7 ms·

Democrats are cowards and will not stand up against any of this. Let us all acknowledge that we're watching America's descent into fascism and doing nothing ab

Democrats are cowards and will not stand up against any of this. Let us all acknowledge that we're watching America's descent into fascism and doing nothing about it. Watch your Democratic leaders in Congress stand by and do nothing but complain and appease. There will always be the would-be fascists in society, that's a constant. Whether or not there are leaders to oppose them varies. Or do we have to wait until the only opposition option is open war?

ramesh31 1y ago
>Whether or not there are leaders to oppose them varies. Or do we have to wait until the only opposition option is open war? No one in this country has the ability to care about anything at all anymore that isn't directly necessary for survival unless you're a millionaire (and we all know which side they're on). The result is that it makes the individually rational choice to keep your head down and just deal with it. We are at the brink, and there is just no other option than to watch in horror and pray you aren't affected.
- zeven7 1y ago
  Together we can have a voice. But we need a good leader.
- westmeal 1y ago
  There are options but those options won't end up well for you as an individual. The only way things can change is collective action and people are too glued to their social media bubbles to realize that we're not as different as we think.
  - mrguyorama 1y ago
    I'm not "glued to the social media bubble", I'm paying rent, so I don't end up on the street where a Fox News host says I should be forcibly murdered, and millions of my fellow citizens explicitly agree. I don't work for FAANG or make a huge salary, I don't own property, I don't have anything. Most of us aren't privileged enough to be able to walk away from work. I need medication to live a partially functional life. Am I supposed to just magically acquire that medication while I'm being fired from work, losing my insurance, and being arrested for daring to have a democratic opinion? Hell, my state is mostly Democrat right now. Am I supposed to go live in another state for a while and get arrested there so the right wing news can cry about how liberals are literally invading other states? We were screaming and crying about how all this was going to go down for decades. Some of us even back in the red scare days. We were called socialist and unamerican. But no, "Both sides" You would cry, or "Free market" to prevent us from reigning in corporations that own our lives. "We don't need a software developer union, what if the guy next to me makes more money! I can definitely negotiate better against literal behemoths than a collective group of people!" You cried.
    - westmeal 1y ago
      It wasn't meant as a personal attack against you Jesus Christ.
      - mrguyorama 1y ago
        Sorry, I wasn't trying to attack you either. I meant the royal "you" In both Germany and the USSR, a lot of people died making zero progress (and maybe even negative progress in some ways) liberating their country. I just think, as long as Trump's rhetoric and claimed policy is popular, there's no "resistance" possible. Americans want this crap. They'll keep voting that way until they get it as hard as possible. So many people are insisting that people like me have to rise up and take back our country, ignoring that our country wants this and chose this, multiple times. McCarthyism worked. It suppressed speech and activity, and basically eliminated socialism in the US for a century. History is rhyming. I don't have a solution.
        westmeal 1y ago
        Me neither and I share your concern. That being said it's my opinion this popularity is propped up by algorithms that tend to push people towards this type of dumb shit. If there was a way to get through to these misguided idiots I think this country may have a shot at not being a complete hellhole. Is it idealistic and naive? Maybe. Just my two cents y'know.
- dopple 1y ago
  "Life is political, not because the world cares about how you feel, but because the world reacts to what you do. The minor choices we make are themselves a kind of vote, making it more or less likely that free and fair elections will be held in the future. In the politics of the everyday, our words and gestures, or their absence, count very much." - On Tyranny by Timothy D. Snyder Keeping your head down and just dealing with it as a choice that you can make and it is the choice that they count on you making. But it's not the only choice.
