Look, Trump is gonna be bad – real bad. Just how bad is anybody’s guess right now, but imagine the worst… and you’ll probably fall short.
But we don’t have just sit here, wring our hands and cry “woe is us.” There are several things that Democrats should be working on right now; each and every one of the measures listed below could be critical in helping America to dig out from the catastrophic damage to democracy that a Trump administration is certain to inflict.
The Democratic Party has the resources to do this. And a lot of it doesn’t require money at all – just smarts and self-discipline. The question is whether or not Democrats have the will to look themselves squarely in the eye and get down to business.
A Ten-Point Plan for Democrats
- Assemble an army of attorneys to fight on behalf of the many potential victims of a revenge-driven Trump Justice Department. Lawyers will also be on the front lines when it comes to challenging unconstitutional executive orders. (e.g., domestic deployment of the military, attempted negation of birthright citizenship, etc.) Pressure should be brought to bear on large corporations and legal firms (as well as Democratic mega-donors) to provide the necessary resources here and the ABA should make potential disbarment more then an idle threat when it comes to disciplining attorneys who work on behalf of those who seek to undermine democracy.*
- Declassify: The Biden Administration needs to declassify (or leak) whatever potentially-damaging secret information it has on right-wing operations in the US and elsewhere. The White House needs to do this immediately, while they still can.
- Biden needs to bring whatever pressure he can to try to persuade enough Senators to scuttle dangerous nominees. If this means threatening to reveal compromising information that the White House is aware of but would otherwise not reveal, so be it. It’s time to play hardball.
- With the departures of Elise Stefanik and Mike Walz (who have been tapped for administration posts), as well as Matt Gaetz, who withdrew from his House seat to avoid publication of his ethics investigation, Republicans will hold a razor-thin 217-215 edge in the House. There are at least eight House Republicans who won with less than 51% of the vote. If just one Republican can side with Democrats to block egregious legislation, Republican plans can be thwarted. Work should begin now on forming a “wedge” caucus that can be the deciding factor in passing House legislation. Deals can be struck to to give cooperative Republicans a better shot at holding their seats in the mid-term 2026 cycle.
- Create a communications lab to field-test language and overall communications strategy. Communications should be directed at all audiences, not just target groups.
- Message cleanup: Democrats are still falling all over themselves when it comes to rights, particularly when it comes to LBTGQ+. Let’s make this really simple: Government has no business in your pants, or between your legs. Period. Next question.
- Messengers are just as important as the message… sometimes even more so. Democrats should designate an “all-star” team of strong messengers to be front-line when it comes to media appearances.
- Take the necessary steps to identify a 50%+ coalition centered on the working-class values that have historically defined the party. Then learn how to speak with voters in language they understand.
- Media training should be an essential element of every Democratic campaign. This needs to include image consulting, as well as microphone and camera training. I cannot tell you how many times I’ve seen Democratic speakers come off tinny and weak simply because they have no idea how to hold a microphone. This is inexcusable.
- Democrats need to adopt a 50-state strategy. Ignoring large swaths of the electorate implies that Democrats just don’t care about them, a perception that’s damaging everywhere, not just in “red” states.
The above are all essentials where action can be taken right now. There’s a lot more that needs to be done, of course, but this would be a start.
Image Repair
Next, top of the list should be working to rebuild democrats’ image (what I call “branding”) which, frankly, sucks. This will take a lot of painful listening to people who don’t like/trust Democrats, but it absolutely must be done and done first if there is to be any hope of rescuing the Democrats’ brand.
But before having a single conversation, there is one thing that Democrats need to realize right now:
Most Americans absolutely hate the idea of anybody getting preferential treatment. If those receiving the benefits are higher up the social ladder, well, that’s God’s will, but when it comes to the less fortunate or those who are somehow “other,” the rage can be explosive.
I was shocked to see how many Trump voters were furious about Biden’s attempt to cancel student debt. The typical reaction was, “I paid back my student loans; why can’t they?”
Of course, the college loan industry is not what it was; Republican policy has allowed it to become increasingly predatory in recent years. Government protection of the industry has also made loan payback virtually impossible for many students, so the comparison of “now” and “then” simply doesn’t hold water.
Nevertheless, the perceived inequality rankles and reinforces the idea that Democrats seek special treatment and government “handouts,” while “the rest of us” (meaning White people, who, by the way, are a plurality of those on welfare) end up footing the bill. It’s hateful and racist garbage, of course, but it still ends up playing really, really badly for Democrats.
