This is excellent and helpful. One thing: the overused and often misused phrase "push back," which did not exist in our vernacular a decade or so ago. It seems especially inappropriate in this historic moment What is needed from Democrats and democrats of all political persuasion is not "pushback," but condemnation, resistance, and confrontation. Stronger, more substantive verbiage please.
Democrats need to get ahead of the story and craft the narrative before R's get a chance. The old adage about a lie going halfway around the world before the truth wakes up holds true.
The latest example of that is the Airline crash Press Conference by Trump. Standard MAGA playbook blaming someone, not them. D's could have been out front bringing up questions about Trump's Cuts impacting safety : 20Jan - FAA Director Fired, 21Jan - ATC Hiring Frozen, 22Jan - Aviation Safety Advisory Committee Disbanded, 28Jan - Buyout/Retirement demand sent to existing employees.....
Thank you very much! Among the insurgency's weaknesses is its predictability. We knew exactly how Trump would twist the DCA crash, and Dem leadership should have pre-empted him.
"He told you a week ago that he'd 'Restored Excellence and Safety' to the FAA, and this is his idea of keeping you safe. When that coward bothers to show up behind a microphone, you won't hear a thing about how he failed you. He'll find someone to blame and point his stubby finger at them. You wouldn't accept that from your children. We all expect more from the President." Something like that.
Sure, a message that punchy elides some important details, but it's a knife at a knife fight. And it strikes me as the sort of thing that'll be necessary if we're to put qualified, sane people back in positions of power.
Yes! Totally agree that language is important. "Push back" is too vague as is the waaay overused "fight!" I"m so tired of hearing my representatives say "we will fight" -- what I need from them now is to hear--with specificity-- how they are defending our Constitution and protecting our rights. They need to significantly shift their strategy and tactics from how they responded in previous administrations!
A very insightful commentary and analysis , Jen, highlighting what must be done, and something many of us have understood for years. This amplifies it beautifully. Democrats - and I'm not exempting myself - have been much too passive. That has to stop, the day before yesterday. Everyone is in a unique position, and that includes each of us at the grassroots level. Never forget that, not even for a second; I'm not lecturing, but rather preaching to myself as well. We'll also need crisis management, such as in the early aftermath of the plane/helicopter crash in DC, the city I work in, and in future crises locally and globally. No part in this massive restoration effort is too small.
Excellent analysis -- those of us with Dem senators and congresscritters should send them Jen's post, or at least a blunt summary of it. We have to force Dems, as Hamilton Nolan put it (citation below), to prove through action that they are not pieces of shit.
Communications 101: Godfrey Daniels, that Jen even has to make this point underscores how badly Dems are missing the boat. There have been more opportunities than I can count on one hand just in the ten days since the First Felon took office for Dems to flood the zone with their own blunt condemnations and exposés of the lies and hypocrisies. Seize the narrative, for cryin' out loud!
Don't just tell people what happened and how it's part of the anti-democratic takeover blah blah blah -- also explain to constituents in everyday language how it's going to affect _them_, the working folks, their children who need food or who have special needs, the people without access to private health care, and on and on. What's the "So what?" for the folks waiting at the bus stop, struggling to both pay rent and buy groceries? Make it quick, vivid, specific, and real. Dem and Dem spokespeople should be appearing on Bluesky, broadcasts, podcasts, Substacks, mainstream TV, in town halls, in impromptu press conferences, in staged publicity events multiple times a day, _every_fricking_day_. Point 5, Get Beyond the Bubble, also speaks to this.
Nominees: I'm of a much harder line here, much more of the Hank Stamper "Never give a goddamn inch" thinking (recall Kesey's _Sometimes a Great Notion_). Don't cooperate with _anything_ until Rs start behaving like decent, moral people who commit to following the rule of law. Use every procedural means -- denying requests for unanimous consent, opposing cloture votes, and everything else in the book -- to block, obstruct, delay, dilute, and otherwise mess with anything that is part of the First Felon's assault on the Constitution and the rule of law.
