There’s a lot they can do; they just need to be a little more creative about it.
Once, my dad was caught in traffic behind a lone car idling in the middle of a street. Missing his appointment was not an option, so he moved the empty idling car to a parking spot just ahead. No harm and no foul.
Most of us are sick of Christians even existing at this point, so read the fucking room, Hakeem! Get your offensive fucking religion out of our faces and do your goddamn job. Nobody gives a shit about your sky daddy if you refuse to live by his tenets. You have NOTHING to be righteous about.
There’s plenty that’s being done! Watch the latest Rachel Maddow show for instance. Ever watch Midas touch? It’s a YouTube channel and they’re talking about all kinds of things that people are doing. Find out if there’s anything in your community.
There’s plenty Democrats can do if they would just get off their asses and do it! It’s time to get fucking mean. The Republicans are mean and we need to battle back the same way.
If democrats are not out there *every single day* detailing what musk/trump are doing and explaining how it rips off the American people *and what they propose to do about it* then they ARE NOT DOING ENOUGH. And if you are defending them, then I assume you are fine with what’s happening
I wish these people would focus their time and attention on lobbying their representatives into action. The more enraging thing is knowing that Dem electeds could be doing more.
But when the "THESE people" hear about other people making repeated calls and then not much happens, it reinforces what the "THESE people" already believe.
I have to say, reading comments like this makes me wonder how the hell Civil Rights ever got passed or how women made it through Women’s Suffrage in this country. Y’all ain’t built for this shit.
in my view, it kind of doesn't matter if they CAN do something if they're NOT doing it.
Either they're choosing not to, or they really can't do anything.
I feel like... this is only "dooming" if you think politics/democracy is a show that you watch on TV... There's plenty of hope and there's plenty of opposition available but it includes EVERYBODY. It's not some magic lever that Hakeem Jeffries finds in a broom closet that fixes everything
Voters literally VOTED for Dems to have virtually no power in this government except under fairly bespoke circumstances (which they should be ready for!).
Like... that's just literally what being minority in both Houses and losing the presidency means.
Everything else is working publicity and getting voters to notice/ care which is not some special power of congress - It's something EVERYBODY can do in their own way.
A lot of congresspeople are speaking out, and mostly the very people calling for them to make noise arent saying SHIT when they do
If there’s nothing the Democrats can do then what’s even the point of electing them or having a form of political opposition? If you can’t even imagine a world in which laws can be enforced then what’s the point of laws?
Yeah no kidding. If they don't show up as leaders now why would I ever vote for them again? Not that voting will be an option in the future the way things are going.
Do you actually vote every time? Do you show up for school committee? Do you attend town meetings to raise your hand?
Because ime people who say this shit usually don't, but maybe you're a rare exception out of a sea of hypocrites who assume other people don't vote because they're critical of dems
You act like it's not common knowledge that people on the left "protest vote" in Republicans every other cycle by sitting home or voting for Jill Stein/Ralph Nader type frauds. Because "both sides bad" brainrot.
When you read about horrible government regimes throughout history do you think that it was all inevitable and there was nothing anyone could or should have done differently? I don’t think so
I mean… I want to be respectful and take this seriously because it’s very serious, but they’ve spent forty years trying to be Ronald Reagan and failing to attract anything but baseline graft from business interests.
That doesn’t really gel with trying to “save” anything.
We needed more asymmetric thinking from the dems. At the very least they need to be doing news conferences with their local tv news channels. Explain social security, Medicare, VA benefits are in danger. Get the public informed and engaged.
Democrats have been warning of Republicans trying to gut Medicare and SS forever. (And GOP has been trying to kill off both since they were created) But the MSM calls it a "lie" and the public shrugs it off.
Look, I’d like Dems to pivot toward more muscular language/ideas and strategies too, but this vibe that it’s all over TEN MINUTES INTO Trump 2.0 is a special kind of frantic that we can probably do without.
One thing *we* could do is call our local news stations and explain that we are not seeing enough coverage of whatever our Congress people are up to. I've done this. I had to argue with the news desk that it was of local interest since my senators were protesting and I was both a voter and viewer.
Honestly? Probably, yes. The average person is powerless. No one is willing to risk it b/c we know someone will sell us out. The government weapons that can just crush us. What can anyone do?
What are we supposed to do? Throw ourselves in front of the bullets? For people who couldn’t be bothered to vote against this? There are always plenty of bootlickers willing to do the bidding of the people in power.
