February 6: Peaceful protests erupted nationwide, causing many to believe that the necessary democratic flame has been lit—will it cause a dent in the corrupters that inspired those rallies?
You'd be providing a great service if you devote time to discussing what Democrats can do, since you asked the question:
Democrats have the power to grind Senate business to a halt and force Republicans to feel the political cost of backing Trump’s extremist agenda. Like Mitch McConnell they can try every trick in the book and act as a unified force.
Here’s how:
Deny a Quorum: If Republicans don’t have 51 votes in the chamber, Democrats can walk out and shut down Senate business entirely.
Block Unanimous Consent: Object to every procedural shortcut, forcing Republicans to take the longest possible route for every step of the confirmation process.
Max Out Debate Time: Use all 30 hours of debate on Vought to expose Project 2025, Musk’s Treasury takeover, and the funding freeze.
Delay and Disrupt: Force roll-call votes, quorum calls, and procedural delays to slow everything down.
Blanket Opposition: Democrats cannot continue to vote for Trump’s other nominees, helping to install more MAGA loyalists into powerful positions in the federal government while this power grab continues.
No Business as Usual: This is a constitutional crisis
""The Defense [ U.S. Government] will NOT provide access to any payment record or payment system of records maintains by the [ U.S. Treasury] Bureau of Fiscal Service ....
Teresa G., Thank you! I've sent your suggestions to my WA state Senators & Representative. I want to see & hear them all LOUDLY objecting to this trashing of our governmental agencies.
Democrats have to get unstuck from their naive quest for bipartisanship. It's been amply demonstrated they and some of the electorate that wishes for it are being taken for a ride. There is no bipartisanship. There has not been either.. which is how we got here. The Democrats kept *going high* and the GOP/Trump/MAGA2025 went low and won by making people angry lying blaming incessantly.. grabbing the media and then the government/power. Now it's revenge and retribution time, and Elon Musk as the wrecking ball.
We need to publicly ask Supreme Court justice John Roberts is this what he wanted when he approved Citizens United and the fact that a president can do anything he wants legal or illegal during his time in office including having lackey Musk who contributed 280 million the last two weeks of republican campaign to Trump, as well as ,having musk and inexperienced IT techs with the President Trump’s approval to illegally break into the treasury and get all our private government info to threaten our country !!!!?????
Sounds like an attempted coup is showing its face . Robert’s and court are fully responsible for the end of democracy which I hope doesn’t happen and I hope their integrity if it even exists blows up in their faces as being the worst Supreme Court in our short history .
What if the three justices that still hold onto the Constitution just refused to convene with the others or resisted beyond mere dissent. What if they became resisters?
It's not clear that the three could not prevail and become 5 on some issues with Barrett and the Chief Roberts... that may be the hope. I would love to know the inside story, what is going on with all of this. We will find out..
if it walks like a duck and talks like a duck…there just might be a duck there…AND if all records are destroyed….well shoot … is there a method showing up to all thier madness ….
Yesterday's protests kicked off a sustainable protest movement that will certainly throw sand into the Trump/Musk plutocracy strategy. Trump's gaslighting bloviation will go on. Musk and tevh-bros must be thrown out of DC and American politics.
Here is something to Ponder on today ….IS it possible…Trump made a deal with the devil in the Two secret meetings Trump had with Putin ? Is the rumour Trump was beholden financially to Putin possibly true OR perhaps is it true that Putin did promise to get Trump elected in the 2016 election…the interference was substantiated. Hmmmm AND the TAKING of Sovereign Land talking points …....Greenland, Panama, Canada, GAZA…then why can’t Russia TAKE Ukraine and China TAKE Taiwan - of course they then can !!! AND if Trump/Musk succeed in crippling the US Government SOON!!! = If the US Democracy FALLS all other Democracies will also FALL. = Checkmate. AND how can we stop Trump/Musk is the million dollar question (ps no Oligarchs may apply ! )
Thank you, Contrarian, for shepherding We the People through what feels like very dark times. I have been completing calls to my senators urging them to use every single tool they have in their minority toolbox, and it’s a lot…withhold unanimous consent, constantly call for quorums, apply blanket opposition, and shut down the dang Senate! We need this to happen until the orange felon, eeeeelon and their minions have been stripped of whatever power they have or think they have.
