Here is a view from the grassroots. apologies for the length. And thanks so much to the Steady State authors for all you do.
In the days and weeks after January 20, 2025, it was obvious to many of us that a coup was in place. Elon Musk was being allowed to rampage through the government, destroying our government (starting with the FAA and USAID) and grabbing data and even the Treasury payment system. Our top military leaders were kicked out for the sin of being Black or female. The US military went into Los Angeles and by summer we had a military occupation of DC. The Democrats in Congress were using every lever they could think of (within the legislature) but were outmaneuvered by illegitimate use of the reconciliation process and closures. That is how we got the gutting of healthcare and food assistance, crippling tax cuts, and tens of billions of dollars building a police state with a private army and concentration camps. The press folded. The law firms folded. The universities folded. Political violence and malicious prosecutions flourished. And on and on.
The Democratic party’s usual insistence on protecting incumbents is backfiring because younger people need to see themselves and their priorities (even though I love Sheldon Whitehouse and Patty Murray and Elizabeth Warren’s of course Bernie’s work, we still need renewal).
The party itself is rebuilding its architecture to help state parties and to be able to get out the vote (and certain states have produced dynamite leaders), but it cannot seem to stop seizures of ballots and overturning of whole elections by GOP led courts and erosion of voting rights and Nazis marching in the streets and real political violence and awful wars. And then we have the one big schism over Israel which is exploited by the bad guys to create crazy panic among some over people like Mamdani and Platner, after they win! That in turn undermines the rank and file’s belief in the party. On the other side, we have a craven Supreme Court allowing the ripping up of our rights and the constitution itself.
The grassroots is rising up to help the Democratic Party recover and it is important that the party and the public allow it. The electoral success in Virginia in 2025 was grassroots led. We supported candidates in every district. Around the country, Run for Something and other groups have helped first time folks under forty run for office and win. Indivisible has grown tremendously and helped leaded the growth of protesters everywhere but also sought to support candidates that fight, usually in very safe districts. They are winning. There are giving circles everywhere. People are taking back school boards. And on and on.
The fight right now is to defeat fascism. We gave them too much raw power, so it needs to be done electorally and the Democratic Party is the vessel. The leaders there need to understand it and not fight against democratic socialism or immigrant rights or help with rent and childcare. Blacks and Latinos should not be left out in the cold. Moderate candidates should not label their opponents as far left but should listen to what the voters want now. If we win and win big, we need to be prepared to defend the results and then we need to move swiftly to make the law work for us and not against us. We need to reverse the two reconciliation bills. We need to restore health care and reverse the billionaire tax cuts and make sure no OMB Director ever cuts off 42 million from food assistance again. We need to close the concentration camps (there was no air conditioning in the FarmVille VA one this weekend and untold numbers of people were held with little food in Chantilly where no detainees are supposed to beheld. We need to stop the quotas enacting Stephen Miller’s ethnic cleansing project. We need to live up to our commitments to our Afghan allies. We need to maintain unity and diversity at the same time. If we can do that, the Democratic Party will be stronger for it, as will the country.
I like your comments. I would add that the Democratic Party should provide much more of an institutional framework for all the grassroots groups to work together and thereby build a political movement. I see the Democratic Party holding back, too afraid to embrace grassroots movements and unwilling to invite new voices into the party. In part they appear to fear the reaction of the right and being attacked.
I agree 100% with your comments. I’ve long believed we need to move beyond the two party system, because both sides are corrupted beyond repair. Some smart people (members of the Steady State, for instance) need to get together and write a manifesto called Project 2029, or 2033 if 2029 is too soon, and then form a new political party to promote this manifesto and the new blood willing to run for office to implement it.
All of your comment rings true. Just to clarify one thing I think needs clarification: the Democratic Party will have no power to set the agenda for the next two years absent veto-proof majorities in congress. So, the focus for the next two years should be highlighting and stifling the fascism and corruption of this administration. IMO, talking about restructuring things with legislation and regulation mostly needs to wait until campaigns are underway for 2028, and actual action toward restructuring will fail if started before 2029. Any discussion of restructuring needs to be clearly articulated as happening after 2028. It will be a fine public perception line to walk for two years, but I think it’s necessary.
Yeah, agreed. My comment was more about messaging, or trying to do things without enough political power to act on them. No need to make promises and not be able to deliver.
“ talking about restructuring things with legislation and regulation mostly needs to wait”
T and his allies would use anything proposed, against us. Set the agenda internally, actually plan for 2028, but for now focus the public on the fascism/corruption currently happening. Show people explicitly how they are being harmed, financially and otherwise.
