I’ve believed this since the election. Republicans will do or say ANYTHING to win an election. Whereas Democrats just want to do the people’s business. The days of just doing your job well are over. With the corrupt things they’ve done and the ignorant rantings of Republican media hogs in the public space, think MTG, there’s no shortage of things to go after Republicans on. Do Republicans ever talk policy, and I mean specific policy? Example: We need to deport immigrants because they’re illegal and put our country at risk. What are the consequences of that? Less workers in meat plants. Less workers picking crops. What would that do to inflation? Republicans don’t know how to run the government other than enriching their donors, but they do know how to do one thing. They know how to win. Through grievance or bad laws or gerrymandering or cheating, they know how to win. And Democrats better learn how or our country may be lost.
On Jan 20, Trump will try to emasculate all of the agencies he feels gave him trouble as # 45. Whereas SCOTUS would not permit him to declare an emergency in the DACA case, they since give a president virtually unlimited power. If he declares a national emergency, we can kiss democracy goodbye.
Biden has 5 days to stand up. Trump is illigitimate and our country was attacked by Russian psyops. We just lost the cold war. It's an emergency
This has to be one of the most important pieces you’ve ever written. It should be distributed throughout the DNC and the Party at large. The Repugnicans provide grist for attack at every turn. We simply must take every opportunity to attack what should and must be attacked. Washington was right, and the shiny-object obsessed corporate media will love us for providing grist of our own.
Tom, the DNC has tin ears, we need a revolution in the D NC, throw out the old guard.
The DNC is a coterie, a cabal, of old farts, they have made a nice living off being lobbyists, strategists,, analysts, MSNBC pays them $10,000 an appearance. They are the establishment and they are not about to change, especially when they are connected to coporate donors, and have a rollodex with names of wealthy donors.
They drive BMW's,. Mercedes or Tesla's, live in fine homes in safe neighborhoods in Georgtown or Silver Springs, MD, their kids go to fine private academies, they attend charities and cocktail socials and hobnob with the rich, the famous the powerful.
If you want to get ahead in their world, to run for office, you have to work your way up, pay your dues, stand in line, be patient and loyal, earn the creds, in other wrords act like a race horse, until they feel it is time to move you to the starting gate.
The Republicans are not so encumbered, they want to win, nor reward loyalty and mediocrity. They pluck a B grade actor, who can deliver lines, an immature man boy, with an impish grin, an Austrian with a thick accents, but name recognition, a pervert made famous because of a reality shoe
They don't choose tried and true loyalists who have been plodding around the paddock, accumulating creds and waiting their turn. The select barn burners, that will say anything, to get votes, and do what they damn well please after elected.
The Dems need to fight them on their grounds and call them out for what they are, liars, thieves, phonies,but they are too good, because they take the high ground., and lose.
No argument here. Elie Mystal addressed the subject forcefully in The Nation’s post today, and I agree completely. He and Thom Hartmann are both required regular reading, especially if Democrats would actually like to survive.
Elie Mystal one of my favorites,he doesn't self censor
I searched to see if he had his own substack. He does not. but I found this
MSNBC and CNN refuse to pay him. People believe MSNBC is liberal,it is not it only goes so far. it is engaged in market segmentation and it's market is ageing boomers that are not full on bonkers, Its ad placements tell the story, Medicare disAdvantage, pharmaceutical things that appeal to my generation.
So much for the "happy warrior" thing if we follow this tactic. Lost also will be the "no drama" approach.
Bernie has it right. His hair-on-fire speeches took it to a new level. The proof that it worked was in the numbers and diversity he drew into the fray. Thank you Thom for being part of that.
Our better angels are not getting us there. AOC, Eric Swalwell, Tammy Duckworth, David Hogg, etc all GET IT. Time to face the fact that playing nice cannot be our brand in the America we are dealing with, because Putin and Xi sure as hell are using it to destroy our country via Trump and the oligarchs.
Trump will do Putin's bidding. Putin has the proof they have cut deals and colluded.
Trump wasn't exactly an unwilling victim either. All he cares about is money and being King. Putin found his guy and Xi is laughing all the way to the bank.
So true, and you can throw-in that he cares about staying out of prison. Putin is holding all the cards on Trump's treason. I wonder how many of our spies have died and how their families and our nation has suffered.
Shadow cabinet is the best idea as it requires building up a media base for Dems which will create a Fox News for Liberals as the Repubs have an unbalanced advantage. Both Radio and TV fake news has the mainstream media going along with its lies.
I’d like to nominate Thom Hartmann for DNC chair! We need someone with real ideas, the ability to rally the troops, and the will to act in the face of grave adversity.
