Hi Dan, thanks for another great piece. I do want to point out that you didn't mention a HUGE part of the story you're discussing. The Resistance, which as you noted had been largely written off as dead (but the demise of which has been greatly exaggerated), is in fact largely responsible for the recent wakeup of Congressional Dems.
I'm involved with one of many active Indivisible groups in Los Angeles, and can tell you that the Indivisible movement and its allies helped drive phone traffic to Congressional offices to something like 40 times its usual volume over the last week or so. The phenomenon was even covered in legacy media.
Many groups nationwide, ours included, also made physical visits to our Senators' in-state offices to register our extreme displeasure at the Musk coup and the continuation of normal business in the Senate, including the confirmations of grotesque and unfit nominees.
Ditto. Indivisible Brooklyn is booming and working hard to get the message to Schumer and Jeffries to actually use the power they have in the minority. Two protests at Schumer's house and at his NY office this week alone, and they're growing. I also persuaded my red-state mother-in-law to call her federal electeds too for the first time (and she had fun doing it!). Make your calls, and recruit others to do the same. It's up to us to fight back.
1000% support. Folks I know in three small rural communities in Mendocino and northern Sonoma drove hours to Sacramento or San Francisco to rally to participate, thanks to Indivisible’s mobilizing. People are fired up, pissed all the way off, and determined to fight for our communities.
One thing that was covered is that callers were often clearly reading from the same script message which highlighted to Congress people's staff that these calls were driven by Democratic activists and could be more easily discounted and ignored. Callers need to internalise the message and say it in their own words and terminology for it to be considered more "genuine".
Bravo, Dan!! Well put. I grew up in a village of 900 people that’s in Elise Stefanik’s NY-21 district. I’m inclined to think that Blake Gendebien, a farmer from the small town of Lisbon, NY has the best chance among the current candidates of taking that seat. He’s already fundraising, and he’s got a levelheaded, compelling message. Dairy farming is the lifeblood of northern New York across the district. I’m biased, but it’s also geographically diverse and beautiful. It includes the entire Adirondack Forest Preserve, Lake Placid, where the US Hockey Team stunned the world by defeating the Russians (USSR) and then going on to win the 1980 Olympics contest; and closer to my childhood home, is Maple Ridge, a large wind farm on the vast Tug Hill Plateau. Maple Ridge was built decades ago, a sign that rural Americans do look forward and care deeply about sustainability. Check out Blake Gendebien here:
I just looked at his webpage and couldn't even figure out if he was a Democrat or Republican. Literally no mention of the Democratic party. That's probably good for his campaign, but an interesting commentary on our toxic brand.
I agree he has not listed his party affiation...and is most likely because he's running in a ruby red district. I Googled him and he is listed as a Democrat:-) Sent him a donation...I live in California...but he seems like a viable candidate. We'll see if he catches on. The Democrats better put some money behind him. Never heard of him until reading this...so thank you for posting!
There’s no primary contest in NYS for an open seat. County chairs select the candidate. The district has shifted to R dominated; however, Barack Obama won most of the counties there in both 2008 and 2012.
My mother was from Saranac Lake and I have a deep love for the Adirondacks. Already sent money to Gendelbien’s campaign. I’m in Chicago now but have hope for his campaign. 💙
Democrats need to brand everything they do so voters know who is making their lives better. Visually, rhetorically, etc. Constantly repeat it & make it so obvious a 1st grader could understand it. Something like: Democrats Deliver! We need to drive the narrative to shape public opinion rather than wait for public opinion to drive our messaging. Democrats have been too timid and defensive. We need to be authentic and bold - before it's too late.
See Steve Schmidt’s suggestion to root everything we do in opposition in the Four Freedoms articulated by FDR. Make it the platform, the brand, what we stand for.
I've mentioned before when I moved (long ago) to Chicago from California, I was gob-smacked by all the "Mayor Byrne" signage on projects and just basic Chicago stuff. (Skyway sign - "Mayor Jane Byrne - Chicago") I thought it was a quaint throwback to Tammany Hall and suchlike "Chicago politics" but looking back and comparing to today, it was a savvy move by Dems. More please. p.s. when Washington became mayor I remember a couple stories about how long all the rebranding was going to take... dump trucks, freeway signs, festival ads ("Mayor Byrne's Chicagofest!") etc etc etc.
