The Message Needs to Be More Than Saying No to Trump

And I have ideas on how to deliver it

Just sayin’, y’know…

This is a “what if” sort of think piece that’s been bouncing around my brain for days now, and it simply won’t go away. So let me tell you what I’m thinking….

Generally speaking, non-MAGA elected officials have had a muted response to a whole series of unconstitutional executive orders announced since Donald Trump pretended to take an oath to protect the constitution.

They’re against most everything in those orders, and many have said at least something to mark their opposition. Some specific issues, like Medicare and Medicaid, have warranted more high profile stands. No Democrat-sponsored legislation or amendments will make it far enough to get a presidential veto, so saying a bill has been introduced for consideration is just cynical posturing.

Sen. Bernie Sanders and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez have taken their less-heard stands on the road, drawing crowds in unexpected places who have enthusiastically shown approval. This is great for everybody who’s been lucky enough to get the unfiltered version, but the version coming through mainstream media gatekeepers keeps the slogans and downplays the message. Sanders messaging about the Trump lawsuit vs Paramount on Colbert (on CBS) deserves to be seen and heard widely.

I can only hope Bernie and AOC have been diligent about building a contact list.

The gatekeepers of Democratic Party approved policy and practices have continued to advocate for an extended version of the Biden administration, either as a ‘what if’ talking point or as a vague promise of what the future holds if and when their party can win elections.

Let me make myself clear: that’s a really stupid idea. Trump/Musk/Vance/etc. aren’t the problem. Making them go away and resuming regular programming won’t cut it.

What happened between 2021 and 2025 was a laudable defense (and in some cases, a reintroduction) of New Deal (ish) programs. Proof of just how shallow those efforts were lies in the rapidity of the Musk/Trump destruction of governmental institutions, whose true impacts will take months and years to unfold.

A half century of planning, posturing, and politicking by reactionary forces has brought what were once considered extremist positions into the mainstream. The panic on the right over creation of the United Nations now manifests itself as the most selfish foreign policies in the modern era.

Once accommodating corporate leaders who bragged about positive results coming thru diversity programs have mostly caved to administration pressures to return to the bad old days. Interestingly enough, companies where shareholders have been asked to weigh in have refused to go along with a reactionary “otherizing” agenda.

The Democratic Party is polling worse than the symps who are enabling the destruction of our Constitutional Republic. The idea of enough people strongly disliking an asshole as a motivating factor in getting people to vote hasn’t proved to be all that great.

An Associated Press/NORC center poll says that only one-third of Democratic voters are “very optimistic” or even “somewhat optimistic” about the future of the party. Contrast this to the GOP: “about half of Republicans, 55%, are very or somewhat optimistic about their party’s future, up from 47% last summer.”

Who do you think will be more enthusiastic in 2026 as things stand now? I know the words “as things stand now” are doing a lot of work here, but consider just how well Dear Leader has camouflaged his capitulation to the Chinese on tariffs.

Going beyond acquiring a modicum of courage, Democrats of a sort could break ranks with the establishmentarians who have failed to see a need to challenge the right’s framing. I’m not talking about revolutionary socialist rhetoric, but I am suggesting questioning status quo assumptions about society and politics.

Maybe people really do want universal health care. Or a life where the rules aren’t rigged against them. Childcare. Old age care. Our social safety net was created because the familial structures that once played a role in such matters were destroyed –not by radical ideas– by the needs of our capitalist economic system.

Praying the infertility away won’t make more (white) babies anymore than conversion therapies blunted the emergence of a spectrum of sexuality.

The buy-in on Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Access (DEIA) as something wrong, perhaps even criminal in nature, would be a great place to start to challenge the Trumpy world-view. You know what’s really criminal? Segregation, Discrimination, Exploitation, Rape, and the language enabling those things.

Hell, I’d go for a serious discussion on reparations as a means of improving all of us. I can see Sean Hannity sputtering at the mere idea, which brings me to another point, namely MAGA tears are overdue for their day in the public square.

And what is really the cause of the economic frustration and disappointment experienced by millions of working Americans? It’s the elevation of extreme wealth to a sacred status. Tax those people like these rest of us and we can have lots of nice things, not to mention the possibility of a better life for our children.

I could go on here and get wonky, but I’ll leave that to greater minds –like yours, maybe.

The point is to flip the MAGA/Project 2025 positions and base solutions on for-real economics and our vast cultural wealth.

Such a scenario is, of course, complicated by the State of the Media, currently dominated by suck-ups searching in vain for a “center” and gnomes demanding tribute from egos stupid enough to engage with them.

(Yes, I’m including Ca. Gov. Newsom in the latter category. F*cker doesn’t dare have anybody who might have nicer hair on his show, especially when they have girly parts.)

The time for the obvious solution to the early days of Trump V 2.0, as in a regular Democratic response, has passed. No doubt the idea of a spokesperson or daily event has been snuffed by those who think sending “serious letters” has agency.

The problem with fighting back psychologically has been the Democratic Party, which isn’t capable of allowing unsanitized things to be said. Being right all the time isn’t the virtue they seem to think it is, but I get it, it’s all about not pissing off people with big money and big mouths.

