup of the United States of America.
And I agree whole heartedly with Dr Reich. More people in America did not vote for Donald Trump for President than did. The President does not have a mandate, nor does he represent most American’s interests (sadly his behavior will not serve the interests of most of the people who voted for him, either)
It was heartening to see several of the nationwide protests yesterday. Already, there is a backlash to the Felon-in-Chief's actions and Musk's coup, which I heard has already resulted in this administration pulling back from this tactic. Your list is very helpful, I watched Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio Cortez's YouTube video where she outlined many of the steps you indicated and has a toolkit with palm cards explaining immigrant rights. One thing she shared is that an immigrants can demand to see a judicial warrant that must be si6by a judge, any other legal-looking document will not suffice and the person so served can refuse to let the ICE agent in and can tell them to leave, and, if necessary, say they will call their attorney. The people are already beginning to fight back and information such ax yous gives us the tools to do so. The Congresswoman added that she will regularly be communicating with us through her YouTube channel for the next few years. She is exhibiting true leadership and a concern, not only for her own constituents, but for the nation as a whole.
But one question I would have is this - what kinds of "protections" exist if the response of the 'government agents' to that request is violence, and an insistence that they have no obligation at all to behave "in a legal fashion?"
Inequality Media should be at the top of everyone’s donation list. Being a paid subscriber is essential to their ability to spread the truth, but don’t let yourself be limited to just that. When you have an opportunity, dig deep into your pockets and send a an additional much needed check.
Marc, my income is extremely limited. If the orange man and his sidekick do away with Social Security and Medicare, well, basically, I am in the soup! I will only have a very small retirement. I guess I will be homeless as will so many others. I do understand we need to dig deep and every single dollar I have extra, I donate to one of the groups or organizations that are working so very hard for us!
We don’t need to give money if we don’t have it. Don’t feel bad. There are many who have plenty and are supporting these organizations. I’m retired and we are okay so far. I fear our investments will be worthless soon. I can always renew my RN license if I have to. Lots of nursing homes near me.
What we are seeing with the initial assaults on USAID (money going to Black and Muslim countries), on transgender & LGBTQ, on firing the Coast Guard head who is a woman is clearly the white fundamentalist Christian nationalist - white supremacy biblical playbook. Trump’s nominee for OMB is representative of the objective to turn the US into a theocracy. Here is a clear, unambiguous message that Dems must give and do so constantly and vigorously: the first freedom enumerated in the First Amendment is the freedom FROM religion.
"We will fight shoulder to shoulder, every day, and we will win in the end. The truth will prevail. Love will prevail over hate. Democracy will prevail over fascism."
I can only speak for myself, but here are 34 things I'm doing because I owe it to government employees, elected officials, journalists, and vloggers who are risking their lives by speaking out. I moved from being a PASSIVE viewer/reader to an ACTIVE viewer/reader. My action list consists of 34 things I'm doing - not every day, of course. Perhaps there is an idea in here you can modify, improve, use, and share:
(1) Remain laser-focused on what matters; in this case, the ABCDEs of crises the US faces right now - four of which impact the entire world, especially our allies:
---Authoritarian rule by tech billionaires driven by Curtis Yarvin (proponent of TESCREAL) and Christian extremists driven by Christian reconstructionism and dominionism.
---BRICS competition, pushback, and de-dollarization, which will lead to a hot or cold war(s).
---Climate change and contagious disease catastrophes.
---Disrupting and dismantling of "the people's" assets; e.g. FBI, USPS, Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, etc.
---Economic crash worse than 2008.
(2) Expect to be scared. Rosa Parks was scared. Bishop Budde was scared. Dietrich Bonhoeffer was scared. Tip: Take a deep breath for 4 seconds, then slowly exhale for 4 seconds. Repeat until fear subsides.
(3) Control yourself in groups or on Zoom calls. Now is not the time to express how scared and overwhelmed you are. Now is not the time to editorialize about something the speaker said to which you agree. Why would you waste precious time doing this? We're all overwhelmed and scared! No one cares that you agree and why! Focus! Wait until the end of the meeting to contribute tips, tools, and facts that contribute, not facts that simply prove how smart you are.
(4) Keep an action item list on your desktop to capture actions inspired by what you're reading/viewing.
(5) Limit the amount of time you spend on social media to no more than two hours per day.
(6) Do your best to stay on top of the massive amount of information coming out of Washington, DC, Ottawa, and our state capitals. You might want to focus on only the A and D in the crises list above.
(7) Expect to make mistakes, typos, missteps, goofs and gaffs. Expect others to do the same. Get over it and move on. Continuous improvement is the name of the game!
(8) Do not get distracted by nay-sayers, nitpickers, perfectionists, pessimists, whiners, moaners, and people who suffer from SPITR syndrome (smartest person in the room). Ignore or make one remark/comment and move on! For example:
Someone on Bluesky: There are no "good" billionaires. You: Disagree! Don't have time to debate - there's a coup in progress.
Friend on Facebook: We need a new party! Dems, Repubs, and the Green Party got us to where we are today. You: Agree, but there is a coup in progress. It's time to unite from Marxists through sane Repubs. Friend on Facebook: Marxism isn't a political party. You: (ignore, the person got your point but has SPITR syndrome)
Someone on Bluesky: It's not a coup, it's a highjack. You: Don't have time to debate labels, there's a coup/highjack in progress. Better? (ignore response)
Someone on Bluesky: Until it's determined that it's a coup, we should refrain from alarmist thinking. You: They never come right out and say "We're doing a coup." Don't have time for history books to be written. Don't have time to debate. Have a nice day! (ignore response)
(9) Get into the habit of copying and pasting your comments from one social media platform to another, e.g. copy and paste what you post on Substack to Facebook.
(10) Subscribe to magazines and newsletters that provide reliable information: ACLU, Indivisible, Move On, ProPublica, Talking Points Memo, The Guardian, Business Insider, Consortium News, Labor Notes, The American Prospect, Economic Policy Center, Americans for Tax Fairness, The Atlantic, Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, The Lever, Naked Capitalism, The New Yorker, Democratic Socialists of America. If you can afford to, pay for a subscription because now more than ever we must support independent media. TIP: If donating, you often don't have to donate the amounts listed. Look for a blank field where you can input $3-5 if that's all you can afford.
(11) Subscribe to informative and inspiring writers on Substack - avoid the negative and divisive; excellent writers to follow include Charlie Angus, Heather Cox Richardson, Matthew Yglesias, MeidasTouch, Paul Krugman, Rick Wilson, Robert Hubbell, Robert Reich, Seth Abramson - Proof, The Fucking News, Zeteo. TIP: Look for them on Bluesky.
(12) Subscribe to informative and inspiring YouTube channels: Bill Kristol, Democracy Docket, Democracy Now!, Lincoln Project, MeidasTouch Network, MSNBC, Robert Reich, Secular Talk, Senator Bernie Sanders, The Bulwark, The Majority Report, The Warning - Steve Schmidt, many of the news organizations listed above. TIP: Look for them on Bluesky.
(13) Start an Indivisible group in your neighborhood or county. Recently, a woman in a remote part of Maine worked with Indivisible to do this. The Indivisible representative told her to expect two people to show up to the first meeting; instead, 20+ people showed up. TIP: Constantly promote your activity via emails, texts, and social media at least twice per week. Invite people to join.
(14) Start a special interest book club for people who are interested in politics, social issues, economics, and history.
(15) Delete the US oligarchs out of your life; e.g. instead of Google Chrome use Ecosia (German).
(16) Input all of your elected officials (county, state, national) into your contact list so you can quickly make calls every week; go to usa.gov/elected-officials for the contact information of all your elected officials from the mayor to POTUS.
(17) Contact via phone and email elected officials (state, national), governor, attorney general, representatives and senators, legislative committee chairs and ranking chairs, government agency heads, business heads, banking heads, the Fed, etc. Calmy and briefly convey your complaints or support. Always prepare a short script and save your scripts, letters, and email content. Here's a script you can modify and use right now:
"This is a Constitutional crisis...this is coup. I urge you to fight Trump’s illegal funding freezes, terminations, and takeovers...
(19) Write letters to the editor using the scripts and emails you've saved.
(20) Attend local events/meetings; e.g. city council meetings, town halls, Chamber of Commerce events, etc.
(21) Attend rallies and sit-ins. If you can't attend, go to the organizer's website or subReddit and look for other things you can do to support the rally or sit-in. At the very least you can spread the word on social media.
(22) Be ready to stand up to MAGAs who will be in attendance at events, meetings, and rallies. Loudly and firmly make one statement, then let the person/people in charge take control.
(23) Boycott companies that support Trump-Musk or are anti-worker; this involves multiple calls/emails to the companies you're boycotting letting them know you're boycotting and why; "But I don't have an Amazon account!" Doesn't matter - they don't need to know that; just write/say "I will never buy from Amazon now or in the future because..."
(24) Share your letters, emails, and phone scripts on social media so others can be inspired to do the same and so they don't have to reinvent the wheel.
(25) Meet one-on-one with your elected officials from sheriff to senator.
(26) Present/Train at political events/meetings; this will require multiple calls/emails to get on the agenda, but it can be done.
