Diego M. Radzinschi/ALM
Like a lot of us, my initial reaction in November was to give up.
Fine. You guys win. Good luck. It’s all yours now. We’ll be back to clean up your mess.
As the wonderful movie critic (and equally wonderful social critic) Ty Burr said to Trump voters: “Congratulations. You reap what you sow.”
But I never imagined it was going to get this bad, this fast.
* * *
The first two weeks of his new regime were head-spinning. Elon’s seig-heil salute at the inauguration; the takeover of Greenland, Canada, and the Panama Canal; the “Gulf of America”…
But the last two days of January?
Insane was a word that a lot of people reached for:
- The Senate hearings on cabinet posts, on three of the weirdest people ever nominated: RFK, Jr, Tulsi Gabbard, and Kash Patel
- Two plane crashes in two days, and Trump immediately blaming “DEI” – before determining the cause. (“Why? Because I have common sense. Which a lot of people don’t have.”)
- Releasing (and wasting) 50 billion gallons of water from dams in California, just to “show them”, without consulting the local authorities
- Freezing federal funding – then unfreezing it, after being ordered to desist by the courts
- Locking federal employees out of their computer systems, and then granting Elon Musk and his hackers access to the system that pays Social Security, Medicare, tax refunds, and federal contracts
- Firing 30 FBI agents, because they had investigated the January 6th insurrection
- The dissolution of USAID
It was those last three things – Elon’s takeover, the FBI agent firing, USAID – made it clear:
This is a coup.
This is the overthrowing of a government.
These are activities that are illegal.
This is a trashing of the Constitution, the instrument that has guided our country for 238 years.
There is an overriding feeling of hopelessness.
We feel weak, helpless in the face of a rising tide.
That’s when I think back to the words of Mister Rogers: “Look to the helpers.”
In this case, the helpers are the rabble rousers.
They’re out there, thank the Lord, a good, strong crew of troublemakers, fighting for us.
Together, they give us a playbook for resistance, a pathway out of the darkness.
[For my companion piece what we should be doing, click here.]
Marc Elias
There is no doubt: Marc Elias is the MVP of the Resistance.
Remember when Biden beat Trump in the 2020 election?
Trump sent his “dream team” of Rudy Giuliani, Jenna Ellis, and Sydney Powell to court to challenge the election results – 65 times.
Trump lost 64 of those 65 cases, each time to a team supervised by Democratic attorney Marc Elias.
(Many were in front of Republican, Trump-appointed judges.)
Now Elias’s group, Democracy Forward, is fighting Trump’s latest coup attempt.
They’re busier than ever, stopping Trump at every turn (while putting out other fires).
Right now, they’re:
- Defending voting rights in various states (particularly Georgia and Alabama)
- Fighting in North Carolina, where the GOP is trying to overturn an election by throwing out 60,000 votes
- Thwarting GOP efforts in several states to “redistrict” areas (in other words, jerrymander)
- Stopping Trump from breaking Constitutional law (like his federal spending freeze, or ignoring birthright citizenship)
- Battling cases of retribution from Pam Bondi, Trump’s loyalist, weaponized Attorney General
As Elias warns, Trump is stripping away democracy’s traditional guardrails: rule of law, free press, independent judiciary, professional civil service.
The courts are our last line of defense.
The good news is, the courts are doing their job.
Trump and Elon have lost all 12 of their cases so far.
The more you read, the more outlandish Trump’s cases are.
“I’ve been on the bench for over four decades,” said John Coughenour, the judge on the birthright citizenship case.
“I can’t remember another case where the question presented is as clear as this one. This is a blatantly unconstitutional order.”
The judges are all but laughing Trump’s lawyers out of court.
As Judge Roughenour told them, “I am having trouble understanding how a member of the bar could state unequivocally that this order is constitutional. “
(For the record, Judge Roughenour is a Reagan appointee – not some “liberal activist.”)
How do you know that Elias is good? The Republicans are terrified of him.
Elias recalls, “I will never forget Lou Dobbs yelling at Stephen Miller to have the GOP pay me $500 million to stop beating them in court.”
As Trump’s personal henchman Steve Bannon said, “He’s pure evil, but, man, that brother is smart, tough. He’s crazy, but he’s a fighter.”
