Why don't the Dems insist on requiring the recission of Miller's 3000 arrests per day? This NKVD requirement has accelerated the chaos and cruelty of the malicious program beyond all measure.
Love the one two punch of your healthcare costs are going up to pay for ICE and CBP raids. More visceral then the ballroom. More accurate as well given the private funding for the ballroom.
Tangential to Dan’s main message here, and be aware I work locally…
This is the first time in years that the MAGA firehose of outrageous and indecent lies itself is part of the discussion.
We don’t have to waste time and lose attention by enumerating the lies or telling people how indecent they are. Everybody knows because the lies, particularly about Pretti’s murder and Pretti himself, are a central component of the outrage. And because the lies are so beyond the pale, we can use the word “lie” without offending the sensibilities of most people.
Where I am in OR, nearly every local/state Republican politician has at least one repost of anti-immigrant disinformation in their social media feeds. This is all you need to tie them to the MAGA lie machine.
Two addtional points worth mentioning in a conversation such as the one Dan posits:
1. ICE's budget is now larger than all our other law enforcement agencies *combined* and is larger than the military budgets of many of our allies. Does anyone truly think immigration is the #1 problem in America, or even the #1 crime problem?
2. "Barring a legislative miracle, much of the federal government will shut down on Friday because Republicans are unwilling to rein in Trump’s out-of-control deportation force."
As Scott Galloway pointed out, all it would take for this shit to be over is for 20 GOP senators to privately go to Trump and say that unless this ends if there's an impeachment vote we're voting with the Democrats. 20 senators, that's all. How sad is that, that it's not happened?
Two more points: The cost of sending these goons into LA and other cities is HALF A BILLION DOLLARS. Can we just imagine how much healthcare, food and housing that would buy?
Secondly, in red states they're passing laws to make it easier to collaborate with ICE. According to the Times "In South Carolina, a new bill would require county sheriffs to work with ICE. In Tennessee, a proposal would force the government to verify the legal status of residents seeking public assistance and to verify the immigration status of schoolchildren" Doesn't that give us something to run against and possibly turn some of these Red states a little more puple?
I really wish we would see more of this egregious ICE activity in red states, which have larger immigrant populations than Minnesota or Maine. They need to see this up close.
We sure are spending a lot—$175 billion+ — to introduce chaos, cruelty and higher costs for the American people.
If the Dems are unable to get significant traction with a simple message like that, given all the powerful imagery and incriminating video out there, all hope is truly lost.
I’m always tempted to lead with “you were warned, I told you so and this is all the American people’s fault” but I’m not a professional politician, unsurprisingly.
At least we have AOC, Mamdani and Mayor Frey to show em how it’s done ✅
The sword of Damocles has been hanging over the MAGA GOP and Trump for 6 months as household expenses for middle and working class families has skyrocketed. Add to this the corrosive chaos of unaffordable health care and NOW the targeting and brutal treatment of non-white Americans and immigrants, the execution of innocent protestors, the kidnapping of young children. We are witnessing the total trainwreck of the MAGA GOP.
We all knew from Trump 1 that he is incapable of managing the federal government. In Trump 2 he's thrown fuel on his fires by adding utterly incompetent ideologues and loyalists to enhance his mismanagement.
His approval rating in the average polls (including GOP sponsored pro-trump polls) has dropped 5 points in the last 6 weeks to 39%. A disastrous % 8 months away from the midterms.
As a result, the knives are out in Trump world, both in the White House and in the MAGA echo chamber. Coherent popular governance is nowhere on the horizon.
All this says we are winning the war for American Democracy.
Let's keep up the pressure. MAGA doesn't understand what is hitting them because they don't understand the enduring values of our American melting pot community and the West's turn toward freedom and equality for the past 400 years. They only understand tyranny, hate and dominance. As a form of governance it always fails.
The raids in Minneapolis and Maine have less to do with illegal immigration and everything to do with intimidation and control of midterm elections this year. So obvious allá Bondi’s offer to remove ICE in exchange for voter roles.
It’s also critically important to develop a permission structure for Trump voters to abandon him and his agenda when the obvious implication is they fucked up by supporting him.
The more talented politicians will say something like, “Trump is obviously entertaining and a great salesman but this isn’t what we voted for.. he is just like many other politicians who have made campaign promises they had no intention of keeping. The Democrats actually have a much better track record on economic issues historically—don’t take my word for it, look it up. And this is what we will do if you give us the opportunity…”
A "permission structure for Trump voters"? Never thought of that. How about "This is what can happen when you vote your racism instead of your common sense. Maybe next time you could give common sense a little more weight in the mix?"
