I could not agree more. I am one of Jim Himes' constituents, and have met him a number of times. He is a profoundly decent man, and also a smart one. I was very surprised and disappointed by his vote, and have tried to communicate my concern to him through social media. He is "missing the boat" in a way that points to a blind spot (I am a therapist.) I believe in courtesy and decorum, and have faulted its demise in our culture in part to the rise of reality TV, which glorified vulgarity and disrespect. Maybe a symptom more than a cause. But the entertainment value, the constant search for pleasure and immediate gratification have obliterated the desire and need for more difficult critical thinking, complexity and nuance. So time to fight fire with fire, point out in a succinct and immediate way the lies, absurdities, prejudice, malice, ignorance, sycophancy of the Republican party. Chris Murphy, Pete Buttigieg, AOC and a few others are masters at it. The current leadership of the Democratic Party is ineffective and is angering its base. As someone noted on social media "the bland leading the bland." The Civil Rights movement is the correct model to follow. Good trouble is needed.
I've written elsewhere some "r's" vote for "the devil they know"...they aren't stupid they know their politician is corrupt but it's "the devil they know" because the other guy could be worse. It's those voters we must show they have a choice. Irony here is those corrupt politicians think they fooled their voters by "acting righteous & putting fear in them" What is truly sad is how quickly, this time, these voters are feeling the cruelty because of their misplaced vote
Well said, Ms. Jaffe! I could not agree more. I have expressed the same sentiments, and the same disappointment, to my own Congressman, Ed Case, for being one of the 10 Democrats who voted to censure Rep. Green. Ed Case is also a fine Congressman and a good and smart man, but this was definitely a misstep. The Democratic Party needs new and vigorous leadership if we are to retain our democracy and our liberty.
Thank you for your comment. I am originally from France and we have a saying, which I shall loosely translate to: "The path to hell is paved with people who had good intentions."
Nice to know that the French and the English might have actually agreed on something at one time.. Many of the old French sayings are agrarian in nature. For instance, the English say; "you cannot have your cake and eat it too" while the French say: "you cannot have your butter and the money from the butter." Or, instead of "people in glass houses should not throw stones" we say " you see the straw in the eye of your neighbor, but not the beam in yours." I entertain myself with such tidbits!
Yes, "this moment is different... this threat is unique". Democrats are dangerously slow "to grasp the crisis facing America". Full-throttle bravery is required now. Stiffen your spines and stick to it, oh Dems in power. Bravo! Rep. Green and his cane. Bravo! Sen. Chris Murphy.
Civility & Decorum left Congress in 2016 but the Dems are still waiting for it to return. That's like waiting for blood-letting to be practiced again . I am sure RFK will try bringing it back. Dems please step into the 21st century. Stop asking me for $1. I am watching my hard earned savings diminish every damn day in the market waiting for you to grow a spine. That's what I am doing, hoping, it will work, as well as protesting, supporting small business etc etc .. This 78 yo hippie won't die yet
I agree with you. Instead of voting with the spineless Republicans, they could have at least abstained.
Of course the Democrats don’t want to shut down the government, but that doesn’t mean they should meekly vote for whatever Traitor Trump demands. In theory, there should be compromise, but what are the odds that the cowardly Republicans will be willing to temper their extreme agenda?
Or stick to an agreement. They are violating bills passed into law & lying about what they are doing. A tough environment for compromise while, as you say, their dear leader makes demands.
Why didn't the Democrats boycott NM President's "speech?" The Chicago Tribune editorial board said it best: by attending it, they were played for stooges. Chuck and Elise ain't cutting it. There is no "compromise" with a cult and a cult leader. We need elected officials who will scare complacent people out of their sleep and into the street--Chris Murphy, AOC, Jamie Raskin, even Bernie. All of them know and fear what's coming.
Slotkin voted AYE for Rubio, Ratcliffe, Bessent, Duffy, NOAM, Collins, Burgum, Rollins, & Greer. That alone tells Democratic Voters that they cannot be trusted. When Senators chose a rebuttal speaker who agrees with Trump, we need to weed them all out. Why not Hirono or Duckworth or Warren, Smith or Murray. Are they too old? Would they have not had bent a knee deep enough?
