Excellent essay and I had no problem reading the whole, very substantial, darned thing. Writers like you and the authors of 'Abundance', Ezra Klein and Derek Thompson, are digging us a new path out of this mess we're in. Enough with Democrats' old way of doing things. I find the self-criticism healthy, not a circular firing squad at all.
Your most transforming suggestion: "Start painting the post-Trump future." This caused me to realize that, a month ago, I began to create a world without Trump and his minions. I said to my friends and readers, "Trump, Musk, Vance, MAGA, the Republican Party and the six conservatives on the Supreme Court are skating on thin ice."
Here are two possible pathways to a post Trump America sooner rather than later. First, “his” Supreme Court appointments rule on the side of the rule of law, the balance of powers, and the Constitution as generally practiced over the last century. Second, a military coup. I’ve wondered for a while if the military oath that includes defending the Constitution against domestic enemies might lead some current and former military leaders to conclude it’s time to act. Signalgate is the most public embarrassment, but there are many, many ways in which the Republican Administration are completely undermining the mission of both the military and the intelligence communities for the entire lives, and then some, of dedicated patriots. It’s true that the Administration is dangling possible riches through corruption to many. But I have to believe that the smartest in those communities are open eyed about the embrace of Russia and repulsion of so many former allies. What might provoke either of these two pathways to suddenly open? Hard to know, but the aggressive push by the Administration could trigger aggressive pushback at almost any time.
"Trump’s decision-making process is notoriously impervious to oppositional voices." I agree, except that, based on what I see, Trump is not making any decisions. Others (Musk, Putin, Thiel, Project 2025 chumps) are either telling him or suggesting to him (making DJT think it is his own idea) what to do.
We are partnered with General Strike and are the only group calling for a continuous boycott to bring the economy to a halt. Give us a shout out and spread the word.
Brent... My Substack site is free. I have posted for 178 Tuesdays in a row. At "Memoir, from just outside the box," I started out with memoir, and someday you should check out the early posts at gregleichner.substack.com. Over the last year, I have veered toward the political. I suggest you hunt down two recent posts... "Just Before & Just After" and "The State of the Union." If you see anything there that you want to use at your own site, go for it. -Greg [PS: My April 1 post will not be political. I figure "the people" need a break.]
(1) Modern Monetary Theory describes the possibility of federal governments such as that in the US funding society based on chosen values, rather than on taxation proceeds. Imagine if there was no limit on the federal government’s ability to build, run and make freely available: schools, bridges, roads, hospitals, medical centres, sports complexes, public art and music, public transport….redistribution via taxes is also a possibility, in the interests of a more equal society, but even without that, wouldn’t society be much improved if all of the above were free to the public? And that’s before we even start talking about a universal job guarantee…. MMT tells us that there is no economic reason that this can’t happen. See: https://stephaniekelton.substack.com/p/elon-musk-discovers-the-magic-of and the resources at: https://www.levyinstitute.org
(2) Think about human rights/responsibilities as a balancing of competing interests, with (pretty much) none being absolute – the way human rights/ responsibilities are seen internationally/ outside the US. See: https://eudoxia1.substack.com/p/balancing-rights
(3) Improve the US voting system. No one should have to register as affiliated with a party. How you might vote (and how you do vote) should both be totally private from everyone else. The fact that you have voted should not be able to be connected with the result of your vote. Consider returning to paper ballots. Voting should be compulsory. This means that voting should be made much easier to do. Postal voting should be a right, not a privilege, and much easier to use. Voting days should be on a weekend so most people won’t have to take time off work. Polling booths should be properly staffed so that there are no lines of people waiting to vote. Some of this might involve taking voting management out of the hands of states – at least for federal elections – and putting it in the hands of the (new, improved) federal government. See: https://www.brennancenter.org/issues/ensure-every-american-can-vote/voting-reform
Why do my fellow progressives write such long missive all it does is flaunt your education. My finger almost fell off. Doom scrolling to the bottom of it. How about six simple points brief sentences run this through ChatGPT and summarize sorry I couldn’t read it. I wish I could, but didn’t
Excellent essay and I had no problem reading the whole, very substantial, darned thing. Writers like you and the authors of 'Abundance', Ezra Klein and Derek Thompson, are digging us a new path out of this mess we're in. Enough with Democrats' old way of doing things. I find the self-criticism healthy, not a circular firing squad at all.
Thank you so much! It really means a lot.