(27) Show up for Zoom calls organized by various activist groups and political movements; e.g. MoveOn, Indivisible, Democratic Socialists of America, etc.
(28) Offer a ride to your elderly or disabled neighbors who might want to attend events, meetings, town halls, etc.
(29) Start a GoFundMe campaign. This requires you regularly promote it via social media, emails, and text messages twice per week.
(30) Join union picket lines.
(31) Contact the union and ask: What can I do to support you? Want me to organize a boycott? Who do you want me to call?
(32) Contact worker unions and encourage them to divest stock in Tesla and SpaceX from their pension funds.
(33) Donate what you can to worthy causes such as the ACLU, Internet Archives, Wikipedia, etc. Musk is already targeting Wikipedia - look it up.
(34) Watch documentaries and movies to motivate yourself and give you ideas about what else you can do. All of these are free on YouTube: Alone in Berlin, FRONTLINE: Age of Easy Money, the rally at the US Treasury on February 4, Sophie Scholl – The Final Days, Capitalism: A Love Story, The Internet's Own Boy, The Pentagon Papers, Bonhoeffer, and more.
With this being the comments section on the internet, I can't tell whether you've given me a compliment or criticism. If it's a compliment, I appreciate your kindness and I really am not that smart - just had the pleasure of working with a lot of smart people over the years. If it's a criticism, that's okay too. It tells me I need to adjust how I'm communicating online.
You got it! It’s difficult for me to resist, but hopefully it will become easier as time goes by. It helps limiting my social media time to two hours per day; that way, I have no choice but to ignore ignore unproductive comments. Don’t get me wrong! I want tips, techniques, tools, and useful facts because “none of us is as smart as all of us” and continuous improvement is the name of the game. But it’s up to me to be on-guard for potential time-wasters. Have a super day and be safe!
This is an excellent well thought out list. Robert Reich is calling on everyone to consider themselves an activist and to participate in saving American democracy.
Republicans are acting so extreme that their actions led by Trump seem to be something fantastical such as out of an apocalyptic science fiction movie of the future. The Democrats are just beginning to get into action but not in a united fashion. It’s easy to organize against something and difficult to visualize a plan and work towards it. The Democrats are having trouble even uniting against The Trump Musk coup that is occurring under their noses and in their halls.
I am giving serious thought to Robert Reich’s suggestion that a third political party be formed that actually represents the needs and aspirations of the American people. We used to think of the Democratic Party as being in that role, but only a few brave individuals willing to face the wrath and retaliation from Trump are standing forward where the rest seem to be hiding under their desks.
Good morning, Marc!
Hate doesn't rest, so why should we?
Excellent!
The fascists have seized the day, and will have their way, because no one has even tried to stop them.
I don't watch MSNBC anymore, complaining, hand wringing is not a counter attack, and the only way to stop the juggernaut is via an effective counter attack.. not a defense, one does not win on defense.
Robert's articles are all defense., well meaning good advice but defensive.
Looking back at History
Remember the Cliven Bundy Stgandoff when he wouldn't pay his grazing fees.
Militia types from all over the U.S,. showed up, he never paid his grazing fees. Then there was the Oregon standoff.
The right forcibly stands up, with rifles at the ready, and won't give ground.
The left holds signs and chants, and when a handful of armed right wingers show up, they give ground.
Kyle Rittenhouse shot two people and walked away slowly. The demonstrators did nothing.
In 1956 in Hungary, a man knocked a cop over the head took his pistol, then used that pistol to take out more cops and their weapons and in no time at all, people were digging up the rifles they had buried, when the government had forbidden gun ownership and there we have the Hungarian revolution, it took Soviet tanks to put down the revolution.
Liberals were once good at organizing protests, waving signs, little else, now not even good at that.
One burly dude with no authority, no badge, no weapon bars the entrance to the Treasury Department and five or six of our "brave" congress critters are afraid to take him on, such hero's.
Look at the shit Musk and Trump are pulling, and not even a useless street protest. A few law suits, and one hell of a lot of comments on the internet.
Due to the fact that there are at least two, not. one, numbskulls behind what's going on right now, I see a higher chance of things imploding. Trump can't do what Musk is doing by himself, and vice versa.
Trump may be unhappy with Musk, but Musk is insulated against Trump, by virtue of the one thing that Trump respects. Money and control.
Musk is interfering in Europe now, with AfD, and Meloni in Italy, and I am sure with Marine le Pen. America is his ATM machine.
The Trump regime is beset with internal contradictions and the competing forces in MAGA will erupt, but not before irreparable damage is done to America, In fact irreparable damage has already been done by Musk and Trump
Humpty dumpty has fallen off the wall and nothing can put him together again.. nothing.
Remember the U.S. of A as it was before Jan 20th, 2024, because when the last of us who witnessed that day die, so will the memory and history.
We will never be the same again.. This is only day 17 of this regime, and it is not an administration.
An administration administers, and what it administers are the laws. This is a regime that ignores the laws and does as it damn will pleases.
There miight be some back tracking till it gets a firm footing. Two steps forward , one step back, for the moment, yet it advances till it gets all of its people and power in place.
Down the road, there is bound to b e conflict between Opus Dei, 7th Mtn Dominionists, New Apostolic Reformation, Southern Baptists, Mormons.
Down the road there is bound to be conflict between the various Right Wing Organizations that constitute the force arm of MAGA.
Each one will demand recognition, their place in the power structure, privileges and thus infighting.
As the regime tries to placate one element of his base, he will do so at the expense of another. It is a zero sum game., Nothing but winners and losers.
Right now there is still very strong support from the right. When Musk decides to pull some crazy stunt like stopping 30% of all social security checks because of fraud, THEN the right will start to get worried.
It seems many have laid down and there isn't much resistance. I agree with everything you said above. Dems are weak and crooks too.
Idon't,know about crooks some maybe, But isn't it interesting how someone who spends a couple of years in Congress becomes a millionaire.
Of course when you sit on a committee that passes a bill that you know will be approved when brought to the floor, and you know that it will affect some corporations, and you immediately get on the phone with your broker . well.
But not all. Here is one that I don't trust. Adam Schiff and former head of the DCCC, former Congressman from NY Sean Mahoney, in the election of 2022 ran off to Paris junketeering, when they should have stayed home helping their candidates. And NY lost four previously safe Democratic seats including Sean Mahoney's, I guess the junket to Paris was worth it.
I agree with the essence of what you point out. I agree offensive actions now but some are not ready for General Strikes, Walk-outs, Sit-in to obstruct/to be arrested, Boycott every purchase that is not essential, actually protect people who are being threatened, i.e. (I would serve as General Milley's bodyguard free for some weekly shift work.) WE must be ready to lose money, comfort, security, our lives in non-violent protests first to test our resolve. Anything that gets media attention, causes shame, disgust, horror will draw supporters over time. I never had a gun but if an army is formed to save our democracy, I'm not a bad shot.
Americans are soft and spoiled. They whine about being poor when they have a cell phone, a TV and ISP and a vehicle. With people like that, what army do you have.
Here is the truth. "Freedom is another word for nothing left to lose" (credit: Kris Kristofferson)
You are arguing for armed, violent resistance. I can't go along with that. Who was more effective in bringing about change, Clive Bundy of MLK?
Dave DiDomenico, I think I understand your point and one response to your question is MLK, but to his credit for staying the course for the long haul, it took YEARS and even then gradually and so very, very hard won (and now under "government" attack again, horrible to say!!) As to Bundy and his ilk, well, the January 6 thug-attack on OUR government, as well as so many other examples of the vile, violent underbelly of America and the persistence of traitorous militia groups, etc. as well as the return of thump, musk - AND the thug-army, now even more shielded from prosecution - might be seen as the "more effective" at bringing about change. Not all change is good. The change that thump, musk, the criminal organization now occupying our government have brought is the absolute antithesis of good, but they sure did bring it about, so that makes them - for the time being anyway - "more effective." And believe me, I hate having to say that. Otherwise, I agree with you about the armed resistance issue. Even if one were inclined to that kind of activity, when faced with thump, his "commander-in-chief" position, the number of law-enforcement members who support him, the members of the rogue sheriff's organization and thump's (and mob) stated intention to use force against protest (unspecified what THEY mean by "protest" but I suspect we can all guess), it makes "armed resistance" seem romantic, noble and fool-hardy.
My nearby family member wants to ask: Who was "more effective" - Neville Chamberlain or Winston Churchill?
Still..... we are "made of" strong stuff; remember the small group of resisters standing up to what was at the time the mightiest army and King in the world. Now we have a delusional gangster who believes himself to be King of America..... so do we know the way to the bridge at Concord??
Idiot, and I am calling you one that on purpose. I am no fool. Only a fool would argue for armed violent resistance, esepcially when they are unarmed and not empowered. So don't put words in my mouth.
No I am not arguing for armed violent resistance. But be aware is that "they" have an army of "brownshirts" all well armed and ready for violence, and Trump just pardoned 1,600 of them ready for revenge. agains them all you have is non violence, so lots of luck.
Here you go CIA declassified guide to sabotaging Fascism
https://www.404media.co/declassified-cia-guide-to-sabotaging-fascism-is-suddenly-viral/?utm_source=substack&utm_medium=email
To answer your last question; Who was more successful in bringing about change? Cliven Bundy. Look what he and his ilk have wrought. They are sitting in the White House.