You are talking about a population unwilling (maybe unable) to grow up. Only certain types of persons are able to sustain the types of hate and sadism you are talking about. Most liberal people I know, myself included, refuse to live that life. I am appalled at Trump and his hateful and unprincipaled works and speak out against him at every turn but trying to act like a MAGA and beating them at THEIR game turns my stomach. Can there be an effective OUR game?
Only misery and servitude awaits the high handed, with luck and quietude you will escape notice and continue to eke out an existence without any serious disturbance.
Wanting to live in peace isn't high handed. Having a spine and courage is an important feature for any future hope for us. That doesn't mean embracing anger. Anger doesn't advance anything civilized. Does this mean we must go through a period of un-civilization? Maybe. I just keep hoping some civilized way forward can be found.
Well, you obviously don't know me. Submission is not in my nature and the facts of slavery sicken me. There are different ways to defend. I believe our species is at a tipping point. The "way it's always been" has run its course and, as Thom points out, things are badly out of balance. This is anti-survival.
I am a Bernie and AOC fan and I'm willing to put my neck on the line as I see they are doing. I've run into some very uncomfortable situations doing it.
A nation-wide broadcasting system shouting their/our values could be a way. I'd get up that soap box despite the danger
I don't know you Sarah, I am also a Bernie and AOC fan, the only real democrats that I can think of.
I am also a student of history and a warrior, by inclination and by trade (retired Special Ops officer) and I know how authoritarian regimes take over a country, and how they are ousted. And standing on a soap box or demonstrating doesn't do it,. And the problem is compounded by the fact that the U.S. has, thanks to the PATRIOT Act, a humongous data center in Bluffdlale, UT that sniffs all electronic text and messages at the speed of light, and that this data center will be controlled by a woman who is a religious extremist and an enemy of democracy and a friend of dictatorships.. Tulsi Gabbard.
The only way to fight fire is with fire, fight by their rules, on their grounds, with their tactics. Peace, love, discussion, argument isn't going to do it, the enemy and yes they are the enemy, is fueled by anger, hate.
Can you reason with a charging grizzly, can an antelope reason or bargain with a leopard?
Ask Jews, socialists, gays, Slavs, how non violence worked out for them in Germany and Eastern Europe.
We no longer live in a civil society, and the rules of a civil society do not apply.
I agree with one caveat: while the whiner-in-chief isn't generally called out in mainstream press for that permeating characteristic, Democrats are more likely to be put down, ridiculed, made the butt of jokes, even excoriated for "whining". Bernie Sanders has succeeded (tantalizingly closely) in his forceful depiction of the destructive role of the "billionaire class," but there is a danger that other Democrats may not, or may not on other issues. With that in mind, it's worth a try by impassioned shadow officials.
Yes, Democrats need to learn how to play offense, althoughI don't think the status quo has it in them, it's infuriating. The fact that Trump incited an insurrection and is President says enough about the lameness of the Dem's. Now we have to listen to "no water, no FEMA!" from Trump regarding the fires in Los Angeles, CA. All this, while CA spent 83 billion dollars more in federal taxes than it takes in, so in effect subsidizing the red states. Maybe Newsom should threaten to withhold federal tax payments!
Thom, what a fantastic (and anger-inducing) column! I agree with every word. My frustration is that Democrats fail to see the obviousness and urgency of the problem. And it's a reminder that when my son and I were guests on your show to talk about the concepts in our book, "Branding Democrats: a Top-to-Bottom Reimagining of Campaign Strategies," we pushed many of these same issues more than a year ago.
We've met with members of Congress, we've talked to various political groups, but the Dems' refuse to see the obvious need for updating their thinking. Human nature changes slowly and the mindset "well, this worked in the past" is entrenched in the Democrats' hierarchy. We Democrats must change, and we must change immediately!
Branding is a slow process, one which must NOT be limited to a "campaign season."
Hillary Clinton won the popular vote in 2016 despite all the lies; Al Gore won the 2000 election though we did not learn this until years later (or know the Supreme Court’s part in it). Thank you for all your writings.
Until the California votes were counted, Trump was ahead in popular votes, It is only when California votes were counted that Hillary came out ahead.
I am not stumping for Trump, but we do ourselves no favor by being selective in our stats or in how we assess a situation.
Kamala went into the 2024 election with 226 electoral votes, from blue states, all she needed was 44 votes from swing dates, Wi. had 11, Mi, 15, PA had 19, and she lost those votes thanks in large part to Muslim black and Hispanic male votes.