Marc Elias of Democracy Docket said it best: "Don't bring norms to a Trump fight." Republicans distort norms to their advantages. We need to subvert their doing so. Rep. Al Green's action was a start. He disrupted the proceedings, AND he willingly took the consequences. That is classic non-violent resistance. I note that no one censured the Republican representative who tore the sign reading "This is not normal" out of a Democratic representative's hand. He denied her non-disruptive freedom of speech and did so violently.
Marc Elias doesn’t have to deal with the rules of Congress.
I know it is quite unpopular to say but being strategic is more important than being loud. The GOP is loving it and they have the majority. So we’ll see if the GOP backs down as we face a government shutdown if there is no agreement on funding. That should be front & center in the news, not who attended the speech, who spoke out of turn & how disorganized the Dems are.
Marc Elias is a lawyer, so he deals with strict courtroom protocol and the rules of the legal system. His comment was not in response to how Democrats should comport themselves in a joint session, so I apologize if I implied that. His point is that we should assume that Republicans are going to violate norms--such as the ongoing attempt to disenfranchise 60,000 voters in order to place a losing Republican candidate on the North Carolina Supreme court instead of the Democratic justice who clearly won the election. In other words, expect Republicans to violate norms and be prepared with a strategic response. If you want to know more about Democracy Docket's work, check out their website. I also recommend reading Marc Elias's letter in response to Elon Musk's attack on him on X.
I’m familiar with Marc Elias. I read his response to Musk on bluesky where I follow him.
Reasonably familiar with court process and the legal system. Like many of us who spent a long time in the workforce I’ve worn several hats for many different types of organizations and individuals. Organizing, policy work and communication among them.
I agree there is not a clear strategy which makes it hard to organize a strategic response. We don’t have a clearly articulated framework with objectives. So folks are going in all directions. Otherwise it would be we are doing “this” to accomplish “such and such.” We would be able to track progress or “wins”. Instead consternation and anxiety are drowning it all out.
There is a fraud by Trump and Musk. Americans are being played. Illegal actions are not savings, they’re crap. We are being distracted by hundreds of line item veto “ex post facto” savings, all of which are illegal. We are being distracted by Federal employee firings, all of which are illegal. We are being distracted by thousands of cancellations of grants and contracts, all of which are illegal. The courts are intervening now.
The Fraud on America: Trump, Musk, and Speaker Johnson are trying to ram through the tax cuts, before:
• the courts cite them with civil contempt and levy huge financial penalties
• the impact of their illegal actions are reversed, and their “savings” flip back to $0.00.
I call for immediate full disclosures of what currently is in douchebag Musk’s DOGE bag of findings. He is hiding that at the moment since the courts have stifled his efforts. Let us make him certify his cost and pricing data, so that it comes under the Truth in Negotiations Act, now the Truthful Cost or Pricing Data Act (Title 41 U.S.C., Chapter 35). That must be required. I also call for Musk’s testimony under oath before Congress.
I call for Musk to divulge the truth of what he found, after he deletes what the courts say he cannot do. He cannot fire. He cannot cancel a single contract or grant. He cannot impound funds. Johnson intends to use Musk’s currently bogus data in his CR bid. Crook.
Spare me the BS braggadocio about saving billions and billions. Illegal actions are not savings, they’re crap. I don’t buy crap when we are talking about a $4.5 trillion tax cut. I say Trump and Musk’s ploy is all a fraud founded on a bag of smoke and mirrors, now a hidden accounting not corrected by current court edicts, and a “bury you in paper” con job.
Let us see it. Empty the douchebag’s DOGE bag. Transparency now! Don’t let the douchebag hide it another day. We cannot shoot any line item down until the residual data is displayed.
Hines sounds like Michelle Obama saying “when they go low, we go high.” That was BS and she recognizes that now. We stop bullies by standing up to them, not by sitting quietly with our hands folded in our laps. The game has changed and we need to pivot.
Bullies never stop until someone steps up and stands up. You would think that all the Democrats in Congress & the Senate would remember THEIR own childhoods..because we ALL saw playground bullies…and their damage… WE ALL SAW THEM. And remember them, too. Time to grow a SPINE.
