Like many, I am tired of waiting for the congressional Republicans to grow a spine, and for Democrats to get their resistance act together. Instead, I suggest aspects of a shadow government and an emerging new politics, with these components.
A candidate for president. Now.
Such a candidate would begin to assemble a new, broad coalition and issues that will focus attention on the resistance agenda. The candidate would not be a standard-issue Democrat and would appeal to independents and Never-Trump Republicans. He or she might signal that their candidacy might end when the primary season commences.
An impeachment trial.Â
If Congress won’t do it, citizens should. Present key evidence, with rebuttals, and make the case public for removal of Trump. It would be catnip for the media.
Select 20 congressional targets.
There might be 10 from each chamber, who are in swing districts and thus vulnerable to a primary. The goal is to squeeze out candidates who have given up on congressional independence and can be attacked for wimpiness. One hopes there would also be challenges from the right, meaning only one-third of voters are needed to remove them in the primary. Raise money to fund the challenges, and pick challengers who suggest a new, third party.
Develop political leverage that pinches.Â
Some candidates: secession by Northeast or West Coast; a general strike for government agencies; armed Minutemen doing field exercises; product boycotts for Tesla and Trump resorts.
Build a Defense Fund.Â
There will be massive legal expenses, so create a large pool of money to pay for lawyers (and seek volunteers). Create a mechanism for distributing the funding in a tactical way. The fund, along with the congressional targets, gives people an effective way to volunteer and send money.
The patriotism model.
The script for this is along the lines of De Gaulle’s Free France during World War II in England and France, and the patriotic tide that produced the American Revolution and pushed out the mighty British. That is: rallies, marches, websites, and modern versions of Sam Adams’s Committees of Correspondence. All are meant to focus the resistance and generate a new politics and a sense of hope.
Thanks for taking a shot at identifying real organizing steps dethrone the Trump regime. The suggestion for targeting specific districts and raising a legal defense fund could begin immediately if there was coordinated plan with leadership from the Democratic party with citizen groups.
The key is your first point: a LEADER needs to emerge. Someone we can get behind. Bright, charismatic, reasonable and balanced. I have not seen or heard anyone who inspires me to get up, get out, and take action.
Don’t follow leaders, watch the parking meters. You want a leader, YOU be a leader. Find an issue and organize around it.
I would add this tactic: target the right wing media, starting with Fox and the Murdoch empire. They got dinged with the $750M lawsuit settlement. But that was a dart in the side of an elephant. There must be dozens of other litigiously actionable lies that they could be sued for. Where are the billionaires who could easily fund such efforts? Hello Bill Gates!
“He or she might signal that their candidacy might end when the primary season commences.”
? I like this item but don’t understand that last part. Candidacy might end because … it wasn’t real?
(And … truly I hate to say this, but if it’s going to be a real candidate with the objective of taking the White House in 2028, it’s “he”, not “he or she.” It’s a white, heterosexual, Protestant etc. male. This is not the time to try that again.)
“Raise money to fund the challenges, and pick challengers who suggest a new, third party.”
Third party? We haven’t had enough of third parties yet? Otherwise, like this item. Particularly, we desperately need responsible conservatives who can rise above the half century of degradation of the Republican party. Funding conservative challengers isn’t necessarily just about gaming the primary.
I do not think it has to be a ‘he’ who is white, heterosexual, Protestant and male. I think there are females, AKA competent, strong and experienced women would would make fine candidates and presidents, too. But they need strong backing from the Democrats, if that’s the nominating party, and not the same old wimpy messages and, frankly, bad advice from consultants who apparently think it’s just fine to abandon people who vote and happen to live in the Midwest of the U.S. and seem to have outdated ideas about women and their leadership capabilities. I think there’s deep-seated and unacknowledged mistrust and unwillingness to acknowledge what women have done and can do in leadership positions in this country. It’s past time to deliberately and honestly take women seriously and take a woman’s candidacy for the presidency as a worthy endeavor, one worth working very hard for — no excuses or rationalizations about why ‘it’s not a good time’ to do so.
It’s true, there are those women. Maybe working very hard for that will change those voters’ minds. Convince them that the Democratic party didn’t nominate a woman and/or minority for president in this must-win moment just because they care about diversity more than anything. But how do you sell a high quality candidate – more competent, honest, reliable and sharper than Donald Trump? That bar is so low it’s immaterial.
At the moment, the country seems to be getting harder and harder to work with, and to me it seems to be heading for the abyss. If the next time we fail again, I don’t care to even think what will be left by 2032.
David,
I fully agree with your position that the Resistance to the Musk-Trump regime needs to get much more active immediately. Passivity at this time is for whiners and wimps. They are not playing by the rules, so the Resistance should not play by the rules. Rather than forming a shadow government and attempting to impeach Trump (great in concept, but not practical in reality), I suggest the Resistance hit them where they are most sensitive: their money and power. Here are a few suggestions: Cancel your account on Twitter/X. Sell your Tesla — or better yet, order a new Tesla and cancel before payment is due. Book a reservation at a Trump hotel and cancel before payment is due. Find a friend who lives in Maine (Collins), Alaska (Murkowski), Kentucky (McConnell), Iowa (Ernst) or Mississippi (Wicker) and use their address to write, email and call their US Senators. These are all Republicans who have some skepticism about Trump, and they can be swayed. The Resistance just needs to flip 4 of them on key issues. The key to all efforts is to strategically and actively Resist.
Refine the fundraising model. No, really — I can’t be the only one was repelled at the constant drip, drip, of fundraising emails, calls, texts. I kept giving, they kept asking. I kept blocking, they kept finding new roads in. That didn’t affect my vote, but I think it definitely diminished many people’s ardor for voting the Democratic ticket. Yes, to fundraising. No to the endless phony pitches about “matching” funds. Yes, spend money more wisely next time.
A suggestion to get us out of the starting gate: Stand With Ukraine March & Rally in downtown Seattle this Sunday, Feb 23rd. The march will start at 1st & Pike (near the market) at 12 noon, followed by a rally at Seattle Center at 1pm. See link below for details. As US Sen. Ron Wyden pointed out at Town Hall a few nights ago, we have to be the cavalry!
https://uaws.org/ua/2025-stand-with-ukraine/
Forget all that. I awoke this morning at 3 am. with a completely different idea: stop paying my federal income tax. Trump is draining The swamp, saving us all loads of money. They don’t need mine anymore. I don’t have withholding; I pay quarterly, always have since 1970. With the federal workforce evicerated they likely won’t catch up with me until I’m dead. I’ll file, just no checks. What about the cash? Since I don’t need it, charity. For me, to my favorite: Bloodworks Northwest. Of course, choose your own recipient.