I have gotten to a point where I can not stand to hear Trump’s voice, but last night as he spoke I turned the captions on so I could read what he was saying as he said it. The whole speech was either bragging or lying or both. What I did not understand was why the Democrats did not all get up and walk out of the chamber. That is certainly what I would have done. As I read the captions I realized that in addition to his sheer nastiness, Trump is now echoing the MAGAt think tanks that now dot Washington, and seek to legitimize what he says with papers and social media posts. We have become a country I don’t recognize. A small majority of American voters has chosen a Congress and a President that are in the process of inflicting so much damage to the United States, that it is going to lead us into a recession and possibly a depression. Even worse it is going to render us unprepared for the climate disaster that is descending upon us.
The exterior of Heritage Foundation headquarters is seen in Washington, D.C., June 7, 2024. Credit: Francis Chung / Politico
President Donald Trump took office eight years ago as the ultimate outsider whose rhetoric often shocked Washington but was seldom taken seriously by the policy shops that have long helped administrations transform their agenda into action.
Now, he has an army of think tanks and other advocacy groups behind him, reverse-engineering even his off-the-cuff statements into white papers, training legions of his acolytes — and jockeying for influence.
All want to be seen as part of the MAGA brain trust, a paradoxical and often tricky job for a president who prides himself on operating from his gut and disdains the traditional policy process. That means when Trump says he wants to rename the Gulf of Mexico, turn Gaza into “the Riviera of the Middle East,” buy Greenland, or ignore congressional spending laws, there’s likely now someone who not only takes the idea seriously but can tell you why they think it’s a sound policy that fits into a broader worldview.
Albus Eddie
on Wednesday, March 5, 2025 at 6:15 am
In the manner this article frames the issue, does not take into account how bad the situation really is. For example, the article states: “And they say they are in it for the long haul, hoping to outlast would-be movements like the Tea Party or Occupy Wall Street that faded away after upending their parties.” This is just factually untrue at least as far as the Democrats are concerned. Occupy Wall Street upended nothing as the movement was crushed by the police and received no sustained principled support from Democratic Leadership.
Further, the article states: “Democrats have long leaned on the Center for American Progress, the Urban Institute and the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, among other groups, for progressive brain power.” These institutions that the Democrats have relied upon do not advocate the radical change needed to re-write the system. You will not find these institutions advocating the winding down of the empire, or the entire revamping of labor law to support unionization, and the re-balencing of economic relationships between labor and international capital. Nor will you ever see the advocacy of the need for a multi-party democracy to allow for the government to represent the full range of political opinion.
Instead what the Democrats are relying upon are institutions promoting tepid suggestions for changes around the margins. This puts the Democrats at a significant disadvantage as there is no profound vision around which to rally support. This is a profound failure of thought. Until the Democrats start to envision bold change they will be the party of “well at least we’re not Trump”. This country needs new fresh ideas to reset out relationships with each other as a country and to allow for the population to have real representation in the legislative branch. This type of change requires more than two political parties sharing power.
I also watched the presidents speech and was amazed how great and fantastic it all sounded. That is if you don’t fact check anything or have actually looked at any serious amount of social, economic, environmental or geopolitical data. For the first time I can see how he has convinced millions of people. Wrapping everything in a flag of patriotic enthusiasm as he tells you gleefully that we have withdrawn from the UN human rights council, Paris accords and removed those terrible no good business suppressing environmental protections. I can’t help but be reminded of Mussolini’s speeches.
Dariel Garner
on Wednesday, March 5, 2025 at 10:22 am
It would be wonderful for the Democratic Party to step forward and lead us away from the grips of oligarchic control.
That they do not has to make us wonder whose interest they serve.
As Mark Twain said “Tell me where a man gets his corn-pone and I will tell you what his opinions are.”
Maybe they should invest more in the people of this country than a few beltway elites.
In the manner this article frames the issue, does not take into account how bad the situation really is. For example, the article states: “And they say they are in it for the long haul, hoping to outlast would-be movements like the Tea Party or Occupy Wall Street that faded away after upending their parties.” This is just factually untrue at least as far as the Democrats are concerned. Occupy Wall Street upended nothing as the movement was crushed by the police and received no sustained principled support from Democratic Leadership.
Further, the article states: “Democrats have long leaned on the Center for American Progress, the Urban Institute and the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, among other groups, for progressive brain power.” These institutions that the Democrats have relied upon do not advocate the radical change needed to re-write the system. You will not find these institutions advocating the winding down of the empire, or the entire revamping of labor law to support unionization, and the re-balencing of economic relationships between labor and international capital. Nor will you ever see the advocacy of the need for a multi-party democracy to allow for the government to represent the full range of political opinion.
Instead what the Democrats are relying upon are institutions promoting tepid suggestions for changes around the margins. This puts the Democrats at a significant disadvantage as there is no profound vision around which to rally support. This is a profound failure of thought. Until the Democrats start to envision bold change they will be the party of “well at least we’re not Trump”. This country needs new fresh ideas to reset out relationships with each other as a country and to allow for the population to have real representation in the legislative branch. This type of change requires more than two political parties sharing power.
I also watched the presidents speech and was amazed how great and fantastic it all sounded. That is if you don’t fact check anything or have actually looked at any serious amount of social, economic, environmental or geopolitical data. For the first time I can see how he has convinced millions of people. Wrapping everything in a flag of patriotic enthusiasm as he tells you gleefully that we have withdrawn from the UN human rights council, Paris accords and removed those terrible no good business suppressing environmental protections. I can’t help but be reminded of Mussolini’s speeches.
It would be wonderful for the Democratic Party to step forward and lead us away from the grips of oligarchic control.
That they do not has to make us wonder whose interest they serve.
As Mark Twain said “Tell me where a man gets his corn-pone and I will tell you what his opinions are.”
Maybe they should invest more in the people of this country than a few beltway elites.