"You know how you Make America Great Again? Tell Donald Trump to go to hell!" These are the words of LINDSEY GRAHAM!
Other of the MANY comments by Republican politicians who previously had NOTHING good to say about Trump but NOW genuflect before him and kiss his ring include:
"Trump is a con artist." Marco Rubio. (our NEWLY confirmed Sec. of State!)
"Trump is unhinged!" Nikki Haley.
"You know how you Make America Great Again? Tell Donald Trump to go to hell!" These are the words of Lindsey Graham. A FEW of the MANY comments by Republican politicians who previously had NOTHING good to say about Trump but now genuflect before him include:
"Trump is a con artist." - Marco Rubio (our NEW Sec. of State!)
"Trump is a pathological liar." Ted (Cancun) Cruz
"Trump will sell you out." Ron De Santis
"TRUMP IS AMERICA'S HITLER." VICE PRESIDENT J.D. Vance
It is HIGH time we started flooding ALL forms of media using the very words of Republicans who are now in office who have effectively sold their souls to get elected and now focus the MAJORITY of their time ensuring they are re-elected. We need to point out their cowardice about being "primaried" by Trump and his power-hungry thug financial “supporters” (owners) and how they have placed THEIR own welfare over that of their constituency.
We need to run political “service announcements" USING their own words on television and radio in districts who have elected Republicans to office. We need to have a mile high 24/7/365 scrolling marquee running above Times Square and every other major public venue in other cities “highlighting” their anti-Trump comments made before they lost their spines and sense of decency.
Sorry about the repetition in the first part of my "diatribe" .... got distracted before I could finish proof reading! Still believe what I wrote...BOTH times!
Why do they flip ?? Trump NOW HAS FULL CONTROLL…AND IMMUNE from any prosecution …..(that was the nail in the coffin ) ….. are they too afraid maybe ? …. of what ? Full retribution...….what flipped them and changed COMMON SENSE ?? = Russian Style politics at work, right here, right now - ps I do not support the GOP what so ever… I see all strings leading back to Trump and who is behind him ???????? That too is the million dollar question
It was great to see Norm on TV last night and hear about the suit they filed against Musk and trying to get him out of the government. Trump is using him as the fall guy to do the things that Trump doesn't understand. Musk is specifically going after the programs that help people who need help while protecting the corporations, the rich, and himself.
Now, it is clear what they are doing is illegal. Crimes like these should be stopped by the DOJ, but of course the DOJ is going to court to defend the crimes. Write to your Congress people to get oversight for the DOJ. This is the last thing the Republicans want. They won't let it happen unless everyone demands it. Pam Bondi, our newly confirmed AG, has already pledged to make Trump proud, which is exactly the wrong thing she should be doing. We have to make them enforce the law instead of allowing ways to break it.
We were never able to experience the extent of Trump's illness. Now we can.
Purchase Greenland or Panama, and now Gaza. The man is insane. What will it take for the Democrats to acknowledge his mania? We can not depend upon the Democrats in Congress to act with a backbone, nor can we expect the democratic party to recognize the walking dead Republicans sitting next to them in Congress.
BUT WE DO HAVE STATES WITH POWER.
The battle over states' rights has been part of our history since 1770. The Continental Congress of 1778 was not this wonderful gathering of intelligent representatives deciding to form a new country; it was a power struggle between existing states defending their interests. States were arguing over what would determine who could vote and how many votes each state would have. However, the most debated topic was that the states feared the newly formed federal government would reduce the state's rights.
There are 27 Amendments to the Constitution; the first 10 are called the Bill of Rights. The one amendment that states should review is the Tenth Amendment, which satisfies the state's concern about their loss of power. This amendment states, "The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively or to the people."
States are our only remaining defense against Trump's dictatorship and Crazy Musk.
GAME PLAN FOR THE DEMOCRATIC STATES.
We have thirteen democratic states with democratic governors, and the governors in those states should start to organize and unite to develop plans to resist and destroy these corrupt anarchists.
These governors should organize a three-day conference to establish a unified detailed plan for securing and fortifying their states against the invasion of the state's federal armed Gestapo.
This conference will include attorneys, professors, knowledgeable authors, and activists. These governors should establish and announce the formation of an official permanent organization with a secured budget, a chairperson, a funded and established legal department, and advisory committees for orientating their states' local police forces and a department for public information. As an organized body, states must assume their state's sovereign rights and research all legal avenues of defense against this violation of their state's rights.