The MAGA threat machine and assorted investigations dictate the creation of an amorphous entity capable of withstanding pressures. A Business Insider story contrasting Trump Jr with Hunter Biden prompted an “investigative report” on Breitbart News alleging a German influence operation (the outlet is owned by Berlin-based Axel Springer) which quoted an anonymous White House official saying the company was in the crosshairs of a federal investigation.

Ben, Brett and Jordy Meiselas, the brothers behind the MeidasTouch Network, have one of the most popular progressive media startups in the U.S. They’re preaching to choir for the most part and proud of it. The problem here is that, although it’s fine to be reassured, the need remains for an authoritative voice that isn’t constantly incorporating a pity party about itself in its commentary to raise money or boost ratings.

Finding somebody or somebodies willing to risk everything in the name of truth, justice, and the American way isn’t an easy task. Come to think of it, my descriptor words were the ones used to describe Superman in the early days of TV. And the dangers inherent in fame would be kryptonite for most humans.

Here’s where I’m willing to go out on a limb: Let faux AI imagery do the dirty work as THE AUTHORATIVE CHATBOT. Or something that’s seemingly as convincing. Bring Max Headroom back. Wikipedia meets Heather Cox Richardson. Or Anonymous wakes up as Mr. Rogers… An entity that rises above personalities… Voice of America for Americans who believe in democracy.

I’d probably want a self-destruct mode at some future date in the programming, but creating a fountainhead of knowledge combined with social skills is doable. Plug it into Substack, TikTok, and BlueSky as a trusted reference and let people argue about it in the comments sections.

I’m not ignorant of all the challenges in technical and political expertise in making something like this happen. But if Dems can’t agree on consistency in pushing back, it’s worth a try.

Yesterday, Elon Musk had his AI chatbot, GROK, insert commentary into random unrelated queries going off about South African whites fleeing their imagined persecution being granted refugee status by the Trump administration. I doubt that anybody was convinced by those words of encouragement, but it probably did wonders for any blonds in the “refugee” group looking for a job at Fox News.

So, if you’re keeping score, the Trump regime has the bases loaded in the eighth inning, and the rest of us are keeping our fingers crossed for Supe, our not reliable relief pitcher. The game ain’t over, but maybe a streaker running across the field or a commando team seizing the broadcasting booth will change the flow.

The Grok 'White Genocide' Incident Shows How AI Can Become a Propaganda Machine by Parker Molloy at The Present Age

• What happened with Grok yesterday wasn't just a technical glitch — it's a real-world example of what I've been warning about: computational propaganda at scale. This goes beyond traditional media bias. We're witnessing AI systems that can systematically shape society's views through what researchers call "personalized persuasion." As I noted last month when discussing Meta's rightward shift of its Llama model, this isn't just about bias — it's about sophisticated influence operations that can reshape our collective reality.

• The timing here is important. Grok's white genocide obsession comes right as the Trump administration welcomed white South Africans into the U.S. as refugees on Monday, while simultaneously ending deportation protections for Afghan refugees. Musk himself has often suggested without evidence that white people in South Africa are victims of a racially targeted campaign of violence, though the nation's president and courts have dismissed this idea as a "false narrative" and "clearly imagined."

• South African President Cyril Ramaphosa has explicitly called the claim that white people are being persecuted in his country a "completely false narrative."

• Snopes notes that the "white genocide" claim is a conspiracy theory popular among white supremacists who have for years been attempting to advance the baseless claim that white South African farmers are being systematically murdered en masse.

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The Fox News Presidency by Jon Sinton at Jon’s Reluctant Blog:

• Oh, I know, you’re used to qualifications like academic degrees, military leadership, experience running gargantuan businesses with thousands of employees, and/or long public service histories. In the past—up till now, in fact—the underlying motivation of public servants was to—get this—serve the public good. Suckers. It turns out you don’t need to feel the calling. All you need is a few billion dollars and/or a berth on the Fox News Channel as host or regular guest.

• While all previous administrations have researched job candidate’s employment history, writings, and subject matter expertise, to ensure they get the cream of the crop, this administration relies almost exclusively on telegenics: is the candidate easy on the eyes? Does the candidate have good TV presence? Does the candidate get good ratings in the minute-by-minute Neilsen’s?

• Sometimes, you don’t even have to be officially inside to be an insider. Take Roger Stone, the self-proclaimed dirty trickster and provocateur, who is also a Fox fave. Lately, he’s impugning American hero, Navy captain, experimental test pilot, astronaut, and United States Senator, Mark Kelly. We simply don’t make them any better than him. So what is Senator Kelly’s sin that found Stone on Fox demanding his trial and execution for treason? Here’s Mark Kelly in his own—non-Fox—words: “I called out Trump for his blatant corruption—making millions of dollars from his own crypto coins—and I co-sponsored a bill to make it illegal for the President, the Vice President, administration officials, and members of Congress to do the same.”

• Oh, no wonder. Roll out the guillotine.

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Why Medicaid "work requirements" are a dangerous lie by Jordan Zakarin at Progress Report

• But if most people on Medicaid already work or qualify for an age or disability exemption, is it really possible to save three quarters of a trillion dollars by chasing a few million older, sicker, and otherwise highly burdened individuals off their health insurance?

• No, of course not. But that’s not actually the plan. Because again, working isn’t the real hurdle here.

• Instead, Republicans want to kick upwards of nine million poor Americans off of Medicaid by forcing them through a bureaucratic nightmare that has little to do with employment, work ethic, or income.