I’m not saying I know where we’ll be in four years at all. We have a much harder hand than we did 8 & 4 years ago. But the complexity & multiple power centers of US govt provide many levers to stymie, obstruct, slow, reverse etc. I’m focused on thinking creatively abt how to use them. - ThreadSky

joshtpm.bsky.social • 84 days ago

I’m not saying I know where we’ll be in four years at all. We have a much harder hand than we did 8 & 4 years ago. But the complexity & multiple power centers of US govt provide many levers to stymie, obstruct, slow, reverse etc. I’m focused on thinking creatively abt how to use them.

Comments

chrish4med.bsky.social•84 days ago

I'm becoming less pessimistic. Dysfunctional House GOP, some remaining Senate sanity, big business not allowing the worst of the anti-economy stuff, seniors protective of SS and Medicare. Not great but may blunt the worst.

joshtpm.bsky.social•84 days ago

There’s a lot of ruin in a nation, as Adam Smith says.

klaridad.bsky.social•84 days ago

Or, as William Carlos Williams reportedly said to Alan Ginsberg, pointing out his window, “there are a lot of bastards out there.“

jasonfrantz.bsky.social•84 days ago

Much more ruin even in the 21st century than smith's day

joshtpm.bsky.social•84 days ago

Not really.

jasonfrantz.bsky.social•84 days ago

I figured so since society is infinitely more complex now but 🤷‍♂️

strikenowhere.bsky.social•84 days ago

charlottebanks.bsky.social•84 days ago

I want to share your optimism, but what does "seniors protective of SS/Medicare" matter in the face of the set of facts we're looking at, which is a group of billionaires preparing to rob us blind & ignore any complaints?

Consider they're not worried about laws or future elections. Constraints?

chrish4med.bsky.social•84 days ago

Depends if you think we're going to have regular midterm elections in 2026.

If not, obv bets are off.

But a significant attack on SS/Medicare would guaranteed lead to a House with at least 300 Dems, after which the GOP couldn't get *anything* through.

amb-markab.bsky.social•84 days ago

Remember W’s mandate to privatize Social Security? How he boasted of having all this political capital to expend to get it done?

chrish4med.bsky.social•84 days ago

I don't think Medicaid is nearly as well defended though. That worries me a lot.

luckyfontaine.bsky.social•84 days ago

We really need voices like yours right about now. Doomerism is setting in and we could all use a swift kick in the ass. Not saying we should deny the horrors that quite possibly lay ahead, but just that we should do everything we can to stymie their inevitability.

paulrosenberg.bsky.social•84 days ago

I agree 100% that's the best use of your time/energy/expertise/networked resources, etc.

aethervision.bsky.social•84 days ago

There is a sense of inevitability in all of this. If the left can stop or frustrate him, they’ll also be reinforcing the narrative that our system can get nothing done which will likely lead to more and more desperate authoritarian reactions from both the political poles.

paulrosenberg.bsky.social•84 days ago

Which is why it's important to also be building better democratic structures, per my latest Salon story: https://bsky.app/profile/paulrosenberg.bsky.social/post/3lcpwfinmg22t

joshtpm.bsky.social•84 days ago

2/ The disempowerment primal scream thing clearly is providing relief for some people. And i really wish them the best. But I just don’t have any time for that.

cac5724.bsky.social•84 days ago

Couldn't agree more!

lynnxah.bsky.social•84 days ago

My wish for them: Scream, pick themselves up and dust off, let their relief fuel their opposition.

georgeabington.bsky.social•84 days ago

There is no institution that can save us from Trump dictatorship. The only legal way to stop him is massive demonstrations everywhere once he starts his destruction of the rule of law.

wildblogger.bsky.social•84 days ago

I'm an optimist by nature, but it sure would be nice to know why the 2024 was so red (compared to 2022, which was expected to be super red, but wasn't) before moving ahead. Were voters really so pissed off about the economy that it overrode everything? Or was misogyny the primary instigator?

paulrosenberg.bsky.social•84 days ago

Actually, if the NC legislature hadn't redistricted a wildly gerrymandered map, Dems would have won the House 218-217. It's not as simple as it seems & the vast majority of incumbent parties worldwide lost significantly more vote share. So, multiple factors, but disinfo surely a big one.

wildblogger.bsky.social•84 days ago

I don't doubt disinfo was a factor. But how many votes did it move, and if we don't know, how do we fight it? If it's other factors, how do we deal with that? I read a lot about "Democrats need to do X" posts by people who don't really know if X is the reason we lost, but make assumptions.

paulrosenberg.bsky.social•84 days ago

disinfo is a very broad term imho. how many votes it impacted was MILLIONS. This Oct Ipsos poll gives some sense: https://www.ipsos.com/en-us/media-source-affects-americans-understanding-crime-immigration-economy

noplot.bsky.social•84 days ago

And that's before you think about other governments. Including local governments, school districts, and special districts, there are over 80,000. I've always thought there would be more resistance outside of Washington, DC, than in it.

1honestman.bsky.social•84 days ago

Great

reneedodson.bsky.social•84 days ago

Those 36% of voters that sat out 2024 better start to give a sh*t!!!!

edwalker.bsky.social•84 days ago

That's exactly what we need.

michaeljameshawk.bsky.social•84 days ago

increxplboy.bsky.social•84 days ago

While I concur that one shouldn't give up in defeat because Trumpzi-ism might succeed quickly BUT I think it is also a mistake to ignore the possibility that there is not enough will to resist to meaningfully slow down much of the coming onslaught.

We just don't know.

floridadab.bsky.social•84 days ago

Especially true when their arguments and ideas are both dumb and not actually popular. Trump’s legal existence for decades has been based on obstruction not actual solid arguments and his lawyers are generally morons. No way we can’t figure this out, even with a rabidly corrupt Supreme Court.

sheldonrampton.bsky.social•84 days ago

It's not just "multiple power centers" within the United States. There are multiple power centers globally, and events such as the fall of Assad in Syria or government and private sector players in Europe, Latin America and elsewhere will also have a lot of influence.

georgeabington.bsky.social•84 days ago

Trump is going to ignore all international affairs to solely focus on destroying his political opponents.

jb3po.bsky.social•84 days ago

Courts will be important as a check and as a stall. Dems or Constitution-aligned groups should be prepping to mount immediate legal challenges and injunction petitions against most of Trump's stated objectives. Trump team will blitzkrieg to overwhelm challenges, and we must react equally fast.

delib.bsky.social•84 days ago

The saving grace is that Trump is lazy, incompetent, and coward. The moment things start getting rough for him, he will start shedding positions and people. Remember he shut down the Government for his "build the wall" money. But quickly folded once two planes came close to colliding at LaGuardia.

charlottebanks.bsky.social•84 days ago

consider that trump will likely be shunted to the side w a red phone to DOJ and a red Diet Coke button

the people rushing around him are hardcore ideologues shooting their shot. they've been dreaming & planning for a long while. they know where the obstacles are and how to get around them.

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