Spoiler: it’s not much of a plan.
He points out the magnitude of the problem: Trump has the backing of billionaires, who are rushing to fund his every desire; he has the media under his control; he’s a master of the “big lie”; he does not believe in democracy, at all. That’s what we have to overcome.
What do we have? We have high aspirations and grand values.
Healthcare is a human right and must be available to all regardless of income.
Every worker in America is entitled to earn a decent income. We must raise the minimum wage to a living wage and make it easier for workers to join unions.
We must have the best public educational system in the world, from childcare to vocational training, to graduate school – available to all.
We must address the housing crisis and build the millions of units of low-income and affordable housing that we desperately need.
We must create millions of good paying jobs as we lead the world in combating the existential threat of climate change.
We must abolish all forms of bigotry.
Great! But I’m 3/4 of the way through his essay, and he hasn’t said how we will accomplish that. In the final few paragraphs, he gives us one goal: we have to defeat one particular and particularly significant bill.
In the coming weeks the Republicans in Congress will be bringing forward a major piece of legislation, a “reconciliation” bill, that encapsulates the value system of greed and their obedience to oligarchy. It is the economic essence of Trumpism.
At a time of unprecedented income and wealth inequality, this legislation will provide trillions of dollars in tax breaks to the richest people in our country. It will make the rich even richer. At a time when the working class of this country is struggling to put food on the table and pay for housing, this legislation will make savage cuts to Medicaid, housing, nutrition, education and other basic needs. It will make the poor even poorer.
That’s it? Defeat this one bill? You know, I don’t get to vote on it, this legislation is entirely in the hands of the current crop of elected congresspeople, and we already know that a lot of them are spineless simps who will bow down before authority. I am confident my senators will oppose it, and that my representative is a terrible Republican MAGA-head who will support it. This is a plan that leaves me helpless, only pawn in game of life.
It also reflects a naive confidence in the rule of law. Trump is busy trampling over the Constitution, issuing executive orders that are both illegal and in defiance of all political norms, and we’re supposed to think that one political setback in congress will stop him? He doesn’t respect congress or democracy. The only thing that will stop him would be for the police/FBI/whatever to intervene, arrest him and his cronies, and lock them all up. We know that no one in government will have the spine to do what needs to be done.
But sure. I’ll tell my representatives to vote against the reconciliation bill. I hope it fails.
Now what do we do about the gutting of NSF and NIH, the dismantling of the parks service, the dissolution of the board of education, the selling out of Ukraine to Putin, the alienation of all of our allies in the world, and on and on and on?
But, the MAGATs have the Gulf of America and plastic straws! What more do they need?
The Rule of Law is dead. Dead. Dead.
I’ve already outlined at least two possible ways out of a dictatorship of the Red States.
Once again.
,1, The Blue states could get together and form their own national coalition. Secede maybe.
The Blue states have a lot of power, most of the economy and roughly half the population with 173 million people.
The Red states have won and taken over.
Out and loud white racists and misogynists now rule over us as dictators.
So why should the Blue states remain part of the USA?
I can’t see any reason to.
The Blue states could just get together and say, we are leaving, bye now.
We will keep our tax money for ourselves.
We won’t join you in reversing history and living in the 1800s before the first Civil War.
This is a win-win situation.
The Red states hate us anyway, so they get rid of a bunch of democracy loving, over educated white and nonwhite people.
The Blue states get to skip the Fascist stage and whatever dark places they are going to.
This wouldn’t require any violence whatsoever.
The Red states might even throw us a nice farewell party.
We are after all, the only thing in the way of their 1,000 year reich of death and slavery.
If the USA is over with, why should we remain a part of a Fascist dictatorship that doesn’t like us and we don’t want them either?
.2. The second alternative is well known.
Even dictatorships require the consent and cooperation of the ruled.
When enough people have had enough, they go away.
The examples are all around us and well known.
The USSR was the other superpower and one day, they collapsed.
East Germany with their police state.