In 2016, Hillary lost the same rust belt/swing states by 46 electoral votes. And we can thank her husband, NAFTA and GATT for that, also she didn't come across as sincere and trust worthy,
There is a non constructive tendency to blame gender, or where appropriate race, but the indefinable Charisma and personal appeal, sadly plays an important role and can overcome gender and race bias.
Robert Reich has been pretty much a shadow secretary of labor and economics, but he doesn't get much beyond preaching to the choir of estranged progressive Democrats. It's hard to penetrate the Beltway consensus of entrenched politicians and lapdog reporters to get a different narrative out to the public. We need to gain more support within the Democratic party for taking on Republican BS and getting the media to report it.
I went online to gather elementary information about 15 assassins and wannabe-assassins whom we mostly have heard about.
Men 14
Woman 1
Ages 20-43 (older discontented people seem to lack the energy)
Single 11
Married 3 (2 with at least one child)
Divorced 1
MOST assassins and wannabe assassins were very unhappy with “the system”, with a few having personal issues. Now, the sociopathic person in power charismatically convinces huge numbers of alienated, system-hating people that he represents them.
Eliminating Trump would not stop the billionaire juggernaut; that was set in motion by Ronald Reagan and backed by many of his supporters. But Trump's death would put a big crimp in the unfortunate ongoing change from a government of laws to a government of men.
I’ve believed this since the election. Republicans will do or say ANYTHING to win an election. Whereas Democrats just want to do the people’s business. The days of just doing your job well are over. With the corrupt things they’ve done and the ignorant rantings of Republican media hogs in the public space, think MTG, there’s no shortage of things to go after Republicans on. Do Republicans ever talk policy, and I mean specific policy? Example: We need to deport immigrants because they’re illegal and put our country at risk. What are the consequences of that? Less workers in meat plants. Less workers picking crops. What would that do to inflation? Republicans don’t know how to run the government other than enriching their donors, but they do know how to do one thing. They know how to win. Through grievance or bad laws or gerrymandering or cheating, they know how to win. And Democrats better learn how or our country may be lost.
On Jan 20, Trump will try to emasculate all of the agencies he feels gave him trouble as # 45. Whereas SCOTUS would not permit him to declare an emergency in the DACA case, they since give a president virtually unlimited power. If he declares a national emergency, we can kiss democracy goodbye.
Biden has 5 days to stand up. Trump is illigitimate and our country was attacked by Russian psyops. We just lost the cold war. It's an emergency
This is as simple and truthful as it can be written.
This has to be one of the most important pieces you’ve ever written. It should be distributed throughout the DNC and the Party at large. The Repugnicans provide grist for attack at every turn. We simply must take every opportunity to attack what should and must be attacked. Washington was right, and the shiny-object obsessed corporate media will love us for providing grist of our own.
Tom, the DNC has tin ears, we need a revolution in the D NC, throw out the old guard.
The DNC is a coterie, a cabal, of old farts, they have made a nice living off being lobbyists, strategists,, analysts, MSNBC pays them $10,000 an appearance. They are the establishment and they are not about to change, especially when they are connected to coporate donors, and have a rollodex with names of wealthy donors.
They drive BMW's,. Mercedes or Tesla's, live in fine homes in safe neighborhoods in Georgtown or Silver Springs, MD, their kids go to fine private academies, they attend charities and cocktail socials and hobnob with the rich, the famous the powerful.
If you want to get ahead in their world, to run for office, you have to work your way up, pay your dues, stand in line, be patient and loyal, earn the creds, in other wrords act like a race horse, until they feel it is time to move you to the starting gate.
The Republicans are not so encumbered, they want to win, nor reward loyalty and mediocrity. They pluck a B grade actor, who can deliver lines, an immature man boy, with an impish grin, an Austrian with a thick accents, but name recognition, a pervert made famous because of a reality shoe
They don't choose tried and true loyalists who have been plodding around the paddock, accumulating creds and waiting their turn. The select barn burners, that will say anything, to get votes, and do what they damn well please after elected.
The Dems need to fight them on their grounds and call them out for what they are, liars, thieves, phonies,but they are too good, because they take the high ground., and lose.
No argument here. Elie Mystal addressed the subject forcefully in The Nation’s post today, and I agree completely. He and Thom Hartmann are both required regular reading, especially if Democrats would actually like to survive.
Elie Mystal one of my favorites,he doesn't self censor
I searched to see if he had his own substack. He does not. but I found this
MSNBC and CNN refuse to pay him. People believe MSNBC is liberal,it is not it only goes so far. it is engaged in market segmentation and it's market is ageing boomers that are not full on bonkers, Its ad placements tell the story, Medicare disAdvantage, pharmaceutical things that appeal to my generation.
https://substack.com/home/post/p-149470448?utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web
So much for the "happy warrior" thing if we follow this tactic. Lost also will be the "no drama" approach.