Cliven didn't just go away, he and the movement he represented continued on, built steam and the ideology resurfaced as MAGA.
MLK's movement has always been on the backfoot, always on the defensive, the Bundy movement broke through the gates and demonized it and is abolishing it in their war on DEI , Woke and CRT.
How transparent you are. Of course, one could always just eat healthily instead of falling for some miracle cure.
Let me guess. Chiquita is a Chihuahua. 😉
Ha! Not quite. She's a sorta boxer-shepherd mix from a shelter, and weighs around 75 pounds.
I acquired her in either 2015 or 2016 here in rural South Carolina. I named her Chiquita to honor Mexico and Mexicans (of which are are a GREAT MANY living and working in this area. And I named her Chiquita to piss of the cultists, of which there are also a great many living and working here.
A third party would face the same problem of the domination of money in US elections.
I've long believed both of these:
1. Ideas are more important than 'campaign cash,' and don't need MONEY if they resonate with people.
2. "Campaign money" would be much better spent on 'projects that benefit citizens' than 'ads on far-right corporate media platforms.'
NO one should be 'supporting' those who say things like "it may not be good for America, but it's good for CBS."
Oh, Eugene, I couldn't agree more. I can't believe that anybody wants to be bombarded with election material for months on end (here in the UK our elections are much shorter although I confess with not remarkably better results in recent years). However, the problem is getting those ideas across to Americans. Trump and his campaign have been spectacularly successful in doing this and the Democrats comparatively at least very poor. Some would say that their messaging has been inept against Trump. Part of the reason is that social media platforms ensure that people get corralled within echo chambers where they only hear what they want to hear. And the only way that campaign money could be directed to social programmes and good causes is by taxing those billionaires more fairly and closing loopholes that allow them to evade tax. I don't see any party too keen on doing this because of the power of money in elections. I don't know how you break this cycle - let's hold hands and stop the madness!
"And the only way that campaign money could be directed to social programmes and good causes"
I mean the campaigns themselves, which are NOT "government agencies." TBC, I don't oppose govt. doing that as well, but private concerns, like campaigns, have much more flexibility in many ways.
'And with your campaign contributions, we have purchased land and built this community center for the people of this district! Not one penny went to a right-wing media oligarch!'
If you mean the Super PACs, they are largely funded by very wealthy people and corporations who do so for their own purposes. I read that there were 1,959 Super PACs filed with the Federal Election Commission and that's a whole lot of money. The Supremes opened this particular Pandora's Box and they have a lot to answer for (the liberal justices on the court in 2010 clearly described the dangers in their partial dissenting opinion).
"Private concerns" are more often interested in making money and distributing it to politicians who will do their bidding. Non-profit NGOs can't hold a candle to them.
by following the flow of money.
Well said!
I believe that a third party that truly understands our needs and issues would also understand they can not climb into the pockets of billionaires and mega corporations! Working Families Party is totally grass roots organization. Since republicans and it seems most Democrats are working for the oligarchs, a third party must step in and take over for those of us in the working middle and lower classes. We must have representation that brings our issues and needs to the forefront. There are so many more of us than there are oligarchs, mega corporations and the orange man's cult.
But how would such a party succeed given the iniquities of the current system? In the current system, you're not even voting directly for who you would like to be president - instead you vote for a slate of electors, most of who you've never heard of before. Nearly all states have laws binding electors to vote for the winner of their state’s popular vote, but that doesn’t mean the presidential candidate who gets the most Electoral College votes is the one favored by the majority of voters. Hilary Clinton won the popular vote in 2016 by a margin of 2.6m but still lost the Electoral College.
Totally understand what you are saying, Russell, and I completely agree. First, we must get the orange man and his cartel out. Once we have done that, we need to work hard at getting the electoral college abolished completely and only use the popular vote as it is actually the will of the people. Then we have to work on stopping the gerrymandering that has occurred which leaves many voters out completely. Then we have to end Citizen's United to stop oligarchs and corporations from buying our president and congress. We cannot do anything until we have people elected that will remove the horrors the orange man has done.
Perhaps a look at the some aspects of a Parliamentary system (Canada) might prove useful:
1-Cap on campaign donations: In Canada it's a total of $3300 ($1650 to a given federal political party, $1650 to a given party's riding associations, $1650 to a given party's leadership candidates).
2-Three party legislature: Conservative(Right), Liberal(Middle), NDP (Left). This allows for majority or minority rule, in which case the minority parties can form coalitions for important issues.
3-The no-confidence vote : a defining constitutional element of a parliamentary system, in which the government's/executive's mandate rests upon the continued support (or at least non-opposition) of the majority in the legislature.
4-A shortened election period (not the endless campaigning we see in the US which never seems to end)
The electoral college is an artifact that definitely needs to go.
And that's a long road, Peggy.
It is near impossible to get the electoral college "abolished" as long as those favored are needed to participate. The current "workable" solution requires all of the states electors to represent that states winner of the popular vote. This is the rule in 19 states so far, for a total of 196 Electoral Votes. Getting all states to join this will be impossible, but a few things will work to its favor. With a mobile voting population, those recognizing the dilution of their vote in their new environment will move towards equalization. It is also possible that the native in the state will no longer agree with his neighbors and will also wish to be counted fairly.
It's not an easy answer, but the only viable option so far. Make sure your state is adopting it, if they have not so far.
https://www.brennancenter.org/our-work/research-reports/electoral-college-explained
"In the current system, you're not even voting directly for who you would like to be president - instead you vote for a slate of electors, most of who you've never heard of before."
Wrong! You are voting for a Candidate and "some person you have never heard" of before is assigned the task of carrying your vote to Washington. This "simple'' process is muddied by the fact that the votes being carried to Washington do not represent the numbers voting. No matter the margins of victory, if it is only counted as one vote by the electors. The electors will also represent a certain number in one state and another number in a different state.
"Nearly all states have laws binding electors to vote for the winner of their state’s popular vote, but that doesn’t mean the presidential candidate who gets the most Electoral College votes is the one favored by the majority of voters."
True! The issue is "Nearly all". Remnants of the old system remain and corrupt it in several states notably "the Swing States".
https://www.brennancenter.org/our-work/research-reports/electoral-college-explained
An elector is not a candidate. A candidate most often will be a party member and s/he will make an effort to advise voters on what they may expect if they're is elected. The leaflets that come through your door from the candidate will bear the signature of the policies of the party s/he belongs to but it will also make pledges specific to the constituency to which you belong - the youth centre that is in dire need of refurbishment, the need for a new maternity unit in the area, the pressing need for a new road to carry traffic around the town rather than through it etc. A candidate will knock on your door and ask how you intend to vote and explain why you should consider voting for them. An elector might as well be a mailbox for all you know about them - you don't even see their names on the ballot paper. In the words of Jesse Wegman: "The Electoral College as it functions today is the most glaring reminder of many that our democracy is not fair, not equal and not representative. No other advanced democracy in the world uses anything like it, and for good reason. The election, as Mr. Trump would say — though not for the right reasons — is rigged."
Yes to Working Families Party!!
I do not understand how a third, minority, party will fit into our system to the benefit of all of us. In the Civil Rights era, the Dixiecrats were powerful but never influential enough to change the course of the nation. Instead they mostly stalemated the other two.
It seems that the Dixicrats have been incorporated into the Republican Party.
A worker's party must be capable of organizing strikes. There can be no worker party without labor unions.
Russell, perhaps a 3rd party that started to have legs could help galvanize the Dem Party. Like the Tea Party did for the Repub Party. I don't remember the Tea Party as actually being a 3rd political party. Though there were tea party candidates, so identified. There are probably some good lessons in what occurred with the Tea Party. But it's hard to see a left 3rd Party as other than a divider and spoiler for the Dems at election time.
There are alot of old farts in leadership in the party at all levels(sorry but being blunt here). This Party is ready to be taken over.
The Democrats seem to want to learn the lessons from their defeat, which wasn't actually as comprehensive as Trump and some commentators have suggested. I don't know much about Democratic party politics, but Timothy Snyder seems to think that their new chair is a good egg. The government has in the last day or so been issuing a kind of voluntary redundancy offer to 2 million federal workers and so far some 40,000 have accepted. In the meantime, hundreds of thousands of them are being put on gardening leave - essentially being paid to do nothing. I suppose that if no adverse consequences arise from this startlingly irresponsible measure than the Republicans will feel vindicated, but that hardly seems likely. However, the offer is full pay up to 30 September, yet thanks to the Republicans themselves, the government is funded only until March. Democratic senator Chris Murphy has promised that he and his colleagues will not cooperate on the budget deadline unless the government halts its crazy policies. More chaos looming in the near future.
Russell - There’s also a clause in there that says that the person who accepts the buyout cannot sue them if they don’t live up to rules of the buyout. So if they stop getting paid before September 30th there’s nothing that they can do to get their money.
You seem to accept the slander offered by the Right. There are a lot of us old farts in leadership and as active members of the Liberal movement. Need we point out we were once young rebels like you and fighting for "change". There is no reason to believe that once your hair turns white your brain turns Right.