Please stop twisting what Michelle Obama said. She has repeatedly explained that this does not mean ignoring their actions or meekly putting up with them in some twisted view of politeness.
Michelle, as First Lady needed to be above the fray - especially as a Black Woman. I applaud her dignity. If you must go after a First Lady, try Nixon, Reagan, Bush I, and Trump. Why could they not help us - especially women when they supposedly had the president's ear.
We Dems must fight fire with fire, otherwise face the reality of being overwhelmed by the uncivilized, cruel, manipulative, non rule, non Norm, non decorum honoring, macabre MAGA opposition machine grinding away at fast pace to throttle our Democracy!
Malcolm Nance is right: we have to bring this fascist regime to an immediate end. To those, like Rep. Hines, who seem to think that the norms still apply and that we can retake the House and possibly the Senate in two years, all I can say is that the midterms, if they are allowed to happen at all, are going to be a predetermined farce that will strengthen the vice-like grip of this evil regime on our throats.
We need to organize national strikes, work stoppages across this nation, shopping embargos: we need whatever it takes in the form of nonviolent protest to make the nation ungovernable and bring the regime down.
There is no time to lose. Not unless we want to see this nation descending into utter chaos while Putin is allowed to swallow Ukraine and cut a swath across Europe. The scale of the misery, here and abroad, is going to be unfathomable.
But where, oh where, is the united Democratic opposition that we need? Yes, we have wonderful lone voices - Senators Murphy and Warren, Governors Pritzker and Whitmer among them - but we do not have the kind of united body that is going to be needed to organize any worthwhile resistance on a national scale. To my mind, Timothy Snyder's call for a Shadow Cabinet, one that could provide the unity that is needed, becomes all the more pressing with each passing day. May God bless him, but a geriatric waving a wand in Congress is not going to work any magic.
What you say underscores the point Malcolm Nance made about objectives. The Dems need a clearly articulated set of objectives. Then the question is always “How does this [action, legislation] align with our objectives?” And of course, if not why not.
Otherwise they are rudderless and left without a way to speak to the public in a meaningful concise way.
I just got a fundraising letter from Rep. Marie Gluesenkamp-Perez, even though my congressional district is on the opposite side of the country from hers. She didn't mention Tuesday's incident, but she did decry "hyperpartisanship" -- while giving absolutely no indication that she realizes that one of the two parties has become blatantly anti-democratic and that "bipartisanship" looks more and more like appeasement.
Rep. Jim Himes is much closer to home: he's in CT, and I'm next door in MA. So lawmakers should act “with the decorum and with the civility that says to the world that we are a serious country"? OK, but what should lawmakers do when their colleagues, and the U.S. president, are giving the world compelling reasons to doubt that the U.S. is any longer "a serious country"?
I'm wondering where these 10 would have been in the run-up to 1776. Would any of them have had the courage to sign the Declaration of Independence? In 1860 would they have still been trying to mend fences with the slaveholders? I can't know for sure, but I have my hunches . . .
"Harvard University political scientist Erica Chenoweth contends that it takes about 3.5 percent of the population—that’s about 12 million Americans—to drive serious political change that can force government to accommodate a movement’s demands or, in extreme cases, disintegrate. Chenoweth’s 2019 research also found that nonviolent campaigns are twice as likely to achieve success than violent ones." This is very encouraging news! As for Himes's vote, I was shocked -- until I did a little research and found out that he and the other 9 Democrats who voted to censure Green all live in red districts which voted for the orange sadist. Censuring a brave man for protesting is a terrible thing. Having a good reason for doing so puts things in a different light.
They could have not showed up or not voted. Too many Dems have lost their way. Gone are the days where they would vote for ACA and risk losing their seats. It reminds me of how KY became GOP territory. The Dems began to muddy up what they stood for.
I doubt this would be a big campaign issue because districts will have something else on their minds once they start to fear or feel the results of the Medicaid cuts (what Al Green was protesting). — Unless Dems manage to keep this going & it is firmly planted in the minds of voters.
Worse, not all of them have had trouble getting elected. According to NYT election results Jim Himes got 61% of the vote. Yes, he won by 40%. Some others won by 5%.