Dan, you all have talked about Democrats needing to learn how to communicate better, but I haven’t heard a lot of focus on the fact that Democrats tend to speak in abstractions and big words, while many Republicans speak in simple words about concrete things.
Democrats talk about an opportunity economy, strengthening our institutions, and the need to “codify Roe.“ how many people don’t have the background knowledge or education to understand what any of that means? I bet a lot of them are infrequent, swing voters that keep determining elections.
Meanwhile, Trump is yelling about water pressure and who gets to play sports and what kind of straws people find annoying, and at least people know what those things ARE and can easily have an opinion about them, and feel like they relate to their daily lives. What sounds crazy and ridiculous to many of us is relatable to many typical Americans.
I think this, more than anything else, explains the appeal of Trump to people who typically don’t follow politics and are not college educated. They have an access point and don’t need to do research to know what he’s saying. They understand what he’s talking about and feel like he’s talking to them.
I would love to hear you all talk more about how Democrats can bridge this gap.
Bridge the gap. Contact Democratic representatives to call for a vote on Amendment 14.3. It never happened. An insurrectionist can not serve without BEING ALLOWED BY A 66% VOTE IN FAVOR!
As to our legal system not being equipped to prosecute rich people? I disagree—just run through the last few years and you’ll come up with a list of celebrities and politicians who were successfully prosecuted. The problem with Trump was that Biden appointed a dilly-dallying judge to fill a prosecutor’s role, who had to be shamed into action by the J6 committee. In the GA prosecution, there was a smart but arrogant and careless prosecutor who failed to realize her opposition would be scrutinizing her every move for some tiny crack to exploit. She gave it to them.
My comment is not germane to Dan’s point, but I couldn’t let the idea that somehow our justice system is that flawed go by.
We shot ourselves in the foot. Just think about NY, where all the legal experts thought there were flaws in the case. Competent prosecutors got 34 guilty verdicts.
I did not forget. He did get a guilty verdict against someone who was all but caught red-handed and had a mountain of physical evidence against him snd had fact witnesses testify against him. Great job. Not a difficult challenge, but great job.
He did not start investigating the J6 case for nearly two years. Was scared of looking political? How about wasting two years that probably would have kept a felon out of the White House?
The federal prosecutors who brought Spiro Agnew down have openly said they felt intense pressure to hurry because they did not want Nixon to resign and be replaced by a VP who was more venal and corrupt.
They investigated and developed a case so strong that it convinced Agnew (and his lawyers) to plead guilty. They accomplished this in a Republican administration and working for a Republican AG in a very short timeline. As opposed to waiting 21 months before
Biden is part of that equation too. A big part. Many forget that he would not mention Trump’s name in the first 6 months or so after taking office. Literally called him “the other guy” any time he was asked on camera. You may think that’s insignificant, but it’s VERY significant. We are in a post policy political environment. We are in a messaging and marketing environment. Trump knows that and uses it to his advantage at every turn. Biden was stuck in an “aw, shucks, I’m not gonna talk about that jerk because we are moving forward” mode. Mistake. Huge mistake. He had six months to take his 57% approval rating and use it to pulverize Trump into the ground from the most powerful bully pulpit on the planet. Deliver multiple speeches about just how dangerous Jan 6 was, and how close we came to losing it all. Look at how Brazil handled Bolsonaro’s coup attempt. They did it swiftly and without compromise. Instead, Biden literally allowed Trump to turn the narrative around. And Trump used Joe’s name as a punching bag as he lied his way back to relevance. Messaging and marketing took Jan 6 from a clear crime against our government that a large majority agreed upon to being seen by far too many as a great day, and the perpetrators as martyrs. Garland went old school and worked from the lower rung upward. In retrospect, that clearly wasn’t the right call. But the administration laid the predicate of ignoring “the other guy” and we now see how that went.
