What Happened to the "Opposition" in "Loyal But Principled Opposition"?

     I keep thinking of that line in The Dark Knight where the Joker asks the crime bosses of Gotham City, "Did your balls fall off?"

     Because the Democrats for the most part have been so morally supine these past seven weeks that I half expect their Congressional leaders to come to the Beltway wearing Tommy Bahamas and board shorts. They seem to genuinely believe that being the minority equals powerlessness. But the plain fact is, Republicans have a House majority of just two seats and three in the Senate.

     As Trump and Musk destroy the federal government and throw tens of thousands out of work, Democrats need to remember when and how Republicans still got to call the shots when they themselves were in the minority. But however the Democrats do it, if they do it, it's becoming more obvious that keeping Schumer and Jefferies in place plainly isn't working out.

     The government is going to shut down in three days and the Democrats seem as powerless to stop it as Republicans and, while Republicans are gleeful at the prospect, they're simultaneously preparing the groundwork for blaming the Democrats when it does happen.

     These are some of the things that Democrats need to do if they're to remain relevant:

Daily Press Briefings

     There's been something like a movement on social media for the Democrats to hire Pete Buttigieg  as a de facto Secretary of Facts to do daily press briefings. He's articulate, well-informed, witty and the Democrats could do a lot worse than hire Buttigieg to inform the American people of what's going on. In fact, they are doing worse. They need to set up their own shadow press secretary and press office and to stop letting Karoline Leavitt be the sole source of news coming out of the government.

Left Wing Mass Media Ecosystem

     Granted, this is difficult but perhaps not as difficult as it sounds. While it helps, it's not necessary to get on national TV while things like social media and podcasts exist. If an idiot like Matt Gaetz could have a podcast, why can't Democrats? The Fifth Estate has proven over the last 20 years or so to be far more agile, nimble and quicker than the Fourth Estate ever will be. The Democrats as a whole need to embrace this.

Engagement Teams

     This, of course, starts with the grassroots. The Democratic Party, justifiably, has been credibly accused of being out of touch and not actually engaging with voters. Yes, Kamala Harris on the campaign trail last year was warm and engaging in her public appearances but that's not the same thing as actually connecting with voters. Plus, her warmth and seeming engagement from stages and surrounded by Secret Service people was no match for Trump's unending doom and gloom, apocalyptic message of retribution. Democrats can't continue to lose elections and think they can just spend their way out of the minority by sending out fundraising emails to disgusted and disappointed supporters. The Democratic Party, the DNC, the DSCC and the DCCC need to coordinate and pool their resources. They need to buy, lease or rent buses and go to not just Democratic but Republican strongholds and reach out to voters. Yes, I'm talking about bringing back the Freedom Riders of the early 60s, especially at a time when our freedoms these days are so endangered and held in contempt.

COMMIT TO VOTE & GOTV

     Democrats got lulled into a sense of false security after the 2020 election when Joe Biden got over 81,000,000 votes. Obviously, they were hoping for similar if not better results as long as Trump stayed on the Republican ticket. And, yes, the numbers were incredible. The 66% voter turnout for 2020 was the highest we'd seen in literally 120 years. Early voting numbers were through the roof. Yet, while early voting numbers actually went up last fall, somehow it didn't translate to overall turnout. If we're to believe the numbers, Kamala Harris actually received 15,000,000 fewer votes than Biden did just four years before. Democrats need to stop taking their historical demographics for granted. Trump got 13% of the Black vote in 2024, as opposed to 8% in 2020 and 4% in 2016. He also saw a spike in Hispanic voters. Democrats are losing the POC vote because those voters rightly suspect their interests are not being met. My suggestion: The Democrats need to hire Stacey Abrams. After the right wing Supreme Court essentially gutted the Voting Rights Act of 1965 12 years ago, Abrams founded an organization that successfully registered 800,000 voters in Georgia who weren't previously registered. She's also an effective fundraiser, having gotten $6,000,000 to fund Democratic Senate campaigns that saw not one but both seats go to Democrats. It's time Stacy Abrams went national. The Democrats need to hire her to set up a national GOTV apparatus.