In short, Dems need to be the Loyal Opposition: stand up, loudly fight for our Constitution, and show the people why the present administration is so unfit and how everyday folks are already starting to suffer under it.
Be careful with absolutes. I recall vividly the same remarks about a certain Barack Hussein Obama! They were wrong then and And I believe this kind of talk is wrong now. There were so many other factors involved other than her Southeast Asian womanness!
Democratic leadership must not only get out there in a timely fashion. They must also better differentiate between the forest and the leaves on the tree. Raskin is a model of focusing on what is important. Schiff used to but not lately. They also must talk in ways the public can understand. Enough of the dangers of the 2025 document. Start focusing on the dangers of specific actions which will hurt members of the public in ways they can relate to. Shaping every issue according to who won has to go. We have to focus on what helps and hurts the individual members of the public.
In this age of siloed information, Democratic politicians (the DNC, in particular) should be buying space on roadside billboards with short punchy messages, reminding drivers of Trump's lies, failures, crimes, and promises not delivered on. This is an information channel that breaks through to everyone in automobiles.
I'd love to see the Democrats buy multiple commercial slots during the Super Bowl. After all it's well understood to be the only programming that still generates a mass audience which cuts across multiple demographics. Of course this would require settling on an appealing message and crafting it in a way that can be understood in 30 seconds. It shouldn't be as hard to do so as it appears to be given the lack of messaging that would pass muster on these basic concepts.
Something interesting I read after the election pointed out a gaping hole in D's message delivery. To reach the low-information and/or low-income voter, you need to find the platforms that are free to the user. Low-income voters are not subscribing to cable, they are watching free streaming platforms like Tubi, etc. These platforms are full of ads and the ads are very cheap to purchase.
R's ran tons of ads on these platforms. We did not. Voters were subjected to a saturation of R propaganda because they had no choice. They could not afford to purchase streaming or cable and they wanted to watch TV. We need to get a lot smarter about where the votes are and stop preaching to the choir.
It may be too late to buy ads on the Super Bowl, which is February 9. We will know who the new Chairman will be this Saturday February 1. I would hope Dems would be able to buy ads for NCAA Basketball playoffs for both women and men’s tournaments. Then we have opening of baseball season and the NBA playoffs.
The visceral messages that always seem to subliminally work are the ones where XYZ product will give you a better life.
- Think the Coors billboard. ' Everyone "drinking Coors" has time at the beach, looking great with the perfect view and perfect friends or partner.'
- "Marlboro Man", The Rugged loners wanting NO gov't, up by the bootstraps. It was Reagan's go to for the testosterone response.
People are daft and buy into this imagery. DJT uses imagery to win on the lies by selling Casino hustle type lies that promise fortunes "if you just put another dollar *here* ".
I am writing my representatives at all levels of government, e.g. the local school board when it comes to opposing Trump's education agenda. We need to flood their inboxes with constituent messages, as much or perhaps even more so than social media.
Second, READ THE ROOM. I may share the beliefs of the most progressive members of the left wing on many issues, but I know better than to alienate the critical centrist voters with opinions framed in a way that are certain to accomplish exactly that. Give thought to framing opinions in ways that will win them over. I know it can be very self-satisfying to let loose, but that won't win the battle.
While I understand your point about centrist voters and reading the room, I think we need to dig into this a little more. What you're advising is exactly what the Dems have been doing for decades: courting centrist voters, always telling progressives to wait. This has been a TERRIBLE strategy. Progressive agenda items are hugely popular. If for once the mainstream Democratic party put progressive agenda items — like universal healthcare, free pre-k and kindergarten, higher minimum wage, capping child care costs, closing tax loopholes for the wealthy, adding benefits to Medicare, making housing more affordable, etc. — at the center of their messaging, I think we'd see very different outcomes.
I agree these may be popular amongst a broad swath of people.
