Some matters for groups that should be more critical of Trump

Ralph Nader -  Why aren’t the Democrats in Congress, just a few votes from a majority, much more aggressive vis-à-vis the controlling Republicans and Trump? Voters are vociferously demanding this at town meetings...

Why has the media, for years, excluded coverage of what newsworthy progressive, proven national citizen groups are doing to give the people the kind of effective voice on Capitol Hill and around the country that led in the sixties and the seventies to health, safety and economic protections by Congressional legislation?

Why do the most progressive members of Congress – e.g., Bernie Sanders, Elizabeth Warren, Pramila Jayapal, Ro Khanna and lately even Jamie Raskin – refuse to return calls or answer letters urging them to adopt policies and conduct hearings back in their states, to build support for Congressional action? Their disrespect is astonishing and unheard of between the GOP and, for example, the Heritage Foundation...

Yes, the major labor unions have filed numerous lawsuits... They could do so much more to deploy organizers for action all over the country, reaching deep into Trump’s blue-collar supporters to ask them, about anti-worker Trumpism: “Is this what you voted for? How about some big demos in D.C. around the White House and Congress? How about old-fashioned mass worker rallies, demanding the presence of lawmakers?

I and others have written about the silence of former presidents, except for a few mild public remarks. George W. Bush despises Trump, especially for Trump wiping out his administration’s anti-AIDS program in less developed countries. He is silent as he continues his painting. Bill Clinton, Barack Obama and Joe Biden, where are they? With their large constituency of voters, they could activate thousands to push Democrats in Congress. With their fund-raising skills and lists, they could raise quick money to start “Trump, You’re Fired” groups all over the country, tying the Trump brand to the awful, cruel and vicious cuts, closings and firings of federal servants, protectors and scientists. They know he is destroying America and our Constitutional Republic. So why are they AWOL, basking in their comfort zones, instead of being patriotically on the impeachment ramparts?

What about the enlightened billionaires? They know the score and can see an ominous recession coming. Easily, they could fund new “civic strike organizations” working on Congress and the Executive Branch to give a sharp, continuing voice to the people increasingly harmed and deprived in both Red and Blue States (e.g., fast approaching loss of Medicaid and food programs and much more). 

Then there are the Trump voters who, with few exceptions, have yet to admit that they have been conned big time by the cruel and vicious, ego-maniacal, vengeful Trump. With Musk, his smashing of the social safety net includes Trump voters big time around the country. Millions will soon lose their Medicaid, some veteran services, serious labor protections and care for their children, to mention a few of his betrayals.

Trump voters need to keep reminding themselves, every time Trump shafts them, “We didn’t vote for this.” They knew he was a chronic liar, an abuser of women, a cheater and serial law violator, a promiser breaker from his first term, and a world-class BS-er. But they forgave this unstable personality because his speeches persuaded them that the Democrats had abandoned them. Well, now they have to face the grim realities and speak out collectively about what he is doing to them, his faithful supporters.

Then there is “US,” the citizenry. Are we too busy with our daily work and routines to carve out time to join this historic struggle to save our country? We have not seen the worst of what Trump is going to do, by any means. Take him at his word when he says repeatedly, “This is only the beginning.”