I fully agree as to Biden. He had his successes, but his style of communication and his method of dealing with Trump was more suited to the 1950s.
I have heard Garland’s process painted as a strategy of working from the lowest-level offenders up. That works if you are hoping to flip people, and clearly that didn’t apply here. I think the reality is he didn’t want to prosecute Trump and didn’t start until he was pressured into it.
There was not a fact revealed in those prosecutions nor an offender “turned”. More strategery than strategy.
Agree. Every time I hear a Repug speak they still mention Biden (or woke) to cast blame. The Dems messaging is old school. I found Kamala's ads milquetoast at best. Every Dem who speaks needs to mention Elons damage to the lives of people. Too Many people couldn't care less on the fundamentals of the constitution unless it's about guns :D
It’s easy for me to feel hopeless and depressed about the direction of our country. Listening to PSA sometimes offers me hope and often laughs.
I feel certain Peter Thiel and Curtis Yarvin have a big role in the direction this country is taking. Yet, many haven't heard of either. (Thiel is the reason for JD Vance, or whatever he's calling himself these days.)
But, conveying their power and influence is too complicated. Their web is almost too stealthy to follow.
Instead, I believe the Democratic message should make two simple points.
1. Trump equals corruption, corruption, and nothing but corruption.
2. The national debt, due to the obscene tax cuts for the 1%, is crippling the future of younger generations.
My wife belongs to a few Facebook groups, left leaning, with membership in the hundreds. Very active readers and posters. Some of those members belong to other groups, and so on. I belong to one such similar group. We share posts. We figure this network has a potential reach of 5 to 7 thousand people.
I recently wrote a post here about Musk and what his hackers’s co-op might be up to. I reposted it as did my wife, and we saw it as a repost (and once as a copy/paste!) a dozen times.
The real power of today is that your ideas, comments, and opinions can have a reach that would have been unimaginable even ten years ago.
I post, quoting heavily from Dan’s messages to us. Especially lately they have been incredibly helpful (and extremely quotable).
Please consider looking for similar groups or other ways to multiply your voice. An idea I am sure many of us are already using.
I'd love to win back the House and want to support seats we have. But the 10 vulnerable Democratic incumbents are among the ones that need to show a spine and hold firm on the funding & debt ceiling fights about to happen. These funding battles are the best weapon we have right now in Congress against the Musk actions. How can we best pressure these candidates to fight back instead saddling ourselves with a bunch of reps whose go-to is still "let's work together," even in the face of fascism? I'm not eager to keep donating to folks who capitulate (e.g., Gallego, Slotkin).
I'm not Dan and would also like to hear from him on this. I have a few thoughts, none of them good. To agree to NOT do something on a particular day is only effective if you have a huge group of people with a clear focus on who they're striking and why. If you don't shop anywhere on a Friday, how does that distinguish you from all the people who are not shopping on that day? And how does it make any impact if there are tons of places you never shop at anyway?
Why is the messaging of this event about showing corporations how powerful we are? What does that have to do with what's happening in Washington? Plus, some corporations and local businesses are pro-democracy and are very supportive of Democratic candidates and progressive values. Are we striking them too?
I don't mean to be critical of people who are obviously trying to do something here. But I don't get the strategy. Wouldn't it be much more effective and pro-active to have a pro-democracy shopping day? Where we go into our neighborhoods and support the mom-and-pop store that's hanging a Pride flag, and tell them so, and thank them. Where we shop at Costco or Starbucks and thank them for their support over the years of tons of liberal causes. Where we reinforce the values we say we stand for instead of trying to punish people (who may or may not have done anything wrong) and shut them out?
I'm not actively speaking against this because people really want to do *something.* But I wish we could be coming up with more positive ways to get our values out there in our communities, to welcome people to join us in a movement where they can see themselves belonging and having a place.