Yes, Steve, the Democratic Party is ready for being taken over. We must make it sure that it is not taken over by fascist infiltrators.
I don't think Bernie did, and he could do it again with a progressive working families party.
Yeah, vote for the old guy because that worked so well last time.
If all you are voting for is "a younger guy", you may not be getting what you expect. There are a few other attributes you might want to take into account.
Ah, but I suggested no such thing, although Sanders might be content for one of his younger proteges to take up the mantle of progressive politics. In 2008, the electorate voted for an urbane Black senator from Illinois whose middle name was Hussein. He conveyed a message of hope. Why shouldn't it happen again?
Exactly.
Marc, great and inspiring text of Robert Reich, agreed completely.
I can understand the thought about a third party, but it is of a different nature. I mean, thinking is not resisting now.
Maybe 5 parties and proportional representation would be better still then a third party. In the meantime the coup d'état goes on.
And a point missing: when my name was Trump or Musk, Robert Reich would be in the top of my enemies list. I don't need to have them spelled out, but what defenses are put in place for normal thinking and discussions about truths?
Tom, Robert Reich, and everyone on his list for providing accurate information are setting examples of bravery by their own behavior. There is a risk in standing up to bullies, but if enough people follow their examples, then those who would take actions against them would have to think twice.
I would not dismiss a discussion of forming a third-party out of hand. In creating a platform for a truly progressive party, not beholden to wealthy interests we could present innovative ideas to a very large audience.
Unfortunately, the Democratic Party is no longer the progressive party of FDR. Numerous analyst are considering the Democratic Party as it stands now to be somewhere to the right of Center. One thing it is not is innovative. We need a platform for creative, innovative solutions, not just to the current crisis, but to larger crisis, such as climate change and the rise of authoritarianism in general.
Marc, as a former teacher/vice principal, I totally concur with your statement about standing up to bullies - if everybody does it, they lose power. There is personal risk involved - and I sadly watched many kids be too afraid to do it. It takes courage and I am so grateful to Robert Reich and the truth-telling organizations/people he listed, AOC and the squad, Maxwell Frost, Lateefah Simon, Working Families Party. There are truth-tellers and leaders out there, and we need to support them. Taking action on our own and collectively per Reich's list is also essential.
I most definitely do not want to be considered anywhere to the right of center! That is not my mind set! We must move further to the left with more progressive ideas and solutions to problems we face.
Remember Prof Reich learned early in life how to stand up to bullies.
Professor Reich was able to stand up to bullies, because we had a Constitution. Nobody--not even Musk or Mellon--will be able to stand up to Trump once he gets full control of the DOJ and the FBI.
Marc, I do not dismiss a third party discussion. It is very urgent to have a discussion, but where about?
How does democracy work? By forming ideas in discussions amongst the people about how we want to live together.
That is hardly what we do. We knock on doors, looking for voters, we visit mass meetings to applaud leaders yelling abstract sentences to us, we donate to pay for the happenings.
But serious debates over the distribution of income, the accumulation of capital, taxes, welfare costs, fighting against what we do not want?
I feel a bit hesitant: the suggestion of Bob is that the struggle is on and needed. That is the case, but should the reaction be a Gingrich-like polarisation? Or could we gain by a more nuanced style?
I think the Trump and Musk goons earn maximal resistance, because they seem to believe in the demolition that their bosses want. But the elected representatives need some care: a few votes are enough to moderate the idea that Trump is saved by God and supported by the election.
But yes, innovation, creativity and a revolution in the function of political parties is urgent.
"But yes, innovation, creativity and a revolution in the function of political parties is urgent."
America is what it is today because of "innovation and creativity" have sustained a democracy. We have a democracy as a result of a revolution against a king, and it was only won at some cost. The change secured was that democracy.
We do not need another "revolution". Less than half of us are on either side. In 1776 there was a wider gap between factions.
Surely it is wiser to pursue an established democracy with innovation and creativity and 'evolution'.
First things first.
Given America’s first-past-the-post electoral system, a third party is a disastrous suggestion - the Republicans are much more homogenous and it is the complex Democratic Party that would much more likely split handing to MAGA a permanent winning plurality.
It was the argument the nonvoters and Stein voters made (again) right up to Election Day. Their selfish shortsightedness (again) has brought widespread harm. Why are so many Americans willfully . . . rolled, even when they know they’ll bring great harm across the country and the world?
I once worked for a corporation dominated by a religious sect of which I was not a member. They punched well above their weight because, after an issue was settled, they stuck together as one. They had a saying, "When the elders speak, the thinking has been done". I kind of admired them for that.
The fact that we are not homogeneous is the reason I am a Democrat, Robert. I like that we are diverse. I like that we include everyone and want equality for everyone is what makes our party really great. The homogenous republicans only want white and male. That is not for me. Why would Democrats split? If a third party includes everyone but doesn't accept oligarch or corporation money, those that have become disillusioned with the Democrats would have a party they could join and work with. We can't go on sitting quietly while the orange man and his ilk destroy our country which it seems a lot of the Democratic leaders are willing to do. Also quite a few are voting with the republicans sending a clear message to me they have acquiesced to the orange man!
It's elementary and well documented. Such hopes for a 3rd party show the triump of idealism over realism.
That is a great list from Robert. Correct that we must pull together and become more activist, like the few forward Dems in Congress and in our statehouses. Care for the vulnerable, take to the streets and march! trump, musk and their cadre will be stopped only by the People'
Yes! Working Families Party is gaining traction. I am all in for a party that will actually work for the people, listen to the people and stand up to the orange man!
how do you know they will? They have not been in power.Or have they been somewhere and how did they perform.
Steve, when I read up on the Working Families Party, I liked their platform because it included everything I want from my party. They are in it for the working middle and lower classes and their ideas and solutions line up with mine. You are right, they have not been in power, but sometimes from a tiny acorn, a mighty oak is born. This may be the party that will actually get in there and do the work most of us want to see done. I am just saying that if we are going to go with a third party, I feel it must be one that reflects what all of us want.
it would be better to "refresh" the Dem Party.It's there for the taking.
This might be your moment to identify "what all of us want". Reading the comments on this list I am curious to see how you arrive at a viable list.
Tell me how many third party politicians are in positions of power and I'll consider your suggestion. Otherwise, the best approach would be reforming the Democratic party.
Enough with the 3rd party idea!!! Pay attention to the Democrats who ARE stepping up and taking action - they need our support loud and clear, not complaints and whining! PLEASE!!!
Right you are, Laine! Third party talk at a time when we need unity is unwise.
Laine, I wasn't complaining or whining. I was simply stating that if others are looking for a third party, the Working Families Party is one they might want to look at. Even when you aren't in complete agreement with the conversation, telling me I am complaining and whining does not help anything. I know there are Democrats like the AOC, Elizabeth Warren and Bernie Sanders who are fighting and fighting hard. I also know there are Democrats who are voting with republicans to put ill equipped people in the orange man's cabinet.
Nevertheless, the only folks voting against putting the ill equipped in the orange man's cabinet are Democrats. Would you like too see their support diluted by additional division?
Marc, how about America United--not a party but a coalition of all Americans opposed to the divisive tactics used by Trump and his billionaire allies?
Proportional Representation is worth looking into... multiple parties where more people feel represented and are engaged in the political process rather than feeling unheard.
Given the extreme and nearly unprecedented difference between the two parties, it seems impossible to be torn between them. That is the cry we hear, "They are both 'flawed'". If unable to differentiate between "flaws", you are certainly not going to be helpful to either side, or a third, fourth fifth ....party.
Right now the Democrats in the Senate especially are all we got to obstruct Republican fascism. Let’s focus on them, at least until Trump/Musk are gone.
ever heard of Jill Stein?
She cost us the last election, along with the people who stayed home. Oh, and the ones who said, “He won’t really do that.” Idiots.
With best wishes with the third party idea, Marc (and RR)! We have a large number of independents (mainly women) in the lower house of our federal parliament in Australia (as well as Green parliamentarians), while they emphasize issues that really matter such as climate change, integrity in government, greater equality, housing for all, reducing the cost of living etc. ...Yes, check out our system for inspiration, while I'm hoping that they will get to hold the balance of power in our House of Representatives after May.
Fingers crossed for you, Marcus!
It is the only option if they refuse to do anything to slow down or stop the coup happening before our eyes. Quorum, roll calls for every Unanimus Consent request, keep GOP in DC over weekends and holidays. Never vote for any crazy nominee. Pass a bill that punishes, subpoenas and person confirmed who completely abandons everything they have believed, said,, written in their past. Lying under Oath used to be a crime but in Governments it is just absolutely fine, known by those who confirm them, lying carries no penalty. Liars just claim they changed their opinion and their mind. Taxpayers pay so many lying turds in DC because WE have no real power to get what WE need and want to restore our faith in our government of, by and for the people. WE do not want criminals, liars, insurrectionists, foreign agents, bought and paid for representatives, timid puppets of a wealthy, powerful, Heritage/Musk/trump Mob, people who want to reelected no matter the treason they must commit for the KINGS of the Mountains.