- dh2022 1y ago
  A bit hyperbolic, ain't it? Lots of people who are not millionaires care about much more than survival. Like for example the family I drove by a couple of months ago - they were very concerned about fitting 3 dirt bikes (1 adult size, 2 kid ones) in a pick up trailer. This family was not millionaire.....
- JumpCrisscross 1y ago
  > No one in this country has the ability to care about anything at all anymore that isn't directly necessary for survival We say as the richest country in the richest age of human existence, where most Americans have no practical constraints on access to food or emergency medicine, luxuries unimaginable to most of our ancestors.
gosub100 1y ago
It's all a distraction. Get everyone riled up about free guv bux and not address the high cost of tuition or the loopholes that let us companies skip debt-laden grads for foreign labor.
- vkou 1y ago
  > or the loopholes that let us companies skip debt-laden grads for foreign labor. Note that as we speak, AI is replacing junior roles and c-suites are bragging about doing layoffs because of it. There are zero restrictions to it's use in the workplace, and it will only get better at taking your work, year over year, while paying zero taxes. You're being distracted by anxiety over immigrants, whose entry is limited, and who, well, do pay taxes.
  - gosub100 1y ago
    Bring up AI too. Where are the Dems with their new tax? Let's tax AI and use it to pay grads' student loans off. I don't have anxiety about immigrants but my work looks like India, it's not diverse. The company clearly doesn't want Americans working there
    - JumpCrisscross 1y ago
      > Let's tax AI and use it to pay grads' student loans off Using non-college grads’ taxes to pay off college graduates’ loans is why we lose elections.
      - vkou 1y ago
        While I certainly have a better idea of where that money should go, I'm not sure payroll-taxing corporations employing AI for the purpose of shrinking their white-collar payroll... is morally equivalent to the myth of Joe the Plumber paying for Frida's degree in underwater basket-weaving.
        JumpCrisscross 1y ago
shepardrtc 1y ago
> Democrats are cowards and will not stand up against any of this. They're making a lot of money in the stock market due to their position, they won't jeopardize it.
- cosmicgadget 1y ago
  Which tickers? The indexes have been pretty flat since the shutdown. Or is this Pelosi Derangement Syndrome?
NewJazz 1y ago
Democrats in Congress just helped shut the government down. Democrats across multiple state legislatures have retaliated against republican state gerrymandering.
- JumpCrisscross 1y ago
  > Democrats in Congress just helped shut the government down Eh, Democrats crapped their pants in Texas. Crapped their pants in March. Haven’t yet excised Biden elements who straight up lied to the electorate from the party. The Constitution is being shredded, yet you wouldn’t know it from the generic ballot [1]. Bring back the Bull Moose Party. Between the death of conservatism in the GOP and the loss of a backbone outside the left among Democrats, there is room-maybe a need—for a Teddy in our politics. [1] https://www.realclearpolling.com/polls/state-of-the-union/generic-congressional-vote https://www.realclearpolling.com/polls/state-of-the-union/ge...
codyb 1y ago
Donate to the lawyers in the courts (You can look at briefings to find plaintiffs and defendants but the ACLU's a good bet). These folk are absolutely securing wins against this administration and pushing back, but it's extremely expensive and this is an all out onslaught. That's something you can do right now, and encourage others to do with very little impact on your day to day. Then, go to protests. Protests are best when they're non-violent and massive. These send the message to the people in power because in the end they are nothing but other people. Courage is contagious, get out, bring friends. Then call your reps, you may not think they are listening, but they are. Call them at the local, state, and federal level and tell them what you think. Encourage your friends to do the same. Boycott companies that kowtow to this administration. I've been boycotting Amazon for ages so that wasn't tough but social media and corporate media and a lot of these tech companies and a lot of other companies are run my megalomaniac out of touch narcissists who will bend the knee before risking their profits. Simply take the hit and stop using their products. Encourage friends to do the same. It's not too late. Don't let them make you think it is. We are not 1937 Germany yet. Push back now. Small actions done in concert have real world effects. Then... take the news off your phone and go outside and get some sun and make sure to take care of yourself.