But one thing that has been missing in Elias’s fight has been help from other major law firms.
“Where is ‘Big Law’?” he asks.
They are shying away, afraid of retribution, just like their kin in Big Tech.
Elias’s Democracy Docket newsletter has become a vital source of news, tracking daily the unconstitutional steps Trump is taking, and the various legal actions being taken against him.
It’s full of gritty, DIY guidance, like “Ten Things We Can All Do to Protect Democracy,” or “We Are On Our Own.”
His advice? “Rally around those institutions that are standing tall — independent media, opposition political figures and nonprofit and for-profit groups and businesses willing to risk themselves to support democracy.”
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez
I was skeptical of AOC at first. A little too left-leaning for my old-school Republican tastes.
Her naivete showed on her introductory 60 Minutes interview, when she tried to outline a tax plan (focusing on the “tippity top” of the wealthy).
She sounded young, inexperienced, idealistic – all of which she was.
But I underestimated her.
I became a full-fledged AOC fan in July 2020, after her handling of a confrontation with Florida Republican Rep. Ted Yoho.
Yoho accosted her on the Capitol steps, poking a finger at her and calling her “a fucking bitch.”
This was a member of the US House of Representatives.
Addressing another member of the House.
Again – and I am going to keep saying it – This is not normal.
After Yoho’s behavior was reported by the media, he took to the House floor, and “explained” his actions.
He didn’t apologize – rather, he used his wife and daughters as “human shields” (Hey, I’ve got a wife and two daughters! I wouldn’t disrespect women!)
Rep Ocasio-Cortez could’ve gotten angry.
Oh, her response was fiery – but it was measured. Calm. Full of grace and dignity.
Her genius was, she didn’t make it about her. This was just what all women have encountered.
“All of us have had to deal with this. In some form, some shape, some way in our lives,” she said, matter-of-factly.
“This kind of language is not new. I have encountered words uttered by Mr Yoho while I was being harassed in restaurants. I have talked men out of bars that have used language like Mr Yoho’s. I have encountered this type of harassment riding the subway in New York City. This is not new. And THAT is the problem.”
Then came the hammer.
“I am two years younger than Mr. Yoho’s youngest daughter… What Mr. Yoho did was give permission to other men to do that to his daughters…. Having a daughter does not make a man decent. Having a wife does not make a decent man. Treating people with dignity and respect makes a decent man. And when a decent man messes up – as we all are bound to do – he tries his best and does apologize.”
Rep. Ocasio Cortez has matured into her role in the House.
She is uncannily familiar with the rules of the House, and how it works.
Now, while others (Republican and Democrat) have sat, silent and helpless, she has become the #1 Congressional spokesperson against the coup.
She is not afraid to call our current situation what it is.
When the feds suspended Medicare payments, she Tweeted, “This is a constitutional crisis. It’s a massive power grab that the House and the Senate have a sworn duty to stop.”
She’s fighting on the front lines, already getting in hot water with Trump’s “border czar,” Tom Homan.
AOC drew his ire by holding webinars to instruct immigrants on their rights, and advising them on what to do when confronted by ICE.
All well within her rights, but enough to get Homan complaining to the Deputy AG.
“Maybe AOC is going to be in trouble now,” he cried to Fox’s Laura Ingraham.
This is what we need.
We need people like Senator Chris Murphy, leading the Democrats’ overnight takeover of the Senate to delay cabinet confirmations.
We need people like Rep Jasmine Crockett, telling Republican House Members to their face when they’re lying.
We need more of it.
CNN video
Rick Wilson
Rick has been leading the charge against Donald Trump since 2016, with his merry band of pranksters in the Lincoln Project.
(The above video is maybe the funniest video of the Trump era, as Rick reduces CNN’s Don Lemon to tears, with the help of Wajahat Ali.)
A former political directive and ad-buyer with the Republican party, he knew about the inner workings of the GOP, and he knew how to play hardball politics.
As a long-time observer of Trump, he knew how destructive he could be – to the Republican party, and to the county. Heck, he wrote the book on it: Everything Trump Touches Dies.