A thoughtful --- and thought-provoking --- analysis. (Given the Supreme Court's attitude towards turning a blind eye to the corrupting influence of big-money in politics, the only practical solution I can think of is to promote legislation requiring public financing of elections. Easier said than done! And second, how to convince 50 State legislatures to fix their corrupt, hyper-partisan gerrymandering that brings members of the extreme wings of our two major political parties to Congress? This will take decades to fix, if it can be...).
Harry, Robin, thank you! As a lifelong Democratic voter from a long line of liberals, I am going to introduce a heresy here. If not here, then where? The heresy is that there is another significant ideological schism in this country that is not widely reported in the mainstream media, and that is the confluence of corporate-philanthropy money into promoting gender identity ideology into unpopular and harmful policies and laws, through the Democratic Party. Specifically, the “gender medical industry” and its philanthropic foundations have long funded Democratic candidates and assured the success of institutional ideological adherence. I urge those who may claim this as a conspiracy theory to follow the money, as Jennifer Bilek suggests. Gender ideologues appear to transform gender-medical industry advertising campaigns into human rights slogans ("Trans women are women--no debate"..."Protect trans kids"). Liberal mainstream outlets suppress reporting and opinion on the material and social harms of this ideology to women and girls, LGB people and adolescents. And well-funded, corporate-funded lobbying groups defame informed and rational dissent as “right-wing” (which it is not). The impact of successful defamation is to have delegitimized and stigmatized the righteous dissent of advocates for women, LGB and adolescents, by association with the animus and vindictiveness of the President and his party.
Please note that opposition to gender identity ideology is found in both American political parties as well as in the independent voting pool and ignoring this has political consequences. For example, the Democratic Autopsy report was not able to find a workable resolution to the mordant “Kamala Harris is for they/them; Donald Trump is for you.” Take another example: The conservative/MAGA Supreme Court has just decided that sex is real and that it matters in sports, and that makes them look sane. But to the wider voting public, the ideological Democratic Party, the liberal justices and the mainstream media who virtue-signal kindness over material reality, they are perceived to be insane. Or at least, as if they have no common sense, or that they are lying about important realities, and are therefore untrustworthy. And Trump’s moral taint puts paid to any social and political debate to manage or resolve this cultural schism. This schism will now shift to state-level and I continue to fear for our fight to defeat fascism, as Robin's Nest pointed out. Please, do not demonize this messenger...
The Harris campaign and Democratic Party missed a rejoinder to the “they/them” slogan. “He (or Trump) is for himself, she is for us”. It would have meant shifting to focus on Trump ego, narcissism, billionaire status, and corruption which were evident before.
Harry has it precisely right. Parties that deny each other's legitimacy and that are captured by the "legal bribery" of piles of dark money inevitably fail to perform their primary function in a democracy of representing the people. Law and policy have become dictated by deep pocketed interests rather than popular will. Turning the ship of state back toward pluralistic democracy will take the persistent energy and patience of democracy-loving Americans. [I include "patience" because our mission is not one and done. we are fighting to wrest the parties from control by a powerful enemy of democracy in the oligarchy of extreme wealth.].
Self preservation comes to mind, of both sides, however truth, honesty, and integrity has gone by the wayside since the days of Smedly Butler. The attempt then to become a dictatorship then, ruled by the 1% then. Print was our first public awareness of what was happening at the time leading up to the revolution, then both parties used it as a weapon to combat common sense. Today, to me it's all just clickbait and capitulation on all fronts. The internet has polluted, if allowed our minds. From my point of view the internet was allowed to create this mess from its inception. Someone knew they would be able to control to a degree the outcome. It has always been about the money. It's the root of our evils. If it isn't then why have the campaign laws not kept up?
To your point right wing media has done immeasurable harm, while leftwing seems to be playing right into the maga's hand. Case in point just this past weekend I found myself talking to a Florida women not much younger than myself. Willing to stay blind to all facts as long as all fifteen transgenders in all college sports were wiped off the face of the earth, If there are fifteen. I looked into the data last year and I believe it was eleven out of five hundred ten thousand college sports participants. Yet blind to the pedophile allegations, along with the upholding the rape case and other 34 count felonies this felon and chief has. Not to mention when asked about other issues no comment was returned. Now she did admit she was drunk and could not think very well at the time, in my mind I just think she not only drunk on alcohol, indeed drunk on false narratives as well.
Fact is listening to our kids they are tired of the two party system, as this what we are living in is that result. Correct on no accountability during the GOP controlled market crash of 08, The WMD lie sold to America during Bush 2.0. Since the 80's it's hard pressed to remember a SCOTUS with a very democratic point of view. I try to remain optimistic , will this train make it over the hill? One thing for sure is major change is needed, for the youth in this country.
We changed the parties before and yet we're right back where we were. We need fundamental change to the structure of government to allow majority rule.