There is one thing right now would make a difference. Legally cap the number of agents. Full stop period! No one is saying that, which is a big problem. The list of ending warrantless searches is a constitutional right!! Not sure how passing it in law will stop Trump. How will congress enforce this list? Also if we can stop using common sense reforms. We are well beyond that point now. We need systematic change and better start talking about that.
Thanks Dan. Lots of good stuff. Do you think it worthwhile to emphasize how de-escalation is Minn. is NOT being a good Pres., but, addressing a problem (ICE violence) that he created? To my mind, this is classic “art of the heel” - - it’s net zero with appearance of steady hand. And, folks will fall for it: “He’s toning it down, which is a good thing, right?”
Thank you for this full list of talking points, very helpful. Given this shift in opinion I know I have an opportunity to talk with friends who voted for Trump but who are not MAGA, they voted because they were fearful, they thought the economy would be better, and they were generally low news engagement/uninformed. However, I will note that I think Dems will continue to under poll Republicans until we have a visible, authentic, dynamic party leader with a compelling message for our future (not just anti-Trump message). Right now the less engaged public still just thinks of Biden.
Hi Dan. I ask this with all due respect. I love your voice and respect you deeply. What if we don't agree with the "reforms" that you (and the Democrats) have offered as solutions? I think they're too weak, don't solve any problems, and could actually cost more money. The DHS budget has already tripled since last year. Training won't fix this. Much of it is hard to enforce. We already mandated by law that they release the Epstein files and they won't. I know the "defund" and "abolish" language is considered a third rail, but I honestly don't know if they should be. I want a more humane system, not the same system with useless reforms. Thanks!
Maybe the abolish and defund words should be on or off the table, from an ethical or moral perspective.
But I think the point is that most political experts and pollsters say that both words are poison to most voters. Beyond that, defund is such an ambiguous word that the message is too easily misinterpreted by voters. Neither word brings any nuance.
So my non-expert opinion is that both phrases are just lazy and inexact messages that do better as a club wielded by the GOP than an effective message for us.
Why don't the Dems insist on requiring the recission of Miller's 3000 arrests per day? This NKVD requirement has accelerated the chaos and cruelty of the malicious program beyond all measure.
Love the one two punch of your healthcare costs are going up to pay for ICE and CBP raids. More visceral then the ballroom. More accurate as well given the private funding for the ballroom.
Tangential to Dan’s main message here, and be aware I work locally…
This is the first time in years that the MAGA firehose of outrageous and indecent lies itself is part of the discussion.
We don’t have to waste time and lose attention by enumerating the lies or telling people how indecent they are. Everybody knows because the lies, particularly about Pretti’s murder and Pretti himself, are a central component of the outrage. And because the lies are so beyond the pale, we can use the word “lie” without offending the sensibilities of most people.
Where I am in OR, nearly every local/state Republican politician has at least one repost of anti-immigrant disinformation in their social media feeds. This is all you need to tie them to the MAGA lie machine.
Two addtional points worth mentioning in a conversation such as the one Dan posits:
1. ICE's budget is now larger than all our other law enforcement agencies *combined* and is larger than the military budgets of many of our allies. Does anyone truly think immigration is the #1 problem in America, or even the #1 crime problem?
2. "Barring a legislative miracle, much of the federal government will shut down on Friday because Republicans are unwilling to rein in Trump’s out-of-control deportation force."
As Scott Galloway pointed out, all it would take for this shit to be over is for 20 GOP senators to privately go to Trump and say that unless this ends if there's an impeachment vote we're voting with the Democrats. 20 senators, that's all. How sad is that, that it's not happened?
Lots to be sad about these days..
Two more points: The cost of sending these goons into LA and other cities is HALF A BILLION DOLLARS. Can we just imagine how much healthcare, food and housing that would buy?
Secondly, in red states they're passing laws to make it easier to collaborate with ICE. According to the Times "In South Carolina, a new bill would require county sheriffs to work with ICE. In Tennessee, a proposal would force the government to verify the legal status of residents seeking public assistance and to verify the immigration status of schoolchildren" Doesn't that give us something to run against and possibly turn some of these Red states a little more puple?
I really wish we would see more of this egregious ICE activity in red states, which have larger immigrant populations than Minnesota or Maine. They need to see this up close.
We sure are spending a lot—$175 billion+ — to introduce chaos, cruelty and higher costs for the American people.
If the Dems are unable to get significant traction with a simple message like that, given all the powerful imagery and incriminating video out there, all hope is truly lost.
I’m always tempted to lead with “you were warned, I told you so and this is all the American people’s fault” but I’m not a professional politician, unsurprisingly.
