The court challenges to Trump’s illegal and unconstitutional acts are critically important, but if Democrats want to stop him, they must be successful at the polls. If they want to do this, they must be specific, angry, and loud. They need to find a way to capture the news cycle, to challenge Trump’s 24/7 presence. Appearances on MSNBC just won’t do it.
Paul Revere didn’t go home and talk to his neighbors. We need the equivalent of the midnight ride, warning Americans that while they may support support Trump’s deportations (or any of his other moves) they are losing their democracy in the process and allowing a corrupt dictator to seize power.
Correct. The failure of prominent Democrats to make compelling appearances on Fox News or Joe Rogan was decisive in the 2024 election and it will be decisive in the future. Most Republicans simply have no exposure to alternative view points.
Pete Buttigieg is the only exception. We need more of him for sure.
"...but if Democrats want to stop him, they must be successful at the polls. If they want to do this, they must be specific, angry, and loud."
Democrats tried that this past cycle - how did that work out?
They keep missing the point, which is that more people voted for Trump and Republicans because they were fed up with Democratic policies with regards to the economy and illegal immigration. Voters were also just a bit concerned when it became obvious President Biden had serious cognitive issues and that information was kept from the American public. This cover-up involved Biden's family, the WH staff, Democratic Party leadership and the media. No one likes being lied to, and that was a very big lie. Has anyone involved in this lie apologized in public to us?
Once the Dems come to accept that they were out of touch with most Americans this election cycle, then maybe they can retool and be more successful in 2026. The question is can the party actually have a moment of self reflection, apologize to the voters, and work to regain their trust. So far that really hasn't happened. The Dems are more concerned with "Resistance 2.0". They are still playing to their base. They say they are trying to save democracy when in fact democracy worked on Election Day. In short, the Democratic Party has learned nothing.
Your post is filled with right wing nonsense. Biden saved the economy and millions of voters with his policies.
Trump voters are feeling the pain and angry at his actions. They love him but hate his policies. That is a result of the media being owned by right wing authoritarian oligarchs and the resulting propaganda.
So you keep demanding apologies from Democrats while America falls into irrelevance and 2nd world status. Considering most of the red states are already in 2nd world status their fall into 3rd world status won't take long.
Democrats will never be able to capture the news cycle like Republicans can. Republican stances are inherently simpler, and they thereby have an advantage. While it is indeed important for Democrats to do what they can to influence the news cycle, they must also have real specific plans in place they can point to showing they care about getting working class people back into jobs that pay decently. They need to be saying "We want to help. Here is how we're planning to build working class jobs by the millions." Without this, they will never be able to reverse the shift of working class people in the last election back to them.
Yes, I know Biden created a (relatively) few working class jobs. It was a nice start. More. Much more to be convincing.
I cannot understand why the financial markets aren’t freaking out more over the “loss of control” of US Treasury, payment systems and regular accounting practices and rules. Markets love to freak over “debt ceiling” nonsense but this seems more like a direct attack on the system unlike the theoretical hit on the so-called “full faith and credit” of US gov’t. Trump and Bannon believe chaos is the method and the goal. We’re told markets like stability. I can’t reconcile these competing narratives.
I’ve been saying the same thing for weeks. Markets like stability is all I remember hearing growing up. This is insanity. Markets are artificially being propped up in my opinion.
This has been boggling me, too. The explanation I've come up with is that "the financial markets", like "the media", is overwhelmingly made up of white men. Most of them voted for Trump; even the ones who didn't are aware that *most white men voted for Trump*. To doubt Trump is to doubt white male supremacy, and on a gut level they just can't do it. They *can't* have been that wrong, the white male establishment and white men as a whole *can't* have been so fundamentally mistaken.
TLDR: They would have to admit they were wrong. Literally *anything* is better than that.
I’m afraid doing better at the polls won’t do. The elections are so corrupted now (thanks to Citizens United, Shelby v Holder, the EC) that no one really trusts them to reflect the voters’ will. I think the idea of forming a shadow cabinet and moving toward a more parliamentary system (so this doesn’t happen again), as Laurence Tribe suggests, would be good. We need an updated constitution and have for quite a while; the old one has been completely gamed by the so-called originalists. If we don’t have a president or a system that respects the rule of law it’s game over, and then I think the blue states need to do as the founders did in 1776–articulate their grievances and demands, and consider seriously forming a new country that still respects the rule of law.
What I've been missing is the "cui bono" question - and there can be only one answer on the question who benefits from a havoc causing President running amok and putting spokes in the wheels of our government: Vlad Putin.
The Paris Commune collapsed because they failed to capture the bank.
DOGE appears to have learned that lesson; one of their earliest targets is the payment system responsible for disbursing trillions of dollars to programs, some of which could push back against their effort to break the constitutional government order.
Tariffs are a source of income for an autocrat, personal income. This story we are living is not about robbing a bank; it's about robbing a country!!! Read about the post-Soviet Union economy and democracy ala Russia. This ain't rocket science, it's theft!