Now the GOP feels empowered and is considering more actions against Green and those who joined him in the well. Meanwhile someone needs to tend to the business of the people.
I had read that all 10 of them were in swing districts. That Himes is not really stinks. He was the one who surprised me most. Yes, the Dems are a confused mess right now. It's really a shame, and shameful.
Yup. It may be a swing district. But it looks like Himes has plenty of good will and political capital to spend on a moment of decency for a colleague.
On May 22, 1856, the "world's greatest deliberative body" became a combat zone. In one of the most dramatic and deeply ominous moments in the Senate's entire history, a member of the House of Representatives entered the Senate Chamber and savagely beat a senator into unconsciousness.
The inspiration for this clash came three days earlier when Senator Charles Sumner, a Massachusetts antislavery Republican, addressed the Senate on the explosive issue of whether Kansas should be admitted to the Union as a slave state or a free state. In his "Crime Against Kansas" speech, Sumner identified two Democratic senators as the principal culprits in this crime—Stephen Douglas of Illinois and Andrew Butler of South Carolina. He characterized Douglas to his face as a "noise-some, squat, and nameless animal . . . not a proper model for an American senator." Andrew Butler, who was not present, received more elaborate treatment. Mocking the South Carolina senator's stance as a man of chivalry, the Massachusetts senator charged him with taking "a mistress . . . who, though ugly to others, is always lovely to him; though polluted in the sight of the world, is chaste in his sight—I mean," added Sumner, "the harlot, Slavery."
Representative Preston Brooks was Butler's South Carolina kinsman. If he had believed Sumner to be a gentleman, he might have challenged him to a duel. Instead, he chose a light cane of the type used to discipline unruly dogs. Shortly after the Senate had adjourned for the day, Brooks entered the old chamber, where he found Sumner busily attaching his postal frank to copies of his "Crime Against Kansas" speech.
Moving quickly, Brooks slammed his metal-topped cane onto the unsuspecting Sumner's head. As Brooks struck again and again, Sumner rose and lurched blindly about the chamber, futilely attempting to protect himself. After a very long minute, it ended.
Bleeding profusely, Sumner was carried away. Brooks walked calmly out of the chamber without being detained by the stunned onlookers. Overnight, both men became heroes in their respective regions.
Completely agree. The barbarians are sacking and burning the city, and Democrats insist on inviting them to high tea, stressing to each other the importance of politely raising the pinkie while sipping. It’s crazy. And delusional.
I just got a fundraising letter from Rep. Marie Gluesenkamp-Perez, even though my congressional district is on the opposite side of the country from hers. She didn't mention Tuesday's incident, but she did decry "hyperpartisanship" -- while giving absolutely no indication that she realizes that one of the two parties has become blatantly anti-democratic and that "bipartisanship" looks more and more like appeasement.
Rep. Jim Himes is much closer to home: he's in CT, and I'm next door in MA. So lawmakers should act “with the decorum and with the civility that says to the world that we are a serious country"? OK, but what should lawmakers do when their colleagues, and the U.S. president, are giving the world compelling reasons to doubt that the U.S. is any longer "a serious country"?
I'm wondering where these 10 would have been in the run-up to 1776. Would any of them have had the courage to sign the Declaration of Independence? In 1860 would they have still been trying to mend fences with the slaveholders? I can't know for sure, but I have my hunches . . .
I could not agree more. I am one of Jim Himes' constituents, and have met him a number of times. He is a profoundly decent man, and also a smart one. I was very surprised and disappointed by his vote, and have tried to communicate my concern to him through social media. He is "missing the boat" in a way that points to a blind spot (I am a therapist.) I believe in courtesy and decorum, and have faulted its demise in our culture in part to the rise of reality TV, which glorified vulgarity and disrespect. Maybe a symptom more than a cause. But the entertainment value, the constant search for pleasure and immediate gratification have obliterated the desire and need for more difficult critical thinking, complexity and nuance. So time to fight fire with fire, point out in a succinct and immediate way the lies, absurdities, prejudice, malice, ignorance, sycophancy of the Republican party. Chris Murphy, Pete Buttigieg, AOC and a few others are masters at it. The current leadership of the Democratic Party is ineffective and is angering its base. As someone noted on social media "the bland leading the bland." The Civil Rights movement is the correct model to follow. Good trouble is needed.