The powerful behaving as though they’re powerless. They’ve totally bought into the down is up and up is down agitprop. And somehow we’re expected to fund their sink hole.
What CAN they do, though? You say "don't say they can't do anything", but you don't say WHAT they can do. The fact that unenforceable laws have no point doesn't automatically make the laws enforceable. The question is HOW can they enforce laws? This is what remains unclear.
It didn't happen. The courts and the enforcement mechanisms have proven toothless. And SCOTUS has even ruled that the law cannot be enforced against a President. "They could have tried" isn't an answer to "What can still be done?"
the problem is that these democrats are simply not doing anything. the whole party is impotent. we need a progressive party that embodies social justice and equal rights. we need a new party.
Agree and there are some young bright elected progressives have the capability to lead, but the Dem establishment refuses to allow it e.g. AOC wanting to lead House Oversight for Dems
Of all the crap going on, the most disconcerting thing is what isn't going on to stop it, especially when you look at how many Democrats have gone along with these absolutely hideous cabinet picks.
I've by and large given up on the Democrats. There are some good ones, sure. But we can't count on them to save us. I don't think of this as doomerism necessarily, but it will require a new type of political action and a level of organization this country has never seen. I hope we're up to the task.
I feel like the people demanding are the doomers. So prob just diff psychology going on. Nothing I give the do something crowd is good enough and it can really harm mental health with how nothing helps. They make me feel doom when they reject all actions.
There are lots that can be done. Community pressure in various institutions has always been an effective tool of persuasion. Politicians fear their collective constituents more than their corporate donors.
"There's nothing the Democrats can do except send money and bombs. They're powerless to do otherwise. It's sad but what are you going to do, there are norms"
The way people coddle the dems in congress like “There’s NOTHING they can do! They’re just defenseless good guys in the face of mean fascism!” is absurd. Republicans have never let that stand in their way. By that logic, they might not as well have jobs at all.
Follow Jamie Raskin, AOC, Jasmine Crockett, etc… and check out your county’s Dem website. I was blown away by how many local event are scheduled to protest and organize in my county. Also Indivisible. This is going to be on all of us to fight back.
this is a very good point and kinda humbling for me. "there's nothing Democrats can do" is absolutely false.
where i bristle is when people say "why don't the Democrats stop this?!" ...they can resist, and they should, but it's ignorant to think they can stop it all.
I have this theory that (most) Democrats see themselves as some kind of nuns/monks whose job is to follow rituals and bear witness to political events.
I'm beginning to suspect that these are alt accounts for Dem Congresspeople, their staff, and related bots they are deploying in an effort to get lefties and their own constituents to leave them alone while they seem paths to profit in capitulation.
Saying Dems have no power requires us to pretend McConnell in the senate minority under Obama never happened. Nobody forced Dems to give UC to give themselves a 4 day weekend during a coup. We want them to gum up the works & write posts that show they understand what’s happening and not about eggs.
Remember 2008 when Obama and the DNC took everything? The GOP didn’t bend over and present like these demo-losers are right now. They fought Obama on everything and made his admin a nightmare. Why can’t we do this today? I guess being a lawmaker is hard work. They need some rest I guess.
What are you even talking about? Lol, this just didn’t happen. Obama didn’t have any trouble getting his cabinet picks or other priorities in and the one spot where Mitch tried to filibuster for awhile, they just changed the senate rules so you literally can’t do that anymore.
There was a good article I can't find that listed his crimes, from sedition to treason. It had all the Articles and terms explained. Two witnesses can arrest him for treason. He could be arrested by judges or senators. She laid out the case, exposed the myth that we can't arrest. We can. Eye opening
Who would recognize the arresting parties’ power to do that, though? Not the secret service. Not the higher ups in the administration. They’d just be ignored.
Idk. The author just put the law and his acts together for me. Immediate arrest really is written in. But she didn't flesh it out as to how that would fly today. Was hoping the career politicians would know. Seems impossible. It's like a citizen's arrest. Who does that? But it's real.
I've moved to "They will do nothing" because it's apparent motivation to do anything is gone. They will decorum us until we're nothing.
I dont know when the inflection point happened that turned both parties into victim farming husks of their former selves, but I want to go back and prevent it.
This is what happened when I complained that a congressperson was talking more about SNL than about how an unelected man was destroying our government.
Republicans have no problem being obstructionists when they’re the minority party, but when Democrats are in the same position they just roll over. There’s gotta be something more they can do than just sit on their hands and wait for the midterm elections.