I think we can also increase the effectiveness of our actions by focusing on the real danger (currently Musk and Vought) and avoid getting distracted by the BS that Trump spews (invading Greenland, developing Gaza as a US (what? colony?) etc. While we fume about this, are personal information is being mined by 20 year olds, vital programs are ending, people have already died...Gum up whatever can be gummed up, and use Trump's inanities against him in the midterms. His China tariffs are about to hammer the US agriculture industry (in particular), and the incompetent (yes - relish the fact that while he is hitting us with volume - it is clear that Trump and Musk are extremely incompetent in their actions) "tear it all down" approach WILL begin to impact MAGA cultists....it won't destroy the cult (it's a cult after all - people will literally drink poison kool-aid as we know) but will peel some off.
Dan, regarding “Additionally, I can provide you with guidance — based on my experience and public opinion research — on the most effective ways to talk about those issues.” This will be extremely helpful. I suggest you do this in an explicit way that’s easy to “grab and go” for those of us with limited time and/or experience posting political messaging on social media…says one Boomer who wants to get better at digital.
I think people should not be afraid of saying what they think in places where others might overhear them. In my polite state, people are often quiet about their opinions but I’m done with that. When we don’t talk with or among strangers, people get the impression Trump and Musk have everyone behind them. When we talk, even if people don’t agree with us, it sends the message that ordinary people don’t like what’s going on.
I mentioned something Trump-related just offhand to my supermarket checker the other day. Under her breath she said "We're not supposed to discuss things like that...but here's what I think." And we had a great whispered conversation. My hope is that she'll share that info with her circle - you never know where you'll find an ally.
This is exactly where I had a conversation the other day. I grabbed the last bag of onions (tariff-related) and mentioned it to the cashier, who started talking about "that man" and all the trouble he was causing the country. The people behind and in front of me in line listened to our convo and I thought, Good! Let people know we don't like what "that man" is doing.
I and many of my activist colleagues worked hard to help Adam Gray of California's Central Valley defeat the republican incumbent in 2024. He won by 187 votes in a purple district.
His opponent said he would try again in 2026.
Adam Gray needs to defend every vote he takes in the 119th Congress in order to hold his seat. To his benefit, he will have a corps of volunteers who are already prepared to work for his 2026 campaign.
California's 13th Congressional district is largely a farming community. Another advantage Adam Gray will have is running against the republican record which in two years time could be one that is not favorable to farmers.
It's not favorable now considering Trump's water stunt! Everyone in that district needs reminding that Trump took *their* Summer irrigation water to send to LA (HA!) and instead let it evaporate in a lake bed!
Be nice if voting made a difference, problem is musk and trump have control now and thinking they are going to let go of this power by letting us have a legitimate election is not reality, we WILL have to revolt before they get all their ducks in a row and more nonreversable damage is done.
I totally agree with you. It is very obvious by their actions that they are preparing to prevent free and fair elections in the future. Trump himself said you won't ever have to vote again after this (2024) election.
As described in Wikipedia's The "Revolutions of 1989," this may be instructive for us: "One feature common to most of these developments [revolutions] was the extensive use of campaigns of civil resistance, demonstrating popular opposition to the continuation of one-party rule and contributing to pressure for change."
What we're dealing with now is one-party rule. The republicans have shown themselves to be anti-democratic; they behave in lock-step and they will do whatever it takes to stay in power.
It's easy to see what lies ahead. We need to get OUR ducks in a row now before it's too late.
HA! 22 thousand constituents in my rural NY district showed up with 10 minutes notice on a Tuesday night for a Town Hall Meeting with our local Congressman in DC. Folks from BOTH sides of the aisle are FUMING at Trump and Musk. Local VA Hospital, Head Start and Social Security office closed. MAGA voters asking why Trump is talking about sending troops to Gaza, instead of getting household costs down. Resistance is not dead. Folks are just getting started. Get involved.
Hi Dan, thanks for another great piece. I do want to point out that you didn't mention a HUGE part of the story you're discussing. The Resistance, which as you noted had been largely written off as dead (but the demise of which has been greatly exaggerated), is in fact largely responsible for the recent wakeup of Congressional Dems.
I'm involved with one of many active Indivisible groups in Los Angeles, and can tell you that the Indivisible movement and its allies helped drive phone traffic to Congressional offices to something like 40 times its usual volume over the last week or so. The phenomenon was even covered in legacy media.