As somebody who has been threatened by Donald Trump, he knew how to deal with a bully: by punching them back, harder.
Like Marc Elias, he has beaten Trump’s people in court, most notably when Lt. General Michael Flynn (Trump’s short-lived National Security Advisor) sued him for defamation.
Rick’s response to Trump’s threats is always, “Go for it. We’ll see you in Discovery, where you can reveal your finances.”
The Lincoln Project’s ads – sometime hilarious, always powerful – played a key role in taking down Trump in 2020.
They came up short in 2024.
But Rick isn’t tucking in his tail and going away.
The Lincoln Project has ramped up quickly, and has already produced ads that have opened the eyes of moderate voters.
Rick has always been the blithe spirit of the Lincoln Project, the loose cannon (as his performance in the above video demonstrates).
He’s never afraid to cross the line. And never afraid to state the truth.
And as he says now: “You’re not overwhelmed. You’re under attack.”
Heather Cox Richardson
In September 2019, Dr. Richardson was so frustrated by the futile impeachment proceedings against Trump (blocked by Republicans) that she was moved to post on Facebook.
She made it a daily regimen on Facebook, and it eventually became a daily newsletter: “Letters From An American’”.
Since then, she has had the daunting task of trying to record the significant things that happened that day in politics.
She barely misses a day (and always apologizes when she does).
It is breathtaking, that she manages to keep up with it – sometimes, you can hear the weariness in her voice as she deals with the day-after-day insanity of the Trump regime.
“Letters From An American” has become an everyday record of our descent into madness, as well as a clear-eyed explanation of how our past led us to here.
Quite often, she places the day’s events alongside relevant marks in history, to put it in perspective.
As a Professor of History at Boston College, Dr. Richardson knows whereof she speaks.
How the South Won the Civil War – her sixth of seven books she has written – is a blueprint for our current disaster.
It shows how the MAGA faction has always been here, dividing the country since its inception.
And it lays bare how those that scream the loudest against “big government” have always been its greatest beneficiaries: Southerners scheming to allow slavery to spread to more states, gold rushers using government funding to rid themselves of Mexican and Native American settlements, Elon Musk getting wealthy off of the very government that he is dismantling.
Rolling Stone Magazine
As Marc Elias has said, we need to move away from “legacy media.”
About the best thing you can say is, it is not serving us well anymore.
At worst, it is openly capitulating to Trump, afraid to call him on his treasonist acts.
Almost all the major networks have settled with the suit-happy Trump – not because they actually defamed him, but because they were afraid of retribution.
You know all about social media and commerce moguls like Zuckerberg, Bezos, and others changing their standards for Trump, while they contribute cash to him.
And when the Associated Press refused to refer to the Gulf of Mexico as “Gulf of America,” Trump kicked them out of the White House press briefings.
The entire press corps should’ve walked out, en masse, and boycotted any briefings.
Sadly, not one member did.
When Elias talks about “rallying around independent media,” he is talking about Rolling Stone.
They’re publishing articles from the front lines, like “Inside the Last Days of USAID” and “Trump and Musk are Trying to Purge Veterans from the Government”.
Or more succinctly: “Everyone Who is Supposed to Protect You From This Failed Miserably”
Of course, they’re not the only watchdogs left.
Keep track of:
Wired
Politico
ProPublica
The Guardian
The Handbasket
Stat (for medical news)
www.whatthefuckjusthappenedtoday.com
Bluesky
Remember when Twitter used to be fun? Before Elon? That’s Bluesky.
I mean, it’s exactly like Twitter used to be. Except they kick the jerks out.
(I’m not talking about conservative people – just the mean, stupid, people who lie.)
Bluesky is more proactive in blocking abusive users, and eliminating bots.
Since Trump took office, Bluesky has doubled in size, to more than 32 million users.
Sure, I suppose you can call it an “echo chamber”.
But with Twitter becoming an unreliable cesspool of misinformation, Bluesky is a source of the truth.
I like it there.
Jamie Raskin
On December 31, 2020, Rep. Raskin’s son, Tommy, committed suicide.
His family buried Tommy on January 5, 2021.
One day later, Rep. Raskin was hunkered down in the Capitol, hiding from Trump’s insurrectionists who had taken over.
