Democrats Can't Just Play Dead

Tuesday, March 04, 2025

Molly Jong-Fast: The public is frustrated with Trump and Elon's DOGE-ification of government. It's time for party leaders to stand up.

Posted by Gal_Tuesday at 02:33 PM | 19 COMMENTS | permalink | Comment on This Entry |

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Democrats hold the line. Do NOT agree to fund DOGE.

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-- Mueller, She Wrote (@muellershewrote.bsky.social) March 2, 2025 at 1:47 PM

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FTA:

James Carville is wrong. This is no time for Democrats to "roll over and play dead," as he advised last week in The New York Times. Sure, the veteran operative has a point that "the Republican Party flat out sucks at governing." But standing back as Donald Trump and company completely screw things up, in hopes of making the American people "miss" Democrats, is a dangerous course of action.

If Democrats don't protect norms and intuitions, no one else will. You can't count on Senator Ted Cruz to defend free and fair elections, or Speaker Mike Johnson to stand up for LGBTQ+ rights. And it's unlikely Senator Susan Collins, despite her many concerns, will hold the line. The fact that Trump was able to muscle through controversial Cabinet picks like Kash Patel, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., and Pete Hegseth shows how the party will do whatever he wants. While there is no serious resistance in the Republican Party, there is the pathetic hope that if you give Trump what he wants, he'll spare you a primary challenge. GOP elected officials seem to care more about keeping their seats in Congress regardless of whether the institution loses its constitutional authority.

#1 | Posted by Gal_Tuesday at 2025-03-04 11:54 AM | Reply

No. It's not.

It's time for them to be loud but (a) there isn't much they can do and (b) they need to let America get what it voted for while saying "We told you so."

#2 | Posted by Sycophant at 2025-03-04 11:56 AM | Reply

The goal has always been to destroy social security, medicare, medicaid, ACA, education, VA etc because those programs serve poor people.

Donold is doing that by using an illegal department to make the cuts as fast and as random as possible, call it fraud and show NO PROOF.

The proof Elmo is showing has to be retracted because it was proven to be wrong or a lie.

THe GOP is so afraid of Donold or so corrupt they refuse to even allow a hearing to call Elmo in to prove what he is doing is correct.

#3 | Posted by Nixon at 2025-03-04 12:10 PM | Reply

After your votes handing all parts of government to the gop, just what do you expect?

The earliest the dems can reclaim some power is the midterms.

We did it to ourselves. Nobody is coming.

#4 | Posted by fresno500 at 2025-03-04 12:19 PM | Reply

3years from now is way too late.

It will be a wholly different world

In fact a collapse is coming soon

#5 | Posted by truthhurts at 2025-03-04 12:23 PM | Reply

It's time for them to be loud but (a) there isn't much they can do and (b) they need to let America get what it voted for while saying "We told you so."

Dems need to be loud but in the right way. Bad mouthing Trump/Musk is not enough. They must expose all of the pain and suffering that is taking place. Put faces to the pain. Identify people that regret their votes and would not vote for Trump again.

Dems also need to attack republicans for sitting idly by while the sh.. hits the fan. There can be NO friendships with republicans that only voice their disapproval in private. To much is at stake.

#6 | Posted by FedUpWithPols at 2025-03-04 01:07 PM | Reply

Democrats are spineless. They'd rather sit back and watch Trump tear up the constitution than dare to speak up.

The parties are not the same but they both need to be abolished.

#7 | Posted by qcp at 2025-03-04 01:11 PM | Reply

Sorry. America has not experienced enough pain yet.

Give it 30-90 days. When the SS checks stopped flowing and mortgages get foreclosed and everyone is hungry.

Then they will get it.

When you have worms on the brain the application of pain is the only way to train them worms. That's how you train worms.

#8 | Posted by donnerboy at 2025-03-04 02:44 PM | Reply

"Give it 30-90 days."

Massive power outages in the middle of the warmest summer on record.

Deaths numbering into the tens of thousands, possibly per city.

I expect living conditions to look somewhat like the opening scene of Soylent Green, with abandoned city buses repurposed as housing for homeless Medicaid recipients kicked out of the nursing homes.

#9 | Posted by snoofy at 2025-03-04 02:48 PM | Reply | Newsworthy 1

"Give it 30-90 days."

Massive power outages in the middle of the warmest summer on record.

Deaths numbering into the tens of thousands, possibly per city.

I expect living conditions to look somewhat like the opening scene of Soylent Green, with abandoned city buses repurposed as housing for homeless Medicaid recipients kicked out of the nursing homes.

#10 | Posted by snoofy at 2025-03-04 02:48 PM | Reply | Newsworthy 1

A double post? It's like old times!

#11 | Posted by snoofy at 2025-03-04 02:56 PM | Reply

Re 8

To carry that thought forward ... Yes. We can train "worms" with the fear of pain.

But here's a clue to what we are in for..

Humans are not worms and do not respond well to fear or pain.

So while there will be that initial shock and disbelief (which we are currently experiencing) later comes the backlash and the anger resistance and then open defiance.

That's what's coming. Some of it is already here.

#12 | Posted by donnerboy at 2025-03-04 02:58 PM | Reply

Nope, this isn't going to cut it. If they attend at all, they should be wearing black:

Why Democratic women are wearing pink and white at tonight's Trump speech

The change in color reflects a shift in how they're thinking about opposing Trump in his second term.

19thnews.org

#13 | Posted by Gal_Tuesday at 2025-03-04 02:59 PM | Reply

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez
@aoc.bsky.social

I'm not going to the Joint Address. I will be live posting and chatting with you all here instead. Then going on IG Live after.

#14 | Posted by Gal_Tuesday at 2025-03-04 03:01 PM | Reply

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez
@aoc.bsky.social
Already hearing that Republican members have been showing up to the House floor trying to take up the Dem side seats for the joint address '

SOTU seats are not assigned. There are general seating areas for each body (House, Senate, SCOTUS,etc) but there are honored seats for each party's leadership and they're even trying to squat those.

If it doesn't sort out, be aware you may see applause on both sides of the aisle but they may be GOP

#15 | Posted by Gal_Tuesday at 2025-03-04 03:29 PM | Reply

If it doesn't sort out, be aware you may see applause on both sides of the aisle but they may be GOP

#15 | POSTED BY GAL_TUESDAY

I am finna watch it to see how Dems behave (or preferably not).

As you just made clear Republicans have gotten really good at "gaming the system".

Dems need to take gloves off and stop playing nice. We can be respectful and kind and compassionate as we take them on and promote the agenda of a caring America but we need to take gloves off and become more relentless and stop playing by "traditional" rules and game the system right back like Republicans do and counter every move they make.

Like in chess we don't have to WIN in this game. But we do need to stay even and hold them in check. A Stalemate with Republicans and especially MAGA is still a win now. Until the next election. Then we can throw the bums out.

#16 | Posted by donnerboy at 2025-03-04 03:38 PM | Reply

What AOC and other Democrats will do during Trump's big dumb speech

www.dailykos.com

#17 | Posted by Gal_Tuesday at 2025-03-04 05:35 PM | Reply

Dems don't need to play dead. They are kaput as a serious party! Their mission is frivolous propaganda and past tense and screaming like children. They've created all the problems. Now,Trump needs to expose.

#18 | Posted by Robson at 2025-03-04 07:43 PM | Reply

@#18 ... Dems don't need to play dead. ...

"Never interrupt your enemy when he is making a mistake."
- Napoleon Bonaparte

#19 | Posted by LampLighter at 2025-03-04 07:56 PM | Reply