Your most transforming suggestion: "Start painting the post-Trump future." This caused me to realize that, a month ago, I began to create a world without Trump and his minions. I said to my friends and readers, "Trump, Musk, Vance, MAGA, the Republican Party and the six conservatives on the Supreme Court are skating on thin ice."
Here are two possible pathways to a post Trump America sooner rather than later. First, “his” Supreme Court appointments rule on the side of the rule of law, the balance of powers, and the Constitution as generally practiced over the last century. Second, a military coup. I’ve wondered for a while if the military oath that includes defending the Constitution against domestic enemies might lead some current and former military leaders to conclude it’s time to act. Signalgate is the most public embarrassment, but there are many, many ways in which the Republican Administration are completely undermining the mission of both the military and the intelligence communities for the entire lives, and then some, of dedicated patriots. It’s true that the Administration is dangling possible riches through corruption to many. But I have to believe that the smartest in those communities are open eyed about the embrace of Russia and repulsion of so many former allies. What might provoke either of these two pathways to suddenly open? Hard to know, but the aggressive push by the Administration could trigger aggressive pushback at almost any time.
Well done, Sir. You’ve kept your analysis concise despite the sweeping breadth of the subject matter.
Many thanks for your efforts. Sharing this allows me to share concepts I believe will be effective while completely avoiding obscenities.
Great job.
"Trump’s decision-making process is notoriously impervious to oppositional voices." I agree, except that, based on what I see, Trump is not making any decisions. Others (Musk, Putin, Thiel, Project 2025 chumps) are either telling him or suggesting to him (making DJT think it is his own idea) what to do.
Know the real Donald Trump
https://open.substack.com/pub/thewrightstuff1/p/the-greatest-con-of-all?r=3t1kwq&utm_medium=ios
We are partnered with General Strike and are the only group calling for a continuous boycott to bring the economy to a halt. Give us a shout out and spread the word.
Brent... My Substack site is free. I have posted for 178 Tuesdays in a row. At "Memoir, from just outside the box," I started out with memoir, and someday you should check out the early posts at gregleichner.substack.com. Over the last year, I have veered toward the political. I suggest you hunt down two recent posts... "Just Before & Just After" and "The State of the Union." If you see anything there that you want to use at your own site, go for it. -Greg [PS: My April 1 post will not be political. I figure "the people" need a break.]
I have one of your old tshirts. Grey with red and blue fist in front! Still with you and onward!!!
Oops. It’s not the same. The other was Sleeping Giants. Oh well no matter. Onward anyway!!
We are out of the gates. We have to see this through to keep our democracy
Thank you. Inspiring. I will share far and wide
As to 'Start painting the post-Trump future' –
(1) Modern Monetary Theory describes the possibility of federal governments such as that in the US funding society based on chosen values, rather than on taxation proceeds. Imagine if there was no limit on the federal government’s ability to build, run and make freely available: schools, bridges, roads, hospitals, medical centres, sports complexes, public art and music, public transport….redistribution via taxes is also a possibility, in the interests of a more equal society, but even without that, wouldn’t society be much improved if all of the above were free to the public? And that’s before we even start talking about a universal job guarantee…. MMT tells us that there is no economic reason that this can’t happen. See: https://stephaniekelton.substack.com/p/elon-musk-discovers-the-magic-of and the resources at: https://www.levyinstitute.org
(2) Think about human rights/responsibilities as a balancing of competing interests, with (pretty much) none being absolute – the way human rights/ responsibilities are seen internationally/ outside the US. See: https://eudoxia1.substack.com/p/balancing-rights
(3) Improve the US voting system. No one should have to register as affiliated with a party. How you might vote (and how you do vote) should both be totally private from everyone else. The fact that you have voted should not be able to be connected with the result of your vote. Consider returning to paper ballots. Voting should be compulsory. This means that voting should be made much easier to do. Postal voting should be a right, not a privilege, and much easier to use. Voting days should be on a weekend so most people won’t have to take time off work. Polling booths should be properly staffed so that there are no lines of people waiting to vote. Some of this might involve taking voting management out of the hands of states – at least for federal elections – and putting it in the hands of the (new, improved) federal government. See: https://www.brennancenter.org/issues/ensure-every-american-can-vote/voting-reform
Why do my fellow progressives write such long missive all it does is flaunt your education. My finger almost fell off. Doom scrolling to the bottom of it. How about six simple points brief sentences run this through ChatGPT and summarize sorry I couldn’t read it. I wish I could, but didn’t
The lazy need not apply.