I agree that it is time to start thinking about a third political party. I was hesitant at first, thinking it might split the democratic party, but now I'm wondering where the democratic leadership is. I was hoping that after the election of a new DNC chair there would be some movement toward organizing the party. Instead all they want to do is a review of the 2024 election (which should have already been done) and assess their finances. That takes us months down the road and too much damage will already have been done. Then I saw something about Chuck Schumer out protesting in the streets, like he's really doing something. Protests are staged to get the attention of leaders who can take action. Apparently, Schumer isn't one of those leaders who can take action. Time to look for leaders with liberal values who are interested in the concerns of the people.
Not until the Republicans split between MAGA and sane people.
Robert,
The idea of an audit is absurd.
Nothing Elon did constitutes an audit.
There were no standards, no procedures, no audit plan.
What Elon did was more than just audit, he outright hacked the Treasury system and brought along willing participants. The teenagers have absolutely no experience, and Elon has absolutely no experience performing government audits.
The system of payments is absolutely compromised and what they have done to the system of checks and balances to prevent fraud, is committing the very fraud they claim to be preventing.
The biggest Ponzi scheme artist of a system of companies built on the back of US Treasury payment system contract payments and IRS tax credits is nothing more than a scam artist selling the idea of technology. He now claims to be an auditor, under absolutely no standards. And left behind hard drives controlling access to manipulate transactions in the Treasury at his own will.
There is a term called Yellowbook for Government a. Accounting education and that is just the beginning. Standards of Ethics and Integrity and passing tests with standards of continuing education and a degree with industry experience at a firm holding up standards of compliance and professionals who engage in the act of performing an audit and communicate with the oversight committee and governing bodies.
Marc, it is a brilliant list. The first essential is to be active, get off your butts.
Everyone. Use this link to find an Indivisible group in your community and join up: https://indivisible.org/groups. If one doesn't exist yet, join with others to start one. (Guides for doing this will be on Together for Good soon.)
I have joined mine, Mike! They are a great group to work with!
I looked in Missouri. None. Not one. There are branches of national activist groups eg Mobilize.
How about starting a Pro Life Democrats group? Real pro-life: like a living wage, affordable health care, affordable housing, fair taxation, no wars and no genocide. Wouldn't that make America great again?
Yes, it would be wonderful. However, to have a strong impact I think we would do better with an independent third-party even if we didn’t win elections, we would have a platform for the things you mentioned and get it heard.
“Like” substack and other social media posts that support the truth, democracy, etc. The large number of “likes” and “restacks ” is a way of showing how many people are with this side and it encourages others to keep engaged.
I live in a red state, I can not contact any Congressional dems bc they dont accept calls/emails from non constituents. I have called, emailed postcarded the ring kissing reps we do have & I get bullshit lies back if anything. I will persist & like Al Green I call for IMPEACHMENT. REPUBLICAN PARTY LIES , I guess there is nothing in the 10 commandments re lying so it is ok.
Of course the damage is in what the lies are for. In that sense, most of the Ten apply;
Honor your father and mother.
You shall not kill.
You shall not commit adultery.
You shall not steal.
You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.
You shall not covet your neighbor’s wife.
You shall not covet your neighbor’s goods.
I know the 10 commandments . The felon has broken most of them. I am speaking about Congress people who claim to be christian & lie like rugs!
There is a commandment against stealing and a commandment against bearing false witness. There is a commandment against adultery.
Very well said, Marc, while thanks too for your as always considered and highly erudite posts!
I do not understand why everyone wants to protect all the people who are in this country illegally. Do you really want open borders with other countries like we have open borders between states? I think the cause of them being here is that they come here work, but they work for people who are knowingly breaking the law by hiring them. Make the businesses force Congress into changing the laws.
You are falling for the Trumpian Version of "Open Borders". There is no comparison between the "open borders" between the united states and the borders between nations. The American Border is "Open" only to those whom are willing to accept American law. This is meant to be tested upon entry, but the sheer volume of applicants makes this near impossible. The challenge is met with applications filed in the home country at the US Embassy. However, if the political situation in that nation makes it dangerous or impossible, the recourse is to show up at the border in person.
Those who do so are called "Refugees" and asked to wait in the inevitable lines for processing. The numbers make this a nightmare for applicant and Border Security.
Bottom line? The borders are not "Open". There are just not enough "turnstiles" to regulate the flow. Liberals want to add "turnstiles". Conservatives want to keep the issue alive for Political gain and choose to suggest "only rapists, thieves and traffickers" are filing across undeterred.
Yes they come here because we hire them. How despicable to demonize them!
Sample letter to your Representative in a Blue state --
Re: Initiate Criminal Proceedings
Dear Representative _____:
Under the direction of President Trump, the private and personal information of all government employees has been breached, a list with all employees of the CIA for the past two years has been sent to DOGE in an unsafe and unencrypted email. This is criminal behavior. I urge you to do the following:
· Initiate the impeachment of President Trump. I know that this action has been tried before. But in light of the Supreme Court’s decision on Presidential immunity I see no legal alternative to this action.
· Initiate criminal proceedings against Elon Musk. Musk is initiating a coup by taking over the Treasury of the United States Government.
· Block all Trump appointments and Republican initiatives in Congress
· Delay all special elections for Congressional Seats made available by Trump’s appointments.
For my part, I will back you in your efforts to thwart the takeover of our system of government. I will support your reelection with monetary donations and donations of my time in your reelection process. I will travel to political rallies and demonstrations in protest of the current administration. My power to effect any change in this crisis is small. However, I an one of a multitude of your supporters in this effort.
Good!
I did 5, 6, 7, 8, 15 & 16. Will work on the others! Thank you Professor Reich!
P.S. You still got it!! I would vote for you to replace Trump. You know he didn’t really win.
https://youtu.be/T5cq1ITqzWU
From SmartElections.US This is the very latest analysis showing data on NUMEROUS states:
https://open.substack.com/pub/smartelections/p/so-clean
https://youtu.be/qmzGOQwMG_k
https://youtu.be/3p5H89_Hd8Q
https://www.reddit.com/r/somethingiswrong2024/s/MVjHIR61Yt
Unfortunately all of my state’s elected officials are Trump loyalists (Arkansas) so while I could call the switchboard it wouldn’t do any good.
I’m disabled which means that not only is protesting in person impossible but also probably dangerous.
What I can do is spread articles like these so that maybe enough people will start to understand the danger this country and those who live here are in.
So are mine. The Republicans have done a hostile takeover of Ohio over the last 30 years and they have made our lives incomparably worse. The former Secretary of State, Frank LaRose, was permitted to place a misleading ballot initiative that fooled voters into thinking voting no would stop gerrymandering. Instead, voting yes would have done so, and we Ohioans lost, while the gerrymandering continues.
While Slotkin has her issues, I've voted for her every time, but in November, following the most recent gerrymander, and her election to the Senate, she was replaced in the U.S. House by one of the most noxious Rs in the state, whose campaign ads featured him in camo, flying a copter and ranting about how we need to go to war with China...
Our media ecosystem these days in itself seems to foster mania. I think this is an issue that transcends left-right politics and needs to be better understood. The medium is the message kind of thing of McLuhan. Who writes on this ?
There are no real "non-Republican" state-wide media orgs in Michissippistan, the Detroit Free Press is probably as close as it gets, and 'it ain't it.'
He can go first.
Sounds like Missouri.
Eric Schmitt the freshman senator from Missouri did the same thing. Ahead of an election in which a duly filed voter's initiative Prop 3 restored the state Constitutional right to reproductive health he had the ballots printed up with language specifying legal abortion up to and including live birth, obvious fiction. When taken to court, the judge removed it. The second draft restored the original language but paired it with a law to revoke the citizens' right to ballot initiatives and only be permitted to vote on laws passed by the state legislature.
I’m in Ohio as well. The fact that they tried to overturn issue 1 results that passed last November (abortion access and legalized marijuana) and AG Yost has extended power has the mark of Trump fascism allover it. So contacting them about cabinet appts would be useless.
Derek, I, too, live in a very red state (Florida). I make the calls but am usually either not connected or when I do get through, they hang up when I start talking. I'm not being rude or saying anything ugly. I generally follow the script about what I am calling about. The point is, keep calling! It ties them up! Being an old woman, there is probably danger if I protest, but I will if one is called here. You should most definitely NOT try protesting in person. Not only is the orange man's followers going after immigrants, LGBQT+, blacks/browns, dwarves, mentally ill and now, disabled, they could possibly hurt you and that is totally unacceptable! Do what you do, Derek, because EVERYBODY is needed in this fight! Stay safe!
I am 80 and joined a protest rally at my Republican senator's office yesterday. There were over 400 participants. He, being Thom Tillis of NC, dismissed us as "belly aching". I call and email John Thune and other senators to implore them to stand up for their Constitutional rights and responsibilities and powers. Why aren't Republican members of Congress outraged by having their appropriations and other authorities stripped from them?
I call my senators in very red TX every day, the voice mail boxes are sometimes full so I dial 0 and leave a voice mail or talk to an aide. I am always polite and thank them or giving the senator my message. But I am firm. You can call regardless of whether or not you think they will listen. the more we call, the louder our opposition is.
