General Discussion
Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsWhy Isn't Anyone Doing Anything?
At the risk of sounding naive and simplistic, where are our representatives in all this? No one is passing any meaningful legislation. And even if they did it would probably get ignored by those currently in power. Our reps are all going through the motions, making sound bites, and looking concerned -- but nothing is changing. What happened to checks and balances and consequences? If one branch doesn't listen to the other there are repercussions. Has anyone even mentioned the "I" word??? Or is it, as I suspect, a situation of everyone we've elected to represent us being too damned comfortable in their position and too afraid of retaliation (Murkowski) to do a damn thing about it? Are they just content to ride this right into the ground? Where are the true patriots? Where are our leaders? This isn't Europe facing Hitler with the US coming to their aid. Who's going to come to OUR aid? Do you see England, France, Germany, etc., coming to our shores to help us fight for freedom? I can't even picture it.
The fight must come from within. Frankly, I don't know if we have enough people here in America who care enough to do anything about it. We can complain about our 401ks, the stock market, prices, deportation, attacks on the environment, the decimation of government infrastructures, etc., but is anything actually being done to stop it? Bernie Sanders and AOC can tour the country, but other than some back slapping and cheering, tell me what that does to actually help? Planning for the next election? What if there isn't one? I'm not even sure we'll have mid-terms, let alone a Presidential election in 4 years. Given the obliteration that's taken place thus far, what else can happen in the next 3-1/2 years? I shudder to think of it.
I'm am fearful and at the same time hopeful. But the balance is tipping more toward fear for our future. My son asked me today what I thought was going to happen. I had to stop and think. I couldn't really give him a good answer. And that scared me most of all.

EdmondDantes_
(403 posts)We are in the minority in both houses of Congress, and Trump is president so he'd veto anything. There are limited governmental tools we have.
But they are doing things like holding rallies, going to see the man wrongfully deported, doing press. That's really all that can be done now. Those things can build support for the 2026 midterms and with enough public outcry some Republicans will feel the heat and not move in lockstep with Trump.
wryter2000
(47,803 posts)I cannot abide people who think we have a magic wand.
BlueTsunami2018
(4,302 posts)And the Republicans are either too afraid to actually do anything to stop the insanity or theyre 100% on board with it.
And quite frankly even if a bill was miraculously passed that would address these matters, Piss would just veto it.
There isnt anything to do about it, were well and truly fucked.
unblock
(54,991 posts)it's just that we don't have real power in congress, and we have very limited power in the courts.
but power isn't just what's officially given per the constitution and laws, as republicans have repeatedly demonstrated. they exert power over their own congresspeople through threats, defamation, and money to the point where they're responsive to donnie and billionaires to a far greater degree than they are responsive to their own constituents, who supposedly have power over their representatives.
our power, unfortunately, is limited to speech and various levels of protests. but we need to leverage whatever power we have to document everything and get the word out and increase our visibility and obstruct the fascists from cementing their hold on power.
Scrivener7
(55,356 posts)BlueTsunami2018
(4,302 posts)All we have is the filibuster and that should be used as often as possible.
But the answer to why no legislation is being passed is because we (The Democratic Party) have zero power.
kerry-is-my-prez
(9,841 posts)Scrivener7
(55,356 posts)kerry-is-my-prez
(9,841 posts)With Democrats attacking Democrats widely, I dont have much hope for the midterms or with the presidential. People are going to protests and the Democratic crowd screams at the Democratic politicians who at least have showed up for the protest.
unblock
(54,991 posts)donnie has already corrupted congress and the supreme court to the point where meaningful pushback would likely be ignored.
the supreme court is unlikely to get tough with him and in any event, donnie can get just ignore them.
this congress will *never* remove him and very likely would never even impeach him, no matter what in practice.
his doj will never indict him for anything. they'll likely never even investigate him (well, possibly as a sham).
the only actions we can take are more along the lines of organizing, protesting, documenting their crimes and evil deeds, and fighting at every level of government for free and fair election, to reduce their power and restore democracy, and getting the truth out any way we can (which these days, mostly means independent and foreign journalistic sources and our own social media.
NavyDem
(564 posts)That is the time to have done something. America failed.
WestMichRad
(2,245 posts)1. Form an independent, civilian-powered investigative coalition.
Im talking experts. Veterans. Whistleblowers. Journalists. Watchdog orgs.
Deputize the resistance. Build a real-time archive of corruption, overreach, and executive abuse.
Make it public. Make it unshakable.
Let the people drag the rot into the light.
If you cant hold formal hearings, hold public ones.
If Congress wont act, let the country act.
This isnt about optics its about receipts.
Because at some point, these people will be held accountable. And when that day comes, well need every name, every signature, every illegal order, every act of silence documented. Youre not just preserving truth youre preparing evidence for prosecution. The more they vanish people and weaponize data, the more we need truth in the sunlight.