(universal healthcare, free pre-k and kindergarten, higher minimum wage, capping childcare costs, closing tax loopholes for the wealthy, adding benefits to Medicare, making housing more affordable, etc.)
But, the messaging war that is winning hearts and minds of a skeptical public the republicans exploit is - "We don't want these programs, esp. with our taxes." DJT expertly lied and exploited the "get rid of Gov't as bad" that Reagan started.
I would argue to counter that gov't is bad, Biden expertly tried to let the "proof in the pudding" lay before the people to see the benefits. This was 100% different than the daily "promise" or lies of "success" by DJT in his first term. Too many had already had their blinders on to even look or taste the pudding cooked by Biden.
Our best progressive messaging is to restore belief that public services work, are beneficial for the tax dollars spent (Pete Buttigieg was expert at this on the infrastructure).
A lot of people today hear - no matter how good the policy will be to help, "The Gov't here to help" is equal to more corruption and more spending. We MUST change this perception with reality of good Gov't. JMHO
You make good points, Bill. Part of the problem is that so many people have come to completely distrust government and politicians since Watergate and since Reagan kicked off the ever-expanding gap between the rich and everyone else. The Democratic Party used to be the party that talked about ending poverty, but that went out the window decades ago, and if people have to focus on choosing between medication and groceries, they may not have time to pay attention to the subtleties (like Biden's good accomplishments), and may be more susceptible to MAGA messaging that the Dems only care about turning the country over to immigrants and trans people. It's a complex problem and there's no single solution, but my main point (in response to Thomas) is that the Democratic Party moved to the center long ago and has focused more on courting centrists with messaging like “I don’t want to take your away your guns or your fracking" than it has on pushing back against the corporatocracy and Wall Street, and on doing everything possible to make sure no one has to choose between the doctor and dinner—and that this has not been a winning strategy.
The marketing of politics has been resoundingly beaten by the arsonists yelling at the top of their lungs, "Fire!" for the effect to drown out the truth of their arson.
Unfortunately, the Democrats never miss an opportunity to miss an opportunity.
If they managed to follow even 2 of these suggestions, I'll be happy (and surprised).
A problem with Democrats (and the left) is that they show up to the battle of ideas armed with a wheelbarrow full of 90-page briefing books. In contrast, the Republicans (and the right) show up armed with a box full of 12x3 inch bumper stickers. And you know what? For better or worse, the bumper sticker will defeat the briefing book 99 times out of 100!
Just compare the 1960 Sharon Statement from Young Americans for Freedom with the 1962 Port Huron Statement from Students for a Democratic Society and you’ll see that historically the left tends to speak in paragraphs and books recommendations, while the right is about brief statements and memorable slogans.
Message discipline is key! That means from everyone.
Thank you for posting such a thoughtful and thorough plan of action. Now If we can get the party to not behave like "Herding cats" we can take the narrative away from those who lie and deflect all day, every day.
Speaking of leadership, this column demonstrates what I would call 'thought' leadership. Clarifying the issues and then applying the facts to reach a very actionable plan is extremely helpful. It gives us concrete steps and gets us moving. Ms. Rubin demonstrates how to be realistic about the obstacles and the opportunities presented. It is not wise to overemphasize one or the other of these.
From what I can tell, D opposition to Trump has been stuck in the 'planning' stage way too long. This is probably because of an unrealistic assessment of the electorate, R tactics and then self-censoring to avoid the anticipated R criticism.
Senator Fetterman not only lost at least one small dollar, out of state (his) contributor with his vote for Noem, he lost trust. Does he honestly believe that ingratiating himself to the fake president, bully dictator will mean he’ll be able to “work with them”? (Perhaps — after they stop rolling on the floor laughing …)
Yes, all of these things must be done, yet the Dems still do not have a organizing message that explains why they are not recreating an unpopular past. Read Jeet Heer in today’s NYT. The world has changed rapidly. Most people don’t feel that our institutions protect them. They have all let them down. Trump will let everyone down also, but the Dems need a new solution to all the old problems. No one trusts anyone any more. They need young, attractive, clever, sarcastic people who voters can relate to.