All the captive nations of Eastern Europe.
We just saw what happened to the dictator of Syria. Bashar al-Assad was willing to kill hundreds of thousands of his citizens, use poison gas on them, exile millions. In the end, his rule collapsed because no one thought it was worth fighting for any more.
There are 346 million of us in the USA.
If most of us get together, instead of supporting the regime with our taxes, we could get rid of the fascists.
Yeah, I know that is a big “if”.
Not saying it will happen but definitely that it could happen.
It’s a concept of a plan, so it meets the standards of our era, methinks.
To summarize, Rule of Law is dead. Dead. Dead.
The other thing the Trump/GOP fascists are doing is ignoring the courts.
That makes Trump a dictator ruling by decree.
If the Trump reich, just ignores the courts, then the court system is also dead.
He can do that.
The courts don’t have any enforcement powers of their own.
That is under the president.
What are the courts going to do, call the FBI, which Trump controls?
It also sets up a legal precedent.
Anyone can ignore the courts as long as they can get away with it.
Including the US Supreme court.
The US Supreme court might well have just made enough bad rulings to rule themselves out of their job.
FWIW, there is and was a perfectly legal way to kill USAID, the Education Department, and Medicaid.
Congress set those up and they could pass laws tomorrow that abolish them and redirect that funding.
The GOP controls both branches of congress and that makes this immediately possible. (Forget the 60 vote rule in the senate. They could repeal that too.)
Trump and the GOP didn’t do that because they wanted to see how far they could go towards setting up a dictatorship.
Which as it turned out was very far in a very short period of time.
We in the “West”, and USians in particular, have been worshiping electoralism and individual action so much that we are unable to solve anything outside that lens.
(And before anyone comments: yes I vote and voting is a good thing. Just don’t spend too much energy on it.)
We have lost the ability, the skills and the culture that allows us to act as a group.
Divided into individuals, we’re powerless.
This is why everyone is saying that you should join a union, an activist group, a mutual-aid network.
Me, as and lone person, can’t do shit.
But us, as a group, can start asserting some weight.
We’re the 99%. Numbers are the only force multiplier we have. We urgently need to rebuild the ability to wield our numbers.
Sanders is a good and well-meaning person, but he’s been a huge disappointment since about 2016. His lack of an actual plan here is a consequence of his relative alienation from most of the groups who would form an effective opposition to Trumpism.
Just for starters, why isn’t he talking about the socio-economic performance of Democrat-run States relative to that of Republican-run States? Why isn’t he mentioning Democratic governors who might step up to lead any sort of progressive comeback?
Sanders isn’t a credible leader; he’s just a cantankerous old man, and he clearly doesn’t have the energy to take a real stand against today’s fascism.
Its NOT one bill that needs to be defeated. It is an entire tyrannical regime. At least two cults – the Trump and Musk ones – and the sorry stinking decayied to putrid ooze remnants of the former Repug party still calling themselves by that name but reduced to a sad rubber stamp tool of the most unpleasant fascist dictator(s) (or two) now openly calling himself a king and madder and nastier by far than Briatin’s George III ever was.
Voter suppression and a totally fouled up (former) political has also meant citizens have been paying taxes withourt getting legitimate representation too.
________________________________ ^system.
Political system.
What’s going to be interesting is what happens when they make serious cuts to social security, Medicare and Medicaid. Seniors are disproportionately Republican and they voted for Trump. Will that be enough to cause rebellion in the GOP ranks, or will that just meekly be accepted too?
Look at Poland. The Poles successfully overthrew a would-be autocratic government that looked indefeatable just a few years ago.
And they did not allow the government to ‘normalise’ the situation.
.
Also: The Economy. The Economy. The Economy. Obama restored the employment numbers, but it was shitty low-paid jobs. The economic growth went where it always goes, to the top 1%. The voters chose the lying thug that prerended he would change everything.
Then Biden came and restored part of the economy. Rhinse and repeat. Without real economic improvement for ordinary people, the Republicans come back, like cancer or mildew.
