Have We Reached a Standoff in the Resistance Against Trump's Attempts to Destroy American Democracy?

Well, Elon Musk is gone.  I'm not going to pretend to have the expertise to evaluate that particular piece of what is happening in Washington, but it seems that this is a major defeat for the Trump administration fairly early on in this term.  There are still incompetent, inexperienced Trump sycophants running everything else in Washington, and it is still the worst mess our government has ever been in, at any point in its history, but one of the sycophants got kicked in the teeth by a big whallop of public pressure, so he decided to grab what government contracts and business he's gained from his three months in Washington and skedaddle.  

So the public pressure worked.  

Let's also take note of the fact that this is an action that did not originate, nor was it facilitated and helped out, from within the beltway.  This first major defeat of Trumpism was brought about by we, the people, who have built an organizational structure outside of the approved channels of partisan politics, and acted on our disapproval of the individual's job performance, and what his job stands for, by attacking his business interests in a way that tanked sales and caused profits to evaporate.  

And there wasn't anything unfair about it.  What Musk was supposed to be doing was hacking into government spending in order to significantly lower his tax obligation.  So his business was fair game for any retaliation from Americans who do not stand to gain anything from the proposed tax "cuts."  We saw these "cuts" last time Trump was in office, when the actual dollar amount paid in taxes went up for 80% of the American people, not down.  

We've been talking about Trump as an existential threat to American democracy for a decade now, but even as the beginning of this second term has demonstrated he is exactly that, and we've never seen a more corrupt President who has done absolutely nothing but use access to his office as a money making scheme, violating every constitutional principle supposedly set in stone to stop this sort of thing from happening.  That's not working, because there is no one who is patriotic enough to stand up to the corruption and enforce the law.  

That's been a huge problem in this country for a long time now, ever since Ronald Reagan's economic policy opened the door to corporate corruption being able to buy the government and its favor.  The justice system doesn't work, 

Who's Next? 

The reality of exactly how ignorant and uneducated most Americans are when it comes to how a constitutional democracy actually works, and what our Constitution actually says is being illustrated every day with the silence that meets Trump's overstepping the bounds of Presidential authority.  

It seems no one in Washington can figure out how to stop a President from receiving the gift of a $400 million dollar jet from the monarch of Qatar, which is a blatant violation of the Constitution.  That is breaking the law, flat out and it has rendered the Constitution powerless because there isn't anyone behind it with the integrity to enforce the law.  

So with Congress basically nullified by partisan rancor and division, including most Democratic party leadership who is jealously guarding what power and influence they have left, instead of stepping up to join the real opposition to Trump, it is being left to the people outside of the partisan confusion in Washington to organize effective opposition and take bold, effective action to stop Trump and Project 2025 as anti-American, anti-Constitutional and anti-patriotic, and hold the fort until the next election rolls around. 

At this point, I don't think Democrats winning the midterm elections is something that we can automatically count on happening.  There is certainly no effort being put forth by party leadership to at least get things moving in the right direction.  We're sitting on a 29%, or lower, approval rating that isn't going to translate into a lot of votes unless they can capitalize on the anti-Trump frustration that is gathering momentum, crowds and a lot of attention, and right now, the two things remain separate.  I agree with David Hogg, a lot of old line, old school Democrats are asleep at the wheel, and are dragging us down rather than moving us forward.  If Democrats do win in 2026, it's not looking like they were really trying to do so.  

We cannot afford for any Democrat to "play it safe."  Either get off your ass, take some risks, be bold in opposing Trump and his agenda and do something or I'm not going to show up on election day and vote for you.  And that's the message that an awful lot of Democrats are sending and waiting to see if we get a response.  

So Musk couldn't take the heat, and he got out of the kitchen, but not without a huge share of government contracts and tax dollars we aren't saving.  Still, this is seen as a huge loss for Trump, in the midst of his also losing much of the steam on tariffs that he keeps threatening and then pulling back. 

So who's the next target for the public protests?  

We've got to stop this Republican legislation from seeing the light of day.  Whatever it takes, no billionaire tax cuts can come out of this Congress without doing further damage to the economy, and wrecking chances, for years, to restore what they are trying to destroy now.  Maybe the public pressure needs to be aimed at Trump himself.  He's so thin-skinned, some hard pushes might bring about a mental collapse.  Maybe that's dreaming.  

It's just frustrating to watch all of this happen, knowing that every time he violates a constitutional principle or law without being held accountable weakens the document and the nation.  We are finding partisan rancor doing just what George Washington warned us about.  We've made this country into a military superpower but it is weak and unable to defend its laws when the enemy attacks from within.  

Until We Get the Message, No One Will Do Anything

There are a few people who understand that the blame that is still being thrown around for losing the 2024 election is pointless.  It's not a matter of listening to the analysts and pundits and political experts, or getting the messaging right, or doing more to get middle class and working class voters on board.  It's a matter of coming up with an answer to the question, "Why would I trust the Democrats to fix the mess this country finds itself in because it was stupid enough to re-elect this demented demagogue?"  

Well, why would I?  There've been a few effective moves that seem to be helping organize the frustration and try to turn it into votes.  Those Democrats who are out on the town hall speakers circuit in deep red states and counties have clearly put a lot of pressure on Republicans.  The DNC seems to sputter and fizz out with its "War Room" initiative, but at least that idea is on the table, if they ever get around to making it work.  

We had control of the Justice Department for four years, when it was critical to get indictments handed down and bring the criminal to trial, and we had some gross incompetence in the leadership that turned what should have been Trump's last days of freedom into a second term in the White House.  Thanks, Merrick Garland, and the Democratic party old guard, for that achievement.  Now, do you get why it is so hard to trust the Democrats to handle the opposition to Trump?  We flaked out twice.  And the response is to make excuses and try to defend those who botched it.  Wanna go there?  Then go.  Without my vote or financial support. 

We had control of Congress and the White House for two years, when a risky, but bold political move would have transformed the Supreme Court back into the non-partisan, impartial, constitution defending body that the founders intended, instead of this corrupt wreck with six out of nine justices bribed so far away from justice they can''t remember what it looked like.  Amend the judiciary act, break the filibuster and pack the court with honest judges who really believe in their oath of loyalty to the Constitution, not like the six GOP appointed liars.  We could have seen Citizens United overturned, which would have been huge.  We could have saved Roe, and overturned this ridiculous Presidential immunity.  The court could have taken on Trump's criminal trials, rendering guilty verdicts about the time the mid-term elections were held.  

Visionary, forward looking leadership, willing to take risks to protect the nation from a demagogue, would have done all of that without thinking twice.  

So that didn't happen, and I'm expected to trust the leadership that was not visionary, forward-looking, progressive or loyal enough to get that done and save the country?  

Whatever we are able to do, including saving enough of our democracy to revive it when Trump and the MAGA cult are dumped, will be the result of the actions of we, the people.  Our political leadership, most of it, isn't going to take the kind of action necessary to back up their own "threat to our democracy" rhetoric.  We're going to have to keep these movements alive and active and moving, and aimed where they will do the most good.  And I think we might be surprised at how effective we are. 

Musk is out, that's a win.  Who's next?