www.montereycountynow.com JANUARY 2-8, 2025 MONTEREY COUNTY WEEKLY 13 Resistance Is Futile It’s time for the Democratic Party to abandon staid resistance to Trumpism and get ready to fight. By Elie Mystal FORUM No more deals. No more games. No more parliamentarian parlor tricks designed to dull the roughest edges of Donald Trump’s unconscionable policies. My greatest wish for the shambolic political party known as the Democrats is that they abandon the cloying institutional response to Trump that they have deployed to such little effect. I am not suggesting that the Democrats should help Trump; I’m not recommending that they join in the evil he is about to unleash. But they should not spend another four years holding a “center” that has already shifted so far to the right that it makes George W. Bush look like a benign moderate. We’ve already seen how little that approach achieves. Since 2016, the Democrats have deployed institutional responses—lawsuits, hearings, impeachment efforts, Republican allies—to try to stop Trump, while Trump has used raw political power, billionaire buddies and captured media to bend the political universe to his will. Democrats have spent their emotional and moral energy on defending the institutions Trump attacks instead of the human people he threatens. This cycle has to stop. We cannot defeat Trump or, more importantly, his racist, misogynist, know-nothing movement by propping up institutions and systems that so many millions of people have come to despise. When Trump moves to destroy an institution, the Democrats should do nothing. But when he moves to destroy people, the Democrats should do everything under the sun, including taking the “resistance” directly to the streets in the form of extrajudicial maneuvers and civil disobedience. The best possible political outcome of this approach would be for the Republicans to own everything Trump does. The government is not divided; Republicans have won one-party rule. So force them to rule. Trump shouldn’t be able to get a single cabinet appointment with the help of Democratic votes. He shouldn’t be able to pass a single piece of legislation with their support. He shouldn’t be able to pass a budget with their help. The Republicans should be on their own. I don’t want to hear a word about “friends from across the aisle” when those “friends” are trying to banish 20 million people. Instead, I want to see Democrats doing sit-ins and being carried out of Congress by the sergeant at arms. I want Democrats lying down on train tracks. As important, I want the American people to see the Democrats doing it. The Trump media will cover a lawsuit as just that: legal mumbo jumbo where both sides have a credible argument but Republican jurists get to decide who is right. The people need to see that at least the Democrats are not punks. At least the Democrats have the courage of their convictions. Trump drove around in a garbage truck for a day; the least Democrats could do would be to actually get their hands dirty. Elie Mystal is the justice correspondent at The Nation, where this story first appeared. OPINION I don’t want to hear about “friends from across the aisle.” Try Us First. We Pay The Highest! MONTEREY COIN SHOPPE Since 1970 same street for 40 years Open Mon-Thur 11am-4pm and Friday by appointment only. Call for an appointment: 831.646.9030 449 Alvarado St., Monterey www.montereycoinshoppe.com WE BUY GOLD AND SILVER, JEWELRY, COINS, DIAMONDS, WATCHES, ART & RARE ANTIQUES Landscape • Hardscape • Irrigation 831-624-4991 insideout1design@outlook.com f InsideOut Landscape Design CA LIC# 960809 w Landscape Design From An Interior Perspective Eliza DeCiantis believes that your landscape should be an extension of your interior space. Having received her Master Gardener’s Certification over 28 years ago, Eliza combines her 22 year career in television set design with her life-long passion for gardening to create beautiful custom landscape. Eliza is conscientious of our water management issues while creating a drought tolerant, deer resistant environment custom to your personal taste and budget. With a keen sense of attention to detail, Eliza will spruce up your existing landscape for a special event or create a new landscape to enjoy for years to come. InsideOut Landscape Design, Inc. can increase the value of your home, while enhancing the natural potential and beauty of your exterior space for your home or business. Real Men, Real Life, Real Results We’ve been there, and we’ll be there for you. January Workshop Registration Open Now LIFE TOOLS FOR MEN For 37 years Breakthrough has been the premier workshop for men to create the lives they want. Visit www.breakthroughformen.org or email enrollment@breakthroughformen.org Thanks to Breakthrough I'm a better friend, better partner and better father.
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