bsilver wrote:On the negative side:
Much of the federal govt infrastructure is being destroyed.
The economy is in danger of collapse.
Any progress on climate change will be reversed.
Lots of other stuff.
On the positive side:
The economy is in danger of collapse.
People will suffer from the economy and cuts to govt programs.
Unknown:
Will the Supreme Court stand up to Trump.
I think there is a good chance our democracy will survive Trump without us doing anything drastic. If Trump continues his current policies there's an excellent chance Republicans will lose the House in 2026 and damage can be limited. I don't think Rs can get it together in time to subvert an honest election in 2026.
A very old damaged Trump will not try to subvert the law and run again. There is no identified successor to Trump to rally his base in 2028. His unpopularity will do great harm to the MAGA movement and mainstream Rs will not go along with destroying democratic institutions. So, we'll have a "normal" 2028 election.
The danger is that Trump will reverse his economic policies. Hopefully not.
The Ds also have a problem. They are in disarray with no clear direction. They ran primarily in 2024 as the anti-Trump party, and they could easily lose in in a fair 2028 election if they don't have a clear message.
GOP absolutely has enough time to organize to subvert the election. They spent all of 2020 to 2024 studying what they could get away with. But their modus operandi is to shift the overton window enough to just start bragging out loud about how they are stuffing ballot boxes and getting away with it. If they intend to subvert the 2026 election we will know - they won't try to hide it.
I have to take exception to the spreading of this "The Dems ran primarily in 2025 as the anti-Trump party" right wing propaganda lie. First, DUH! Look around you at what is happening, of course one of the messages of the Dem party is "don't vote for the incompetent demented dictator." But that's not what the Dems ran on, that is what the (predominantly right wing subsidized) media portrayed them as. Please don't mix up the two. Dems bent over backwards to try to point out that the economy was doing fine under them and that they have lots and lots and lots to offer besides "I'm not Trump." Somehow Republicans always get away with torching the economy and then blaming the dems for it.
If you want to criticize the Dem party, criticize them for their *actual* failings. The big advantage the GOP has over the Dems is that the GOP has embraced their lunatic fringe right wing base and the Dem party refuses to embrace their base, primarily because moderate dems have swallowed right wing propaganda about the progressives, who are not motivated by hate and fear but a desire to protect the vulnerable, which for some reason is anathema to USians.
Dems have to a better job supporting their base - people who either vote dem or not at all. Not moderates or independents who actually are neither. It's much easier to persuade someone who agrees with you to get out and vote, then to persuade someone who disagrees with you to change their mind. Moderates have to swallow their pride and stop calling progressives names, like their right wing republican puppetmasters want them to, but actually reach out to them and show they have their back. Republicans supported their base by pursuing the abortion issue relentlessly for forty years, while the Dems dithered. There is a lot of low hanging fruit the Dems could adopt to show support to the progressive wing - taking defunding the police seriously, or not supporting Israel's secular government unconditionally no matter how evil their wanna be Trump politicians get. Actually taking a stand and defending the rights of trans people and immigrants wouldn't hurt, although as far as the base is concerned I think decarceration is relatively more important. More in the weeds, they could counter Trump's idiotic tariff policies by proposing a UBI instead, but I don't think that would have as much political benefit. But you know, moderate Dems are pretty cowardly so maybe start small.
I've been taught all my life to value service to the weak and powerless.