You can see the depth of meaning in the title of his book (Unthinkable: Trauma, Truth, and the Trials of American Democracy).
The story is incredible.
Jamie was chosen to lead the fight against Trump’s insurrection – because he was the strongest Constitutional mind in The House.
He knew every one of the tricks that Trump would try.
He and Nancy Pelosi plotted out steps to take, for whatever Trump was planning.
When Trump’s attempt at treason failed, Raskin then led the Impeachment proceedings against him.
In this latest constitutional crisis, we need Jamie Raskin now, more than ever.
Other Heroes
JB Pritzker, Governor of Illinois: Another guy unafraid of Trump, as the delightful video above shows, where he “proclaims” the name change of Lake Michigan to Lake Illinois.
Danielle Sassoon: The federal prosecutor who refused to drop the corruption charges against New York City mayor Eric Adams (because he agreed to cooperate with Trump’s immigration officials). She and several other federal prosecutors chose to resign rather than break the law for Trump.
Note: Ms. Sassoon was a Trump-appointed prosecutor. (Are you noticing a trend?) The fact that so many Republican-appointed judges and prosecutors object to Trump’s policies show how illegal this is.
Bishop Mariann Budde: The Episcopalian minister who had the courage to speak the truth to Trump.
Watching the video link in the last line, you get to enjoy the looks on discomfort and disdain on the faces of Donald Trump and JD Vance and their families as Bishop Budde commits the sin of pleading with him “in the name of our God, to have mercy upon the people in our country who are scared now.”
JoJo From Jerz: Jersey girl turned Twitter/Bluesky heroine, Joanne Carducci is a lot of fun, with her fiery, foul-mouthed posts, full of snarky wisdom. She made a living out of trolling Trump and his followers, filming her faux southern girl responses to MAGA’s inanities, in her “Becky Sue Speaks Her Mind” videos.
And she writes like a hurricane. Her treatise on not giving up (and describing in brutal honesty the other times she could’ve given up) is a Thomas Paine-type guide for us all.
Adam Kinzinger: The former Republican Representative from Illinois left office after daring to serve on the January 6th Committee. Since then, he has emerged, along with his Republican colleague Liz Cheney, as a courageous Republican leader of The Resistance – despite some horrifying voicemails sent to him in retaliation.
Robert Reich: Former Secretary of Labor for Clinton, member of the Ford, Carter, and Obama administrations, he uses his well-rounded, level-headed experience in a hard-hitting, truth-telling newsletter.
David Hogg: One of the survivors of the Parkland, Florida mass shootings, and the most eloquent spokesperson to emerge from that tragedy, David has established himself as a force to be reckoned with. He started “March For Our Lives” in response to the shooting, and spread out into cultivating young political candidates in “Leaders We Deserve.” He was just elected vice chair of the Democratic National Party, at age 25.
Whoever is responsible for TrumpGolfTrack.com: God bless these troublemakers, for doing what must be done: tracking every day that Trump spends on the links. (They also helpfully post the updated prices of gas and eggs each day.)
For a guy who blasted Obama and Biden for any time spent away from the White House, Trump sure does spend a lot of time playing golf. You’d think he’d be better at it.
Adam Mockler: A lot of people ask, Why don’t any kids do a Joe Rogan-style takeover of social media? Well, this kid does.
And he is just a kid – 22 years old. His YouTube channel does a take on The Good Liars, where they enter the lion’s den of a Trump rally, and ask questions that inevitably make the MAGA fanatic see how ridiculous he or she is.
Except Mockler goes a step further, posing questions (always kindly, always well-informed) until the light dawns on them. “I never thought of that,” is a common reaction from the Trump supporters.
Too often, the Dem’s language is too weak – languid, passive.
Senate Majority leader Chuck Schumer tries when he Tweets: “You’ll all be watching the Super Bowl next week. Hope the Trump tariffs don’t raise the price of your pizza too much.”
It’s not clear exactly what the hell he’s talking about.
Hakeem Jeffries on the firing of hundreds of FBI workers: “We will aggressively push back.” Not enough.
It’s up to these Heroes to do the work.
And up to us to support them.
Daddy Gibs 
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