A terrific roadmap on how to respond to Trump and Musk’s flooding the zone with chaos. Especially keep hammering on how all his actions are at the expense of we the people to enrich the oligarchy.
Gotta lose that word oligarchy - need to speak in plain terms for the masses - how about just substituting "rule by the very rich with no concern for anyone but themselves"
I contacted my new senator, Angela Alsobrooks, to explain to her that her constituents feel unheard and unprotected by the Democratic leaders in the Senate.
I am hoping that if more people do this , the Senate might actually start to fight back. As of right now, it looks like they keep getting rolled over by a truck.
I'm a younger voter and I know many in my age demographic do not feel heard or seen. The party must do more to show what they are doing to prevent a destruction of our Constitution and country.
Kudos to “suckuppery” and well done advice. All of us need to keep contacting our representatives as well. I’ve even tried contacting Republicans, but run up against the “ you do not live in my district” wall. I beg to differ. Whether I live in their district or not, they are establishing policies which affect me and that goes double for Speaker Johnson who is the first Speaker to cut me out.
This is excellent and helpful. One thing: the overused and often misused phrase "push back," which did not exist in our vernacular a decade or so ago. It seems especially inappropriate in this historic moment What is needed from Democrats and democrats of all political persuasion is not "pushback," but condemnation, resistance, and confrontation. Stronger, more substantive verbiage please.
Democrats need to get ahead of the story and craft the narrative before R's get a chance. The old adage about a lie going halfway around the world before the truth wakes up holds true.
The latest example of that is the Airline crash Press Conference by Trump. Standard MAGA playbook blaming someone, not them. D's could have been out front bringing up questions about Trump's Cuts impacting safety : 20Jan - FAA Director Fired, 21Jan - ATC Hiring Frozen, 22Jan - Aviation Safety Advisory Committee Disbanded, 28Jan - Buyout/Retirement demand sent to existing employees.....
Thank you very much! Among the insurgency's weaknesses is its predictability. We knew exactly how Trump would twist the DCA crash, and Dem leadership should have pre-empted him.
"He told you a week ago that he'd 'Restored Excellence and Safety' to the FAA, and this is his idea of keeping you safe. When that coward bothers to show up behind a microphone, you won't hear a thing about how he failed you. He'll find someone to blame and point his stubby finger at them. You wouldn't accept that from your children. We all expect more from the President." Something like that.
Sure, a message that punchy elides some important details, but it's a knife at a knife fight. And it strikes me as the sort of thing that'll be necessary if we're to put qualified, sane people back in positions of power.
How an we convince Dems to get on social media and podcasts, and quickly??
Bravo, Chris! Exactly what I said in follow up comment to Jen's other excellent article on overused phrases. We're not alone, any of us.
Chris, Right on. Jen gave the Dems a primer. I hope they use it!
Yes! Totally agree that language is important. "Push back" is too vague as is the waaay overused "fight!" I"m so tired of hearing my representatives say "we will fight" -- what I need from them now is to hear--with specificity-- how they are defending our Constitution and protecting our rights. They need to significantly shift their strategy and tactics from how they responded in previous administrations!
Agreed!
A very insightful commentary and analysis , Jen, highlighting what must be done, and something many of us have understood for years. This amplifies it beautifully. Democrats - and I'm not exempting myself - have been much too passive. That has to stop, the day before yesterday. Everyone is in a unique position, and that includes each of us at the grassroots level. Never forget that, not even for a second; I'm not lecturing, but rather preaching to myself as well. We'll also need crisis management, such as in the early aftermath of the plane/helicopter crash in DC, the city I work in, and in future crises locally and globally. No part in this massive restoration effort is too small.
Excellent analysis -- those of us with Dem senators and congresscritters should send them Jen's post, or at least a blunt summary of it. We have to force Dems, as Hamilton Nolan put it (citation below), to prove through action that they are not pieces of shit.