I've written elsewhere some "r's" vote for "the devil they know"...they aren't stupid they know their politician is corrupt but it's "the devil they know" because the other guy could be worse. It's those voters we must show they have a choice. Irony here is those corrupt politicians think they fooled their voters by "acting righteous & putting fear in them" What is truly sad is how quickly, this time, these voters are feeling the cruelty because of their misplaced vote
Well said, Ms. Jaffe! I could not agree more. I have expressed the same sentiments, and the same disappointment, to my own Congressman, Ed Case, for being one of the 10 Democrats who voted to censure Rep. Green. Ed Case is also a fine Congressman and a good and smart man, but this was definitely a misstep. The Democratic Party needs new and vigorous leadership if we are to retain our democracy and our liberty.
Thank you for your comment. I am originally from France and we have a saying, which I shall loosely translate to: "The path to hell is paved with people who had good intentions."
Thank you, Ms. Jaffe. We have the same saying in English, but I don’t know the origin. It might have been taken from the French, or even vice-versa😁
Nice to know that the French and the English might have actually agreed on something at one time.. Many of the old French sayings are agrarian in nature. For instance, the English say; "you cannot have your cake and eat it too" while the French say: "you cannot have your butter and the money from the butter." Or, instead of "people in glass houses should not throw stones" we say " you see the straw in the eye of your neighbor, but not the beam in yours." I entertain myself with such tidbits!
Yes, "this moment is different... this threat is unique". Democrats are dangerously slow "to grasp the crisis facing America". Full-throttle bravery is required now. Stiffen your spines and stick to it, oh Dems in power. Bravo! Rep. Green and his cane. Bravo! Sen. Chris Murphy.
THEY ARE ALWAYS DANGEROUS SLOW TO GRASP THE CRISIS.
Civility & Decorum left Congress in 2016 but the Dems are still waiting for it to return. That's like waiting for blood-letting to be practiced again . I am sure RFK will try bringing it back. Dems please step into the 21st century. Stop asking me for $1. I am watching my hard earned savings diminish every damn day in the market waiting for you to grow a spine. That's what I am doing, hoping, it will work, as well as protesting, supporting small business etc etc .. This 78 yo hippie won't die yet
I will never donate to them now… too weak and scattered.. bringing butter knives to machete battles.. will they never learn?
Hi Judy, Who are you donating to? Are you talking 'time' or 'money.'
Honestly…right now..at this moment in time…I only donate to Animal Rescues…or Cancer Research Foundations. Truth.
You tell it like it is! Thank you!
“In politics, stupidity is not a handicap.” - Napoleon Bonaparte.
Nor is avarice or cruelty, apparently.
I agree with you. Instead of voting with the spineless Republicans, they could have at least abstained.
Of course the Democrats don’t want to shut down the government, but that doesn’t mean they should meekly vote for whatever Traitor Trump demands. In theory, there should be compromise, but what are the odds that the cowardly Republicans will be willing to temper their extreme agenda?
Exactly..they could have abstained. Instead, they make the party look WEAK.
Agreed. They could have voted "present."
Or stick to an agreement. They are violating bills passed into law & lying about what they are doing. A tough environment for compromise while, as you say, their dear leader makes demands.
Why didn't the Democrats boycott NM President's "speech?" The Chicago Tribune editorial board said it best: by attending it, they were played for stooges. Chuck and Elise ain't cutting it. There is no "compromise" with a cult and a cult leader. We need elected officials who will scare complacent people out of their sleep and into the street--Chris Murphy, AOC, Jamie Raskin, even Bernie. All of them know and fear what's coming.
Slotkin voted AYE for Rubio, Ratcliffe, Bessent, Duffy, NOAM, Collins, Burgum, Rollins, & Greer. That alone tells Democratic Voters that they cannot be trusted. When Senators chose a rebuttal speaker who agrees with Trump, we need to weed them all out. Why not Hirono or Duckworth or Warren, Smith or Murray. Are they too old? Would they have not had bent a knee deep enough?
I really want to hear from Duckworth more often. Brilliant mind, and a fighter, literally.
Me, too! I love Tammy Duckworth.