I understand that the calls to congress are increasing enormously so even if your members of Congress are MAGA, it makes a difference when you call.
Absolutely! We must flood them with call after call after call, email after email after email, letter after letter after letter! I do it every single day and sometimes if the orange man or his sidekick do something illegal again, I make more than one call! We absolutely MUST show them we will not sit quietly while they destroy our country. By flooding them with calls, emails and letters, many may be getting the picture that an enormous amount of us are NOT HAPPY with the current situation!
Me too. (South Carolina)
But (one presumes) the reality that they will have to actually pay someone to actually LISTEN to the recorded messages may actually become an annoying economic reality...right ...about... NOW!
ACTUALLY!
Ditto in Florida. We’ve been a one-party authoritarian rule state since Ron DeSantis won the governorship in 2018. They don’t pretend to care what the Democrats have to say. But I will send them emails nonetheless. Yes, someone has to read them and make a note somewhere. Our Republican legislators are all MAGAs so it feels like a lost cause. I’ll find other ways to contribute.
Keep at it, Sally! Don't stop! Flood them with phone calls, letters and emails! I will not stop. I get the same form letter back from only one of them. The others do not even respond, but I do it every single day regardless. We have to start locally here in Florida and slowly get our state back on track.
I went through the 8th and 9th grades in central-ish Florida around 1968, and at that time DeLand was a wonderful place to live.
But then, as a cis, white, male (and then, an active Christian), pretty much anywhere in the Deep South would have seemed pretty wonderful.
As far as contributing, this is the dumb-ass thing that I do every day to try make some tiny difference. (But it's more a long-term effort (and potentially dangerous.))
https://medium.com/@foofaraw/many-more-people-will-die-because-of-trump-i-hope-i-wont-be-one-of-them-41b2f1493036
(Nice to meet you, Sally! I'd guess we might be having coffee together right now...)
I disagree. They need to know there are Arkansans who are not happy with the dismemberment of our government. The more calls like yours they get---it all goes into their calculations of what they should do.
Your belief that it will do no good is the same reasoning for why vote for a Presidential nominee if you live in Arkansas.
The Republicans in Missouri in the 60's were in no mans land---where the Dems in that state are now.But by slowly building Repub clubs and grass roots organizing, and alot else, they over time came to dominate our state polictics except for the 2 big cites.
Try spinning it. You are watching your member of congress have their power stripped away. They were sent to Washington to do a job and that job has been taken out of their hands and put into someone you didn’t vote for and it should be stopped.
Just a thought.
same here-different state,wheelchair,disseminator
this is what they want you to think! You are NOT powerless. Call them! Every day! They freak out when too many people call. that means that they might have to actually do something. Please call. It's especially important for people in Red states to call. I wish you the best
I urge you to call or email them anyway. Remind them that they represent ALL Arkansans, not just Trump voters.
Do it anyway. My state is the probably the most corrupt red state of them all and I know many of the leaders personally so I can see how flustered they really are by all the calls and messages. I see it on TV. They're body language doesn't match their words. Will it change anything necessarily? No, but at least it will make them miserable while it's happening. Why let them sit back and enjoy their cognitive dissonance without being bothered?
Professor Reich: but DID trump actually win the election? if musk and his teenaged incels can access the department of treasury computers, why couldn't they invade our votes totals? just kinda wondering this ...
and yes, letter-writing! this is a thing i can do, even from overseas! so yes, this will be my ongoing project.
one thing that i think everyone here needs to do is to keep your head low & find where you can fuck things up quietly.
Lie. Forget. Obfuscate. Be vague. Engage in collective work slowdowns. Be a bad employee.
forgot to mention that you should wear your new "bad employee" title with pride. as long as trump, musk and their tribe of raging incompetent thugs are in power, there is no shame to be associated with being a raging incompetent yourself. you are simply blending in with the crowd.
If It DIDN'T, then I'd say President musk is an even biglier failure than we thought! 25% to 23.5%?!? Now Bunkerboy has ZERO mandate to do ANYTHING, ESPECIALLY with a equally pathetic 3 house minor majority in the house . . . and 5 in the senate? I forgot.
interesting thought
Let's demand a recount. GrrlScientist is correct. If those punks can get into the department of treasury, they would be able to access the voting system.
Thank You Professor Reich,
This collection of ways to stop Trump’s destruction of our democracy is so important and needs to be implemented ASAP! The backlash against this nonsense has to be at the highest levels possible. We all have to put the heaviest pressure on our elected representatives to stop this madness! Elon Musk, as of right now, has access to our most personal classified information!!! How Congress has allowed this to happen is a total disgrace!
How the GOP Congress has allowed.....
Put Paul Krugman also on the list: Very clear and concise! Yes, and stop panicking. By that I also mean myself. I'm so angry and disappointed... But psychologically, you can't achieve anything like that. I really have to pull myself together.
Marcel, I agree with your post. Panicking is not useful to you or others. Quorum calls are a good idea—I suspect my Senators have thought of that, but I’ll call their offices and ask their aides. I can donate $20 to SPLC and ACLU, but the election tapped me out financially. I am sure you will pull yourself together.
Marcel I think this video might help , perhaps you've seen it.
Ezra Klein talks about the real limits to Trump's power while he tries to convince people he is unstoppable. If people believe such lies he will gain more power when people give up opposing.
But he has already been stopped more than once and the resistance is growing.
My optimistic guess is the GOP people in Congress, those who have not completely lost their minds, are waiting for the courts to stop the madness so they don't have to risk themselves politically. Not sure how realistic a view this is.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K8QLgLfqh6s&ab_channel=TheEzraKleinShow
Very good video, thank you. A very interresting point: Overwhelming! Masspsychology.
Thank you. I have been wracked with pain over not knowing what to do. These resources and wise words are appreciated!
Good stuff. And the most important is perseverance. Never give up. Whatever happens keep trying and no one can stop you doing that.
Dr. R the election was lost and now trumpet 🎺 is our president. Your plan is short term actions. To beat trumpet 🎺 imo the democrats have to cross the isle recruit R’s out of the trumpet 🎺 maga BS. Long term we all die but the democrats have to bp for
The democrats have to reorganize its self into relevance; not relevance to the LBQT- xyz part of the voters Kamala Harris definitely captured all the Al alphabet to the complete and total lost To the maga crowd. Last time I voted on democrats party representatives I was restricted to ( I forgot the %) a certain ratio of women vs men in a D ‘s acquiescence gender POLTICS.
Silly but stupid idea. I voted for just the males and did not vote for any female candidates because that not relevant to me… until the D’s cast off the special interest groups the D’s are dead as a political force in Washington DC .
Might be time to let the special intrestsc D Party DIE.
Rebuild or Completely REPLACE THE D’s with a new party
Special interests has rendered the D’s totally irrelevant to our historical roots…
My dear sir:
Since when are women, who comprise over half of the population, a special interest? (Perhaps you do not like women; that does not make them a special interest) It seems that you are throwing the baby out with the bath water in your frustration with the results of the election. I agree that the alphabet emphasis is more amusing than helpful, but do not let the waters close over the head of our recent President Biden, who was not a member of a special interest group, unless you count males as such due to their lower share of the population.
In regard to roots, when did our new President’s ancestors arrive here? Well after our nation was rooted.
Lastly, our Founders were able to form proper sentences. A sentence is a complete thought. I suggest you get and read a copy of “Elements of Style” in order to make yourself better understood.
Ii like women I’ve had a mother sisters and daughters. I’ve never found any persons worthy more respect or less respect than men.
Gender does not make you smart or dumb .
Codifying the selection of political leadership into the structure of the political creates genitalia politics .
The American populace has rejected women as presidential politics three time in my lifetime… I voted for two of them.
An Elizabeth Warren would make a great president by alas she and Bernie Sanders have been kicked to the curb… but the self aggrandizing Hillary Clinton succeeded in alienating the voters to the point where a seriously warped djt into the presidency…
Dear J:
You have clarified your position. I do not think Elizabeth Warren was electable in the general election as she could not garner the votes in her own Party. I think it is a fantasy that if only Warren or Sanders could be the nominee, then Republicans and Independents would vote for them. I agree that it appears at this time to be imprudent to run a woman for the Presidency in the USA. But it is the opposition and not the supporters who focus on gender, in my observation. Certainly if one has teh patience to listen to long-winded introductions at conventions and what not, everyone appears to have checked all the boxes of virtue, probity, and sameness with the groups in the room, but that has always been the case.
I see no need for name-calling in regard to Senator Clinton. You may have preferred another candidate, but she did get the popular vote, so she had a chance. What her quality of leadership would have been in office is and shall remain unknown.
I agree that Harris did not have general appeal outside of her state, which was shown in the primaries She did her best, and you can’t do more than that. I think it was Trump’s to lose once the incumbent edge was lost, and no man or woman I saw was going to beat him. The Dems seem to need charisma to win, while Republicasn jsut say “taxes” and there they are. I have thought about this enough so I am signing off the subject. Thanks for the clarification of your position.
IMO Hillary paid off the entire Democrat party structure. This caused Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren to be given the bums rush to prevent any discussion inside the Democratic Party structure .
There was no “honest” selection of the Democrats candidate…
Bill and Hillary are/were the darlings of Wall Street and imo republicans in sheep’s clothing.