So a word to the wise here: For now, stop talking about “rights,” unless it’s about rights that apply to all of us. Save the rest of it (e.g., affirmative action, reparations, etc.) until after Democrats are in a position to do something about it. Face it: the only right that matters right now is the right to live in a democracy; everything else is secondary. So if you’re going to talk about rights, talk about universal rights like the right to vote, the right to fight for a living wage, or the right for our democracy to be controlled by us, not by billionaires who are a law unto themselves.
America is a shared experience – something we all built together, from the lowliest worker to the business tycoon. In fact, without the working class, there is no American middle class no and powerhouse American economy that’s the envy of the world. Instead, what you have is a plantation economy where Americans work not for themselves, but to make the richest Americans even richer, while countries like China eat our lunch.
That’s the path we’re on right now. Take a look at the below:
Narrative
Lastly (for now) Democrats need to work on establishing context. Some call it “narrative,” but think of it as telling the story, a story that everyone can easily understand. Narrative is a story that explains everything you’re doing, why you’re doing it and why it’s so important.
Without context, all political posturing is just hot air.
The Republican narrative is simple and powerful: “They’re coming after you. They’ll assault you on the street, invade your neighborhood, take your job, your tax dollars and even try to turn your kid gay or trans.”
Get it? 76.94 million Trump voters did. That’s the power of narrative.
America did something absolutely monstrous in the 2024 elections. A second Trump presidency may well mean the end of democracy, not just in the US, but all over the world. Whether or not we’ll ever be able to recover is very much an open question, but here’s the big picture:
Trump is a psychopath. His is a sick, twisted mind – Trump is a spoiled, rich kid who’s never had to truly face the music for a “career” that consists largely of defrauding people. He’s also a fucking idiot. The Supreme Court has granted him the right to commit whatever crimes he wants to without fear of consequences, and now the American electorate has made him the most powerful man in the history of the world. And in a stunning display of utter cowardice, the entire Republican Party is lining up behind him.
How do you think this is going to end?
If this doesn’t scare the living shit out of you, you’re either brain-dead or angling for a job in the Trump administration.
But first, some context:
Democrats dug us out of the economic disaster of COVID to build the best economy America has seen in generations. Numerous infrastructure projects are already in the pipeline, so what Biden’s done will continue to have a positive impact for some time.
Trump and Republicans will take credit for all of it, directing funds only to red states where possible. Then they’ll really get down to business. Here’s some of what you can expect:
- Military Purge: Trump will purge the military leadership of anyone he suspects wouldn’t be loyal to his every whim. The Insurrection Act gives the president the power to use the military in the case of a “national emergency” and Trump has already said that he plans to invoke it. (See “Reichstag Fire,” below.) And in Trump’s Presidential Immunity case, Trump’s lawyers claimed that such immunity would even allow Trump to assassinate his political enemies. Despite the utterly monstrous potential consequences, the Supreme Court ruled in Trump’s favor anyway, granting him the power of an absolute tyrant. If you don’t think he’ll use it, you’re dreaming.
(Note: Political assassinations were part of Brazilian president Jair Bolsonaro’s plot to to stay in power. Trump has a close relationship with Bolsonaro; in fact, Bolsonaro was just invited to Trump’s inauguration.)
- Purge of Government Workers: Federal employees will be forced to either sign a loyalty pledge or be fired. Workers who have ever been members of the Democratic Party will face special scrutiny and/or outright dismissal. Thereafter, any federal workers who report corruption or malfeasance will face summary dismissal, Judicial Department investigation, or both. Trump will treat the entire government – your government, that you pay for – as his own personal property.
- Profiteering from Social Security and Medicare: Social Security and Medicare consume 50% of all federal spending. Both are highly-successful and highly-popular government-managed programs, with a minimum of administrative costs. Republicans have wanted to get their claws into both programs for years and they will not be able to resist the opportunity. Once Wall Street gets a piece of the pie, your money will not be going to your health care, or your retirement, it’ll be going into the pockets of the corporate profiteers who fund the Republican Party. It’s unlikely things will change much for those who are already receiving benefits (the political cost would be too high), but for those Trump voters who were counting on Social Security or Medicare, well, good luck with that.
- America Becomes a Police State: Bounties will be offered to those who report undocumented immigrants. (There’s already a $1,000 bounty bill being introduced in Missouri.) Deporting 11 million people simply isn’t practical (not to mention that it would crash the economy); nevertheless, Trump will use the fear card to justify inhuman measures like family separation, denial of birthright citizenship and concentration camps. Modern technology provides the capability for an unprecedented level of surveillance; if you think Trump will adhere to legal guidelines here, you’d better think again. (In fact, it was recently revealed that Trump already engaged in illegal surveillance in his first term.)