Besides upstanding lawyers and law-abiding honorable (present and former) judges, here's a growing list of Profiles in Courage men, women, and advocacy groups who refuse to be cowed or kneel to the force of Trump/Musk/MAGA/Fox "News" intimidation:
I'll begin with Missouri's own Jess[ica] (à la John Lewis's "get in good trouble") Piper, then, in no particular order, Heather Cox Richardson, Rev. Mariann Edgar Budde, Ruth Ben-Ghait, Rachel Maddow, Lawrence O'Donnell, Chris Hayes, Jim Acosta, Jen Rubin And the Contrarians, Steve Brodner, Brian Tyler Cohen, Johathan Bernstein, Jessica Craven, Annne Applebaum, Lucian Truscott IV, AOC, Chris Murphy, Elizabeth Warren, Tim Snyder, Robert B. Hubbell, Ben Meiseilas, Steve Schmidt, Josh Marshall, Paul Krugman, Andy Borowitz, Jeff Danziger, Ann Telnaes,͏ ͏Will Bunch, Jake Tapper, American Bar Association, Blue Missouri, Third Act, Democracy Forward, Public Citizen, Democracy Index, Democracy Docket, ACLU et al. And, as Joyce Vance says, "We're in this together"--or via Jess Piper, from rural Missouri: "Solidarity." FIGHT BACK! WE ARE NOT ALONE!
Would you consider talking with Scott Sumner? I saw him speak with Noah smith shortly before you. His position seems like an offshoot of the Milton Friedman monetarist position where he wants to target NGDP instead of the money supply. I imagine you two have disagreements, but I think it’d be productive/interesting - unlike a discussion with someone MAGA
I apologize if this has been done by someone already, but I’m curious to know if anyone has done a truly great or plausible analysis/comparison of the Great Depression Era of the last century to the Great Depression we’re about to suffer?
The court challenges to Trump’s illegal and unconstitutional acts are critically important, but if Democrats want to stop him, they must be successful at the polls. If they want to do this, they must be specific, angry, and loud. They need to find a way to capture the news cycle, to challenge Trump’s 24/7 presence. Appearances on MSNBC just won’t do it.
Paul Revere didn’t go home and talk to his neighbors. We need the equivalent of the midnight ride, warning Americans that while they may support support Trump’s deportations (or any of his other moves) they are losing their democracy in the process and allowing a corrupt dictator to seize power.
Correct. The failure of prominent Democrats to make compelling appearances on Fox News or Joe Rogan was decisive in the 2024 election and it will be decisive in the future. Most Republicans simply have no exposure to alternative view points.
Pete Buttigieg is the only exception. We need more of him for sure.
Bernie got applause from the Fox studio audience some years ago.
Bill Clinton was considered cool "some years ago." The old roster isn't holding up in today's market.
No one needs to go on Joe Rogan.
True. They don't need to win elections, either.
Mark my words, if the Supreme Court goes against Trump he'll start packing the court.
Start????
Absolutely he would if necessary. People aren't imaginative enough about how he really does hold all the good cards now.
But, he may not need to if he just decides to have his lackeys defy the courts, and then pardon them for contempt of court when it gets to that.
"...but if Democrats want to stop him, they must be successful at the polls. If they want to do this, they must be specific, angry, and loud."
Democrats tried that this past cycle - how did that work out?
They keep missing the point, which is that more people voted for Trump and Republicans because they were fed up with Democratic policies with regards to the economy and illegal immigration. Voters were also just a bit concerned when it became obvious President Biden had serious cognitive issues and that information was kept from the American public. This cover-up involved Biden's family, the WH staff, Democratic Party leadership and the media. No one likes being lied to, and that was a very big lie. Has anyone involved in this lie apologized in public to us?
Once the Dems come to accept that they were out of touch with most Americans this election cycle, then maybe they can retool and be more successful in 2026. The question is can the party actually have a moment of self reflection, apologize to the voters, and work to regain their trust. So far that really hasn't happened. The Dems are more concerned with "Resistance 2.0". They are still playing to their base. They say they are trying to save democracy when in fact democracy worked on Election Day. In short, the Democratic Party has learned nothing.
"apologize to the voters"
Your post is filled with right wing nonsense. Biden saved the economy and millions of voters with his policies.
Trump voters are feeling the pain and angry at his actions. They love him but hate his policies. That is a result of the media being owned by right wing authoritarian oligarchs and the resulting propaganda.
So you keep demanding apologies from Democrats while America falls into irrelevance and 2nd world status. Considering most of the red states are already in 2nd world status their fall into 3rd world status won't take long.
Good luck with that.
Democrats will never be able to capture the news cycle like Republicans can. Republican stances are inherently simpler, and they thereby have an advantage. While it is indeed important for Democrats to do what they can to influence the news cycle, they must also have real specific plans in place they can point to showing they care about getting working class people back into jobs that pay decently. They need to be saying "We want to help. Here is how we're planning to build working class jobs by the millions." Without this, they will never be able to reverse the shift of working class people in the last election back to them.
