My sense is that too many of the people who did vote for Harris are now withdrawing into their lives and smaller communities, either out of a sense of helplessness or exhaustion. They aren't ignorant of the horror. They just don't want to or can't bear to muster the energy to fight. I find this frustrating and, yes, angering but I have no sense of how to combat it.
We can at least express our opposition in any way possible. Please sign and encourage others to sign The People’s Articles of Impeachment Against Donald J. Trump:
As much as we'd all like to see this happen, or for cholesterol to work faster, this is seriously just a colossal waste of time. They don't care about protests, they don't care about SCOTUS ruling against them, so they surely won't care about a petition that has absolutely zero effect other than supposedly feeling good about doing something??!!
You know, we can't whine and bitch about them not following the Constitution regarding things like due process, habeas corpus, and birthright citizenship only to turn around and suggest suspending the Constitution to suit our just as illegal needs.
The Constitution gives us two ways to remove a President:
1. Impeachment by Congress
2. Removal via the 25th Amendment by his cabinet
These are the only ways that a President can get removed from office. No, citizens cannot remove a President from office.
Energy should be used in actually effective ways. Signing a petition for citizens to impeach the president is silly and will go nowhere. But hey, I guess it makes you feel like you're doing something? Talk about "owning the libs".
That’s the only interesting thing to come out of the crazy the republicans are pulling because of that post. Tizzyent showed pages of 86 46 on insta. Frankly I’m old a served food for a long time. To me, 86 means the soup is gone. :/
All these generalizations about "voters" and "Americans" miss something important: the glaring disparity between how white people voted and how Black people (and to some extent other people of color) voted. More than 90% of Black women voted for Harris-Walz in 2024 and Biden-Harris in 2020, and this is not just because there was a woman of color on the ticket. Black people have consistently supported Democratic candidates while the Democratic Party has generally taken their support for granted and done little to earn it.
It shouldn't be hard to see why: Go back to the mid/late 1960s, when white Southern Democrats flooded into the GOP. In the decades since the GOP has become largely a white people's party. There are photos out there of the two parties' congressional delegations standing on the Capitol steps: the Republican delegation is always overwhelmingly white and the Democratic delegation looks more like the U.S.: strikingly more women and more people of color.
"Make America Great Again" means "Make America White Again." Since the Reagan administration "small government" has been code for "end DEI." Trump's base and Republicans more generally get it. Too many white liberals don't.
I take the point that the experience is different for different demographic groups. My points would be fiercer if we were only talking about cute behavior of white America.
My daughter is 39, very well educated, whip smart, and good-hearted. Yet, when I tried to get her to go with me to last month's Hands Off protest in Sacramento, she refused. "What's the point?" And therein lies the point. She knows how bad Trump is and how our country is spiraling into chaos and yet she wouldn't stand up and be counted. I also recently watched the FY pod on the Bulwark which features Gen Z guests. Asked why there were so many Boomers in the protests and not any Zoomers, one guest, a popular Tik-Tok influencer replied, "Because all we've ever known is Trump and to us it just seems normal." She added that she has switched from being a die-hard Republican to a Democrat and I'm hopeful she uses her platform to call out the regime. All of which is to say, maybe it will take the economy bottoming out, joblessness to reach all time highs, a depression, something that can be laid squarely at the regime's feet to move at least 20% of those 77 million 2024 Trump voters and at least 50% of the 89 million who didn't vote, to create a tidal wave of opposition, in the streets and at the ballot box. Poland did it. Ukraine did it. South Korea did it. France and many other democratic countries have had their share of public uprisings resulting in reforms and change. We are the oldest democracy yet now the most fragile. I agree, Steve, we must look our friends and family in the eye and say, "If not us, then who?"
My daughter also is passive. It is so difficult to comprehend. As a Boomer, I spent years being actively involved in anti-Vietnam war movement, and in Civil Rights marches. Is it related to all of the technology? are they so unused to large groups of people getting together for a shared purpose?
Ignore Dr. Snyder’s words at your peril, fellow Americans. Sadly, many already ignored the words written in Project 2025.
“The notion that a radical is one who hates his country is naïve and usually idiotic. He is, more likely, one who likes his country more than the rest of us, and is thus more disturbed than the rest of us when he sees it debauched. He is not a bad citizen turning to crime; he is a good citizen driven to despair.” - H.L. Mencken
Steve, here is a simple, somewhat limited and likely very costly solution.
Produce a series of 15-second and 30-second spots illustrating the trump criminality, etc. Run them for weeks, even months, on Fox. Buy avails on right-wing podcasts, right-wing radio, and perhaps “x.”
