The daily nightmares continue. There are reasons for hope – more on that another time. But there continue to be reasons to fear, perhaps most significant among them is that the more Trump feels cornered, the more desperate his actions become. Now we have his manic and maniacal response to the shutdown, which he is using — with Russell Vought at the helm – as a DOGE 2.0 moment to further destroy American institutions and to punish his enemies (note his selective cancellations of federal grants to state projects). The lying with which he and his minions speak about these actions has reached a new – and more illegal – level: sending messages to federal employees and posting on government websites that “the radical Democrats” are responsible for the shutdown, in complete violation of the Hatch Act. And as Dan noted in recent posts, his rhetoric essentially designating all Democrats and liberals as “the enemy within” is not new theme of his dictatorial militarization of American life.

So far, the polls on the shutdown appear to show that most people accept the Democrats’ narrative that Trump and the Republicans are responsible. Still, I can’t help feeling that, yet again, the Democratic leadership is missing a huge opportunity. The progressive communications strategist Anat Shenker-Osario has this to say:

“Healthcare is essential, to state the obvious. But focusing in on negotiating over restoring subsidies is sending the message that this is a normal administration. That we have policy disagreements and not that we are confronting a regime hell bent on destroying us….So, if you believe as I do, and as scholars of authoritarianism counsel, that sustained widespread mobilizing is essential – you use every opportunity to say ‘we will not be complicit in MAGA’s attack on Americans.'” (fuller quote here)

This is an opportunity to say to the American people that it is not possible to negotiate in good faith with a corrupt government, and to proceed to call out many more of the ways in which Trump and Company are cheating regular Americans to line their own pockets and those of their billionaire allies.

Hakeem Jeffries mumbled around some of this on Morning Joe today, and it was as forceful as a whisper in a storm. Maybe it’s time for Bernie to give public speaking lessons. But what the Dems really need is a forceful, active – not reactive – vision. One approach to that suggested here.