Marc Elias of Democracy Docket said it best: "Don't bring norms to a Trump fight." Republicans distort norms to their advantages. We need to subvert their doing so. Rep. Al Green's action was a start. He disrupted the proceedings, AND he willingly took the consequences. That is classic non-violent resistance. I note that no one censured the Republican representative who tore the sign reading "This is not normal" out of a Democratic representative's hand. He denied her non-disruptive freedom of speech and did so violently.
Marc Elias doesn’t have to deal with the rules of Congress.
I know it is quite unpopular to say but being strategic is more important than being loud. The GOP is loving it and they have the majority. So we’ll see if the GOP backs down as we face a government shutdown if there is no agreement on funding. That should be front & center in the news, not who attended the speech, who spoke out of turn & how disorganized the Dems are.
https://www.axios.com/2025/03/06/house-republican-democrats-committees-al-green
Marc Elias is a lawyer, so he deals with strict courtroom protocol and the rules of the legal system. His comment was not in response to how Democrats should comport themselves in a joint session, so I apologize if I implied that. His point is that we should assume that Republicans are going to violate norms--such as the ongoing attempt to disenfranchise 60,000 voters in order to place a losing Republican candidate on the North Carolina Supreme court instead of the Democratic justice who clearly won the election. In other words, expect Republicans to violate norms and be prepared with a strategic response. If you want to know more about Democracy Docket's work, check out their website. I also recommend reading Marc Elias's letter in response to Elon Musk's attack on him on X.
Thanks for the explanation.
I’m familiar with Marc Elias. I read his response to Musk on bluesky where I follow him.
Reasonably familiar with court process and the legal system. Like many of us who spent a long time in the workforce I’ve worn several hats for many different types of organizations and individuals. Organizing, policy work and communication among them.
I agree there is not a clear strategy which makes it hard to organize a strategic response. We don’t have a clearly articulated framework with objectives. So folks are going in all directions. Otherwise it would be we are doing “this” to accomplish “such and such.” We would be able to track progress or “wins”. Instead consternation and anxiety are drowning it all out.
There is a fraud by Trump and Musk. Americans are being played. Illegal actions are not savings, they’re crap. We are being distracted by hundreds of line item veto “ex post facto” savings, all of which are illegal. We are being distracted by Federal employee firings, all of which are illegal. We are being distracted by thousands of cancellations of grants and contracts, all of which are illegal. The courts are intervening now.
The Fraud on America: Trump, Musk, and Speaker Johnson are trying to ram through the tax cuts, before:
• the courts cite them with civil contempt and levy huge financial penalties
• the impact of their illegal actions are reversed, and their “savings” flip back to $0.00.
I call for immediate full disclosures of what currently is in douchebag Musk’s DOGE bag of findings. He is hiding that at the moment since the courts have stifled his efforts. Let us make him certify his cost and pricing data, so that it comes under the Truth in Negotiations Act, now the Truthful Cost or Pricing Data Act (Title 41 U.S.C., Chapter 35). That must be required. I also call for Musk’s testimony under oath before Congress.
I call for Musk to divulge the truth of what he found, after he deletes what the courts say he cannot do. He cannot fire. He cannot cancel a single contract or grant. He cannot impound funds. Johnson intends to use Musk’s currently bogus data in his CR bid. Crook.
Spare me the BS braggadocio about saving billions and billions. Illegal actions are not savings, they’re crap. I don’t buy crap when we are talking about a $4.5 trillion tax cut. I say Trump and Musk’s ploy is all a fraud founded on a bag of smoke and mirrors, now a hidden accounting not corrected by current court edicts, and a “bury you in paper” con job.
Let us see it. Empty the douchebag’s DOGE bag. Transparency now! Don’t let the douchebag hide it another day. We cannot shoot any line item down until the residual data is displayed.
https://hotbuttons.substack.com/p/empty-doges-bag?r=3m1bs
Hines sounds like Michelle Obama saying “when they go low, we go high.” That was BS and she recognizes that now. We stop bullies by standing up to them, not by sitting quietly with our hands folded in our laps. The game has changed and we need to pivot.