We need to reach the brainwashed. So we need to put the truth in front of them in simple ways and on the fields that they are playing.
For those who might doubt this approach, think of the successes of Voice of America, Radio Free Europe and the BBC. Or Tylenol, Ozempic, Ford, Toyota, and beer. Effective advertising works. But you have to have a lot of it and put it where your would-be customers are watching and listening.
Thank you Steven. I have been doing what you have suggested. I am discouraged with family, friends and acquaintances who are “ too busy” to be bothered to keep up with the news, let alone protest or make phone calls.
Thank you for your kind words for former President Biden.
The way the media are criticizing and bashing him is hard to take. ( watching Morning Joe now.)
In Indiana, 340,000 registered Democrats did not vote in the 2024 election. While maybe some of those voters died or moved out of state, that number turning out might have shifted some Indiana races and prevented the horrors that the current state officers and legislature is inflicting on us. Efforts to educate and turn out the vote has to start at each state level. Democrats, since Obama, have not done enough at the state level, which is where people can most directly be informed and motivated.
Another superb article. Your work just keeps getting better and better. I'm going to share this article, too, with your blessings. "But we’re in this fateful moment because far too many Americans failed to grasp what could happen and what was at stake. And, sadly, it seems far too many still fail to recognize that there is a five-alarm fire that could soon burn out of control, making dousing it and repairing the destruction an increasingly tall order." This ignorance of what was happening for some, and the normalization of it for others, is what I have come to believe led to what became of Germany in the 1930's.
I would leave America with my family if we could afford it, even with two children preparing to start community college. This is so disheartening, and you are correct, people think things will remain as they have been, safe and secure--as long as they don't see, with their own eyes, what is happening. More homeless people should be a signal, more fights in public school with fewer counselors, weather disasters--maybe this will wake up people. I plan to cover the June 14 demonstration in my town. We'll see what happens around the country.
Did 77 million people vote ? The felon admitted that musk rigged the election, in Pennsylvania at least. Come on now, just Pennsylvania? I’m one of those kooks who believes that Kamala Harris won the election. I also don’t believe that there was an assassination attempt, in Pennsylvania. However no third gunman on the grassy knoll.
Steven you referenced The NY Times from back in 2023. Since then the legacy media has capitulated to the felon. We have to rely on independent, third party journalists for accurate reporting.
I’m sure Tapper will take advantage of the sad, breaking news about President Biden to hawk his book due out tomorrow.
Trump is a notorious liar who often (usually?) doesn't know what he's talking about. Why is it that so many people are sure he's telling the truth when he says something they agree with?
Excellent advice! We must prepare for the worst and express our opposition in any and every way we can. Please sign and help circulate The People’s Articles of Impeachment Against Donald J. Trump:
Wow! I am amazed and honored to get your supportive response Steven Beschloss! I have admired your thoughts and expertise on MSNBC for a long time. Please consider helping to promote the petition.
The immediate reply to this tragic election must be to tell all in C ongress to IMPEACH for a record fourth time (which he can be proud will give him a very special place in history), to finally have the courage to CONVICT for blatantly obvious crimes and failure to protect the Constitution and our rights, and to REMOVE him and his minions form office now.
A century ago the lawless, self-dealing and racist GOP was truly in control of America, not like Trump's GOP who can barely hold a Congressional majority.
From 1921-1933 (DEMs couldn't even retake Congress after the 1929 crash) the GOP had real power. I take solace in that. As bad as things are now, they would be far worse if Congress was legislating the directives outlined in Trump's EOs.
Much can be unwound.
But first, the people need to be woken up. The crash of '29 and the economic hardship that followed finally did the trick by 1932.
I disagree with your last comment about President Biden. It is true that he is a good and decent man and certainly we all wish him well, however, that doesn’t mean that Democrats should not continue reflecting on and learning from the mistakes the party leadership made in supporting him in another White House bid. This is a failure of the party as much as it is a personal failure of Joe Biden. We can’t pretend that serious mistakes weren’t made and I have a feeling, more mistakes will be made if we continue to look away.
My sense is that too many of the people who did vote for Harris are now withdrawing into their lives and smaller communities, either out of a sense of helplessness or exhaustion. They aren't ignorant of the horror. They just don't want to or can't bear to muster the energy to fight. I find this frustrating and, yes, angering but I have no sense of how to combat it.
We can at least express our opposition in any way possible. Please sign and encourage others to sign The People’s Articles of Impeachment Against Donald J. Trump:
https://chng.it/mXLxNB9nRH
As much as we'd all like to see this happen, or for cholesterol to work faster, this is seriously just a colossal waste of time. They don't care about protests, they don't care about SCOTUS ruling against them, so they surely won't care about a petition that has absolutely zero effect other than supposedly feeling good about doing something??!!