Here is a view from the grassroots. apologies for the length. And thanks so much to the Steady State authors for all you do.
In the days and weeks after January 20, 2025, it was obvious to many of us that a coup was in place. Elon Musk was being allowed to rampage through the government, destroying our government (starting with the FAA and USAID) and grabbing data and even the Treasury payment system. Our top military leaders were kicked out for the sin of being Black or female. The US military went into Los Angeles and by summer we had a military occupation of DC. The Democrats in Congress were using every lever they could think of (within the legislature) but were outmaneuvered by illegitimate use of the reconciliation process and closures. That is how we got the gutting of healthcare and food assistance, crippling tax cuts, and tens of billions of dollars building a police state with a private army and concentration camps. The press folded. The law firms folded. The universities folded. Political violence and malicious prosecutions flourished. And on and on.
The Democratic party’s usual insistence on protecting incumbents is backfiring because younger people need to see themselves and their priorities (even though I love Sheldon Whitehouse and Patty Murray and Elizabeth Warren’s of course Bernie’s work, we still need renewal).
The party itself is rebuilding its architecture to help state parties and to be able to get out the vote (and certain states have produced dynamite leaders), but it cannot seem to stop seizures of ballots and overturning of whole elections by GOP led courts and erosion of voting rights and Nazis marching in the streets and real political violence and awful wars. And then we have the one big schism over Israel which is exploited by the bad guys to create crazy panic among some over people like Mamdani and Platner, after they win! That in turn undermines the rank and file’s belief in the party. On the other side, we have a craven Supreme Court allowing the ripping up of our rights and the constitution itself.
The grassroots is rising up to help the Democratic Party recover and it is important that the party and the public allow it. The electoral success in Virginia in 2025 was grassroots led. We supported candidates in every district. Around the country, Run for Something and other groups have helped first time folks under forty run for office and win. Indivisible has grown tremendously and helped leaded the growth of protesters everywhere but also sought to support candidates that fight, usually in very safe districts. They are winning. There are giving circles everywhere. People are taking back school boards. And on and on.
The fight right now is to defeat fascism. We gave them too much raw power, so it needs to be done electorally and the Democratic Party is the vessel. The leaders there need to understand it and not fight against democratic socialism or immigrant rights or help with rent and childcare. Blacks and Latinos should not be left out in the cold. Moderate candidates should not label their opponents as far left but should listen to what the voters want now. If we win and win big, we need to be prepared to defend the results and then we need to move swiftly to make the law work for us and not against us. We need to reverse the two reconciliation bills. We need to restore health care and reverse the billionaire tax cuts and make sure no OMB Director ever cuts off 42 million from food assistance again. We need to close the concentration camps (there was no air conditioning in the FarmVille VA one this weekend and untold numbers of people were held with little food in Chantilly where no detainees are supposed to beheld. We need to stop the quotas enacting Stephen Miller’s ethnic cleansing project. We need to live up to our commitments to our Afghan allies. We need to maintain unity and diversity at the same time. If we can do that, the Democratic Party will be stronger for it, as will the country.
I like your comments. I would add that the Democratic Party should provide much more of an institutional framework for all the grassroots groups to work together and thereby build a political movement. I see the Democratic Party holding back, too afraid to embrace grassroots movements and unwilling to invite new voices into the party. In part they appear to fear the reaction of the right and being attacked.
I agree 100% with your comments. I’ve long believed we need to move beyond the two party system, because both sides are corrupted beyond repair. Some smart people (members of the Steady State, for instance) need to get together and write a manifesto called Project 2029, or 2033 if 2029 is too soon, and then form a new political party to promote this manifesto and the new blood willing to run for office to implement it.
All of your comment rings true. Just to clarify one thing I think needs clarification: the Democratic Party will have no power to set the agenda for the next two years absent veto-proof majorities in congress. So, the focus for the next two years should be highlighting and stifling the fascism and corruption of this administration. IMO, talking about restructuring things with legislation and regulation mostly needs to wait until campaigns are underway for 2028, and actual action toward restructuring will fail if started before 2029. Any discussion of restructuring needs to be clearly articulated as happening after 2028. It will be a fine public perception line to walk for two years, but I think it’s necessary.
I agree but now is the time to do the spadework of building a larger political movement. These don’t occur overnight.
Yeah, agreed. My comment was more about messaging, or trying to do things without enough political power to act on them. No need to make promises and not be able to deliver.
“ talking about restructuring things with legislation and regulation mostly needs to wait”
T and his allies would use anything proposed, against us. Set the agenda internally, actually plan for 2028, but for now focus the public on the fascism/corruption currently happening. Show people explicitly how they are being harmed, financially and otherwise.