.
The courts: The constitution allows the SCOTUS to be expanded. Biden naturally went in promising he would NOT change anything. That went well.
.
The old men and women leading the Drmocratic party, most of them millionaires isolated fromthe pain of trickle-down economic. The have no skin in the fight. Most of them want the status quo, preferably the way the was under Bill Clinton.
You need a new generation who understand the status quo is dead and a systemuc change is needed.
When I am upset, I get tpyos. Sorry.
I am waiting to see what happens when doggie decides that with our new dictator herr trumpelthinskin the first that we no longer need such a massive and weighty court system and start with sending out the “you are fired” notices beginning with the robbers court. Why should we need them to determine the laws when he is the sole ruler of us all.And just think how much money can then be funneled to his co-ruler for the projects that are such more important like his attempts to make all means of transportation explode.
freeline@9–
They’ll just blame progressives, “wokeism”, immigrants, DEI. Anything but the people responsible.
Wondering that myself.
Two groups that might have worked themselves out of their jobs are the US Supreme court and the GOP.
.1. If Trump/Musk are dictators ruling by decree and ignoring the courts, then…why do we even need the Federal court system?
Especially, the US Supreme court of Roberts, Alito, Thomas, Barrett, etc..
If you can just ignore rulings you don’t like, then the US Supreme court has made themselves useless and ruled themselves out of their own job.
Which means overturning Roe versus Wade is potentially irrelevant if no one can enforce it.
.2. The other group that has potentially ended their own job is the GOP. If congress won’t enforce the laws that they passed and assert their constitutional powers to determine spending of tax money, then why do we need a congress and what function does the GOP have?
The GOP becomes a powerless rubber stamp to whatever weird thoughts pop up in what passes for the minds of Trump and Musk.
The GOP has no power at the national level right now. None.
And the bigger problem is that CNN is now reporting that Trump’s approval ratings have never been higher. We’re still stuck with this is what the voters want. Or think they do.
Until that changes, nothing to do except ride it out.
Can we PLEASE stop talking about red states versus blue states? That was a media framing to help explain the Electoral College to election night TV viewers from a couple of decades ago. It does not reflect reality. Any talk of secession or splitting up the states or even another civil war doesn’t work. I live in one of the “bluest” states, New York (and I’m damn happy that I do). But the county I live in voted for tRump 70/30. At the same time, we can look at so-called “red” states and find counties/cities that voted for Harris. This is much closer to an urban-rural divide instead of a state-state divide. So, sure, let’s say New England, NY and NJ form a new country. How well do you think that’s going to play with the guys down the street from me who had the big tRump signs out on their lawns? The inverse is true for many large cities in “red” states.
I think Sanders’ overall message is a winning one. The Dems need to get back to their FDR roots, and do so strongly and unapologetically. The problem is that after they lost mightily to Reagan in the 80s, they decided to cozy up to Wall St. (thanks Bill, thanks DLC), thinking that working people would have no choice but to continue to vote for them. Apparently, they never figured that the GOP would just lie to working people that the GOP was on their side. Dems need to attack on every front, non-stop. They need to get their message out in the media. Propose bills that help working people, even if there is no chance that they’ll pass the current Congress. Make the GOP defend their positions every minute. Make them put their stance on the record, and then clobber them with it, repeatedly. Poll after poll show that the messages pushed by Sanders and other Progressives resonant with working people. This is a winning path, but it won’t be done by the current ossified Dem leaders. There need to be young, dynamic, intelligent and articulate people acting as the face of the party. That’s not Chuck. (And someone, anyone, PLEASE tell him to take those damn half lens readers off of his nose.)
@15: CNN is hoping that by kissing Trump’s ring, he’ll spare them.
It will not work.
I’ve been trimming back the media sources I’ve been using; CNN isn’t on my list anymore.
Actually, Trump’s latest polling now has him with a majority disapproving at 52% and an approval of 47%.