Bernie has it right. His hair-on-fire speeches took it to a new level. The proof that it worked was in the numbers and diversity he drew into the fray. Thank you Thom for being part of that.
Our better angels are not getting us there. AOC, Eric Swalwell, Tammy Duckworth, David Hogg, etc all GET IT. Time to face the fact that playing nice cannot be our brand in the America we are dealing with, because Putin and Xi sure as hell are using it to destroy our country via Trump and the oligarchs.
Trump will do Putin's bidding. Putin has the proof they have cut deals and colluded.
Trump wasn't exactly an unwilling victim either. All he cares about is money and being King. Putin found his guy and Xi is laughing all the way to the bank.
So true, and you can throw-in that he cares about staying out of prison. Putin is holding all the cards on Trump's treason. I wonder how many of our spies have died and how their families and our nation has suffered.
Far more than the people will ever truly know, if any at all.
This list of grievances actually reflects the truth:
Climate denial caused the fires in Hawaii and LA
Trump wants to bring polio back
Trump wants Americans to pick their own fruit in summer heat
Republicans want to outlaw your religion
The GOP defends rape
Trump will increase hurricanes and floods
When your house burns, Trump wants a loyalty oath
Republicans are putting a gun in every criminal’s hand
The NRA supports carjacking
Democrats are armed, too
Liberal state taxes support slacker red states
Trump’s tariffs will bring mass starvation
Trump, Musk and Putin are working together
Republicans want you to build your own house
Republicans want your kids to stay stupid
The next pandemic will be worse
Republican attacks on science is a death wish for us all
The GOP is keeping people focused on what they threaten to take away from us instead of focusing on what we should gain by taxing the rich.
That's because hate Trumps logic.
Great read. Upgraded to paid to support your efforts. Dems are catching up, but we non-extremists need to stop bringing a banana to a knife fight. https://open.substack.com/pub/sagebrushandolivetrees/p/time-to-stop-bringing-bananas-to?r=etfs&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&showWelcomeOnShare=false
Extremist vs non extremist: Non extremist loses.
I grew up in a project, street gangs, street fights. There is no such thing as a fair fight.
Shadow cabinet is the best idea as it requires building up a media base for Dems which will create a Fox News for Liberals as the Repubs have an unbalanced advantage. Both Radio and TV fake news has the mainstream media going along with its lies.
I’d like to nominate Thom Hartmann for DNC chair! We need someone with real ideas, the ability to rally the troops, and the will to act in the face of grave adversity.
Amen! Lets DO IT!
You are talking about a population unwilling (maybe unable) to grow up. Only certain types of persons are able to sustain the types of hate and sadism you are talking about. Most liberal people I know, myself included, refuse to live that life. I am appalled at Trump and his hateful and unprincipaled works and speak out against him at every turn but trying to act like a MAGA and beating them at THEIR game turns my stomach. Can there be an effective OUR game?
Can there be an effective OUR game?
Answer; NO.
Only misery and servitude awaits the high handed, with luck and quietude you will escape notice and continue to eke out an existence without any serious disturbance.
Wanting to live in peace isn't high handed. Having a spine and courage is an important feature for any future hope for us. That doesn't mean embracing anger. Anger doesn't advance anything civilized. Does this mean we must go through a period of un-civilization? Maybe. I just keep hoping some civilized way forward can be found.
We all want to live in peace Sarah slavery and submission are also peace.
There is a difference between self defense and anger.
Whether you realize it or not yours is an argument for surrender, for submission.
Those dudes who signed the Declaration of Independence were willing and did go through a period of "uncivilization".
In fact in Virginia there were Committees of Public Safety, whose job was to monitor the public, and to punish loyalists
There is no painless dentistry or operation.
Well, you obviously don't know me. Submission is not in my nature and the facts of slavery sicken me. There are different ways to defend. I believe our species is at a tipping point. The "way it's always been" has run its course and, as Thom points out, things are badly out of balance. This is anti-survival.
I am a Bernie and AOC fan and I'm willing to put my neck on the line as I see they are doing. I've run into some very uncomfortable situations doing it.
A nation-wide broadcasting system shouting their/our values could be a way. I'd get up that soap box despite the danger
I don't know you Sarah, I am also a Bernie and AOC fan, the only real democrats that I can think of.
