When Donald Trump was running for President, he didn’t try to hide what he was going to do. Mass firings of Federal workers, elimination of entire departments, withdraw from NATO and side with Russia, reinstate segregation and remove women and People of Color under the guise of destroying DEI, get revenge against anyone who dared criticize or take action against him, bring all the major agencies under the executive branch so the President would essentially become a dictator, and a whole myriad of actions spelled out very clearly in Project 2025. He tried to pretend he hadn’t read that blueprint for the destruction of the government as we knew it, but anyone paying attention knew that was the plan.
And yet, Democrats then-in power took no action. President Biden was given the new concept of “presidential immunity” by the Supreme Court. His response was to give a speech where he stated, “I dissent,” and promised not to make use of this new power, since it seemed to defy everything America stood for. He could have used that power to save the country from the disaster that has befallen it. There are plenty of actions he could have immediately taken to prevent Trump from being able to abuse his power, as he’s now doing; from executive orders to speeding up investigations, trials, and sentencing for the crimes Trump committed, he had the chance to stop him in his tracks.
Instead, not only did the former president not take any action, he welcomed the newly elected Trump with open arms, giving him the welcome meeting that all Presidents give to their successor, with one exception, of course – President Trump never gave Biden his successor meeting, nor did he ever even recognize him as winning the election. He treated Biden so badly it boggles the mind that he’d be welcomed into the White House by the Biden’s.
Kamala Harris was just as negligent. Trump never stopped touting his claim that Vice President Pence had the authority to not certify the 2020 election. Vice President Harris had to certify the election of Trump, so she had the perfect opportunity to test that theory. Even if she didn’t intend to do it, she should have at least taken the opportunity to express the possibility in the weeks leading up to it. The Republicans would’ve been crying bloody murder once she announced that, so she could’ve forced them to go on record as saying, no, a vice president doesn’t actually have that power.
Since Trump has taken office, with Republicans holding the majority in both houses of Congress, he has not had to compromise in any way because the Republicans dare not cross him. The only leverage the Democrats have is when a bill must get 60 votes in the Senate, such as the recently proposed budget. What did the Democrats do? Led by Senate minority leader Chuck Schumer, they gave the Republicans enough votes to pass it. Senator Schumer said a government shutdown would be worse than the passing of what he called a horrific budget, and that Democrats would’ve gotten the blame for it. He gave away the only leverage they had, when they had a chance to stand up and fight for what they believe in.
Schumer has given many press conferences, calling the president’s acts unlawful, but then acquiesces to give Trump what he wants. It was a shameful display of cowardice.
House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries said Democrats will “continue to sue the heck” out of the Trump administration, as President Trump dismantles the federal government. To begin with, it takes time for things to go through the courts, and the damage will be done by then. Add that to the fact that a lot of judges were appointed by Trump and the Supreme Court is squarely in his corner, so the courts are a long shot to control his dictator aspirations.
Democracy is clearly at stake, yet they fail to realize action needs to be taken now, and decisively. Not only by Democrats, but by the few Republicans who believe in democracy and in the form of government our Founding Fathers created.
What can they do? Elon Musk – who has no official power other than being a representative of President Trump – has gone into agencies with his minions, accessed computers, accessed confidential data, fired people, and created all sorts of mass confusion. The House of Representatives is given the “power of the purse” by the Constitution, and Congress has created and funded all these agencies, so why do they allow this? The Democrats in Congress should be marching into buildings wherever Musk tries to go, along with their Capitol security detail, and stand in the doorway and block Musk’s people from entering. Would this create havoc and possible physical altercations? Absolutely, but to not take a stand is to give in to this illegal takeover of these agencies.
And where are our former presidents? Obama, Bush, and Clinton should be in the Capitol and all over TV raising the alarm over the dismantling of our democracy. Real patriots, from whatever political affiliation, should be readying for action against the Trump regime.
Bernie Sanders and Alexandira Ocasio-Cortez have been traveling throughout the U.S., rallying people to the cause, so there are some patriots trying to fight back.
The real heroes, and real patriots, are the American people. They are showing up at town hall gatherings and raising so much hell that the Republicans have stopped doing them, claiming these people are really “paid agitators” and not just angry citizens. Protests are happening in state capitols, along major roadways, and at Tesla dealerships. Trump’s Department of Justice (and it is his Department of Justice – they don’t even pretend it’s the independent agency it’s supposed to be) has declared that people who damage Tesla’s will be charged with hate crimes and sentenced up to 20 years in prison. They’ve also sent National Guard troops to guard some Tesla dealerships. (Isn’t it ironic how they go all out to protect the richest man in the world, yet when school kids get shot no troops are sent to protect them, all they get are ‘thoughts and prayers’?)
Trump has stated in the past that he would invoke the Insurrection Act and use the military to put down protests, that act being the only legal way for the armed forces to be utilized on American soil. Would members of the military go along with orders to use force against American citizens? One would hope they would not obey an order to do that, but that’s probably not realistic, since many would follow orders and believe what Trump is telling them, that protesters are the “enemy within,” as he has called them.
The president has made it clear, through words and actions, that dissent will be treated harshly. It is risky to protest against Trump, Musk, and any of their friends and associates. It could be dangerous, and I have no doubt there will be some lives lost in this fight for democracy. Things are going to come to a head, and Trump will use force to stop protests, civil disobedience, and anyone challenging his power. “These are the times that try men’s souls,” is the famous quote from Thomas Paine, written in 1776 during the American Revolution, when things looked bleak for the fledgling democracy and the fight to get away from a king and give power to the people. There were many then, as is the case now, who were loyal to the king. We once again find ourselves in the same place. Will we persevere and once again turn back a ruthless king? Or will we lose everything our forefathers fought for?