This poll is from today, February 20, 2025.
He doesn’t have the support of a majority of the US population.
@2 raven:
The problem is that a significant fraction of Democratic voters are potatoes like Jerry Coyne who are actually center-right and politically ignorant. They will never agree to secede because they are waiting for Trump to “go away” and for things to “go back to normal”. Also, they are afraid of the “radical left” and they have nightmares of someone peeing in women’s toilet potentially with a penis, or some shit like that.
@ 19
That’s more of less plot synopsis.
Waiting for certain people to arrive to sagely tell us that all of this was a tragic but necessary sacrifice to punish “Genocide Joe” and eggs and omelettes and all that. Also Trump’s plan to ethnically cleanse Gaza is somehow Hillary’s fault.
Hmm, haven’t seen them around lately. Maybe Muskolini’s DOUCHE decided they are no longer needed and put them out to pasture.
So all the things the Democrats (plus Bernie, who carpools with them) should have done when they were in power . . . are “real” priorities? Ho-hum. This is what they always do. They pretend that Republicans threaten the very institutions that Democrats failed to provide us.
Can we handcuff Bernie to Trump and push them both off a tall building already?
Also, it was creepy enough when Democrats started slithering up against the three letter agencies. Now they’re constantly braying out these conservative dog whistles like “rule of law.” There’s still plenty of room for you on the left, everyone. No need to try to blend in with Republicans.
@2 raven wrote: The Rule of Law is dead. Dead. Dead.
I reply: you are so correct. The MUMP (prof. Snyder: MUsk+truMP) aholes Already Are Ignoring All laws and court orders. All the words in the world won’t stop them. At the end of last year my organization laid it all out: omnigma.org/What_Future_Will_We_Face.mp4
Bernie has good intentions, but even he lied in 2016 when he promised he would stay in the presidential race. He rolled over and peed on himself like a puppy when the DNC told him to.
I defy anyone to contradict my assertion: this country is in a death spiral!
For anyone who might want the direct link:
http://omnigma.org/What_Future_Will_We_Face.mp4 it’s only 2 min. long
Forget the dream of the FBI storming in and arresting the miscreants. Kash Patel has just been approved as director of the FBI.
Democrats haven’t yet realised that MAGA are playing in a completely different game. They seem to think that politics as usual, operating in the normal structures of democracy, is still where America is at. There were probably opposition parties in Germany in 1933 who believed the same.
PZ @ #26 There was a dream? I never dream.
jimf @ 16 -THANK YOU! There’s all this talk about red states vs. blue states, without much thought given to the fact that there are people who vote blue in red states and vice versa. No one voted for what’s going on right now. I suspect most people in Wyoming voted on the economy and immigration (which means they either weren’t paying attention to the campaigns or lacked the capacity to understand, and in far too many cases, both), but they did not vote to have people rifling through their data and deciding they were making too much money. I am so sick of hearing, “Well, let’s just secede,” as an answer to our problems because it’s just another way of saying that people of opposite views (and the rest of us who just happen to live here) are easily expendable. I’m tired of being an afterthought.
@ 26
Now the FBI is only going to storm in and arrest people like us.
Hey, drew, how do you manage to type with your head firmly stuck up your own ass?
If you live in Wyoming, you already are an afterthought.
How often are your views represented or considered by the Wyoming state government? I’m sure it is around zero.
I at least provided two ways out of our present Death Spiral to the Trump/Musk dictatorship.
It’s so easy to criticize them.
Do you have any better ideas? Let’s hear them.
I’ve asked this before and no one had any.
PS BTW, the Blue states will have to replace a lot of the Federal government.
What Musk/Trump are doing are destroying the Central government.
With that power and responsibility vacuum, the states will have to step in.
They will have to provide the functions that the EPA, USDA, FDA, FAA, Dept. of Education, etc.. once provided.
They can easily end up as de facto if not de jure, quasi governments with their own power centers.