Many groups nationwide, ours included, also made physical visits to our Senators' in-state offices to register our extreme displeasure at the Musk coup and the continuation of normal business in the Senate, including the confirmations of grotesque and unfit nominees.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2025/02/07/musk-congress-doge-angry-calls/
Ditto. Indivisible Brooklyn is booming and working hard to get the message to Schumer and Jeffries to actually use the power they have in the minority. Two protests at Schumer's house and at his NY office this week alone, and they're growing. I also persuaded my red-state mother-in-law to call her federal electeds too for the first time (and she had fun doing it!). Make your calls, and recruit others to do the same. It's up to us to fight back.
1000% support. Folks I know in three small rural communities in Mendocino and northern Sonoma drove hours to Sacramento or San Francisco to rally to participate, thanks to Indivisible’s mobilizing. People are fired up, pissed all the way off, and determined to fight for our communities.
One thing that was covered is that callers were often clearly reading from the same script message which highlighted to Congress people's staff that these calls were driven by Democratic activists and could be more easily discounted and ignored. Callers need to internalise the message and say it in their own words and terminology for it to be considered more "genuine".
Thank-you!
Bravo, Dan!! Well put. I grew up in a village of 900 people that’s in Elise Stefanik’s NY-21 district. I’m inclined to think that Blake Gendebien, a farmer from the small town of Lisbon, NY has the best chance among the current candidates of taking that seat. He’s already fundraising, and he’s got a levelheaded, compelling message. Dairy farming is the lifeblood of northern New York across the district. I’m biased, but it’s also geographically diverse and beautiful. It includes the entire Adirondack Forest Preserve, Lake Placid, where the US Hockey Team stunned the world by defeating the Russians (USSR) and then going on to win the 1980 Olympics contest; and closer to my childhood home, is Maple Ridge, a large wind farm on the vast Tug Hill Plateau. Maple Ridge was built decades ago, a sign that rural Americans do look forward and care deeply about sustainability. Check out Blake Gendebien here:
https://blakegendebienforcongress.com/
I just looked at his webpage and couldn't even figure out if he was a Democrat or Republican. Literally no mention of the Democratic party. That's probably good for his campaign, but an interesting commentary on our toxic brand.
I agree he has not listed his party affiation...and is most likely because he's running in a ruby red district. I Googled him and he is listed as a Democrat:-) Sent him a donation...I live in California...but he seems like a viable candidate. We'll see if he catches on. The Democrats better put some money behind him. Never heard of him until reading this...so thank you for posting!
Here’s an update that should clarify the reason for the blur of Gendebien’ party ID:
https://spectrumlocalnews.com/nys/central-ny/politics/2025/02/05/democrats-pick-dairy-farmer-for-pending-ny-21-special-election
There’s no primary contest in NYS for an open seat. County chairs select the candidate. The district has shifted to R dominated; however, Barack Obama won most of the counties there in both 2008 and 2012.
My mother was from Saranac Lake and I have a deep love for the Adirondacks. Already sent money to Gendelbien’s campaign. I’m in Chicago now but have hope for his campaign. 💙
Democrats need to brand everything they do so voters know who is making their lives better. Visually, rhetorically, etc. Constantly repeat it & make it so obvious a 1st grader could understand it. Something like: Democrats Deliver! We need to drive the narrative to shape public opinion rather than wait for public opinion to drive our messaging. Democrats have been too timid and defensive. We need to be authentic and bold - before it's too late.
See Steve Schmidt’s suggestion to root everything we do in opposition in the Four Freedoms articulated by FDR. Make it the platform, the brand, what we stand for.
I've mentioned before when I moved (long ago) to Chicago from California, I was gob-smacked by all the "Mayor Byrne" signage on projects and just basic Chicago stuff. (Skyway sign - "Mayor Jane Byrne - Chicago") I thought it was a quaint throwback to Tammany Hall and suchlike "Chicago politics" but looking back and comparing to today, it was a savvy move by Dems. More please. p.s. when Washington became mayor I remember a couple stories about how long all the rebranding was going to take... dump trucks, freeway signs, festival ads ("Mayor Byrne's Chicagofest!") etc etc etc.