PS. In a special session of the state congress for the Protection of California Values, Governor Newsom proposed a litigation fund to bolster the state's legal resources.
Insane maybe or controlled ???….IS it possible…Trump made a deal with the devil in the Two secret meetings Trump had with Putin ? Is the rumour Trump was beholden financially to Putin possibly true OR perhaps is it true that Putin did promise to get Trump elected in the 2016 election…the interference was substantiated. Hmmmm AND the TAKING of Sovereign Land talking points …....Greenland, Panama, Canada, GAZA…then why can’t Russia TAKE Ukraine and China TAKE Taiwan - of course they then can !!! AND if Trump/Musk succeed in crippling the US Government SOON!!! = If the US Democracy FALLS all other Democracies will also FALL. = Checkmate. AND how can we stop Trump/Musk is the million dollar question (ps no Oligarchs may apply ! )
"If activists can push elected Democrats into action, the Musk-Trump steamroller may grind to a halt.” — Let’s keep pushing!! Join Indivisible and Ezra Levin!
You'd be providing a great service if you devote time to discussing what Democrats can do, since you asked the question:
Democrats have the power to grind Senate business to a halt and force Republicans to feel the political cost of backing Trump’s extremist agenda. Like Mitch McConnell they can try every trick in the book and act as a unified force.
Here’s how:
Deny a Quorum: If Republicans don’t have 51 votes in the chamber, Democrats can walk out and shut down Senate business entirely.
Block Unanimous Consent: Object to every procedural shortcut, forcing Republicans to take the longest possible route for every step of the confirmation process.
Max Out Debate Time: Use all 30 hours of debate on Vought to expose Project 2025, Musk’s Treasury takeover, and the funding freeze.
Delay and Disrupt: Force roll-call votes, quorum calls, and procedural delays to slow everything down.
Blanket Opposition: Democrats cannot continue to vote for Trump’s other nominees, helping to install more MAGA loyalists into powerful positions in the federal government while this power grab continues.
No Business as Usual: This is a constitutional crisis
BREAKING: Norman got his TRO signed Today!
""The Defense [ U.S. Government] will NOT provide access to any payment record or payment system of records maintains by the [ U.S. Treasury] Bureau of Fiscal Service ....
Musk & Gang are NOT excepted.
Good work all Counsel!
The PEOPLE will SAVE their Country….Trump picked the WRONG Country to steal….
Wow! (Hello Bryan)
Teresa G., Thank you! I've sent your suggestions to my WA state Senators & Representative. I want to see & hear them all LOUDLY objecting to this trashing of our governmental agencies.
Democrats have to get unstuck from their naive quest for bipartisanship. It's been amply demonstrated they and some of the electorate that wishes for it are being taken for a ride. There is no bipartisanship. There has not been either.. which is how we got here. The Democrats kept *going high* and the GOP/Trump/MAGA2025 went low and won by making people angry lying blaming incessantly.. grabbing the media and then the government/power. Now it's revenge and retribution time, and Elon Musk as the wrecking ball.
Amazingly, the Dems have not done all of the above by now. That in itself speaks volumes. Bravo Teresa G!
GO, Teresa G! You’ve got the right idea. Thanks!
YES! YES! YES! THANK YOU!
Excellent. I've written to my two (D) senators and told them it is time for action and these are your tools. Thank you.
We need to publicly ask Supreme Court justice John Roberts is this what he wanted when he approved Citizens United and the fact that a president can do anything he wants legal or illegal during his time in office including having lackey Musk who contributed 280 million the last two weeks of republican campaign to Trump, as well as ,having musk and inexperienced IT techs with the President Trump’s approval to illegally break into the treasury and get all our private government info to threaten our country !!!!?????
Sounds like an attempted coup is showing its face . Robert’s and court are fully responsible for the end of democracy which I hope doesn’t happen and I hope their integrity if it even exists blows up in their faces as being the worst Supreme Court in our short history .
Olwwn, except for three of the judges, there's no integrity left. Some worse than the others.
The question you want to ask Roberts if this is what he wanted with their rules there're two possible answers.
If he answer yes, he is an honest SOB.
If he answer no, he is just an SOB.
You seems to be a reasonable person Olwen, you know what the answer would be. Thanks for your comment.