In general Hillary was hated by most because of her personality…
I believe in the 1960 the D party decided to include women into the party structure by “rule” . I was taught in college in sociology class that women’s rights movements seem to coincide with blacks rights movements in order to prevent black men from succeeding in achieving equality. Women’s rights are theoretically a blocking action to prevent black men from achieving equality.
A black women was considered a two for one hire checking off the women and minorities check box simultaneously…
(My goal is to Not make anyone uncomfortable.)
I'm going to emphatically disagree with you on this one, not just because I stand with my LGBTQ brethren but because this administration is using violations of this group's rights as a warm up and precedent for violating other people's rights. Once successful, they WILL branch out.
Right now, the state department is not only refusing to honor gender change requests, for example, they are holding the vital documents of the people who have gender differences with what they were assigned at birth and still keeping the hundreds of dollars people paid whem submitting their applications. If we let this stand, they can pick some other arbitrary measure next, deny you identification you need, and confiscate all your documents. This is just one of many examples. You should be livid about these violations not specifically because these people are LGBTQ but because nobody should be subjected to that treatment by the government.
This topic is very valid for the individual of those persuasions ; as a topic for a national election it is irrelevant.
The D party structure is oriented toward these little issues and misses the main area of concern the personal economy of the voters. Genitalia politics and sexual politics are single issue subjects that most citizens the actual voters DO NOT care about.
Getting lost in the personal pronoun jungle is a typical dispersion of the D Party energy in at best a peripheral issue.
( please don’t interpret this as an attack on any of the individuals who prefer a pronoun battle) my personal pronoun is “Almighty “ but I can’t get any traction with my friends…
Perhaps personal pronouns should be remain strictly personal…
One other thing if the government wants you Dead it’s certain you will be dead , harassed, taxed, imprisoned, whatever they want to do to you.
That’s what musk (hail, Caesar Nazi salute) wants your information for , that and a database that will be used to sell you stuff and or persecute you.
Absolutely, Broga! Never give up! Never surrender!
I know that line. 😉
One's personal commitment to oneself requires no "agreement" with any one else.
I know someone here who has been altering and marking up used clothing with political messages and distributing them for years as well.
I wonder how many ignorant MAGAs thought they would be exempt from Trump's massive cruelty and destruction?!
I gather from Maddow, et. al. MSNBC that Trump states are noticing how much USAID trade counts. Cue "Panic in River City!"
Wow, that's a loaded question!
It would be SO easy to focus on the "ignorant" part, and I could write for days (from here in the absolute (metaphorical and literal) darkness of rural South Carolina.)
LOL, as could I about 'those here in Michissippistan.'
In the libertarian words of Rand Paul...
"I Thought We Voted For America First"
Can he not remember that the purge of "thinking" was enacted right between those for "compassion" and "Jesus"?
All of them, Barbara! Why? Because they foolishly decided to idolize a truly bad and evil man!
Thank you for this. I'm in the DMV area, and many federal employees who live here are being victimized by these goons. Aside from the economical threats to their livelihood, there is massive psychological harm being inflicted. These people have done nothing wrong. They keep the federal government running.
I know of this damage. I was laid off two years ago from a state institution during a purge because I dared to speak out about bullies in leadership. My layoff was done under the guise of a reorganization so I couldn't argue retaliation. That ended my 20-year career there. As an older person, I could not find another position. There have many repercussions to my mental health.
I am so concerned that these human beings who are collateral damage of these unconstitutional takeovers and destruction of our functioning government will have nowhere to go.
This has to stop.
I plan to enact Robert's plan today.
Here are some links to get you all started!
Here are links to contact various people and organizations:
Contact the DNC - https://democrats.org/contact-us/
Contact the DCCC - https://dccc.org/contact/
Boycott as much as possible. Look at this link for more information:
https://www.goodsuniteus.com
Who are my Congressional Leaders in Washington, DC?
https://www.congress.gov/members/find-your-member
Who are my State and Local Leaders? (This site is great, I checked it out)
https://myreps.datamade.us/#/?results_level=local,county,state,federal
Read more about the Constitution and your rights here: https://substack.com/@techiam
I have direct personal experience of my own when in comes to dealing with the illegal actions of employers, in my case, two public agencies.
One of the more 'amusing' aspects of one of them was when the employer, a public community college, was simultaneously claiming in arbitration that I was AND wasn't an employee. Fortunately, the person with the highest ethical standards that I encountered in that debacle was the arbitrator, who dismissed my grievance based on blown time lines, but in a way that sent the other 2 parties scrambling to get me back to work ASAP.
Among the many issues were nepotism, use of a public agency to promote the religious beliefs of administrators, plagiarism (from me), openly making racist jokes in faculty meetings (disputed by no one, BTW, as the instigator simultaneously rose from p/t faculty to a Dean of the college during the 8 year battle during which I had no work.)
This is the most helpful, proactive, announcement I’ve seen yet. Thank you. Over and over I’m begging online - don’t wait for someone else to save you - only The People can save Democracy. We need to save our Government, our Nation, and then we need to stay active and find real solutions to the very real problems we have in society. This is not a partisan issue nor should we allow anyone to try to make it such. One is either an American who is committed to protecting our Constitution and the absolute, inalienable rights of all people-human rights-that protect all of us, or one is against America. Change of any kind must always come from the people, via the means laid out by the Constitution. no one in the government has the right nor has been granted the power to take over our government and ignore the Constitution.
It doesn’t matter if you are left or right, Democrat, Republican or Independent. You are an American. Whatever complaints or critique one has of our government, know that you have no rights, no Constitutional Protections if we stand by & allow President Trump & Elon Musk to simply ignore the Constitution and laws approved by Congress The Constitution cannot protect us if it can be waved off, dismissed and contradicted at will by anyone who decides they are above the law.
In fact, I believe we should make it clear to any person elected, appointed or employed by the Federal Government and who has taken a pledge to respect and protect the Constitution, that we will hold them accountable if they carry out clearly illegal or unconstitutional actions. It doesn’t matter if the President or any one claiming to speak for him orders you to engage in an illegal or unconstitutional action; there is no excuse.
I’m not sure that we should even accept any unprecedented SCOTUS majority ruling that significantly alters the standard interpretation of Constitutional Law in support of the Presidents and Elon Musks coup of the United States of America.
And I agree whole heartedly with Dr Reich. More people in America did not vote for Donald Trump for President than did. The President does not have a mandate, nor does he represent most American’s interests (sadly his behavior will not serve the interests of most of the people who voted for him, either)
Be Strong, Be Steady, Be Courageous. Together.
It was heartening to see several of the nationwide protests yesterday. Already, there is a backlash to the Felon-in-Chief's actions and Musk's coup, which I heard has already resulted in this administration pulling back from this tactic. Your list is very helpful, I watched Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio Cortez's YouTube video where she outlined many of the steps you indicated and has a toolkit with palm cards explaining immigrant rights. One thing she shared is that an immigrants can demand to see a judicial warrant that must be si6by a judge, any other legal-looking document will not suffice and the person so served can refuse to let the ICE agent in and can tell them to leave, and, if necessary, say they will call their attorney. The people are already beginning to fight back and information such ax yous gives us the tools to do so. The Congresswoman added that she will regularly be communicating with us through her YouTube channel for the next few years. She is exhibiting true leadership and a concern, not only for her own constituents, but for the nation as a whole.
But one question I would have is this - what kinds of "protections" exist if the response of the 'government agents' to that request is violence, and an insistence that they have no obligation at all to behave "in a legal fashion?"
EXACTLY!!! The entire regime has shown they don't care about laws and human decency!
I believe that is where we come in, Eugene. We must fight for them. Get them attorneys and go to court. Every single time!
About donations: is there a reason Democracy Docket is not on the list? I appreciate the list, since trying to figure out solid targets is a concern.
Inequality Media should be at the top of everyone’s donation list. Being a paid subscriber is essential to their ability to spread the truth, but don’t let yourself be limited to just that. When you have an opportunity, dig deep into your pockets and send a an additional much needed check.
Marc, my income is extremely limited. If the orange man and his sidekick do away with Social Security and Medicare, well, basically, I am in the soup! I will only have a very small retirement. I guess I will be homeless as will so many others. I do understand we need to dig deep and every single dollar I have extra, I donate to one of the groups or organizations that are working so very hard for us!
We don’t need to give money if we don’t have it. Don’t feel bad. There are many who have plenty and are supporting these organizations. I’m retired and we are okay so far. I fear our investments will be worthless soon. I can always renew my RN license if I have to. Lots of nursing homes near me.
I agree! Democracy Docket and Marc Elias should be added to the list.
Thank you Robert for your insightful wisdom and practical suggestions dealing with Trump and Republicans.
What we are seeing with the initial assaults on USAID (money going to Black and Muslim countries), on transgender & LGBTQ, on firing the Coast Guard head who is a woman is clearly the white fundamentalist Christian nationalist - white supremacy biblical playbook. Trump’s nominee for OMB is representative of the objective to turn the US into a theocracy. Here is a clear, unambiguous message that Dems must give and do so constantly and vigorously: the first freedom enumerated in the First Amendment is the freedom FROM religion.
