Some Thoughts on Strategy

 Every week #DSOT sends out an email focusing on issues and legislation that have a super majority consensus.  Policies that are vitally needed to protect and support our citizenry and the planet but are being either ignored, actively attacked, or quietly rolled back.

Most days it seems that the only people being taken care of are the < 90 billionaires in this country.  81 to be exact, but they are multiplying like rabbits, and faster than ever. This kind of inequality isn’t some constant of nature. It happens because of our social structure and the rules we make for our political economy. Rules like tax structure, or copyright protections. The system is rigged against  99+% of the country.

So today let's take a break from the daily horrors and talk about strategy.  

Where to begin? Vote. It’s simple and cliché and the least one can do, but it’s so important. Even when leaders of both parties haven’t represented the people in years. It can be hard to be enthusiastic about politics in these times, but don't allow anyone to steal your hope, your rights, your benefits and your ballot. Next, call your representatives.  The hint is in their name.  They are elected to represent.  Not just the corporations and 81 billionaires but everyone. Call and help them remember, or if you’re lucky enough to have one of the few good reps, call to give them a thank you and the push they need to fight even harder.  

Donald Trump is sui generis.  That means he is one of a kind.  Somehow this lying, crooked, pathetic failure who has no friends has hypnotized a chunk of this country and the entire GOP.  But there is no successor to this gaudy gilded throne. The wreckage of those who’ve tried and failed show as much: DeSantis, remember $150 million spent in Iowa during the 2024 election that couldn't buy one delegate?  JD Vance?  Please. He’s barely in the picture even when in the White House.

The true movers and shakers in the Trump regime, like Stephen Miller are viruses who need a host. Miller is unelectable and can only function as staff.  Staff, as in being an aide, not a staph infection. A rare moment when the latter would be preferable to the former. The same can be said for many of the other cruel, heartless monsters bobbing through this administration.  Kristi Noem was the failing governor of SD, best known for being banned by the Native Americans there from entering tribal lands, and killing the family puppy that she failed to train. The incompetence and cruelty perfectly signaled how she would run agencies like the Department of Homeland Security, and FEMA. With a record like hers, it is no surprise she massively bungled the federal response to the Texas flooding. 

But all this cruelty, hate and illegal activity have no center when Trump is gone.  It might be amorphous and free floating but there is no clear leader to hold the contradictory alliances from MAGA to the Heritage Foundation which make up the Republican party.  So what are the Democrats doing?  They are, as the saying goes: All hat and no cattle.  All talk and no walk.  Or to be more succinct, being Democrats.

Hakeem Jeffries talked a lot against the big ugly budget bill.  And? Oh look, the bill passed with nary a concession made.  Earlier Corey Booker launched the longest recorded filibuster in the Senate bellowing about the Trump administration. Beyond Booker trying to launch his 2028 presidential campaign, what changed from this bloviating display?

As for the Abundance bros, even if we generously take their efforts as well meaning, their arguments, as we’ve discussed before, are neither good politics, nor do they have the proper power analysis for structural change.  You want to cut red tape and regulations- get rid of health insurance companies/treat banks like fiduciary criminals when they commit crimes/ and stop subsidizing big business.

Chuck Schumer, are you a mole for the GOP?  Or simply a handmaiden for the corporate elite?  It’s often hard to see how your behavior in the face of such evil and illegality could be anything but sabotage. Even on the rare occasions Chuck chooses to speak up, it’s often complicit to the horror. For instance, when Elon Musk opposed the big ugly budget bill, both Schumer and Jeffries said they agreed with Musk!  First of all, beware of clips and sound bites.  Also, with Musk having the popularity of e-coli why would you possibly draw the connection?  And most importantly of all, Musk wanted more cuts to the promised social programs and more loot for himself. He is not an ally! Instead of trying to lure oligarchs like him back to the party, stand for something. Fund NASA instead of Musk! Just to start.