You know, we can't whine and bitch about them not following the Constitution regarding things like due process, habeas corpus, and birthright citizenship only to turn around and suggest suspending the Constitution to suit our just as illegal needs.
The Constitution gives us two ways to remove a President:
1. Impeachment by Congress
2. Removal via the 25th Amendment by his cabinet
These are the only ways that a President can get removed from office. No, citizens cannot remove a President from office.
Energy should be used in actually effective ways. Signing a petition for citizens to impeach the president is silly and will go nowhere. But hey, I guess it makes you feel like you're doing something? Talk about "owning the libs".
Saw an interesting photo on the 8647 meme going around. 8+6 + 4+7=25(th) Amendment
That’s the only interesting thing to come out of the crazy the republicans are pulling because of that post. Tizzyent showed pages of 86 46 on insta. Frankly I’m old a served food for a long time. To me, 86 means the soup is gone. :/
Please read the articles of impeachment. They urge the Congress to act.
All these generalizations about "voters" and "Americans" miss something important: the glaring disparity between how white people voted and how Black people (and to some extent other people of color) voted. More than 90% of Black women voted for Harris-Walz in 2024 and Biden-Harris in 2020, and this is not just because there was a woman of color on the ticket. Black people have consistently supported Democratic candidates while the Democratic Party has generally taken their support for granted and done little to earn it.
It shouldn't be hard to see why: Go back to the mid/late 1960s, when white Southern Democrats flooded into the GOP. In the decades since the GOP has become largely a white people's party. There are photos out there of the two parties' congressional delegations standing on the Capitol steps: the Republican delegation is always overwhelmingly white and the Democratic delegation looks more like the U.S.: strikingly more women and more people of color.
"Make America Great Again" means "Make America White Again." Since the Reagan administration "small government" has been code for "end DEI." Trump's base and Republicans more generally get it. Too many white liberals don't.
I take the point that the experience is different for different demographic groups. My points would be fiercer if we were only talking about cute behavior of white America.
My daughter is 39, very well educated, whip smart, and good-hearted. Yet, when I tried to get her to go with me to last month's Hands Off protest in Sacramento, she refused. "What's the point?" And therein lies the point. She knows how bad Trump is and how our country is spiraling into chaos and yet she wouldn't stand up and be counted. I also recently watched the FY pod on the Bulwark which features Gen Z guests. Asked why there were so many Boomers in the protests and not any Zoomers, one guest, a popular Tik-Tok influencer replied, "Because all we've ever known is Trump and to us it just seems normal." She added that she has switched from being a die-hard Republican to a Democrat and I'm hopeful she uses her platform to call out the regime. All of which is to say, maybe it will take the economy bottoming out, joblessness to reach all time highs, a depression, something that can be laid squarely at the regime's feet to move at least 20% of those 77 million 2024 Trump voters and at least 50% of the 89 million who didn't vote, to create a tidal wave of opposition, in the streets and at the ballot box. Poland did it. Ukraine did it. South Korea did it. France and many other democratic countries have had their share of public uprisings resulting in reforms and change. We are the oldest democracy yet now the most fragile. I agree, Steve, we must look our friends and family in the eye and say, "If not us, then who?"
My daughter also is passive. It is so difficult to comprehend. As a Boomer, I spent years being actively involved in anti-Vietnam war movement, and in Civil Rights marches. Is it related to all of the technology? are they so unused to large groups of people getting together for a shared purpose?
My maga son is not so enamored these days. He won’t say so directly but he began hinting by saying he voting for some Dems. We can hope.
Maybe your daughter wants to make sure she and her likeminded friends can vote? That’s a concrete thing that some are more interested in doing.
https://www.politico.com/newsletters/women-rule/2025/04/18/what-the-save-act-means-for-women-00298305
Ignore Dr. Snyder’s words at your peril, fellow Americans. Sadly, many already ignored the words written in Project 2025.
“The notion that a radical is one who hates his country is naïve and usually idiotic. He is, more likely, one who likes his country more than the rest of us, and is thus more disturbed than the rest of us when he sees it debauched. He is not a bad citizen turning to crime; he is a good citizen driven to despair.” - H.L. Mencken
Steve, here is a simple, somewhat limited and likely very costly solution.
Produce a series of 15-second and 30-second spots illustrating the trump criminality, etc. Run them for weeks, even months, on Fox. Buy avails on right-wing podcasts, right-wing radio, and perhaps “x.”
We need to reach the brainwashed. So we need to put the truth in front of them in simple ways and on the fields that they are playing.
