Democrats’ Amazing Technicolor Dream Resistance
This is not the revival we needed.
The Democratic Party’s response to Donald Trump’s gussied-up Klan rally on Tuesday was a low point in an already tepid resistance to a growing authoritarian regime.
Just 10 Democrats boycotted Trump’s address to Congress. Although the party suffered significant losses in the last election, Democrats still hold 215 seats in the House and 47 in the Senate. If I randomly wrote every Democrat in Congress and invited them to our holiday party, I’d probably get a better response than just 10 Democrats. (In fairness, my wife throws a great party.)
The Democrats didn’t show up to boo Trump and throw rotten fruit at him. Instead, they mostly sat there, silently protesting with what the media described as “pained expressions” on their faces. Resistance to fascism shouldn’t resemble constipation.
Trump is such an egomaniac that he acknowledged the silent treatment from Democrats, but they still filled the seats while Republicans cheered and applauded. Democrats helped maintain the illusion of a normal presidential address, even if Rep. Melanie Stansbury held up a sign stating “This is not normal,” which Republican Lance Gooden took from her like it was her lunch money.
Later, Rep. Al Green did yell at Trump, “You have no mandate!” — a true statement, so of course House Speaker Mike Johnson had him forcibly removed. That should’ve inspired an “I am Spartacus!” moment or, if you share my pop culture tastes, the “I am a drag queen” scene from To Wong Fu, Thanks For Everything Julie Newmar. (Watch below and weep a little.)
Reps. Marjorie Taylor Greene and Lauren Boebert weren’t removed when they heckled President Joe Biden. Neither was Rep. Joe Wilson when he yelled, “You lie!” at President Barack Obama. Yet the Democrats just sat there silently as the 77-year-old Green was hauled off the premises — not a single Elphaba among them. Perhaps they’ll remain just as silent when Trump starts the mass arrests. (His border capo Tom Holman is already targeting Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.)
No scene, no resistance
Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries had reportedly told rank-and-file members before the joint address that they shouldn’t make a scene and instead should remain “on message,” just like they would’ve behaved if the current president wasn’t an active threat to the free world. Jeffries instead wanted to focus on Republicans screwing the poor and vulnerable while giving tax breaks to billionaires. This messaging is older than he is, but Jeffries seemingly thinks it needs less tweaking than the Law & Order formula.
“Given my responsibilities in the House,” Jeffries told his colleagues. “I plan to attend the speech, along with other members of the Democratic leadership, to make clear to the nation that there is a strong opposition party ready, willing and able to serve as a check and balance on the excesses of the administration.”
Democrats just sat in the audience while Trump insulted them, lied constantly, and made absurdly bigoted remarks about transgender mice. A strong opposition party doesn’t waste time watching fascist vaudeville acts. They should figure out how to meaningfully resist Trump, and waiting patiently with crossed fingers for the midterms is hardly inspiring or even effective, considering the damage Trump has done in just a few weeks.
Sen. Mark Warner from Virginia, where Trump’s federal workforce purge has dramatically increased unemployment, told Fox News that he’d attend Trump’s MAGA rally because “I may disagree with the president, but I respect the office of the president. I'm probably not gonna be jumping up applauding a lot, but I owe him his due as president.”
No one owes Trump anything, especially if you actually respect the office Trump is defiling. Warner also bizarrely added, “The president has made great, great progress on border crossings. That's something we ought to celebrate.”
Trump has made no meaningful progress on border crossings. Democrats might insist they need to appear on Fox, but that doesn’t mean they should get their news from the network. It’s concerning that even the senior Democratic senator from Virginia can’t stay on the very simple message that “Trump is bad.”
Maybe Warner was just under the influence of a non-Lumon medication because he apologized for his pro-Trump remarks barely a day later: “My words yesterday — they were not great, let me be the first to acknowledge that ... I’d like to take them back.”
Jeffries successfully whipped his caucus into the bold position of either doing absolutely nothing or humiliating themselves. Rep. Teresa Leger Fernández, who leads the Democratic Women's Caucus, told Time that Democrats would challenge Trump with coordinated outfits. Some women members would wear pink.
“Pink is a color of power and protest,” Fernández said out loud. “It’s time to rev up the opposition and come at Trump loud and clear.”
“Women have worn pink in opposition to Trump before, and we will do it again,” she added with a masochist’s affection for brick walls.
The Cut reports that Democrats apparently wore black to “meet the somberness of the political moment” and others wore “yellow and blue” in support of Ukraine. It was like an awards show. Someone should’ve shouted, “Free Tibet!” (Clip below is unrelated. I just adore Liza Minelli and Shirley MacLaine.)
‘Sign, sign, everywhere a sign’
During Donald Trump’s Lebensraum address on Tuesday, Democrats actually held up black-and-white signs stating “Save Medicaid,” “Lies,” and the absolutely devastating “Musk Steals.” Don’t get too excited: Just 20 or so Democrats participated in the silent protest auction. This included Ayanna Pressley and Rashida Tlaib, who like Al Green have both protested or boycotted Trump’s speeches in the past. They might as well have held up signs stating “This Is Normal.”
Democratic leaders and the “polite” Democrats walking out or heckling Trump would’ve sent a strong message. Imagine if Speaker Johnson had Nancy Pelosi forcibly removed. Democrats refuse to raise the stakes. It’s like the later seasons of X-Files when Scully still won’t believe in aliens.
Senate Democrats were reportedly “disappointed” that House members violated “decorum” during a speech where Trump referred to one of their colleagues as “Pocahontas.” John Fetterman predictably dismissed the mild pushback as a “sad cavalcade of self owns and unhinged petulance.”
Moderate House Democrats apparently believed the only “appropriate” protest was sitting quietly and not applauding Trump’s maniacal ravings. That’s not actually a protest. I have sat quietly and not applauded during plays I didn’t enjoy, but not because the people involved were lawless fascists. I just thought the script and performances were weak.
However, these chumps insist that Trump deserves respect he has never earned by virtue of the office he holds.
Rep. George Latimer from New York said, “When a president — my president, your president — is speaking, we don’t interrupt, we don’t pull those stunts.”
Rep. Tom Suozzi agreed, “I’m an old school traditional type guy, I think we should be treating the president with deference. So I think it was inappropriate.”
“I didn’t take that approach myself, so obviously I don’t condone it,” added Jared Golden from Maine.
The Washington Generals offered more formidable opposition. “Deference” to a fascist only enables fascism. We should primary with extreme prejudice any Democrat who thinks the president — any president — is a king. Joe Wilson, Marjorie Taylor Greene, and Lauren Boebert were rude jerks when they heckled a Democratic president, but they also demonstrated what makes America truly free. It’s more than just Yosemite.
Mainstream Democrats have sneered at the appeals for elected Democrats to “do something” in response to Trump’s second reign of terror. I agree that “Do Something” is the wrong slogan, because holding up little bingo paddles is “something.” A single longtime liberal Democrat interrupting Trump is also “something.” So are Democrats walking out because they’re shocked to discover that Trump’s speech was nothing but hatred and lies.
No, we don’t need Democrats to “Do Something.” That’s not enough. We need Democrats to “Do Something Different.” The current president isn’t Nikki Haley or even Ron DeSantis. The usual playbook won’t work, because MAGA is burning all the books.
Another thing I wish Dems and others would learn—Trump tends to fold under pressure. Hit him hard, always, and he bends. He’s a coward at heart. The last thing you should do is acquiesce and praise him, it just makes him worse.
If ever there were a time to be noisy and difficult, it is now.