After watching the Democrats flounder around since Trump’s inauguration, expressing shock and dismay at him doing exactly what he said he was going to do, along with following the exact Project 2025 document the Democrats pointed to in the election, I’ve decided an intervention is in order. Let’s cover a few highlights: numerous Democrats voted for the Laken Riley Act as if that was going to win them votes on the immigration issue, the greatest level of moral outrage thus far has been associated with government spending (imagine that, Democrats do like to spend), they continue to relentlessly solicit everyone for funds (which I have no intention of providing until they come up with a coherent message) and with a few exceptions, cower on the sidelines worried about antagonizing some section of their shrinking base.
Enough is enough. Republicans are the party of fear, hate, cruelty to the less fortunate, giver of tax breaks to the billionaire class and dog whistlers for white supremacy. Meanwhile, the Democrats are what? Disorganized. Incompetent. Clueless. The ultimate donation beggars. The party of “fainting goats”. So let’s try growing a spine people (even though I am a long time registered Republican I don’t vote for them anymore) and come up with some simple points to focus on.
Upcoming budget/debt limit discussion. This is an easy one but trust me you’ll find a way to screw this up. Make the Republicans own it. Don’t negotiate. They’re terrorists when it comes to the budget. No matter what anyone says, thinks or wishes, the evidence is right in front of you. They will not abide by any agreement, they will just use your votes to get over the finish line then leave you at the altar. Grow a set. Make the Republicans raise the debt limit and pass the budget entirely by themselves. I don’t think they can do it. They are the majority, let them prove they can govern, but more importantly, make them totally own the outcome. Besides, Johnson and Thune have no power. They aren’t making the decisions. They don’t even stand up for the power of the purse. Trump and Musk are the only people with any power and they are the two biggest liars in modern political history. Whatever “crumbs” you negotiate with Congressional leadership is irrelevant. They won’t be delivered anyways. I see this morning that Chuck Schumer can’t grow a set and is not going to oppose the continuing resolution. Gee, what a shocker! All the over 80 crowd in the Democratic Party needs to be retired as they just don’t have what it takes.
Start a blog detailing what President Musk did this week. That’s right, President Musk. Say this as much as you can because he is the one destroying the government. Donald does photo ops and pleads for media attention but if you want to get under his skin, make a case he isn’t in charge. He has no idea what any of the details are on any DOGE work (or anything else that requires focus). Even better, list what President Musk did along side how much golf was played by Trump every week.
Get the data on who has been fired (not names but demographics) and show a running total of the how many people have been fired by DOGE. In particular these categories: veterans, union members, people of color and over 55. Veterans are one of the single biggest classes of federal workers so highlight every week how many veterans have been fired and what the cumulative total is. Think that won’t attract attention? The Republicans are screwing over the veterans to no end job wise.
Start a scorecard called “Billionaires First” to show the clear contrast to the “America First” bullshit. Show two columns, one that shows what policies were enacted this week that help billionaires vs. which ones stiffed the working class. Trump buying a Tesla and the whole crypto reserve strategy are examples of the former. Detail all of the federal funds Elon Musk has used to start and build his businesses while he calls Social Security a Ponzi scheme. Examples of the negative impacts on the working class are too numerous to list, but illegally firing workers and overturning federal union contracts are obvious ones.
I think you need a weekly update called “They don’t care”. This would collect all the insensitive, clueless comments made by Trump and his cronies re the “little people”. Two whoppers to start this off with- Trump telling the farmers to “have fun” (after destroying some of their overseas markets) and that incredibly ignorant Alina Habba saying “veterans fired by DOGE are perhaps not fit to have a job at this moment”.
The Republican’s biggest advantage is they have a right wing media bubble that reinforces all of the lies until people actually believe them (although even Fox is starting to cringe at the economy). Democrats have to figure out how to manage the media war. Left wing media needs to stop the “Trumpsplaining” and call a lie a lie. Every day. Interview the people losing their jobs. Pick the refrains that will generate the most reaction and beat them to death. Republicans are coming for Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid. Uncover and publish every cruel or dumb ass thing the Republicans say on these subjects. Every day, every week. Forget foreign aid. Yes I know it will be enormously damaging to the United States in the long term but is that really a hill you want to die on? Americans today are selfish as hell. It’s all about me. They don’t care about the rest of the world because they are ignorant about anything other than what they read on their social media. But they ALL care about those three programs.
Develop some simple talking points that highlight how your policies would differ from the reign of tyranny. This is your biggest weakness. When you talk about any policy, you become too convoluted and wonky for normal people to relate to. You can’t explain any policy without some caveat associated with identity politics or fear of offending someone. You castigate Gavin Newsome for saying the obvious- men or pseudo men shouldn’t compete with women or girls in sports. Does that mean we should be cruel to trans people? Insist that they don’t exist? Absolutely not. But why hold your breath and turn blue over what, 20 or so NCAA athletes? If you get back in power, you can help them, maybe create a separate event for athletes at the state level like Paralympics or something. The point is, you are gaining no votes by doggedly belaboring a subject on which 90+% of the country is against you. Same with open borders. What % of the population do you think actually supports this idea? The vast majority of Hispanics don’t, that’s one reason they voted for Trump so why do you think this is a winner? Show how government can be a positive force for the people, but don’t make it the end all answer to everything. I plan to publish some white papers here on subjects like Energy, Immigration and Health Care to stimulate discussion on this. Stay tuned.
Stand up and be counted. You’ve done nothing but cower while Trump destroys the country. Give people a reason to believe in you. If you can’t do that, we need another party in this country that can.