A thoughtful --- and thought-provoking --- analysis. (Given the Supreme Court's attitude towards turning a blind eye to the corrupting influence of big-money in politics, the only practical solution I can think of is to promote legislation requiring public financing of elections. Easier said than done! And second, how to convince 50 State legislatures to fix their corrupt, hyper-partisan gerrymandering that brings members of the extreme wings of our two major political parties to Congress? This will take decades to fix, if it can be...).
Harry, Robin, thank you! As a lifelong Democratic voter from a long line of liberals, I am going to introduce a heresy here. If not here, then where? The heresy is that there is another significant ideological schism in this country that is not widely reported in the mainstream media, and that is the confluence of corporate-philanthropy money into promoting gender identity ideology into unpopular and harmful policies and laws, through the Democratic Party. Specifically, the “gender medical industry” and its philanthropic foundations have long funded Democratic candidates and assured the success of institutional ideological adherence. I urge those who may claim this as a conspiracy theory to follow the money, as Jennifer Bilek suggests. Gender ideologues appear to transform gender-medical industry advertising campaigns into human rights slogans ("Trans women are women--no debate"..."Protect trans kids"). Liberal mainstream outlets suppress reporting and opinion on the material and social harms of this ideology to women and girls, LGB people and adolescents. And well-funded, corporate-funded lobbying groups defame informed and rational dissent as “right-wing” (which it is not). The impact of successful defamation is to have delegitimized and stigmatized the righteous dissent of advocates for women, LGB and adolescents, by association with the animus and vindictiveness of the President and his party.
Please note that opposition to gender identity ideology is found in both American political parties as well as in the independent voting pool and ignoring this has political consequences. For example, the Democratic Autopsy report was not able to find a workable resolution to the mordant “Kamala Harris is for they/them; Donald Trump is for you.” Take another example: The conservative/MAGA Supreme Court has just decided that sex is real and that it matters in sports, and that makes them look sane. But to the wider voting public, the ideological Democratic Party, the liberal justices and the mainstream media who virtue-signal kindness over material reality, they are perceived to be insane. Or at least, as if they have no common sense, or that they are lying about important realities, and are therefore untrustworthy. And Trump’s moral taint puts paid to any social and political debate to manage or resolve this cultural schism. This schism will now shift to state-level and I continue to fear for our fight to defeat fascism, as Robin's Nest pointed out. Please, do not demonize this messenger...
The Harris campaign and Democratic Party missed a rejoinder to the “they/them” slogan. “He (or Trump) is for himself, she is for us”. It would have meant shifting to focus on Trump ego, narcissism, billionaire status, and corruption which were evident before.
Harry has it precisely right. Parties that deny each other's legitimacy and that are captured by the "legal bribery" of piles of dark money inevitably fail to perform their primary function in a democracy of representing the people. Law and policy have become dictated by deep pocketed interests rather than popular will. Turning the ship of state back toward pluralistic democracy will take the persistent energy and patience of democracy-loving Americans. [I include "patience" because our mission is not one and done. we are fighting to wrest the parties from control by a powerful enemy of democracy in the oligarchy of extreme wealth.].
Self preservation comes to mind, of both sides, however truth, honesty, and integrity has gone by the wayside since the days of Smedly Butler. The attempt then to become a dictatorship then, ruled by the 1% then. Print was our first public awareness of what was happening at the time leading up to the revolution, then both parties used it as a weapon to combat common sense. Today, to me it's all just clickbait and capitulation on all fronts. The internet has polluted, if allowed our minds. From my point of view the internet was allowed to create this mess from its inception. Someone knew they would be able to control to a degree the outcome. It has always been about the money. It's the root of our evils. If it isn't then why have the campaign laws not kept up?
To your point right wing media has done immeasurable harm, while leftwing seems to be playing right into the maga's hand. Case in point just this past weekend I found myself talking to a Florida women not much younger than myself. Willing to stay blind to all facts as long as all fifteen transgenders in all college sports were wiped off the face of the earth, If there are fifteen. I looked into the data last year and I believe it was eleven out of five hundred ten thousand college sports participants. Yet blind to the pedophile allegations, along with the upholding the rape case and other 34 count felonies this felon and chief has. Not to mention when asked about other issues no comment was returned. Now she did admit she was drunk and could not think very well at the time, in my mind I just think she not only drunk on alcohol, indeed drunk on false narratives as well.
Fact is listening to our kids they are tired of the two party system, as this what we are living in is that result. Correct on no accountability during the GOP controlled market crash of 08, The WMD lie sold to America during Bush 2.0. Since the 80's it's hard pressed to remember a SCOTUS with a very democratic point of view. I try to remain optimistic , will this train make it over the hill? One thing for sure is major change is needed, for the youth in this country.
We changed the parties before and yet we're right back where we were. We need fundamental change to the structure of government to allow majority rule.