Communications 101: Godfrey Daniels, that Jen even has to make this point underscores how badly Dems are missing the boat. There have been more opportunities than I can count on one hand just in the ten days since the First Felon took office for Dems to flood the zone with their own blunt condemnations and exposés of the lies and hypocrisies. Seize the narrative, for cryin' out loud!
Don't just tell people what happened and how it's part of the anti-democratic takeover blah blah blah -- also explain to constituents in everyday language how it's going to affect _them_, the working folks, their children who need food or who have special needs, the people without access to private health care, and on and on. What's the "So what?" for the folks waiting at the bus stop, struggling to both pay rent and buy groceries? Make it quick, vivid, specific, and real. Dem and Dem spokespeople should be appearing on Bluesky, broadcasts, podcasts, Substacks, mainstream TV, in town halls, in impromptu press conferences, in staged publicity events multiple times a day, _every_fricking_day_. Point 5, Get Beyond the Bubble, also speaks to this.
Nominees: I'm of a much harder line here, much more of the Hank Stamper "Never give a goddamn inch" thinking (recall Kesey's _Sometimes a Great Notion_). Don't cooperate with _anything_ until Rs start behaving like decent, moral people who commit to following the rule of law. Use every procedural means -- denying requests for unanimous consent, opposing cloture votes, and everything else in the book -- to block, obstruct, delay, dilute, and otherwise mess with anything that is part of the First Felon's assault on the Constitution and the rule of law.
In short, Dems need to be the Loyal Opposition: stand up, loudly fight for our Constitution, and show the people why the present administration is so unfit and how everyday folks are already starting to suffer under it.
https://www.hamiltonnolan.com/p/how-to-think-about-politics-without
Pete Buttigieg is the best communicator we have. I hope to hear more from him. Also, if you see something, say something.
Buttigieg 2028
He is our smartest best communicator.
Problem: if America is not ready to elect a black south asian woman, they are hella not ready to elect a gay man.
I don't like that fact. I abhor that fact. But it's a fact.
Be careful with absolutes. I recall vividly the same remarks about a certain Barack Hussein Obama! They were wrong then and And I believe this kind of talk is wrong now. There were so many other factors involved other than her Southeast Asian womanness!
I understand your thinking, but disagree. Thx for the comment.
AOC, too!
Agree!!!
Democratic leadership must not only get out there in a timely fashion. They must also better differentiate between the forest and the leaves on the tree. Raskin is a model of focusing on what is important. Schiff used to but not lately. They also must talk in ways the public can understand. Enough of the dangers of the 2025 document. Start focusing on the dangers of specific actions which will hurt members of the public in ways they can relate to. Shaping every issue according to who won has to go. We have to focus on what helps and hurts the individual members of the public.
Yes! "2025" screams of Ivory Tower detachment.
Republicans Make American Sick Again. R-MASA.
Darn typos.
Republicans Make America Sick Again
In this age of siloed information, Democratic politicians (the DNC, in particular) should be buying space on roadside billboards with short punchy messages, reminding drivers of Trump's lies, failures, crimes, and promises not delivered on. This is an information channel that breaks through to everyone in automobiles.
I'd love to see the Democrats buy multiple commercial slots during the Super Bowl. After all it's well understood to be the only programming that still generates a mass audience which cuts across multiple demographics. Of course this would require settling on an appealing message and crafting it in a way that can be understood in 30 seconds. It shouldn't be as hard to do so as it appears to be given the lack of messaging that would pass muster on these basic concepts.
Something interesting I read after the election pointed out a gaping hole in D's message delivery. To reach the low-information and/or low-income voter, you need to find the platforms that are free to the user. Low-income voters are not subscribing to cable, they are watching free streaming platforms like Tubi, etc. These platforms are full of ads and the ads are very cheap to purchase.
