To Wimp or Not To Wimp: That Is The Question

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Wimping

From David Corn’s Our Land of March 15, 2025, speaking of what TrumpMusk are doing and how Democrats are fighting back:

They are chaotically eviscerating government and demolishing crucial programs to impose a blend of autocracy, oligarchy, and kleptocracy that benefits robber barons, Big Tech, and themselves. The Democrats need to tell voters that story over and over and demonstrate to the public that they are the ones truly fighting for American families and workers.

I have a simplistic view: It’s not left or right; it’s fight or don’t fight. Democrats need to show verve and vigor to convince voters that there’s a titanic clash underway—as Trump assails the rule of law, democratic governance, decency, longstanding alliances, and economic sense—and that [the Democrats] are the true champions in the ring.

This [continuing resolution] spending face-off was an opportunity to do so—especially after House Democrats voted against the bill . . . But it was clear this was a chance for Democrats across the board to show they can take a stand and be badass—or something like that. Instead, they cowered, with Sen. Chuck Schumer, the Democratic leader, saying that the Ds might be better positioned to put up their dukes in September, when this CR runs out and when Trump may be less popular.

Telling people that you’re going to the fight later is not how you convince them that (a) now is a moment of urgency and (b) you’re a fighter for them. [all emphasis mine]

This is idiotic. We are in a fight for our very national life and for our values. Trump is blatantly violating our laws, our Constitution, morality, decency and now judicial decisions. And this gets much worse.

What Kind of Crisis?

Trump is deporting people, claiming they’re dangerous criminals, but providing no evidence of criminality. Now he’s defying court orders to return them to the U.S.

Reports Heather Cox Richardson,

Nnamdi Egwuonwu and Gary Grumbach of NBC News reported that the judge ordered the administration to return the planes in flight to the United States. “Any plane containing these folks that is going to take off, or is in the air, needs to be returned to the United States,” the judge said. “Those people need to be returned to the United States.”

But they weren’t. The plane was not told by anyone from the Trump hate mob to turn around, so the flight crew continued on course and an hour later dumped their roughly 200 Venezuelan prisoners in El Salvador to be incarcerated there.

Again from Richardson,

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt told Caputo, “If the Democrats want to argue in favor of turning a plane full of rapists, murderers, and gangsters back to the United States, that’s a fight we are more than happy to take.”

What she fails to note is that not even one of the passengers on that plane was even charged with a crime, much less convicted of rape, murder or gangster behavior. Perhaps it’s understandable that she would say such a fact-free thing, given that she is the junk yard spokes-dog for the administration’s MAGA thugs, for whom she barks.

Her proud disregard for facts and law were bolstered when our “border czar” Tom Homan said that flights would continue regardless. “We’re not stopping,” he said. “I don’t care what the judges think.”

Then DOJ lawyers lapped Homan by filing papers “telling the judge they would not appear in court, that the administration would not provide any further information about the deportation flights, and that the court should vacate the hearing.” – Robert Reich

WHAT?!?

.

That’s why we’re in a CONSTITUTIONAL CRISIS!

The critical thing now is what we’re going to do about the chief executive defying our courts.

We Now Have a Full-On Constitutional Crisis

Chuck Schumer and a handful of other Democrats decided that the best course of action was to vote for the horse pucky continuing resolution, because if they voted against the CR, gosh!, Trump and the Republicans would say some meanie things about them. They cloaked their explanation for their votes in high minded “better for the country” blah-blah, but in fact with or without that CR, things would be bad for the country.

Dems keep playing as though this is their grandfather’s congress, but it most definitely is not, especially with blatant violations of court orders going on. Republicans are not about bi-partisanship or truth, justice and the American way. It isn’t even about honor or decency. Now it’s only about winning, smashing the opponent, now called an enemy of the state. That is the nature of the battle now and winning what’s right cannot be done by following quaint, gentlemanly rules of etiquette.

This battle is for the existence of our traditional values, our freedoms, our e pluribus unum, our rule of law and everything we hold dear. And it is metaphorically between a vicious pit bull terrier and what the Democrats have made of themselves, a golden retriever. May the best dog win.

Bullshit!

It’s way late for the Democrats to realize that,

“Winning isn’t everything, it’s the only thing” – UCLA football coach Red Sanders, later used by Vince Lombardi

Winning means defeating the opponent, not holding hands in a round of Kumbaya. The opposition is trying to not just beat the snot out of Democrats; they’re trying to cripple them forever. Who comes to such a fight with a Rodney King “Can’t we all just get along?” ethos?

DEMOCRATS WAKE UP!

The MAGAs, the Republicans, the fascists are stomping on your heads, your hands and your hearts and all you seem able to do is to find yet more ways to wimp out. What do you suppose might happen if that continues?

Get this: The November election was lost for two reasons:

1. The Republicans gerrymandered, cheated and stole, plus invited big money from corporations and foreign donors to skew the election to themselves.

2. Democrats failed to provide a strong, compelling vision for the American people.

And now Chuck Schumer, he of the passion-ectomy, betrayed himself and his promise to vote against the CR and gave to Trump everything he wants. Same question: What do you suppose might happen if that continues?

Stop talking about how awful TrumpMusk is, how disgusting their supplicants are and how morally bankrupt they all are and start talking about and doing things to stand up to the thieves, to convince all Americans that we have the strength, the steel rod backbone to stand up to and defeat those who betray our values, our morals and our flag.

I’ve railed since 2016 about how spineless Republicans are because they prostrate themselves before The Evil Orange One. The real problem, it turns out, is that so many of our elected Democrats are just as squishy-spined. I have no clue if enough of them will suddenly once again become vertebrates. What I know for sure is that you and I and millions of our compatriots must stand up for what we know is right. We’ve been waiting for the Democrats to do that, but it turns out that Obama was right: we are the people we’ve been waiting for.

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Disambiguation from the political and social musings of Jack Altschuler