This is similar to what the Red states have been doing since they lost the Civil War in 1865.
Autobor Silverwynde @ 17
By spelling out news sources to be suppressed Trump is doing us a favor.
“Trump Identifies Reliable American News”
.https://youtube.com/watch?v=a9qfmtV_8OE
@raven – Especially, the US Supreme court of Roberts, Alito, Thomas, Barrett, etc..
If you can just ignore rulings you don’t like, then the US Supreme court has made themselves useless and ruled themselves out of their own job.
Pretty ironic, since they are no longer needed, their federal jobs can be terminated. Where is DOGE when you need them? They will be kept around though, as a rubber stamp to anything Trump wants. A facade of justice, just how Trump likes it.
That’s what I’ve been telling my elected officials. How long do they think it will be until Trump and Musk come for their jobs? Not that it matters much, since all 3 of them are already millionaires (and the youngest, Harriet Hageman, is 63). We Dems aren’t quite afterthoughts in the state, thanks to Albany and Teton Counties. They may not listen to me, but I fully intend to be a thorn in the sides of of our senators and representative.
What I think the USA most needs right now is a counter-coup. The military & intelligence agencies need to step in and do what the law, SCOTUS and Congress has failed to do.
Arrest and jail Trump, Musk and all their collaborators. Reboot Democracy after a year or two with new clear and fair rules added including one person one vote, preferential voting enabled and no voter suppression or gerrymandering. No Trump cultists or Repugs to ever be allowed to run anything ever again. New rules to prevent anyTrump type figure seizing power ever again and to ensure all Congresscritters and political candidates accept and understand scientific reality, critical thinking and civics.
Yes, its drastic but given everything else has failed, what else is there? What other better options?
The Musktrump regime isn’t legitimate and is a domstic enemy and clear and present danger to the (Late?) United States of America.
I don’t think this will happen tho’ I keep hoping.
Meanwhile the rest of the world needs to stand up and oppose and run not walk away from the Musktrump USA as it rapidly implodes and destroys itself. The USA needs to be seen as a warning and a bad example to be avoided not followed. The world should however welcome refugeees from the now former USA.
( if there was any justice and realistic possibility the rest of the world should try to consider a regime change operation but given the rogue superpowers military might and nukes can’t really see that working.)
Also things I wish will happen but don’t yet seem to be happening and may not occur.
@23 & #22. drew
“Slithering up against” huh? What do you mean? Do you mean the Democratic President(s) and govt controlling the agencies and running them as opposed to what, Musk doing so or them running themselves without govt control?
They’re not. The democratic party is votiung against Trump appointees who -spoler – wer eprojecting their own wishes and goals onto the democratic party and are actually weaponising the DOJ, etc..
You think “rule of law” is purely a conservative notion / thing? I don’t.
I don’t think its any “pretense” here when it comes to the threat the repugs are to the USA’s democratic and civic politico-social institutions. Are you in denial about what Musktrump have done in just the first month in unchecked power?
@21. AugustusVerger : “Waiting for certain people to arrive to sagely tell us that all of this was a tragic but necessary sacrifice to punish “Genocide Joe” and eggs and omelettes and all that. Also Trump’s plan to ethnically cleanse Gaza is somehow Hillary’s fault.”
Vicar flounced and seems to have stuck the flounce, beholder has been awfully quiet lately I agree.
Happening live on YT right now Bernie Sanders Fighting Oligarchy. started 8 mins ago.
@ ^
Good link, Stevo.
This is why there is a clause in the constitution about a well regulated malitia having the right to bear arms. So armed the malitia can march on government when it is populated by those that do not follow the constitution and forcibly remove them.
The drews of this world would be applauding and saluting if Mump were trashing the Constitution in the interests of whatever supposedly leftist groupuscule he currently puts his faith in, and is too stupid to realise they would still only be doing it in their own interests, or at best would shortly be succeeded by those who were (see USSR, PRC, Vietnam, Venezuela, etc.).