I just finished leaving messages for my Senators and Rep - all Dems.
Congresswoman Val Hoyle posted about process. Senator Jeff Merkley posted about process but at least included "No war with Iran" at the end.
Only Senator Ron Wyden posted what they all need to be saying: "Donald Trump is unilaterally dragging us into another costly and deadly war in the Middle East that the American people don't want. Trump and Hegseth are putting American lives on the line to make themselves feel powerful, while our military families pay the real price."
I can't hold leadership responsible for the poor judgement of Hoyle and Merkley, but I absolutely believe the the cowardice of Congressional leaders is a contributing factor. Jeffries and Schumer have got to go.
“Many [Democrats] still carry a post-9/11 mentality, perpetually worried about being cast as weak or unpatriotic by Republicans and the right-wing media machine.”
Amen. Democrats should take a page from the Republican playbook and oppose *everything* Trump and Republicans do.
I unfortunately have very little hope or faith for the Dem caucus to stay aligned on this. There are guys like Josh Goettheimer who are fully behind action against countries like Iran. There are still far more others worried about the effects of angering AIPAC and other members of the donor class than doing the "right" thing here. And I honestly think goons like Stephen Miller know this and will try to exploit it (it's a great two for one special for him--potentially wipe out an adversary he probably doesn't like while also potentially fracturing Democrats in the run up to what could be an absolute midterm bloodbath for Trump's party). And seeing the excuse be Iranian interference in our elections is just icing on the cake. This feels like a dark development that's only going to get darker.
Miller stated during the 2024 campaign: “To anyone still gullible enough to fall for scummy media hoaxes: Trump said warmongering neocons love sending your kids to die for wars they would never fight themselves. Liz Cheney is Kamala’s top advisor. Liz wants to invade the whole Middle East. Kamala = WWIII. Trump = Peace.”
And in another post Miller stated: "If young men don’t want to be drafted to fight in Kamala’s and Cheney’s 3rd World War they better get out and vote for Trump."
Our Constitution and institutions haven't failed. The people we've elected to represent us have. Their failure, their cowardice, their complicity is epic. Their failure is catastrophic. Trump keeps pushing the line and never, ever faces significant pushback. War is the ultimate (and we seem to think the Epstein files are somehow more significant) catastrophe. Trump started by killing people in Caribbean. Nobody in a position to stop him did so. Then invaded Venezuela. Nobody in a position to stop him did so. Now he has unilaterally launched an enormously dangerous war in the Middle East. I am confident that nobody in a position to stop him will act. I believe Occam's razor explains Trump's decision - it's the ultimate way to cement his legacy - although those beneath him re manipulating his narcissism to get him there. I cannot fathom how those in a position to stop him can be such craven, selfish, cowards. It sickens me and now - we are all less safe. Far less safe.
Why is nobody commenting on the implications of a President announcing a war on his own media channel and nowhere else? More than just a side note, it’s a critical part of the talking points — Trump clearly views himself as the president of MAGA, not the US. And, by the way, only those in MAGA who do exactly as commanded.
Since Roosevelt, all Presidents have spoken to the whole country at moments like these — not always for better, but far better than relying on the equivalent of state-controlled media to explain what we’re doing and why.
Even Democrats who think aggressive action in Iran is warranted, and that an air war will get to a white flag, should be all over this. Critically: as you pointed out this morning, you do NOT make it about ideological democracy, which fails to motivate too many. Instead, you use it as another example of a President who, in every way in every issue — pocketbook, especially included — only sees a duty to 35% of the nation.
Every Friday night. IQ45's ability to do something monumentally stupid is directly proportional to the number of times he is mentioned in the Epstein files.
I think Dan is absolutely correct on this, and he accurately calls out that way too many Democrats are fine with a war in Iran, just as long as they get to vote on it first.
So far every Democrat I have seen online has made a process argument about congressional approval rather than making a case against war. People with some influence like Dan or the Pod Save guys need to be more forceful in condemning war. So far I don't think they have met this bar.
With 80% of Americans not wanting war with Iran we as voters need to primary a lot or incumbents who are perfectly fine with more wars.
A number of pro-democracy media outlets such as The Bulwark and Adam Mockler have started to repost missives from Trump and his allies that warned that a vote for Harris was a vote for war against Iran. At the very least, the Democrats and their allies should be calling out the utter hypocrisy of the "American First" leadership.