Dan, you all have talked about Democrats needing to learn how to communicate better, but I haven’t heard a lot of focus on the fact that Democrats tend to speak in abstractions and big words, while many Republicans speak in simple words about concrete things.
Democrats talk about an opportunity economy, strengthening our institutions, and the need to “codify Roe.“ how many people don’t have the background knowledge or education to understand what any of that means? I bet a lot of them are infrequent, swing voters that keep determining elections.
Meanwhile, Trump is yelling about water pressure and who gets to play sports and what kind of straws people find annoying, and at least people know what those things ARE and can easily have an opinion about them, and feel like they relate to their daily lives. What sounds crazy and ridiculous to many of us is relatable to many typical Americans.
I think this, more than anything else, explains the appeal of Trump to people who typically don’t follow politics and are not college educated. They have an access point and don’t need to do research to know what he’s saying. They understand what he’s talking about and feel like he’s talking to them.
I would love to hear you all talk more about how Democrats can bridge this gap.
Bridge the gap. Contact Democratic representatives to call for a vote on Amendment 14.3. It never happened. An insurrectionist can not serve without BEING ALLOWED BY A 66% VOTE IN FAVOR!
I like "Impeach Trump"...they should run on that...and "Arrest Elon". Simple.😉
As to our legal system not being equipped to prosecute rich people? I disagree—just run through the last few years and you’ll come up with a list of celebrities and politicians who were successfully prosecuted. The problem with Trump was that Biden appointed a dilly-dallying judge to fill a prosecutor’s role, who had to be shamed into action by the J6 committee. In the GA prosecution, there was a smart but arrogant and careless prosecutor who failed to realize her opposition would be scrutinizing her every move for some tiny crack to exploit. She gave it to them.
My comment is not germane to Dan’s point, but I couldn’t let the idea that somehow our justice system is that flawed go by.
We shot ourselves in the foot. Just think about NY, where all the legal experts thought there were flaws in the case. Competent prosecutors got 34 guilty verdicts.
You forget That the former AG WAS a prosecutor. He prosecuted Timothy McVeigh!!
I did not forget. He did get a guilty verdict against someone who was all but caught red-handed and had a mountain of physical evidence against him snd had fact witnesses testify against him. Great job. Not a difficult challenge, but great job.
He did not start investigating the J6 case for nearly two years. Was scared of looking political? How about wasting two years that probably would have kept a felon out of the White House?
The federal prosecutors who brought Spiro Agnew down have openly said they felt intense pressure to hurry because they did not want Nixon to resign and be replaced by a VP who was more venal and corrupt.
They investigated and developed a case so strong that it convinced Agnew (and his lawyers) to plead guilty. They accomplished this in a Republican administration and working for a Republican AG in a very short timeline. As opposed to waiting 21 months before
Biden is part of that equation too. A big part. Many forget that he would not mention Trump’s name in the first 6 months or so after taking office. Literally called him “the other guy” any time he was asked on camera. You may think that’s insignificant, but it’s VERY significant. We are in a post policy political environment. We are in a messaging and marketing environment. Trump knows that and uses it to his advantage at every turn. Biden was stuck in an “aw, shucks, I’m not gonna talk about that jerk because we are moving forward” mode. Mistake. Huge mistake. He had six months to take his 57% approval rating and use it to pulverize Trump into the ground from the most powerful bully pulpit on the planet. Deliver multiple speeches about just how dangerous Jan 6 was, and how close we came to losing it all. Look at how Brazil handled Bolsonaro’s coup attempt. They did it swiftly and without compromise. Instead, Biden literally allowed Trump to turn the narrative around. And Trump used Joe’s name as a punching bag as he lied his way back to relevance. Messaging and marketing took Jan 6 from a clear crime against our government that a large majority agreed upon to being seen by far too many as a great day, and the perpetrators as martyrs. Garland went old school and worked from the lower rung upward. In retrospect, that clearly wasn’t the right call. But the administration laid the predicate of ignoring “the other guy” and we now see how that went.