alistairSH 1y ago
What would you suggest the minority party do? Democrats control 0 / 3 of the branches of federal government. And a minority of state governments. All they can do is talk. And filibuster in the Senate. And they did filibuster the budget.... And the Trump administration has updated web pages with statements that explictly blame the Democrats for the current shutdown. And mandated OOO messages from furloughed agencies contain language blaming the Democrats. Do you want Democrats in Congress to resort to violence? I don't think ends the way you want...
- JumpCrisscross 1y ago
  > What would you suggest the minority party do? Obstruct. Shamelessly. Governors should be arresting ICE agents illegally detaining their citizens. Democrat states generate federal tax surpluses—gum up those payments. Filibuster everything. You know, the stuff the GOP does.
  - rapind 1y ago
    This is unfortunately probably going to be necessary, and should start happening soon while they still have any power. It's been going on like this for decades, since Gingrich IMO. It feels like the idealism of some on the left is failing to understand the prisoner's dilemma, and so they just keep losing. There's probably as many or more people from centre right to far left who'd be just as interested in sticking it to the right (let's just call it MAGA), as the right has been interested in owning the libs. I get that the election says otherwise, but I have a hunch that MAGA isn't nearly as popular as they think they are. I suspect a lot of people are just tired of the wet noodle Kumbaya politics from some on the left, upset with the status quo, really upset with the economy, etc. Do you ever come back from this though? No idea...
    - JumpCrisscross 1y ago
      > the idealism of some on the left I’m generally critical of the left. But this is one game they got right. It’s imbeciles hiding behind the cowardice of aimless moderation who are sinking America. The left is ready to fight. > Do you ever come back from this Yes. See: Andrew Jackson. The American Whigs. The British Whigs. The New Deal. What you don’t get back from is a lack of opposition. [1] https://www.nytimes.com/2025/09/29/us/politics/russell-vought-trump-budget.html https://www.nytimes.com/2025/09/29/us/politics/russell-vough...
standardUser 1y ago
"Democrats are cowards..." Who exactly? The roughly 40 million people registered with the party? Or th 8,000 Democrats holding elected office? Or do you specifically mean the 213 Democrats in the US House and the 45 Democrats in the Senate? Be specific man.
- colechristensen 1y ago
  more or less all of the above more cowardice points for the people who have more power
deleted 1y ago
[deleted]
stronglikedan 1y ago
[flagged]
lapcat 1y ago
The most effective way to "resist" would be to implement popular policies while in power, help the public, and win elections. Losing elections and trying to resist while in the minority is far less effective. Unfortunately, leaders of both parties are owned by or are identical to the wealthy donor class. The two parties are just different factions of the donor class.
- JumpCrisscross 1y ago
  > leaders of both parties are owned by or are identical to the wealthy donor class To the extent donors have corrupted the Democrats, it’s been on pushing niche leftist issues like the climate and gender activism, on which donors are disconnected from the electorate, and to a minor degree crap like the carried interest deduction. > The two parties are just different factions of the donor class This is lazy nihilism.
1oooqooq 1y ago
who would have thought that both sides are face eating leopards?! More shocking is the mental block about even considering a third alternative, as if you're talking to against gravity or something.
- deleted 1y ago
  [deleted]