Rapid Response War Rooms 24/7/365

     The Harris campaign had a rapid response war room on Twitter and it proved efficacious. Whenever the Trump campaign told a lie (which was literally every day) or stepped on their dicks, Harris' Rapid Response War Room was right there. Whoever was in charge of that Twitter account knew what they were doing. We need to make that a permanent feature in the social media ecosystem.

Fireside Chats/Rallies

     I cannot overstress how important this is. FDR informed and reassured the nation about what was going on, especially during WWII. His fireside chats were a staple in American homes and we need to bring back that level of engagement.

Motivators/Cheerleaders

     Harris succeeded in doing this during her campaign, for all the good it did. She got a brief onetime endorsement from Taylor Swift and brought Beyonce and Oprah onstage with her. But Democrats need to bring in more influencers and not just celebrities and podcasters. One way of engaging if not actually connecting with voters is to ally oneself with celebrities. And Democrats need to find good, knowledgeable voices and elevate them to positions of greater prominence. The Clinton/Lewinsky sex scandal gave us Ann Coulter. Why can't we do the same thing? 

Civic Engagement

     Again, civic engagement is not just important, it's necessary and vital. Right now, AOC is an outlier in that she's informing people what their rights are in the event ICE comes banging on their door. Republicans are furiously going after her, which is proof positive that she's telling the truth and has all her shit in one sock. AOC needs backup and more Democrats need to hold more rallies, more town halls. They need viral moments (Look how quickly Al Green put himself back on the national map the night of the State of the Union) and they need to connect with voters and that starts by informing them what their voting and civil rights consist of. Getting in "good trouble", as the late Rep. John Lewis once put it. Take a page from AOC's book: Make them notice you and get your dialogue out there.

Charismatic leadership 

     Politicians often have a charisma gap and that's no truer than the current Democratic leadership of Schumer, Jefferies and so forth. We need leaders who are going to resonate with the grassroots and the current crop of zombies staggering around the Beltway just isn't doing it. If you want to reach half the voting public that's actually sane, you're not going to do it with Octogenarians and colorless pod people who about as charming as IRS auditors. Gen Z is a now a powerful and growing voting bloc. And you're just not going to get their attention if you send out geriatric barnacles old enough to be their grandparents.

Identify what people need/want & give it to them.

     This is one of the most crippling problems facing Democrats and this problem didn't just pop up in the last election cycle. The minimum wage hasn't gone up in nearly 20 years and remains at a ridiculous $7.25 an hour. Democrats also seem to have less of an appetite for making Puerto Rico and DC states, which would immediately give them a majority at least in the House if not both chambers. But Democrats are too busy attending cocktail parties to raise funds for the DNC and schmoozing with well-moneyed lobbyists and corporate executives who can get their attention much more quickly than their rank and file constituents. People need help in more ways than most of us can can count. It all starts with convincing those hurting folks that you not just feel their pain but are committing to doing something about it.

Drive the Narrative

     This goes back to establishing a liberal/progressive ecosystem that should inevitably include if not start with podcasting and social media. It's not enough to have a narrative. You have to have the dominant narrative that will resonate with more people and drown out the constant fire hose of lies of the Republican Party. The old political adage of not getting in your opponent's way if they're falling is no longer working. Yes, the current fascist administration is burning down as if doused with white phosphorous. But the problem is this administration taking us all down with them. And the Democrats need a more efficacious message than, "Trump evil. We not Trump."

Shadow Cabinet

      This was something Trump was, admittedly, very good at. He'd set up his own shadow cabinet starting the day he slunk back to Mar a Lago on January 20, 2021 with his forked tail tucked between his fat thighs. Before we knew it, he was appointing one right wing activist or another to these "advisory" positions and he and his flacks were inundating the media ecosystem with all sorts of bullshit. He also hosted right wing heads of state at Bedminster and Mar a Lago. We need to bring over progressive world leaders like President Claudia Sheinbaum of Mexico and President Lula da Silva of Brazil.

     Bring back former Cabinet officials starting with Buttigieg, people who by and large had stayed at their posts for all four years of the Biden administration while avoiding scandal and high turnover. Many of these former officials can and should be employed to inform the American public about what it's up against and of the very real dangers we currently face.