At least we have AOC, Mamdani and Mayor Frey to show em how it’s done ✅
The sword of Damocles has been hanging over the MAGA GOP and Trump for 6 months as household expenses for middle and working class families has skyrocketed. Add to this the corrosive chaos of unaffordable health care and NOW the targeting and brutal treatment of non-white Americans and immigrants, the execution of innocent protestors, the kidnapping of young children. We are witnessing the total trainwreck of the MAGA GOP.
We all knew from Trump 1 that he is incapable of managing the federal government. In Trump 2 he's thrown fuel on his fires by adding utterly incompetent ideologues and loyalists to enhance his mismanagement.
His approval rating in the average polls (including GOP sponsored pro-trump polls) has dropped 5 points in the last 6 weeks to 39%. A disastrous % 8 months away from the midterms.
As a result, the knives are out in Trump world, both in the White House and in the MAGA echo chamber. Coherent popular governance is nowhere on the horizon.
All this says we are winning the war for American Democracy.
Let's keep up the pressure. MAGA doesn't understand what is hitting them because they don't understand the enduring values of our American melting pot community and the West's turn toward freedom and equality for the past 400 years. They only understand tyranny, hate and dominance. As a form of governance it always fails.
Sword of Damocles-- fantastic! Love that reference!
The raids in Minneapolis and Maine have less to do with illegal immigration and everything to do with intimidation and control of midterm elections this year. So obvious allá Bondi’s offer to remove ICE in exchange for voter roles.
It’s a 100% true but maybe it’s hard not to sound like a crazy conspiracy freak when saying that to the average voter.?
Excellent post, Dan. Really one of the best I've read on this topic. Thank you.
It’s also critically important to develop a permission structure for Trump voters to abandon him and his agenda when the obvious implication is they fucked up by supporting him.
The more talented politicians will say something like, “Trump is obviously entertaining and a great salesman but this isn’t what we voted for.. he is just like many other politicians who have made campaign promises they had no intention of keeping. The Democrats actually have a much better track record on economic issues historically—don’t take my word for it, look it up. And this is what we will do if you give us the opportunity…”
A "permission structure for Trump voters"? Never thought of that. How about "This is what can happen when you vote your racism instead of your common sense. Maybe next time you could give common sense a little more weight in the mix?"
There is one thing right now would make a difference. Legally cap the number of agents. Full stop period! No one is saying that, which is a big problem. The list of ending warrantless searches is a constitutional right!! Not sure how passing it in law will stop Trump. How will congress enforce this list? Also if we can stop using common sense reforms. We are well beyond that point now. We need systematic change and better start talking about that.
Thanks Dan. Lots of good stuff. Do you think it worthwhile to emphasize how de-escalation is Minn. is NOT being a good Pres., but, addressing a problem (ICE violence) that he created? To my mind, this is classic “art of the heel” - - it’s net zero with appearance of steady hand. And, folks will fall for it: “He’s toning it down, which is a good thing, right?”
Thank you for this full list of talking points, very helpful. Given this shift in opinion I know I have an opportunity to talk with friends who voted for Trump but who are not MAGA, they voted because they were fearful, they thought the economy would be better, and they were generally low news engagement/uninformed. However, I will note that I think Dems will continue to under poll Republicans until we have a visible, authentic, dynamic party leader with a compelling message for our future (not just anti-Trump message). Right now the less engaged public still just thinks of Biden.
Excellent and very practical.
Hi Dan. I ask this with all due respect. I love your voice and respect you deeply. What if we don't agree with the "reforms" that you (and the Democrats) have offered as solutions? I think they're too weak, don't solve any problems, and could actually cost more money. The DHS budget has already tripled since last year. Training won't fix this. Much of it is hard to enforce. We already mandated by law that they release the Epstein files and they won't. I know the "defund" and "abolish" language is considered a third rail, but I honestly don't know if they should be. I want a more humane system, not the same system with useless reforms. Thanks!
Maybe the abolish and defund words should be on or off the table, from an ethical or moral perspective.
But I think the point is that most political experts and pollsters say that both words are poison to most voters. Beyond that, defund is such an ambiguous word that the message is too easily misinterpreted by voters. Neither word brings any nuance.
So my non-expert opinion is that both phrases are just lazy and inexact messages that do better as a club wielded by the GOP than an effective message for us.
Thanks to Reid at Crooked for posting. I am absolutely horrified, but also moved and humbled, and so grateful there are Americans like this. Hard to watch, and absolutely inspiring. "I am not here for me, I am here for we." Watch: https://www.cnn.com/2026/01/27/us/stella-carlson-alex-pretti-witness-video?utm_source=substack&utm_medium=email