- Press Becomes Government Mouthpiece: Major press outlets are already signaling their willingness to kowtow to Trump. Trump has threatened to jail journalists who anger him and to strip networks of their broadcast licenses and, under threats from Trump, Newsmax has now barred staff from negative reporting on Pete Hegseth, Trump’s embattled Defense Secretary candidate. Trump watches a lot of TV and now that he has a free pass from the Supreme Court, he’ll do whatever he wants and count on the Justice Department to look the other way. The signs are everywhere: Paul Krugman, the Nobel-winning Economist, has left the NY Times “in search of more freedom.” Harry Litman has left the LA Times on account of the paper’s “shameless capitulation” to Trump. Even MSNBC looks to be cowering; David Frum was asked to apologize after making a relatively innocuous comment on Morning Joe about alleged drinking by Trump’s pick to be Defense Secretary. This is after Joe and Mika flew to Mar y Lago to sit down with Trump and “kiss the ring.” If you want to know what’s likely in store, take a look at what Orban’s done to the press in Hungary, an example often cited by Trump and Republican leadership for what they want to do here. Spoiler alert: it’s already happening. See ABC News’ $15 million payout and apology for calling Trump a rapist, as the judge in the Jean Carroll defamation case said that the jury had, in effect, ruled. (A word to the wise: If you want real news that tells it like it is, go to FreeSpeechTV.org while you can.)
- Trump’s Storm Troopers: For those of you not familiar with history, Hitler used his Brownshirts to intimidate perceived political enemies like leftists and Jews. Once Trump pardons the January 6 insurrectionists, he’ll have an instant, well-organized, battle-tested personal army of thugs who are ready for action, armed with assault weapons that are easier to buy in some states than a six-pack of beer. So if you’ve been thinking that once the insurrectionists have been pardoned they’ll just go home, lick their wounds and rue the day they tried to overthrow the government, well, think again. And if you think the FBI will stand in their way, ditto. (In fact, the Trump FBI might well help them out.) And finally, if you think a Trump Justice Department will prosecute any crimes Trump’s MAGAmobs may commit, you must be smoking the good stuff.
- An American Reichstag Fire: Kash Patel, Trump’s designee for FBI Director, has pledged to shut down the FBI’s investigative unit on Day One. This is the department that’s responsible for preventing terrorist threats and domestic attacks. Even if Patel isn’t confirmed, his replacement will undoubtedly share similar views. American security will be further compromised should Tulsi Gabbard be confirmed as Intelligence Director. But the #1 threat to national security is already, of course, Trump himself, who is a direct line to Putin. So it’s only a matter of time before there’s a major domestic attack that Trump will use as a pretext to eliminate his enemies, real or imagined. Hitler used the Reichstag fire to suspend habeus corpus, freedom of expression, freedom of the press, freedom to assemble and other civil liberties, thus cementing the Nazis in power. You can bet that the lessons of the Reichstag fire will not be lost on Trump, Putin, Musk and the rest of the right-wing cabal who’s been dreaming of seizing absolute power once and for all. This. Will. Happen. You heard it here first.
This is all just for starters – Trump hasn’t even been sworn in yet. But you can bet your bottom dollar that everything mentioned here (and more) will come to pass. For Democrats not to set the stage is nothing less than political malpractice. Tell the story.
…it’s only a matter of time before there’s a major domestic attack that Trump will use as a pretext to eliminate his enemies, real or imagined.
Right now, as the new administration takes office, Democratic officeholders need to indicate a willingness to cooperate with reasonable Republicans. Otherwise, they look like sore losers. But a strong narrative is hugely important, so the story must be told; it just needs to be told by advocates who are not currently tasked to cooperate somehow with Republicans. Someone like Sherrod Brown comes to mind; there are more.
Fifty years of Republican policy catering to the ultra-rich have left American workers struggling just to survive. At the same time, the rich make ever more money while paying ever less tax, leaving the rest of us to pick up the tab. It’s obscene. And it’s all on account of Republican policies.
We are now careening down the path towards autocracy, where only the rich and powerful have any rights at all. Only an all-hands-on-deck approach by the Democrats can stop, and hopefully, reverse it. Let us hope that they – and us – are up to the task.
*We’re not being naïve here. We’re well aware that Trump may well try to appoint “acting” administrators in order to bypass Congressional oversight entirely. What we can do is to make it as difficult as possible for him to have his way, while costing him and his Republican enablers valuable political capital in the process.