R's ran tons of ads on these platforms. We did not. Voters were subjected to a saturation of R propaganda because they had no choice. They could not afford to purchase streaming or cable and they wanted to watch TV. We need to get a lot smarter about where the votes are and stop preaching to the choir.
100% -- we need a powerful DIGITAL strategy that gets hyperlocal, not so much mass media like billboards and TV ads.
It may be too late to buy ads on the Super Bowl, which is February 9. We will know who the new Chairman will be this Saturday February 1. I would hope Dems would be able to buy ads for NCAA Basketball playoffs for both women and men’s tournaments. Then we have opening of baseball season and the NBA playoffs.
The visceral messages that always seem to subliminally work are the ones where XYZ product will give you a better life.
- Think the Coors billboard. ' Everyone "drinking Coors" has time at the beach, looking great with the perfect view and perfect friends or partner.'
- "Marlboro Man", The Rugged loners wanting NO gov't, up by the bootstraps. It was Reagan's go to for the testosterone response.
People are daft and buy into this imagery. DJT uses imagery to win on the lies by selling Casino hustle type lies that promise fortunes "if you just put another dollar *here* ".
This is exactly what R's did in states like PA.
I am writing my representatives at all levels of government, e.g. the local school board when it comes to opposing Trump's education agenda. We need to flood their inboxes with constituent messages, as much or perhaps even more so than social media.
Second, READ THE ROOM. I may share the beliefs of the most progressive members of the left wing on many issues, but I know better than to alienate the critical centrist voters with opinions framed in a way that are certain to accomplish exactly that. Give thought to framing opinions in ways that will win them over. I know it can be very self-satisfying to let loose, but that won't win the battle.
While I understand your point about centrist voters and reading the room, I think we need to dig into this a little more. What you're advising is exactly what the Dems have been doing for decades: courting centrist voters, always telling progressives to wait. This has been a TERRIBLE strategy. Progressive agenda items are hugely popular. If for once the mainstream Democratic party put progressive agenda items — like universal healthcare, free pre-k and kindergarten, higher minimum wage, capping child care costs, closing tax loopholes for the wealthy, adding benefits to Medicare, making housing more affordable, etc. — at the center of their messaging, I think we'd see very different outcomes.
I agree these may be popular amongst a broad swath of people.
(universal healthcare, free pre-k and kindergarten, higher minimum wage, capping childcare costs, closing tax loopholes for the wealthy, adding benefits to Medicare, making housing more affordable, etc.)
But, the messaging war that is winning hearts and minds of a skeptical public the republicans exploit is - "We don't want these programs, esp. with our taxes." DJT expertly lied and exploited the "get rid of Gov't as bad" that Reagan started.
I would argue to counter that gov't is bad, Biden expertly tried to let the "proof in the pudding" lay before the people to see the benefits. This was 100% different than the daily "promise" or lies of "success" by DJT in his first term. Too many had already had their blinders on to even look or taste the pudding cooked by Biden.
Our best progressive messaging is to restore belief that public services work, are beneficial for the tax dollars spent (Pete Buttigieg was expert at this on the infrastructure).
A lot of people today hear - no matter how good the policy will be to help, "The Gov't here to help" is equal to more corruption and more spending. We MUST change this perception with reality of good Gov't. JMHO
You make good points, Bill. Part of the problem is that so many people have come to completely distrust government and politicians since Watergate and since Reagan kicked off the ever-expanding gap between the rich and everyone else. The Democratic Party used to be the party that talked about ending poverty, but that went out the window decades ago, and if people have to focus on choosing between medication and groceries, they may not have time to pay attention to the subtleties (like Biden's good accomplishments), and may be more susceptible to MAGA messaging that the Dems only care about turning the country over to immigrants and trans people. It's a complex problem and there's no single solution, but my main point (in response to Thomas) is that the Democratic Party moved to the center long ago and has focused more on courting centrists with messaging like “I don’t want to take your away your guns or your fracking" than it has on pushing back against the corporatocracy and Wall Street, and on doing everything possible to make sure no one has to choose between the doctor and dinner—and that this has not been a winning strategy.