Dan, I agree the Dems' reaction and response should be simple: don't offer a solution to the war or to the future of Iran. The response should be: 1. We had a plan for and with Iran, a multi-national agreement that kept Iran under world scurtiny. Trump tore it down and took us to war. 2. He campaigned there would be no wars under a Trump administration; declares he is history's ultimate peacemaker; accepted the FIFA peace prize, first recipient ever, took the Nobel medal from a legitimate winner, and here we are, under his administration, in which he is offereing up other people's sons and daughter in a war that he intentionally created without Congressional approval. Dems cannot offer solutions we have no current power to deliver, and we most certainly can't put forth a "Give us our power back and we'll fix this" appeal. So we mock him, ridicule him, and handcuff him (again) to his own past words, promises and actions. The whole party campaigns against this man united, and without the behind the doors personal differences within the party showing up in sound bites from individual Congressprsons or Senators. It may be a midyear, but evey single party member should be running against Trump whether or not they are currently running at all.
We assansinated the head of the Iranian government and Church. Put yourself in an Iranian pair of shoes. If someone assinated Trump i would be all over responding to them in kind. I can't imagine anything else that would make me support Trump 100%. Now it is an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth. And it lets Putin continue to fight a war in Europe and it is just a matter of time till China takes back Taiwan.
Dan on a recent pod you said the dumbest people are running our govt. — and they truly are. History tells us even with smart people in charge we’ve made major mistakes in war. With these morons in charge this situation is bound to be disastrous. Will the idiots be the downfall of the Trump regime or of our country?
Once again the feckless and clueless Dems, not even a majority, but enough to muddle the message, can’t get out of their own way in crafting a policy and message in opposition to Trump. There are zero legitimate National Security concerns here Trump’s incompetence, stupidity, and. Compromised standing make that crystal clear. There are many effective counter arguments that can be deployed:1) if the goal is regime change, what is the plan to accomplish that?, 2) In June, Trump said Iran’s nuclear capabilities were obliterated. Yet here we are again employing the same justification. Were you lying then or are you lying now? , 3) with respect to Venezuela, you said you didn’t need Congressional approval because it was a limited operation, not a war. With Iran you have effectively declared War. So what is your reason to bypass Congress now? Those are three counter arguments off the top of my head. All legitimate and can’t be construed as not patriotic.
I cannot begin to fathom the depth of credulity and weakness required for any non-Republican/non-MAGA to support this war at this time.
Dan, please keep up an unrelenting drum beat with this messaging. It’s going to be needed.
Trump has a good reason on his mind for starting the war right now. It starts with an 'E" and ends with an 'N."
I just finished leaving messages for my Senators and Rep - all Dems.
Congresswoman Val Hoyle posted about process. Senator Jeff Merkley posted about process but at least included "No war with Iran" at the end.
Only Senator Ron Wyden posted what they all need to be saying: "Donald Trump is unilaterally dragging us into another costly and deadly war in the Middle East that the American people don't want. Trump and Hegseth are putting American lives on the line to make themselves feel powerful, while our military families pay the real price."
I can't hold leadership responsible for the poor judgement of Hoyle and Merkley, but I absolutely believe the the cowardice of Congressional leaders is a contributing factor. Jeffries and Schumer have got to go.
“Many [Democrats] still carry a post-9/11 mentality, perpetually worried about being cast as weak or unpatriotic by Republicans and the right-wing media machine.”
Amen. Democrats should take a page from the Republican playbook and oppose *everything* Trump and Republicans do.
I unfortunately have very little hope or faith for the Dem caucus to stay aligned on this. There are guys like Josh Goettheimer who are fully behind action against countries like Iran. There are still far more others worried about the effects of angering AIPAC and other members of the donor class than doing the "right" thing here. And I honestly think goons like Stephen Miller know this and will try to exploit it (it's a great two for one special for him--potentially wipe out an adversary he probably doesn't like while also potentially fracturing Democrats in the run up to what could be an absolute midterm bloodbath for Trump's party). And seeing the excuse be Iranian interference in our elections is just icing on the cake. This feels like a dark development that's only going to get darker.
Miller stated during the 2024 campaign: “To anyone still gullible enough to fall for scummy media hoaxes: Trump said warmongering neocons love sending your kids to die for wars they would never fight themselves. Liz Cheney is Kamala’s top advisor. Liz wants to invade the whole Middle East. Kamala = WWIII. Trump = Peace.”
And in another post Miller stated: "If young men don’t want to be drafted to fight in Kamala’s and Cheney’s 3rd World War they better get out and vote for Trump."