I fully agree as to Biden. He had his successes, but his style of communication and his method of dealing with Trump was more suited to the 1950s.
I have heard Garland’s process painted as a strategy of working from the lowest-level offenders up. That works if you are hoping to flip people, and clearly that didn’t apply here. I think the reality is he didn’t want to prosecute Trump and didn’t start until he was pressured into it.
There was not a fact revealed in those prosecutions nor an offender “turned”. More strategery than strategy.
Agree. Every time I hear a Repug speak they still mention Biden (or woke) to cast blame. The Dems messaging is old school. I found Kamala's ads milquetoast at best. Every Dem who speaks needs to mention Elons damage to the lives of people. Too Many people couldn't care less on the fundamentals of the constitution unless it's about guns :D
Thanks, Dan. Love Pod Save America.
It’s easy for me to feel hopeless and depressed about the direction of our country. Listening to PSA sometimes offers me hope and often laughs.
I feel certain Peter Thiel and Curtis Yarvin have a big role in the direction this country is taking. Yet, many haven't heard of either. (Thiel is the reason for JD Vance, or whatever he's calling himself these days.)
But, conveying their power and influence is too complicated. Their web is almost too stealthy to follow.
Instead, I believe the Democratic message should make two simple points.
1. Trump equals corruption, corruption, and nothing but corruption.
2. The national debt, due to the obscene tax cuts for the 1%, is crippling the future of younger generations.
My wife belongs to a few Facebook groups, left leaning, with membership in the hundreds. Very active readers and posters. Some of those members belong to other groups, and so on. I belong to one such similar group. We share posts. We figure this network has a potential reach of 5 to 7 thousand people.
I recently wrote a post here about Musk and what his hackers’s co-op might be up to. I reposted it as did my wife, and we saw it as a repost (and once as a copy/paste!) a dozen times.
The real power of today is that your ideas, comments, and opinions can have a reach that would have been unimaginable even ten years ago.
I post, quoting heavily from Dan’s messages to us. Especially lately they have been incredibly helpful (and extremely quotable).
Please consider looking for similar groups or other ways to multiply your voice. An idea I am sure many of us are already using.
I'd love to win back the House and want to support seats we have. But the 10 vulnerable Democratic incumbents are among the ones that need to show a spine and hold firm on the funding & debt ceiling fights about to happen. These funding battles are the best weapon we have right now in Congress against the Musk actions. How can we best pressure these candidates to fight back instead saddling ourselves with a bunch of reps whose go-to is still "let's work together," even in the face of fascism? I'm not eager to keep donating to folks who capitulate (e.g., Gallego, Slotkin).
What do you know about the February 28 economic blackout? How effective is this type of tactic?
Would love to hear your thoughts on this too, Dan!
I'm not Dan and would also like to hear from him on this. I have a few thoughts, none of them good. To agree to NOT do something on a particular day is only effective if you have a huge group of people with a clear focus on who they're striking and why. If you don't shop anywhere on a Friday, how does that distinguish you from all the people who are not shopping on that day? And how does it make any impact if there are tons of places you never shop at anyway?
Why is the messaging of this event about showing corporations how powerful we are? What does that have to do with what's happening in Washington? Plus, some corporations and local businesses are pro-democracy and are very supportive of Democratic candidates and progressive values. Are we striking them too?
I don't mean to be critical of people who are obviously trying to do something here. But I don't get the strategy. Wouldn't it be much more effective and pro-active to have a pro-democracy shopping day? Where we go into our neighborhoods and support the mom-and-pop store that's hanging a Pride flag, and tell them so, and thank them. Where we shop at Costco or Starbucks and thank them for their support over the years of tons of liberal causes. Where we reinforce the values we say we stand for instead of trying to punish people (who may or may not have done anything wrong) and shut them out?
I'm not actively speaking against this because people really want to do *something.* But I wish we could be coming up with more positive ways to get our values out there in our communities, to welcome people to join us in a movement where they can see themselves belonging and having a place.