I am also a student of history and a warrior, by inclination and by trade (retired Special Ops officer) and I know how authoritarian regimes take over a country, and how they are ousted. And standing on a soap box or demonstrating doesn't do it,. And the problem is compounded by the fact that the U.S. has, thanks to the PATRIOT Act, a humongous data center in Bluffdlale, UT that sniffs all electronic text and messages at the speed of light, and that this data center will be controlled by a woman who is a religious extremist and an enemy of democracy and a friend of dictatorships.. Tulsi Gabbard.
The only way to fight fire is with fire, fight by their rules, on their grounds, with their tactics. Peace, love, discussion, argument isn't going to do it, the enemy and yes they are the enemy, is fueled by anger, hate.
Can you reason with a charging grizzly, can an antelope reason or bargain with a leopard?
Ask Jews, socialists, gays, Slavs, how non violence worked out for them in Germany and Eastern Europe.
We no longer live in a civil society, and the rules of a civil society do not apply.
I agree with one caveat: while the whiner-in-chief isn't generally called out in mainstream press for that permeating characteristic, Democrats are more likely to be put down, ridiculed, made the butt of jokes, even excoriated for "whining". Bernie Sanders has succeeded (tantalizingly closely) in his forceful depiction of the destructive role of the "billionaire class," but there is a danger that other Democrats may not, or may not on other issues. With that in mind, it's worth a try by impassioned shadow officials.
Yes, Democrats need to learn how to play offense, althoughI don't think the status quo has it in them, it's infuriating. The fact that Trump incited an insurrection and is President says enough about the lameness of the Dem's. Now we have to listen to "no water, no FEMA!" from Trump regarding the fires in Los Angeles, CA. All this, while CA spent 83 billion dollars more in federal taxes than it takes in, so in effect subsidizing the red states. Maybe Newsom should threaten to withhold federal tax payments!
https://paulkrugman.substack.com/p/in-praise-of-california
There's an interesting idea! Sort of Ghandi- like. Maybe that's a civilized route of opposition we could take. It worked in India...
Thom, what a fantastic (and anger-inducing) column! I agree with every word. My frustration is that Democrats fail to see the obviousness and urgency of the problem. And it's a reminder that when my son and I were guests on your show to talk about the concepts in our book, "Branding Democrats: a Top-to-Bottom Reimagining of Campaign Strategies," we pushed many of these same issues more than a year ago.
We've met with members of Congress, we've talked to various political groups, but the Dems' refuse to see the obvious need for updating their thinking. Human nature changes slowly and the mindset "well, this worked in the past" is entrenched in the Democrats' hierarchy. We Democrats must change, and we must change immediately!
Branding is a slow process, one which must NOT be limited to a "campaign season."
True. Thank you. Saving this.
Hillary Clinton won the popular vote in 2016 despite all the lies; Al Gore won the 2000 election though we did not learn this until years later (or know the Supreme Court’s part in it). Thank you for all your writings.
Until the California votes were counted, Trump was ahead in popular votes, It is only when California votes were counted that Hillary came out ahead.
I am not stumping for Trump, but we do ourselves no favor by being selective in our stats or in how we assess a situation.
Kamala went into the 2024 election with 226 electoral votes, from blue states, all she needed was 44 votes from swing dates, Wi. had 11, Mi, 15, PA had 19, and she lost those votes thanks in large part to Muslim black and Hispanic male votes.
In 2016, Hillary lost the same rust belt/swing states by 46 electoral votes. And we can thank her husband, NAFTA and GATT for that, also she didn't come across as sincere and trust worthy,
There is a non constructive tendency to blame gender, or where appropriate race, but the indefinable Charisma and personal appeal, sadly plays an important role and can overcome gender and race bias.
Robert Reich has been pretty much a shadow secretary of labor and economics, but he doesn't get much beyond preaching to the choir of estranged progressive Democrats. It's hard to penetrate the Beltway consensus of entrenched politicians and lapdog reporters to get a different narrative out to the public. We need to gain more support within the Democratic party for taking on Republican BS and getting the media to report it.
I went online to gather elementary information about 15 assassins and wannabe-assassins whom we mostly have heard about.
Men 14
Woman 1
Ages 20-43 (older discontented people seem to lack the energy)
Single 11
Married 3 (2 with at least one child)
Divorced 1
MOST assassins and wannabe assassins were very unhappy with “the system”, with a few having personal issues. Now, the sociopathic person in power charismatically convinces huge numbers of alienated, system-hating people that he represents them.
Eliminating Trump would not stop the billionaire juggernaut; that was set in motion by Ronald Reagan and backed by many of his supporters. But Trump's death would put a big crimp in the unfortunate ongoing change from a government of laws to a government of men.