"We will fight shoulder to shoulder, every day, and we will win in the end. The truth will prevail. Love will prevail over hate. Democracy will prevail over fascism."
"Intelligence will prevail over ignorance and stupidity."
Yes! Yes! Yes!
Quotes from?
I think it was from Meidas Touch.
I can only speak for myself, but here are 34 things I'm doing because I owe it to government employees, elected officials, journalists, and vloggers who are risking their lives by speaking out. I moved from being a PASSIVE viewer/reader to an ACTIVE viewer/reader. My action list consists of 34 things I'm doing - not every day, of course. Perhaps there is an idea in here you can modify, improve, use, and share:
(1) Remain laser-focused on what matters; in this case, the ABCDEs of crises the US faces right now - four of which impact the entire world, especially our allies:
---Authoritarian rule by tech billionaires driven by Curtis Yarvin (proponent of TESCREAL) and Christian extremists driven by Christian reconstructionism and dominionism.
---BRICS competition, pushback, and de-dollarization, which will lead to a hot or cold war(s).
---Climate change and contagious disease catastrophes.
---Disrupting and dismantling of "the people's" assets; e.g. FBI, USPS, Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, etc.
---Economic crash worse than 2008.
(2) Expect to be scared. Rosa Parks was scared. Bishop Budde was scared. Dietrich Bonhoeffer was scared. Tip: Take a deep breath for 4 seconds, then slowly exhale for 4 seconds. Repeat until fear subsides.
(3) Control yourself in groups or on Zoom calls. Now is not the time to express how scared and overwhelmed you are. Now is not the time to editorialize about something the speaker said to which you agree. Why would you waste precious time doing this? We're all overwhelmed and scared! No one cares that you agree and why! Focus! Wait until the end of the meeting to contribute tips, tools, and facts that contribute, not facts that simply prove how smart you are.
(4) Keep an action item list on your desktop to capture actions inspired by what you're reading/viewing.
(5) Limit the amount of time you spend on social media to no more than two hours per day.
(6) Do your best to stay on top of the massive amount of information coming out of Washington, DC, Ottawa, and our state capitals. You might want to focus on only the A and D in the crises list above.
(7) Expect to make mistakes, typos, missteps, goofs and gaffs. Expect others to do the same. Get over it and move on. Continuous improvement is the name of the game!
(8) Do not get distracted by nay-sayers, nitpickers, perfectionists, pessimists, whiners, moaners, and people who suffer from SPITR syndrome (smartest person in the room). Ignore or make one remark/comment and move on! For example:
Someone on Bluesky: There are no "good" billionaires. You: Disagree! Don't have time to debate - there's a coup in progress.
Friend on Facebook: We need a new party! Dems, Repubs, and the Green Party got us to where we are today. You: Agree, but there is a coup in progress. It's time to unite from Marxists through sane Repubs. Friend on Facebook: Marxism isn't a political party. You: (ignore, the person got your point but has SPITR syndrome)
Someone on Bluesky: It's not a coup, it's a highjack. You: Don't have time to debate labels, there's a coup/highjack in progress. Better? (ignore response)
Someone on Bluesky: Until it's determined that it's a coup, we should refrain from alarmist thinking. You: They never come right out and say "We're doing a coup." Don't have time for history books to be written. Don't have time to debate. Have a nice day! (ignore response)
(9) Get into the habit of copying and pasting your comments from one social media platform to another, e.g. copy and paste what you post on Substack to Facebook.
(continued)
(10) Subscribe to magazines and newsletters that provide reliable information: ACLU, Indivisible, Move On, ProPublica, Talking Points Memo, The Guardian, Business Insider, Consortium News, Labor Notes, The American Prospect, Economic Policy Center, Americans for Tax Fairness, The Atlantic, Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, The Lever, Naked Capitalism, The New Yorker, Democratic Socialists of America. If you can afford to, pay for a subscription because now more than ever we must support independent media. TIP: If donating, you often don't have to donate the amounts listed. Look for a blank field where you can input $3-5 if that's all you can afford.
(11) Subscribe to informative and inspiring writers on Substack - avoid the negative and divisive; excellent writers to follow include Charlie Angus, Heather Cox Richardson, Matthew Yglesias, MeidasTouch, Paul Krugman, Rick Wilson, Robert Hubbell, Robert Reich, Seth Abramson - Proof, The Fucking News, Zeteo. TIP: Look for them on Bluesky.
(12) Subscribe to informative and inspiring YouTube channels: Bill Kristol, Democracy Docket, Democracy Now!, Lincoln Project, MeidasTouch Network, MSNBC, Robert Reich, Secular Talk, Senator Bernie Sanders, The Bulwark, The Majority Report, The Warning - Steve Schmidt, many of the news organizations listed above. TIP: Look for them on Bluesky.
(13) Start an Indivisible group in your neighborhood or county. Recently, a woman in a remote part of Maine worked with Indivisible to do this. The Indivisible representative told her to expect two people to show up to the first meeting; instead, 20+ people showed up. TIP: Constantly promote your activity via emails, texts, and social media at least twice per week. Invite people to join.
(14) Start a special interest book club for people who are interested in politics, social issues, economics, and history.
(15) Delete the US oligarchs out of your life; e.g. instead of Google Chrome use Ecosia (German).
(16) Input all of your elected officials (county, state, national) into your contact list so you can quickly make calls every week; go to usa.gov/elected-officials for the contact information of all your elected officials from the mayor to POTUS.
(17) Contact via phone and email elected officials (state, national), governor, attorney general, representatives and senators, legislative committee chairs and ranking chairs, government agency heads, business heads, banking heads, the Fed, etc. Calmy and briefly convey your complaints or support. Always prepare a short script and save your scripts, letters, and email content. Here's a script you can modify and use right now:
"This is a Constitutional crisis...this is coup. I urge you to fight Trump’s illegal funding freezes, terminations, and takeovers...
--Oppose Trump nominees.
--Deny requests for Unanimous Consent.
--Oppose Cloture Votes.*
--Request a Quorum Call at every opportunity."
* Senate only
(18) Start, sign, and circulate petitions.
(19) Write letters to the editor using the scripts and emails you've saved.
(20) Attend local events/meetings; e.g. city council meetings, town halls, Chamber of Commerce events, etc.
(21) Attend rallies and sit-ins. If you can't attend, go to the organizer's website or subReddit and look for other things you can do to support the rally or sit-in. At the very least you can spread the word on social media.
(22) Be ready to stand up to MAGAs who will be in attendance at events, meetings, and rallies. Loudly and firmly make one statement, then let the person/people in charge take control.
(23) Boycott companies that support Trump-Musk or are anti-worker; this involves multiple calls/emails to the companies you're boycotting letting them know you're boycotting and why; "But I don't have an Amazon account!" Doesn't matter - they don't need to know that; just write/say "I will never buy from Amazon now or in the future because..."
(24) Share your letters, emails, and phone scripts on social media so others can be inspired to do the same and so they don't have to reinvent the wheel.
(25) Meet one-on-one with your elected officials from sheriff to senator.
(26) Present/Train at political events/meetings; this will require multiple calls/emails to get on the agenda, but it can be done.
(27) Show up for Zoom calls organized by various activist groups and political movements; e.g. MoveOn, Indivisible, Democratic Socialists of America, etc.
(28) Offer a ride to your elderly or disabled neighbors who might want to attend events, meetings, town halls, etc.
(29) Start a GoFundMe campaign. This requires you regularly promote it via social media, emails, and text messages twice per week.
(30) Join union picket lines.
(31) Contact the union and ask: What can I do to support you? Want me to organize a boycott? Who do you want me to call?
(32) Contact worker unions and encourage them to divest stock in Tesla and SpaceX from their pension funds.
(33) Donate what you can to worthy causes such as the ACLU, Internet Archives, Wikipedia, etc. Musk is already targeting Wikipedia - look it up.
(34) Watch documentaries and movies to motivate yourself and give you ideas about what else you can do. All of these are free on YouTube: Alone in Berlin, FRONTLINE: Age of Easy Money, the rally at the US Treasury on February 4, Sophie Scholl – The Final Days, Capitalism: A Love Story, The Internet's Own Boy, The Pentagon Papers, Bonhoeffer, and more.
What else?
Let us know when you run for office; I think you might be one of the SPITR...
With this being the comments section on the internet, I can't tell whether you've given me a compliment or criticism. If it's a compliment, I appreciate your kindness and I really am not that smart - just had the pleasure of working with a lot of smart people over the years. If it's a criticism, that's okay too. It tells me I need to adjust how I'm communicating online.
Great list, I took notes 😉
Yay! Please let me know if you have anything to add because I'm moving so fast that I don't know which way is up!
Sound advice. Don't waste time and effort arguing non essentials. Stay focused on the ball: power.
You got it! It’s difficult for me to resist, but hopefully it will become easier as time goes by. It helps limiting my social media time to two hours per day; that way, I have no choice but to ignore ignore unproductive comments. Don’t get me wrong! I want tips, techniques, tools, and useful facts because “none of us is as smart as all of us” and continuous improvement is the name of the game. But it’s up to me to be on-guard for potential time-wasters. Have a super day and be safe!