How do we contact John Roberts and nail him with this question?????
Is this what Roberts wanted? 🤔
What if the three justices that still hold onto the Constitution just refused to convene with the others or resisted beyond mere dissent. What if they became resisters?
would that disable the Supreme Court?
It's not clear that the three could not prevail and become 5 on some issues with Barrett and the Chief Roberts... that may be the hope. I would love to know the inside story, what is going on with all of this. We will find out..
Yes. Publicly and absolutely straight to the point.
A tiny glimmer of hope. Keep up the good work. I am totally happy with what the Contrarian stands against, and stands FOR. Robert
Well said Robert 👏
I did not vote for Musk.
I don't know of and never have heard of anyone who did.
How then did he get to be our President?
Does unlimited money tke the place of votes in America today?
The President appointed him as the “front man” and the President is in full agreement.
yes
Charles Blow has written his last NYTimes opinion piece. Might he follow colleague Paul Kkrugman and wander over to the Contrarian?
Let's keep after them we must Stand firm
Is anyone in the swing states looking into how Trump won all these states so quickly? Did Starlink have anything to do with that?
But, but...surely you can't be suggesting...?
if it walks like a duck and talks like a duck…there just might be a duck there…AND if all records are destroyed….well shoot … is there a method showing up to all thier madness ….
Yesterday's protests kicked off a sustainable protest movement that will certainly throw sand into the Trump/Musk plutocracy strategy. Trump's gaslighting bloviation will go on. Musk and tevh-bros must be thrown out of DC and American politics.
Read https://5calls.org/ to help you make calls to protest Trump/Musk!
excellent thank you !
GOP in House and Senate Co-Conspirators to Cyber Coup! Impeach and Prosecute!!!
Here is something to Ponder on today ….IS it possible…Trump made a deal with the devil in the Two secret meetings Trump had with Putin ? Is the rumour Trump was beholden financially to Putin possibly true OR perhaps is it true that Putin did promise to get Trump elected in the 2016 election…the interference was substantiated. Hmmmm AND the TAKING of Sovereign Land talking points …....Greenland, Panama, Canada, GAZA…then why can’t Russia TAKE Ukraine and China TAKE Taiwan - of course they then can !!! AND if Trump/Musk succeed in crippling the US Government SOON!!! = If the US Democracy FALLS all other Democracies will also FALL. = Checkmate. AND how can we stop Trump/Musk is the million dollar question (ps no Oligarchs may apply ! )
Thank you, Contrarian, for shepherding We the People through what feels like very dark times. I have been completing calls to my senators urging them to use every single tool they have in their minority toolbox, and it’s a lot…withhold unanimous consent, constantly call for quorums, apply blanket opposition, and shut down the dang Senate! We need this to happen until the orange felon, eeeeelon and their minions have been stripped of whatever power they have or think they have.
"You know how you Make America Great Again? Tell Donald Trump to go to hell!" These are the words of LINDSEY GRAHAM!
Other of the MANY comments by Republican politicians who previously had NOTHING good to say about Trump but NOW genuflect before him and kiss his ring include:
"Trump is a con artist." Marco Rubio. (our NEWLY confirmed Sec. of State!)
"Trump is unhinged!" Nikki Haley.
"You know how you Make America Great Again? Tell Donald Trump to go to hell!" These are the words of Lindsey Graham. A FEW of the MANY comments by Republican politicians who previously had NOTHING good to say about Trump but now genuflect before him include:
"Trump is a con artist." - Marco Rubio (our NEW Sec. of State!)
"Trump is a pathological liar." Ted (Cancun) Cruz
"Trump will sell you out." Ron De Santis
"TRUMP IS AMERICA'S HITLER." VICE PRESIDENT J.D. Vance
It is HIGH time we started flooding ALL forms of media using the very words of Republicans who are now in office who have effectively sold their souls to get elected and now focus the MAJORITY of their time ensuring they are re-elected. We need to point out their cowardice about being "primaried" by Trump and his power-hungry thug financial “supporters” (owners) and how they have placed THEIR own welfare over that of their constituency.
We need to run political “service announcements" USING their own words on television and radio in districts who have elected Republicans to office. We need to have a mile high 24/7/365 scrolling marquee running above Times Square and every other major public venue in other cities “highlighting” their anti-Trump comments made before they lost their spines and sense of decency.