ramesh31 1y ago

>Whether or not there are leaders to oppose them varies. Or do we have to wait until the only opposition option is open war? No one in this country has the ability to care about anything at all anymore that isn't directly necessary for survival unless you're a millionaire (and we all know which side they're on). The result is that it makes the individually rational choice to keep your head down and just deal with it. We are at the brink, and there is just no other option than to watch in horror and pray you aren't affected.

zeven7 1y ago
Together we can have a voice. But we need a good leader.
westmeal 1y ago
There are options but those options won't end up well for you as an individual. The only way things can change is collective action and people are too glued to their social media bubbles to realize that we're not as different as we think.
- mrguyorama 1y ago
  I'm not "glued to the social media bubble", I'm paying rent, so I don't end up on the street where a Fox News host says I should be forcibly murdered, and millions of my fellow citizens explicitly agree. I don't work for FAANG or make a huge salary, I don't own property, I don't have anything. Most of us aren't privileged enough to be able to walk away from work. I need medication to live a partially functional life. Am I supposed to just magically acquire that medication while I'm being fired from work, losing my insurance, and being arrested for daring to have a democratic opinion? Hell, my state is mostly Democrat right now. Am I supposed to go live in another state for a while and get arrested there so the right wing news can cry about how liberals are literally invading other states? We were screaming and crying about how all this was going to go down for decades. Some of us even back in the red scare days. We were called socialist and unamerican. But no, "Both sides" You would cry, or "Free market" to prevent us from reigning in corporations that own our lives. "We don't need a software developer union, what if the guy next to me makes more money! I can definitely negotiate better against literal behemoths than a collective group of people!" You cried.
  - westmeal 1y ago
    It wasn't meant as a personal attack against you Jesus Christ.
    - mrguyorama 1y ago
      Sorry, I wasn't trying to attack you either. I meant the royal "you" In both Germany and the USSR, a lot of people died making zero progress (and maybe even negative progress in some ways) liberating their country. I just think, as long as Trump's rhetoric and claimed policy is popular, there's no "resistance" possible. Americans want this crap. They'll keep voting that way until they get it as hard as possible. So many people are insisting that people like me have to rise up and take back our country, ignoring that our country wants this and chose this, multiple times. McCarthyism worked. It suppressed speech and activity, and basically eliminated socialism in the US for a century. History is rhyming. I don't have a solution.
      - westmeal 1y ago
        Me neither and I share your concern. That being said it's my opinion this popularity is propped up by algorithms that tend to push people towards this type of dumb shit. If there was a way to get through to these misguided idiots I think this country may have a shot at not being a complete hellhole. Is it idealistic and naive? Maybe. Just my two cents y'know.
dopple 1y ago
"Life is political, not because the world cares about how you feel, but because the world reacts to what you do. The minor choices we make are themselves a kind of vote, making it more or less likely that free and fair elections will be held in the future. In the politics of the everyday, our words and gestures, or their absence, count very much." - On Tyranny by Timothy D. Snyder Keeping your head down and just dealing with it as a choice that you can make and it is the choice that they count on you making. But it's not the only choice.
dh2022 1y ago
A bit hyperbolic, ain't it? Lots of people who are not millionaires care about much more than survival. Like for example the family I drove by a couple of months ago - they were very concerned about fitting 3 dirt bikes (1 adult size, 2 kid ones) in a pick up trailer. This family was not millionaire.....
JumpCrisscross 1y ago
> No one in this country has the ability to care about anything at all anymore that isn't directly necessary for survival We say as the richest country in the richest age of human existence, where most Americans have no practical constraints on access to food or emergency medicine, luxuries unimaginable to most of our ancestors.

gosub100 1y ago

It's all a distraction. Get everyone riled up about free guv bux and not address the high cost of tuition or the loopholes that let us companies skip debt-laden grads for foreign labor.

vkou 1y ago
> or the loopholes that let us companies skip debt-laden grads for foreign labor. Note that as we speak, AI is replacing junior roles and c-suites are bragging about doing layoffs because of it. There are zero restrictions to it's use in the workplace, and it will only get better at taking your work, year over year, while paying zero taxes. You're being distracted by anxiety over immigrants, whose entry is limited, and who, well, do pay taxes.
- gosub100 1y ago
  Bring up AI too. Where are the Dems with their new tax? Let's tax AI and use it to pay grads' student loans off. I don't have anxiety about immigrants but my work looks like India, it's not diverse. The company clearly doesn't want Americans working there
  - JumpCrisscross 1y ago
    > Let's tax AI and use it to pay grads' student loans off Using non-college grads’ taxes to pay off college graduates’ loans is why we lose elections.
    - vkou 1y ago
      While I certainly have a better idea of where that money should go, I'm not sure payroll-taxing corporations employing AI for the purpose of shrinking their white-collar payroll... is morally equivalent to the myth of Joe the Plumber paying for Frida's degree in underwater basket-weaving.
      - JumpCrisscross 1y ago

shepardrtc 1y ago

> Democrats are cowards and will not stand up against any of this. They're making a lot of money in the stock market due to their position, they won't jeopardize it.

cosmicgadget 1y ago
Which tickers? The indexes have been pretty flat since the shutdown. Or is this Pelosi Derangement Syndrome?

NewJazz 1y ago

Democrats in Congress just helped shut the government down. Democrats across multiple state legislatures have retaliated against republican state gerrymandering.

JumpCrisscross 1y ago
> Democrats in Congress just helped shut the government down Eh, Democrats crapped their pants in Texas. Crapped their pants in March. Haven’t yet excised Biden elements who straight up lied to the electorate from the party. The Constitution is being shredded, yet you wouldn’t know it from the generic ballot [1]. Bring back the Bull Moose Party. Between the death of conservatism in the GOP and the loss of a backbone outside the left among Democrats, there is room-maybe a need—for a Teddy in our politics. [1] https://www.realclearpolling.com/polls/state-of-the-union/generic-congressional-vote https://www.realclearpolling.com/polls/state-of-the-union/ge...

