Risk and boldness, not politics as usual, are necessary to stop Trump.

[lees1975]

https://signalpress.blogspot.com/2025/03/if-trump-is-existential-threat-to.html

There were voices, among younger, more aggressive Democrats, who exhibited an extensive knowledge of the Constitution, in providing a course of action for the Democratic party to take to end this charade, and prove they really believed Trump was an existential threat to democracy. Though we had narrow majorities in both houses, the ability existed to break the Senate filibuster, a huge obstacle to democratic action in a republic, and then amend the judiciary act to allow President Biden to appoint enough justices to the Supreme Court to over-ride the conservative majority, neutralize the pig-headed Roberts, and prevent the ridiculous immunity ruling they issued on Trump's behalf.

That would have been a bold move, but looking at where Trump is headed and what is happening, it was a necessary move. But Biden didn't want to give up the filibuster, on long standing tradition and principle. And in hindsight, a majority leader like Schumer wouldn't have gone along with doing it. They were right in claiming that Trump was an existential threat to American democracy, but they were wrong, dead wrong, in the manner that they chose to deal with that. I wonder if they really cared. They have the resources to protect their own interests and cover their rear. The rest of us are the ones who will suffer under this.

And that might explain why there wasn't a whole lot of enthusiastic support from voters in November of 2024. They might have seen Trump as a threat to democracy, but they didn't see Democrats as the best way to deal with it.

"The hard truth is that the Democratic party, in its current form, cannot lead the opposition that is required."

That's the evaluation of Ben Rhodes, a former deputy national security advisor under the Obama Administration, and a contributing editor to the New York Times. I've read some of his work before, and he's in a position to know, and be honest about it. Simple observation shows him to be correct. Our senate minority didn't have the stomach to do the right thing about the CR. How in the world are they going to confront the big stuff we know is coming?