Yes, I know Biden created a (relatively) few working class jobs. It was a nice start. More. Much more to be convincing.
I cannot understand why the financial markets aren’t freaking out more over the “loss of control” of US Treasury, payment systems and regular accounting practices and rules. Markets love to freak over “debt ceiling” nonsense but this seems more like a direct attack on the system unlike the theoretical hit on the so-called “full faith and credit” of US gov’t. Trump and Bannon believe chaos is the method and the goal. We’re told markets like stability. I can’t reconcile these competing narratives.
The "financial markets" are equally mesmerized by the Pee47 antics as regular folks. That's the only explanation I can think of.
I’ve been saying the same thing for weeks. Markets like stability is all I remember hearing growing up. This is insanity. Markets are artificially being propped up in my opinion.
This has been boggling me, too. The explanation I've come up with is that "the financial markets", like "the media", is overwhelmingly made up of white men. Most of them voted for Trump; even the ones who didn't are aware that *most white men voted for Trump*. To doubt Trump is to doubt white male supremacy, and on a gut level they just can't do it. They *can't* have been that wrong, the white male establishment and white men as a whole *can't* have been so fundamentally mistaken.
TLDR: They would have to admit they were wrong. Literally *anything* is better than that.
Loved the discussion. Paul Krugman is a national treasure. 🙏🏽
I’m afraid doing better at the polls won’t do. The elections are so corrupted now (thanks to Citizens United, Shelby v Holder, the EC) that no one really trusts them to reflect the voters’ will. I think the idea of forming a shadow cabinet and moving toward a more parliamentary system (so this doesn’t happen again), as Laurence Tribe suggests, would be good. We need an updated constitution and have for quite a while; the old one has been completely gamed by the so-called originalists. If we don’t have a president or a system that respects the rule of law it’s game over, and then I think the blue states need to do as the founders did in 1776–articulate their grievances and demands, and consider seriously forming a new country that still respects the rule of law.
What I've been missing is the "cui bono" question - and there can be only one answer on the question who benefits from a havoc causing President running amok and putting spokes in the wheels of our government: Vlad Putin.
China, too?
Definitely.
The Paris Commune collapsed because they failed to capture the bank.
DOGE appears to have learned that lesson; one of their earliest targets is the payment system responsible for disbursing trillions of dollars to programs, some of which could push back against their effort to break the constitutional government order.
History having relevance. . . again? Knowledge of history seems mostly to have gotten into the wrong hands.
Tariffs are a source of income for an autocrat, personal income. This story we are living is not about robbing a bank; it's about robbing a country!!! Read about the post-Soviet Union economy and democracy ala Russia. This ain't rocket science, it's theft!
Whats with all the podcasts? I was looking for articles about the economy not whining about trump on interviews
Articles, not videos! Please, Paul.
Paul is perfectly able to do both - and he does. Don't like videos? Don't watch.
Besides upstanding lawyers and law-abiding honorable (present and former) judges, here's a growing list of Profiles in Courage men, women, and advocacy groups who refuse to be cowed or kneel to the force of Trump/Musk/MAGA/Fox "News" intimidation:
I'll begin with Missouri's own Jess[ica] (à la John Lewis's "get in good trouble") Piper, then, in no particular order, Heather Cox Richardson, Rev. Mariann Edgar Budde, Ruth Ben-Ghait, Rachel Maddow, Lawrence O'Donnell, Chris Hayes, Jim Acosta, Jen Rubin And the Contrarians, Steve Brodner, Brian Tyler Cohen, Johathan Bernstein, Jessica Craven, Annne Applebaum, Lucian Truscott IV, AOC, Chris Murphy, Elizabeth Warren, Tim Snyder, Robert B. Hubbell, Ben Meiseilas, Steve Schmidt, Josh Marshall, Paul Krugman, Andy Borowitz, Jeff Danziger, Ann Telnaes,͏ ͏Will Bunch, Jake Tapper, American Bar Association, Blue Missouri, Third Act, Democracy Forward, Public Citizen, Democracy Index, Democracy Docket, ACLU et al. And, as Joyce Vance says, "We're in this together"--or via Jess Piper, from rural Missouri: "Solidarity." FIGHT BACK! WE ARE NOT ALONE!
Actually It’s not true about the tariffs : just yesterday we got 25% on aluminum and steel . 😞 🇨🇦
Well done today!!!
Would you consider talking with Scott Sumner? I saw him speak with Noah smith shortly before you. His position seems like an offshoot of the Milton Friedman monetarist position where he wants to target NGDP instead of the money supply. I imagine you two have disagreements, but I think it’d be productive/interesting - unlike a discussion with someone MAGA
Is it possible that the tariffs were a mechanism for gaming the stock market?
I was hoping Paul would teach us more about South African morality.
I was hoping to get my Mastodon account back first.
I apologize if this has been done by someone already, but I’m curious to know if anyone has done a truly great or plausible analysis/comparison of the Great Depression Era of the last century to the Great Depression we’re about to suffer?