The best story wins, but you have to tell the story!  You can't mumble the narrative or even worse, not let anyone know. Trump takes credit for actions generated by others.  He lies.  He bragged with a straight face about his response in regard to the floods in Texas with the heartbreaking death toll, when in reality he was playing golf! 

There were major issues with the Biden administration, like aiding and abetting Israel in war crimes (more on that next week), and breaking his promise to be a one term president to name a few. However, there were real victories too, but all too often we are only learning about them as Trump is overturning them. Many people know about the murder of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, but how about this?

Democrats, you need to be the antithesis of the current GOP.  Which means all moderates and centrists- go left or go home. Do you want a short tutorial?  Zohran Mamdani.  His campaign, his issues, his pride in who he is and what he believes.  If you can't naturally beat back attacks from Fox et. al., then practice, practice, practice. But at the very least be authentic and fight for needed policies. 

We’ve been beating this drum for years, but most people, an overwhelming number in fact, want single payer healthcare, better and safer schools, cleaner water, protected and respected libraries, and of course, government that is taking care of the environment, our children, the most vulnerable and everyone else. More tax cuts for the 81 billionaires is not on their list. Fight for these policies without hesitation or apology! 

One rural hospital has already announced its closure, but most of the draconian effects of the big ugly budget bill won't take place for 2 years, until after the midterm elections.  The GOP knew what they did was very unpopular.  Not certain if they were aware of the moral nadir.  Still, the collapse of healthcare for millions will be a reality.  Let people know now, not when they are sick and dying. 

Democrats need to endorse Mamdani, and clean house of these DINOs. (And others like him.) How can you tell that Andrew Cuomo is a Democrat? Only by the D after his name on the ballot. Yes, he has his father's name, but a disgraced and corrupt man forced out of office, credibly accused of sexual assault by many women, that's who you endorse?  Bill Clinton!  NY Times!

Instead of working against progressives and driving them away from leadership, reach out to David Hogg and other activists. Stop being afraid of your base, and support candidates who will get people to the polls. 

In better times, nuance may prevail, but today, partisan politics is a binary.  If Mike Johnson promotes it, fight against it.  When anyone is being divisive, cruel, pitting marginal groups against each other, or blaming innocents for the crimes of the wealthy and the establishment, fight for all of us. Instead of talking endlessly in the House or Senate Chamber, go on the road.  Like Bernie Sanders. 

Medicaid has different names among the states.  Some people might not realize that they are losing their healthcare.  Tell them. Explain what is happening to medical and scientific research, and the environment. Let them know that hunger is becoming an epidemic. Translate and connect climate change to the dangerous weather that is occurring with alarming frequency.  Show grocery receipts. Explain how tariffs actually work. You can send that one to the White House as well.

Don’t be afraid to mock the emperors with no clothes.  Elon Musk is said to be the richest man in the world. How impressive considering he was born into a wealthy family, focused on money to the exclusion of humanity, and then took billions of dollars of our government funding.  But strip away the trappings of wealth, and he is just a drug addled man with a creepy plan to have children.  Look at the man behind the Genius moniker: ongoing failure: DOGE/the Collapse of Tesla/ the Wisconsin Judgeship race/ Rockets bursting in air together with all the lies, unmet promises and vaporware.

Donald Trump has created a cult of personality which is like a fever that will cool. Mock him.  Remember his meltdown from the TACO Chicken label? Play videos of him lost in dementia or just uttering banal craziness.  Show him walking, or without make-up, or trying to ascend up a flight of stairs.  No AI needed, just use real photos and videos. Intone the name of Jeffrey Epstein- that clearly rattles Trump.

Remember that moral evil flourishes in the midst of cowardice.  

For now, it is up to us.  Find local, and if you are feeling ambitious, national travesties that must be stopped, problems to be solved.  It can be as simple as needing a stop sign on a busy local street, to fighting AI centers in your area, or uniting to defend all those being illegally persecuted. Not prosecuted by the way, since there is no due process.  Let us know what is happening in your community. Find and expand allies. There are victories which will sire hope and beget more. Hello 81 billionaires. There are millions of us and combined, we have more economic heft.

#DSOT