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2. Join the International Criminal Court.
Yes, I said it. Call their bluff. You cannot control what the other side does. But you can control your own integrity. So prove it. Prove that your party is still grounded in law, human rights, and ethical leadership.
Join.
If youve got nothing to hide join.
Show the world whos hiding bodies, bribes, and buried bank accounts. Force the GOP to explain why theyd rather protect a war criminal than sign a treaty. And while youre at it, publicly invite ICC observers into U.S. borders. Make this administration explain on camera why theyre terrified of international oversight.
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3. Fund state-level resistance infrastructure.
Dont just send postcards. Send resources.
Channel DNC funds into rapid-response teams, legal defense coalitions, sanctuary networks, and digital security training.
If the federal government is hijacked, build power underneath it.
If the laws become tools of oppression, help people resist them legally, locally, and boldly.
This is not campaign season this is an authoritarian purge. Stop campaigning. Act like this is the end of democracy, because it is. We WILL REMEMBER the warriors come primaries. Fighting this regime should be your marketing strategy.
And lets be clear:
The reason the other side always seems three steps ahead is because they ARE.
They prepared for this. They infiltrated school boards, courts, local legislatures, and police unions. They built a machine while you wrote press releases. Were reacting theyve been executing a plan for years.
Its time to shift from panic to blueprint.
You should already be working with strategists and military minds on PROJECT 2029 a coordinated, long-term plan to rebuild this country when the smoke clears.
You should be publicly laying out:
The laws and amendments youll pass to ensure this never happens again
The systems youll tear down and the safeguards youll enshrine
The plan to hold perpetrators of human atrocities accountable
The urgent commitment to immediately bring home those sold into slavery in El Salvador
You say youre the party of the people? Then show the people the plan.
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4. Use your platform to educate the public on rights and resistance tactics.
If theyre going to strip us of rights and lie about it arm the people with truth. Text campaigns. Mass trainings. Downloadable Know Your Rights kits. Multilingual legal guides. Encrypted phone trees.
Give people tools, not soundbites.
We dont need more slogans.
We need survival manuals.
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5. Leverage international media and watchdogs.
Stop hoping U.S. cable news will wake up. Theyre too busy playing both sides of fascism. Feed the real stories to BBC, Al Jazeera, The Guardian, Reuters, Der Spiegel hell, leak them to anonymous dropboxes if you have to. Make whats happening in America a global scandal. And stop relying on platforms that are actively suppressing truth.
Start leveraging Substack. Use Bluesky. Thats where the resistance is migrating. Thats where censorship hasnt caught up. If the mainstream wont carry the truth outflank them. Get creative. Go underground. Go global.
If our democracy is being dismantled in broad daylight, make sure the whole world sees it and make sure were still able to say it.
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6. Create a digital safe haven for whistleblowers and defectors.
Not everyone inside this regime is loyal. Some are scared. Some want out. Build the channels. Encrypted. Anonymous. Protected. Make it easy for the cracks in the system to become gaping holes.
And while youre at it? Stop ostracizing MAGA defectors. Everyone makes mistakes even glaring, critical ones. We are not the bullies. We are not the ones filled with hate.
And it is not your job to shame people who finally saw the fire and chose to step out of it.
They will have to deal with that internal struggle the guilt of putting a very dangerous and callous regime in power. But theyre already outnumbered. Dont push them back into the crowd.
We dont need purity. We need numbers. We need people willing to burn their red hats and testify against the machine they helped build.
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7. Study the collapseand the comeback.
You should be learning from South Korea and how they managed their brief rule under dictatorship. They didnt waste time chasing the one man with absolute immunity. They went after the structure.
The aides. The enforcers. The loyalists. The architects.
They knocked out the foundation one pillar at a time until the strongman had no one left to stand on. And his power crumbled beneath him.
You should be independently investigating every author of Project 2025, every aide who defies court orders, every communications director repeating lies, every policy writer enabling cruelty, every water boy who keeps this engine running.
You cant stop a regime by asking the king to sit down. You dismantle the throne hes standing on one coward at a time.
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Stop being scared to fight dirty when the other side is fighting to erase the damn Constitution.
They are threatening to disappear AMERICANS.
A M E R I C A N S.
And your biggest move cant be another strongly worded email.
We dont want your urgently fundraising subject lines. We want backbone. We want action. We want to know youll stand up before were all ordered to sit down permanently.
We are watching. And I dont just mean your base. I mean millions of us who see exactly whats happening.
*******
(He wrote more urgings to accompany this list that I have omitted.)
You can critique his list (and I think his item on joining the ICC is off base, because only governments can do that), but critiquing his list misses the point: We need to take action, NOW!!
Ponietz
(3,502 posts)mcar
(44,457 posts)H2O Man
(76,631 posts)is what are you doing? We all need to answer that. Plenty of people are answering it by stepping up their grass roots activity. There will be no super hero. It's up to us.