I think people don't understand parliamentary politics. There's no real way to stop Trump's cabinet picks and EOs without a majority in the Senate. Lisa Murkowski got so many calls it broke the switchboard. Roger Wicker knew damn well that Hegseth was a drunken moron. They voted anyway.
As we start to move into the more standard parliamentary procedure of trying to make laws, we do get the benefit of obstruction and filibuster and the EOs are getting rolled in court, but it hasn't even been a month. Trump will fold on a lot of those losses and panic will settle.
Honestly the amount of times I've discussed flipping seats and mobilizing to kill there'd majority and I'm told that's.... Pointless? Excuse me? it's infuriating.
And it's also a symptom of Democrats always sticking to norms even in the face of blatant lawlessness. If you're playing chess and your opponent starts kicking your teeth in obviously you shouldn't be thinking about what piece to move next.
I know for me, it's been overwhelming because it feels like so many people (incl. most mainstream media) are focusing on everything that's being dismantled & there's not enough focus on what anyone is doing to stop it. It's so difficult to keep up on current events & not get bogged down by despair
Comments
Once, my dad was caught in traffic behind a lone car idling in the middle of a street. Missing his appointment was not an option, so he moved the empty idling car to a parking spot just ahead. No harm and no foul.
https://bsky.app/profile/dtorchie.bsky.social/post/3lidm7opyps2y
Either they're choosing not to, or they really can't do anything.
OMG. Now the democrats are starting to make my brain explode. I can't handle it. #WTFFFFFFFFFFFFFF.
https://www.newsweek.com/mark-warner-over-wokeism-valid-attack-maga-2031935
They have placed themselves in an ideological position where, when confronted with fascism, they have no options.
Like... that's just literally what being minority in both Houses and losing the presidency means.
A lot of congresspeople are speaking out, and mostly the very people calling for them to make noise arent saying SHIT when they do
Because ime people who say this shit usually don't, but maybe you're a rare exception out of a sea of hypocrites who assume other people don't vote because they're critical of dems
I'm a registered independent who voted every election, but admittedly voted red exactly one time in the last 8 yrs, as a protest vote.
I voted against Trump in the 2024 primary✌️
That's under business-as-usual. But in an emergency...
If Dems know they've nothing to lose, get radical! Getting reelected isn't an issue with free & fair elections in doubt.
That doesn’t really gel with trying to “save” anything.
Let that go long enough…
So yeah I dont think there being an opposition party as such is going to matter much as far as attenuating things.
Has this not hit for people yet?
And Government weapons require human hands to work.
NATIONAL PROTEST AND ECONOMIC BOYCOTT DATES BELOW. SPREAD THE WORD/PARTICIPATE, COLLECTIVELY WE ARE UNSTOPPABLE!
🇺🇲2/17/2025 "Not My Presidents Day" Protest
🇺🇲2/28/2025 24hr Don't buy anything ECONOMIC BLACKOUT
🇺🇲3/7-3/14/2025 BOYCOTT Amazon WEEK
🇺🇲3/14/2025 NATIONAL STRIKE No work 24 Hours
https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2025/02/06/us/politics/cabinet-confirmation-votes.html
"There's nothing the Democrats can do except send money and bombs. They're powerless to do otherwise. It's sad but what are you going to do, there are norms"
https://bsky.app/profile/themistocleswall.bsky.social/post/3lg4hmjtx722h
"There's nothing these specific Dems can do with their current approach, so we need to pressure them to resist or resign" - helpful.
"There's nothing Dems can do, oh well/thanks nonvoters" - pro-fascist, pro-Trump, pro-Musk.
where i bristle is when people say "why don't the Democrats stop this?!" ...they can resist, and they should, but it's ignorant to think they can stop it all.
It's pissing me off.
Lies
When enough people believe them, evil can do anything
Dems must counter lies
1 by 1
Brainstorm
Act
Repeat
Start simple -e.g. trump won 2020 election
Show evidence
Be logical
Be relentless
Start waking voters up
Otherwise evil rules
I dont know when the inflection point happened that turned both parties into victim farming husks of their former selves, but I want to go back and prevent it.
They're unsuccessful because we chose to make then unsuccessful.
Democrat voters have always been easily misled by Republican campaign tactics
But when posts say "Why bother?" and are talking about people's lives and wellbeing (trans lives, immigrants, etc), it makes me livid.
We are people. We matter.
And the officials we elected need to see our passion, not our apathy.
🩷🤍🩵
They think they can let it burn down around them and that this will be electorally beneficial for them in 2026 and 2028.