I think we can also increase the effectiveness of our actions by focusing on the real danger (currently Musk and Vought) and avoid getting distracted by the BS that Trump spews (invading Greenland, developing Gaza as a US (what? colony?) etc. While we fume about this, are personal information is being mined by 20 year olds, vital programs are ending, people have already died...Gum up whatever can be gummed up, and use Trump's inanities against him in the midterms. His China tariffs are about to hammer the US agriculture industry (in particular), and the incompetent (yes - relish the fact that while he is hitting us with volume - it is clear that Trump and Musk are extremely incompetent in their actions) "tear it all down" approach WILL begin to impact MAGA cultists....it won't destroy the cult (it's a cult after all - people will literally drink poison kool-aid as we know) but will peel some off.
Dan, regarding “Additionally, I can provide you with guidance — based on my experience and public opinion research — on the most effective ways to talk about those issues.” This will be extremely helpful. I suggest you do this in an explicit way that’s easy to “grab and go” for those of us with limited time and/or experience posting political messaging on social media…says one Boomer who wants to get better at digital.
I think people should not be afraid of saying what they think in places where others might overhear them. In my polite state, people are often quiet about their opinions but I’m done with that. When we don’t talk with or among strangers, people get the impression Trump and Musk have everyone behind them. When we talk, even if people don’t agree with us, it sends the message that ordinary people don’t like what’s going on.
I mentioned something Trump-related just offhand to my supermarket checker the other day. Under her breath she said "We're not supposed to discuss things like that...but here's what I think." And we had a great whispered conversation. My hope is that she'll share that info with her circle - you never know where you'll find an ally.
This is exactly where I had a conversation the other day. I grabbed the last bag of onions (tariff-related) and mentioned it to the cashier, who started talking about "that man" and all the trouble he was causing the country. The people behind and in front of me in line listened to our convo and I thought, Good! Let people know we don't like what "that man" is doing.
I and many of my activist colleagues worked hard to help Adam Gray of California's Central Valley defeat the republican incumbent in 2024. He won by 187 votes in a purple district.
His opponent said he would try again in 2026.
Adam Gray needs to defend every vote he takes in the 119th Congress in order to hold his seat. To his benefit, he will have a corps of volunteers who are already prepared to work for his 2026 campaign.
California's 13th Congressional district is largely a farming community. Another advantage Adam Gray will have is running against the republican record which in two years time could be one that is not favorable to farmers.
It's not favorable now considering Trump's water stunt! Everyone in that district needs reminding that Trump took *their* Summer irrigation water to send to LA (HA!) and instead let it evaporate in a lake bed!
Hammer the message hard. Although I heard a comment from one farmer who was not concerned - will they ever open their eyes?
Be nice if voting made a difference, problem is musk and trump have control now and thinking they are going to let go of this power by letting us have a legitimate election is not reality, we WILL have to revolt before they get all their ducks in a row and more nonreversable damage is done.
I totally agree with you. It is very obvious by their actions that they are preparing to prevent free and fair elections in the future. Trump himself said you won't ever have to vote again after this (2024) election.
As described in Wikipedia's The "Revolutions of 1989," this may be instructive for us: "One feature common to most of these developments [revolutions] was the extensive use of campaigns of civil resistance, demonstrating popular opposition to the continuation of one-party rule and contributing to pressure for change."
What we're dealing with now is one-party rule. The republicans have shown themselves to be anti-democratic; they behave in lock-step and they will do whatever it takes to stay in power.
It's easy to see what lies ahead. We need to get OUR ducks in a row now before it's too late.
Yes. Indivisible is doing great work, and the more of us participate, the more effective these efforts will be.
Candidate for WI Supreme Court is SUSAN Crawford
HA! 22 thousand constituents in my rural NY district showed up with 10 minutes notice on a Tuesday night for a Town Hall Meeting with our local Congressman in DC. Folks from BOTH sides of the aisle are FUMING at Trump and Musk. Local VA Hospital, Head Start and Social Security office closed. MAGA voters asking why Trump is talking about sending troops to Gaza, instead of getting household costs down. Resistance is not dead. Folks are just getting started. Get involved.