For those who might doubt this approach, think of the successes of Voice of America, Radio Free Europe and the BBC. Or Tylenol, Ozempic, Ford, Toyota, and beer. Effective advertising works. But you have to have a lot of it and put it where your would-be customers are watching and listening.
Boy, did we ever need your posting right now to avoid being lulled into complacency. Focus, focus, focus!
Yes, focus. Thanks, Ellen.
Thank YOU.
Thank you Steven. I have been doing what you have suggested. I am discouraged with family, friends and acquaintances who are “ too busy” to be bothered to keep up with the news, let alone protest or make phone calls.
Thank you for your kind words for former President Biden.
The way the media are criticizing and bashing him is hard to take. ( watching Morning Joe now.)
In Indiana, 340,000 registered Democrats did not vote in the 2024 election. While maybe some of those voters died or moved out of state, that number turning out might have shifted some Indiana races and prevented the horrors that the current state officers and legislature is inflicting on us. Efforts to educate and turn out the vote has to start at each state level. Democrats, since Obama, have not done enough at the state level, which is where people can most directly be informed and motivated.
Another superb article. Your work just keeps getting better and better. I'm going to share this article, too, with your blessings. "But we’re in this fateful moment because far too many Americans failed to grasp what could happen and what was at stake. And, sadly, it seems far too many still fail to recognize that there is a five-alarm fire that could soon burn out of control, making dousing it and repairing the destruction an increasingly tall order." This ignorance of what was happening for some, and the normalization of it for others, is what I have come to believe led to what became of Germany in the 1930's.
Of course you can. Thanks for the kind words.
I would leave America with my family if we could afford it, even with two children preparing to start community college. This is so disheartening, and you are correct, people think things will remain as they have been, safe and secure--as long as they don't see, with their own eyes, what is happening. More homeless people should be a signal, more fights in public school with fewer counselors, weather disasters--maybe this will wake up people. I plan to cover the June 14 demonstration in my town. We'll see what happens around the country.
Professor Snyder and his wife are moving to Canada. I think it was the New York Times that ran a story about this.
Did 77 million people vote ? The felon admitted that musk rigged the election, in Pennsylvania at least. Come on now, just Pennsylvania? I’m one of those kooks who believes that Kamala Harris won the election. I also don’t believe that there was an assassination attempt, in Pennsylvania. However no third gunman on the grassy knoll.
Steven you referenced The NY Times from back in 2023. Since then the legacy media has capitulated to the felon. We have to rely on independent, third party journalists for accurate reporting.
I’m sure Tapper will take advantage of the sad, breaking news about President Biden to hawk his book due out tomorrow.
Trump is a notorious liar who often (usually?) doesn't know what he's talking about. Why is it that so many people are sure he's telling the truth when he says something they agree with?
It is bizarre.
Are you suggesting that musk didn’t rig the election ?
There are people, smarter than me, that say, when he says something believe him.
Please find a quote where he says Musk did this.
That is not what he said. He said "They rigged the election, and I became President"
Some interpret “They” as Musk. I seriously doubt it.
He’s whined for a decade about DEMOCRATS rigging elections.
Excellent advice! We must prepare for the worst and express our opposition in any and every way we can. Please sign and help circulate The People’s Articles of Impeachment Against Donald J. Trump:
https://chng.it/mXLxNB9nRH
Wow! I am amazed and honored to get your supportive response Steven Beschloss! I have admired your thoughts and expertise on MSNBC for a long time. Please consider helping to promote the petition.
The immediate reply to this tragic election must be to tell all in C ongress to IMPEACH for a record fourth time (which he can be proud will give him a very special place in history), to finally have the courage to CONVICT for blatantly obvious crimes and failure to protect the Constitution and our rights, and to REMOVE him and his minions form office now.
A century ago the lawless, self-dealing and racist GOP was truly in control of America, not like Trump's GOP who can barely hold a Congressional majority.
From 1921-1933 (DEMs couldn't even retake Congress after the 1929 crash) the GOP had real power. I take solace in that. As bad as things are now, they would be far worse if Congress was legislating the directives outlined in Trump's EOs.
Much can be unwound.
But first, the people need to be woken up. The crash of '29 and the economic hardship that followed finally did the trick by 1932.
That's our path.
I disagree with your last comment about President Biden. It is true that he is a good and decent man and certainly we all wish him well, however, that doesn’t mean that Democrats should not continue reflecting on and learning from the mistakes the party leadership made in supporting him in another White House bid. This is a failure of the party as much as it is a personal failure of Joe Biden. We can’t pretend that serious mistakes weren’t made and I have a feeling, more mistakes will be made if we continue to look away.
Do we even know what really happened in this last election or what Trump was able to get away with?