Bullies never stop until someone steps up and stands up. You would think that all the Democrats in Congress & the Senate would remember THEIR own childhoods..because we ALL saw playground bullies…and their damage… WE ALL SAW THEM. And remember them, too. Time to grow a SPINE.
Please stop twisting what Michelle Obama said. She has repeatedly explained that this does not mean ignoring their actions or meekly putting up with them in some twisted view of politeness.
Michelle, as First Lady needed to be above the fray - especially as a Black Woman. I applaud her dignity. If you must go after a First Lady, try Nixon, Reagan, Bush I, and Trump. Why could they not help us - especially women when they supposedly had the president's ear.
I have great respect for Michelle Obama and none for the others you mention. That’s why I care about and listen to what she says.
Agree
Although we must be nonviolent:
We Dems must fight fire with fire, otherwise face the reality of being overwhelmed by the uncivilized, cruel, manipulative, non rule, non Norm, non decorum honoring, macabre MAGA opposition machine grinding away at fast pace to throttle our Democracy!
We Dems: Fight 🔥 with 🔥!!
Don’t wait.
They do not seem to know how to Fight Fire with Fire. They never did.
Malcolm Nance is right: we have to bring this fascist regime to an immediate end. To those, like Rep. Hines, who seem to think that the norms still apply and that we can retake the House and possibly the Senate in two years, all I can say is that the midterms, if they are allowed to happen at all, are going to be a predetermined farce that will strengthen the vice-like grip of this evil regime on our throats.
We need to organize national strikes, work stoppages across this nation, shopping embargos: we need whatever it takes in the form of nonviolent protest to make the nation ungovernable and bring the regime down.
There is no time to lose. Not unless we want to see this nation descending into utter chaos while Putin is allowed to swallow Ukraine and cut a swath across Europe. The scale of the misery, here and abroad, is going to be unfathomable.
But where, oh where, is the united Democratic opposition that we need? Yes, we have wonderful lone voices - Senators Murphy and Warren, Governors Pritzker and Whitmer among them - but we do not have the kind of united body that is going to be needed to organize any worthwhile resistance on a national scale. To my mind, Timothy Snyder's call for a Shadow Cabinet, one that could provide the unity that is needed, becomes all the more pressing with each passing day. May God bless him, but a geriatric waving a wand in Congress is not going to work any magic.
What you say underscores the point Malcolm Nance made about objectives. The Dems need a clearly articulated set of objectives. Then the question is always “How does this [action, legislation] align with our objectives?” And of course, if not why not.
Otherwise they are rudderless and left without a way to speak to the public in a meaningful concise way.
I just got a fundraising letter from Rep. Marie Gluesenkamp-Perez, even though my congressional district is on the opposite side of the country from hers. She didn't mention Tuesday's incident, but she did decry "hyperpartisanship" -- while giving absolutely no indication that she realizes that one of the two parties has become blatantly anti-democratic and that "bipartisanship" looks more and more like appeasement.
Rep. Jim Himes is much closer to home: he's in CT, and I'm next door in MA. So lawmakers should act “with the decorum and with the civility that says to the world that we are a serious country"? OK, but what should lawmakers do when their colleagues, and the U.S. president, are giving the world compelling reasons to doubt that the U.S. is any longer "a serious country"?
I'm wondering where these 10 would have been in the run-up to 1776. Would any of them have had the courage to sign the Declaration of Independence? In 1860 would they have still been trying to mend fences with the slaveholders? I can't know for sure, but I have my hunches . . .
Gotta love those fundraising letters from politicians that are nowhere near the recipient’s address! Shirley you jest, Shirley!!!
Judy I get those multiple times a day.
"Harvard University political scientist Erica Chenoweth contends that it takes about 3.5 percent of the population—that’s about 12 million Americans—to drive serious political change that can force government to accommodate a movement’s demands or, in extreme cases, disintegrate. Chenoweth’s 2019 research also found that nonviolent campaigns are twice as likely to achieve success than violent ones." This is very encouraging news! As for Himes's vote, I was shocked -- until I did a little research and found out that he and the other 9 Democrats who voted to censure Green all live in red districts which voted for the orange sadist. Censuring a brave man for protesting is a terrible thing. Having a good reason for doing so puts things in a different light.