codyb 1y ago

Donate to the lawyers in the courts (You can look at briefings to find plaintiffs and defendants but the ACLU's a good bet). These folk are absolutely securing wins against this administration and pushing back, but it's extremely expensive and this is an all out onslaught. That's something you can do right now, and encourage others to do with very little impact on your day to day. Then, go to protests. Protests are best when they're non-violent and massive. These send the message to the people in power because in the end they are nothing but other people. Courage is contagious, get out, bring friends. Then call your reps, you may not think they are listening, but they are. Call them at the local, state, and federal level and tell them what you think. Encourage your friends to do the same. Boycott companies that kowtow to this administration. I've been boycotting Amazon for ages so that wasn't tough but social media and corporate media and a lot of these tech companies and a lot of other companies are run my megalomaniac out of touch narcissists who will bend the knee before risking their profits. Simply take the hit and stop using their products. Encourage friends to do the same. It's not too late. Don't let them make you think it is. We are not 1937 Germany yet. Push back now. Small actions done in concert have real world effects. Then... take the news off your phone and go outside and get some sun and make sure to take care of yourself.

alistairSH 1y ago

What would you suggest the minority party do? Democrats control 0 / 3 of the branches of federal government. And a minority of state governments. All they can do is talk. And filibuster in the Senate. And they did filibuster the budget.... And the Trump administration has updated web pages with statements that explictly blame the Democrats for the current shutdown. And mandated OOO messages from furloughed agencies contain language blaming the Democrats. Do you want Democrats in Congress to resort to violence? I don't think ends the way you want...

JumpCrisscross 1y ago
> What would you suggest the minority party do? Obstruct. Shamelessly. Governors should be arresting ICE agents illegally detaining their citizens. Democrat states generate federal tax surpluses—gum up those payments. Filibuster everything. You know, the stuff the GOP does.
- rapind 1y ago
  This is unfortunately probably going to be necessary, and should start happening soon while they still have any power. It's been going on like this for decades, since Gingrich IMO. It feels like the idealism of some on the left is failing to understand the prisoner's dilemma, and so they just keep losing. There's probably as many or more people from centre right to far left who'd be just as interested in sticking it to the right (let's just call it MAGA), as the right has been interested in owning the libs. I get that the election says otherwise, but I have a hunch that MAGA isn't nearly as popular as they think they are. I suspect a lot of people are just tired of the wet noodle Kumbaya politics from some on the left, upset with the status quo, really upset with the economy, etc. Do you ever come back from this though? No idea...
  - JumpCrisscross 1y ago
    > the idealism of some on the left I’m generally critical of the left. But this is one game they got right. It’s imbeciles hiding behind the cowardice of aimless moderation who are sinking America. The left is ready to fight. > Do you ever come back from this Yes. See: Andrew Jackson. The American Whigs. The British Whigs. The New Deal. What you don’t get back from is a lack of opposition. [1] https://www.nytimes.com/2025/09/29/us/politics/russell-vought-trump-budget.html https://www.nytimes.com/2025/09/29/us/politics/russell-vough...

standardUser 1y ago

"Democrats are cowards..." Who exactly? The roughly 40 million people registered with the party? Or th 8,000 Democrats holding elected office? Or do you specifically mean the 213 Democrats in the US House and the 45 Democrats in the Senate? Be specific man.

colechristensen 1y ago
more or less all of the above more cowardice points for the people who have more power

deleted 1y ago

[deleted]

stronglikedan 1y ago

[flagged]

lapcat 1y ago

The most effective way to "resist" would be to implement popular policies while in power, help the public, and win elections. Losing elections and trying to resist while in the minority is far less effective. Unfortunately, leaders of both parties are owned by or are identical to the wealthy donor class. The two parties are just different factions of the donor class.

JumpCrisscross 1y ago
> leaders of both parties are owned by or are identical to the wealthy donor class To the extent donors have corrupted the Democrats, it’s been on pushing niche leftist issues like the climate and gender activism, on which donors are disconnected from the electorate, and to a minor degree crap like the carried interest deduction. > The two parties are just different factions of the donor class This is lazy nihilism.

1oooqooq 1y ago

who would have thought that both sides are face eating leopards?! More shocking is the mental block about even considering a third alternative, as if you're talking to against gravity or something.

deleted 1y ago
[deleted]