Our Constitution and institutions haven't failed. The people we've elected to represent us have. Their failure, their cowardice, their complicity is epic. Their failure is catastrophic. Trump keeps pushing the line and never, ever faces significant pushback. War is the ultimate (and we seem to think the Epstein files are somehow more significant) catastrophe. Trump started by killing people in Caribbean. Nobody in a position to stop him did so. Then invaded Venezuela. Nobody in a position to stop him did so. Now he has unilaterally launched an enormously dangerous war in the Middle East. I am confident that nobody in a position to stop him will act. I believe Occam's razor explains Trump's decision - it's the ultimate way to cement his legacy - although those beneath him re manipulating his narcissism to get him there. I cannot fathom how those in a position to stop him can be such craven, selfish, cowards. It sickens me and now - we are all less safe. Far less safe.
Why is nobody commenting on the implications of a President announcing a war on his own media channel and nowhere else? More than just a side note, it’s a critical part of the talking points — Trump clearly views himself as the president of MAGA, not the US. And, by the way, only those in MAGA who do exactly as commanded.
Since Roosevelt, all Presidents have spoken to the whole country at moments like these — not always for better, but far better than relying on the equivalent of state-controlled media to explain what we’re doing and why.
Even Democrats who think aggressive action in Iran is warranted, and that an air war will get to a white flag, should be all over this. Critically: as you pointed out this morning, you do NOT make it about ideological democracy, which fails to motivate too many. Instead, you use it as another example of a President who, in every way in every issue — pocketbook, especially included — only sees a duty to 35% of the nation.
Every Friday night. IQ45's ability to do something monumentally stupid is directly proportional to the number of times he is mentioned in the Epstein files.
I think Dan is absolutely correct on this, and he accurately calls out that way too many Democrats are fine with a war in Iran, just as long as they get to vote on it first.
So far every Democrat I have seen online has made a process argument about congressional approval rather than making a case against war. People with some influence like Dan or the Pod Save guys need to be more forceful in condemning war. So far I don't think they have met this bar.
With 80% of Americans not wanting war with Iran we as voters need to primary a lot or incumbents who are perfectly fine with more wars.
A number of pro-democracy media outlets such as The Bulwark and Adam Mockler have started to repost missives from Trump and his allies that warned that a vote for Harris was a vote for war against Iran. At the very least, the Democrats and their allies should be calling out the utter hypocrisy of the "American First" leadership.
Dan, I agree the Dems' reaction and response should be simple: don't offer a solution to the war or to the future of Iran. The response should be: 1. We had a plan for and with Iran, a multi-national agreement that kept Iran under world scurtiny. Trump tore it down and took us to war. 2. He campaigned there would be no wars under a Trump administration; declares he is history's ultimate peacemaker; accepted the FIFA peace prize, first recipient ever, took the Nobel medal from a legitimate winner, and here we are, under his administration, in which he is offereing up other people's sons and daughter in a war that he intentionally created without Congressional approval. Dems cannot offer solutions we have no current power to deliver, and we most certainly can't put forth a "Give us our power back and we'll fix this" appeal. So we mock him, ridicule him, and handcuff him (again) to his own past words, promises and actions. The whole party campaigns against this man united, and without the behind the doors personal differences within the party showing up in sound bites from individual Congressprsons or Senators. It may be a midyear, but evey single party member should be running against Trump whether or not they are currently running at all.
There must be a “3” as well: We have no confidence in Donald Trump’s ability to conduct this or any other war.
We assansinated the head of the Iranian government and Church. Put yourself in an Iranian pair of shoes. If someone assinated Trump i would be all over responding to them in kind. I can't imagine anything else that would make me support Trump 100%. Now it is an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth. And it lets Putin continue to fight a war in Europe and it is just a matter of time till China takes back Taiwan.
Right on. The notion that Commander bone spurs will know how to conduct a major war is laughable.
Dan on a recent pod you said the dumbest people are running our govt. — and they truly are. History tells us even with smart people in charge we’ve made major mistakes in war. With these morons in charge this situation is bound to be disastrous. Will the idiots be the downfall of the Trump regime or of our country?
Once again the feckless and clueless Dems, not even a majority, but enough to muddle the message, can’t get out of their own way in crafting a policy and message in opposition to Trump. There are zero legitimate National Security concerns here Trump’s incompetence, stupidity, and. Compromised standing make that crystal clear. There are many effective counter arguments that can be deployed:1) if the goal is regime change, what is the plan to accomplish that?, 2) In June, Trump said Iran’s nuclear capabilities were obliterated. Yet here we are again employing the same justification. Were you lying then or are you lying now? , 3) with respect to Venezuela, you said you didn’t need Congressional approval because it was a limited operation, not a war. With Iran you have effectively declared War. So what is your reason to bypass Congress now? Those are three counter arguments off the top of my head. All legitimate and can’t be construed as not patriotic.