They could have not showed up or not voted. Too many Dems have lost their way. Gone are the days where they would vote for ACA and risk losing their seats. It reminds me of how KY became GOP territory. The Dems began to muddy up what they stood for.
I doubt this would be a big campaign issue because districts will have something else on their minds once they start to fear or feel the results of the Medicaid cuts (what Al Green was protesting). — Unless Dems manage to keep this going & it is firmly planted in the minds of voters.
Worse, not all of them have had trouble getting elected. According to NYT election results Jim Himes got 61% of the vote. Yes, he won by 40%. Some others won by 5%.
Now the GOP feels empowered and is considering more actions against Green and those who joined him in the well. Meanwhile someone needs to tend to the business of the people.
https://www.axios.com/2025/03/06/house-republican-democrats-committees-al-green
I had read that all 10 of them were in swing districts. That Himes is not really stinks. He was the one who surprised me most. Yes, the Dems are a confused mess right now. It's really a shame, and shameful.
Yup. It may be a swing district. But it looks like Himes has plenty of good will and political capital to spend on a moment of decency for a colleague.
So agree, kidsherpa, so agree.
I wish Al had used his cane...
On May 22, 1856, the "world's greatest deliberative body" became a combat zone. In one of the most dramatic and deeply ominous moments in the Senate's entire history, a member of the House of Representatives entered the Senate Chamber and savagely beat a senator into unconsciousness.
The inspiration for this clash came three days earlier when Senator Charles Sumner, a Massachusetts antislavery Republican, addressed the Senate on the explosive issue of whether Kansas should be admitted to the Union as a slave state or a free state. In his "Crime Against Kansas" speech, Sumner identified two Democratic senators as the principal culprits in this crime—Stephen Douglas of Illinois and Andrew Butler of South Carolina. He characterized Douglas to his face as a "noise-some, squat, and nameless animal . . . not a proper model for an American senator." Andrew Butler, who was not present, received more elaborate treatment. Mocking the South Carolina senator's stance as a man of chivalry, the Massachusetts senator charged him with taking "a mistress . . . who, though ugly to others, is always lovely to him; though polluted in the sight of the world, is chaste in his sight—I mean," added Sumner, "the harlot, Slavery."
Representative Preston Brooks was Butler's South Carolina kinsman. If he had believed Sumner to be a gentleman, he might have challenged him to a duel. Instead, he chose a light cane of the type used to discipline unruly dogs. Shortly after the Senate had adjourned for the day, Brooks entered the old chamber, where he found Sumner busily attaching his postal frank to copies of his "Crime Against Kansas" speech.
Moving quickly, Brooks slammed his metal-topped cane onto the unsuspecting Sumner's head. As Brooks struck again and again, Sumner rose and lurched blindly about the chamber, futilely attempting to protect himself. After a very long minute, it ended.
Bleeding profusely, Sumner was carried away. Brooks walked calmly out of the chamber without being detained by the stunned onlookers. Overnight, both men became heroes in their respective regions.
Completely agree. The barbarians are sacking and burning the city, and Democrats insist on inviting them to high tea, stressing to each other the importance of politely raising the pinkie while sipping. It’s crazy. And delusional.
Delusional in the extreme. They refuse to change.
I just got a fundraising letter from Rep. Marie Gluesenkamp-Perez, even though my congressional district is on the opposite side of the country from hers. She didn't mention Tuesday's incident, but she did decry "hyperpartisanship" -- while giving absolutely no indication that she realizes that one of the two parties has become blatantly anti-democratic and that "bipartisanship" looks more and more like appeasement.
Rep. Jim Himes is much closer to home: he's in CT, and I'm next door in MA. So lawmakers should act “with the decorum and with the civility that says to the world that we are a serious country"? OK, but what should lawmakers do when their colleagues, and the U.S. president, are giving the world compelling reasons to doubt that the U.S. is any longer "a serious country"?
I'm wondering where these 10 would have been in the run-up to 1776. Would any of them have had the courage to sign the Declaration of Independence? In 1860 would they have still been trying to mend fences with the slaveholders? I can't know for sure, but I have my hunches . . .
Thank you. No $$ donation to turn-coats. She is on my personal shit-list.