TIME TO MAKE THEM EAT THEIR OWN WORDS!
Sorry about the repetition in the first part of my "diatribe" .... got distracted before I could finish proof reading! Still believe what I wrote...BOTH times!
Why do they flip ?? Trump NOW HAS FULL CONTROLL…AND IMMUNE from any prosecution …..(that was the nail in the coffin ) ….. are they too afraid maybe ? …. of what ? Full retribution...….what flipped them and changed COMMON SENSE ?? = Russian Style politics at work, right here, right now - ps I do not support the GOP what so ever… I see all strings leading back to Trump and who is behind him ???????? That too is the million dollar question
George Conway is good at doing that, or organising it.
It was great to see Norm on TV last night and hear about the suit they filed against Musk and trying to get him out of the government. Trump is using him as the fall guy to do the things that Trump doesn't understand. Musk is specifically going after the programs that help people who need help while protecting the corporations, the rich, and himself.
Now, it is clear what they are doing is illegal. Crimes like these should be stopped by the DOJ, but of course the DOJ is going to court to defend the crimes. Write to your Congress people to get oversight for the DOJ. This is the last thing the Republicans want. They won't let it happen unless everyone demands it. Pam Bondi, our newly confirmed AG, has already pledged to make Trump proud, which is exactly the wrong thing she should be doing. We have to make them enforce the law instead of allowing ways to break it.
Latest HEROES OF DEMOCRACY: Thank you Norm Eisen and Colleagues for the injuction
this morning against Trump and Musk taking over the national checkbook in the Treasury Dept. Way to Go!!!!!!!
THE ORGANIZATION OF DEMOCRATIC STATES (ODS)
We were never able to experience the extent of Trump's illness. Now we can.
Purchase Greenland or Panama, and now Gaza. The man is insane. What will it take for the Democrats to acknowledge his mania? We can not depend upon the Democrats in Congress to act with a backbone, nor can we expect the democratic party to recognize the walking dead Republicans sitting next to them in Congress.
BUT WE DO HAVE STATES WITH POWER.
The battle over states' rights has been part of our history since 1770. The Continental Congress of 1778 was not this wonderful gathering of intelligent representatives deciding to form a new country; it was a power struggle between existing states defending their interests. States were arguing over what would determine who could vote and how many votes each state would have. However, the most debated topic was that the states feared the newly formed federal government would reduce the state's rights.
There are 27 Amendments to the Constitution; the first 10 are called the Bill of Rights. The one amendment that states should review is the Tenth Amendment, which satisfies the state's concern about their loss of power. This amendment states, "The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively or to the people."
States are our only remaining defense against Trump's dictatorship and Crazy Musk.
GAME PLAN FOR THE DEMOCRATIC STATES.
We have thirteen democratic states with democratic governors, and the governors in those states should start to organize and unite to develop plans to resist and destroy these corrupt anarchists.
These governors should organize a three-day conference to establish a unified detailed plan for securing and fortifying their states against the invasion of the state's federal armed Gestapo.
This conference will include attorneys, professors, knowledgeable authors, and activists. These governors should establish and announce the formation of an official permanent organization with a secured budget, a chairperson, a funded and established legal department, and advisory committees for orientating their states' local police forces and a department for public information. As an organized body, states must assume their state's sovereign rights and research all legal avenues of defense against this violation of their state's rights.
PS. In a special session of the state congress for the Protection of California Values, Governor Newsom proposed a litigation fund to bolster the state's legal resources.
Insane maybe or controlled ???….IS it possible…Trump made a deal with the devil in the Two secret meetings Trump had with Putin ? Is the rumour Trump was beholden financially to Putin possibly true OR perhaps is it true that Putin did promise to get Trump elected in the 2016 election…the interference was substantiated. Hmmmm AND the TAKING of Sovereign Land talking points …....Greenland, Panama, Canada, GAZA…then why can’t Russia TAKE Ukraine and China TAKE Taiwan - of course they then can !!! AND if Trump/Musk succeed in crippling the US Government SOON!!! = If the US Democracy FALLS all other Democracies will also FALL. = Checkmate. AND how can we stop Trump/Musk is the million dollar question (ps no Oligarchs may apply ! )
"If activists can push elected Democrats into action, the Musk-Trump steamroller may grind to a halt.” — Let’s keep pushing!! Join Indivisible and Ezra Levin!