We need to figure this out.
The marketing of politics has been resoundingly beaten by the arsonists yelling at the top of their lungs, "Fire!" for the effect to drown out the truth of their arson.
Jen, was this emailed to all these representatives. Or in other words how can youale sure they get this message
Unfortunately, the Democrats never miss an opportunity to miss an opportunity.
If they managed to follow even 2 of these suggestions, I'll be happy (and surprised).
A problem with Democrats (and the left) is that they show up to the battle of ideas armed with a wheelbarrow full of 90-page briefing books. In contrast, the Republicans (and the right) show up armed with a box full of 12x3 inch bumper stickers. And you know what? For better or worse, the bumper sticker will defeat the briefing book 99 times out of 100!
Just compare the 1960 Sharon Statement from Young Americans for Freedom with the 1962 Port Huron Statement from Students for a Democratic Society and you’ll see that historically the left tends to speak in paragraphs and books recommendations, while the right is about brief statements and memorable slogans.
And the right has every spokeperson saying the same thing.
Read my comment above.
Message discipline is key! That means from everyone.
Thank you for posting such a thoughtful and thorough plan of action. Now If we can get the party to not behave like "Herding cats" we can take the narrative away from those who lie and deflect all day, every day.
Speaking of leadership, this column demonstrates what I would call 'thought' leadership. Clarifying the issues and then applying the facts to reach a very actionable plan is extremely helpful. It gives us concrete steps and gets us moving. Ms. Rubin demonstrates how to be realistic about the obstacles and the opportunities presented. It is not wise to overemphasize one or the other of these.
From what I can tell, D opposition to Trump has been stuck in the 'planning' stage way too long. This is probably because of an unrealistic assessment of the electorate, R tactics and then self-censoring to avoid the anticipated R criticism.
Damn the torpedoes! Full speed ahead D's.
"Suckuppery"! Yes indeed. Brava! Meanwhile, it's definitely time for Democrats (and Independents) to grow a set and make noise.
Senator Fetterman not only lost at least one small dollar, out of state (his) contributor with his vote for Noem, he lost trust. Does he honestly believe that ingratiating himself to the fake president, bully dictator will mean he’ll be able to “work with them”? (Perhaps — after they stop rolling on the floor laughing …)
Yes, all of these things must be done, yet the Dems still do not have a organizing message that explains why they are not recreating an unpopular past. Read Jeet Heer in today’s NYT. The world has changed rapidly. Most people don’t feel that our institutions protect them. They have all let them down. Trump will let everyone down also, but the Dems need a new solution to all the old problems. No one trusts anyone any more. They need young, attractive, clever, sarcastic people who voters can relate to.
A terrific roadmap on how to respond to Trump and Musk’s flooding the zone with chaos. Especially keep hammering on how all his actions are at the expense of we the people to enrich the oligarchy.
Gotta lose that word oligarchy - need to speak in plain terms for the masses - how about just substituting "rule by the very rich with no concern for anyone but themselves"
I’m partial to broligarchy but you are right- the super rich works better.
I contacted my new senator, Angela Alsobrooks, to explain to her that her constituents feel unheard and unprotected by the Democratic leaders in the Senate.
I am hoping that if more people do this , the Senate might actually start to fight back. As of right now, it looks like they keep getting rolled over by a truck.
I'm a younger voter and I know many in my age demographic do not feel heard or seen. The party must do more to show what they are doing to prevent a destruction of our Constitution and country.
Kudos to “suckuppery” and well done advice. All of us need to keep contacting our representatives as well. I’ve even tried contacting Republicans, but run up against the “ you do not live in my district” wall. I beg to differ. Whether I live in their district or not, they are establishing policies which affect me and that goes double for Speaker Johnson who is the first Speaker to cut me out.
Keep writing to them until they cry "uncle", is my encouragement, to both you and me, and others.