Mahmoud Khalil

superrific said:
Attacking the law firms, the press, the independent agencies, any dissent are also clear cut cases of fascism.

The Dems aren't going to get back control by going to bat for a Hamas sympathizer. The court will free him. Once again, I have to ask: what do you want? Stronger words?
Click to expand...
Are you calling him a Hamas sympathizer or are you saying that's what the republicans see him as?
 
superrific said:
Have I ever claimed to be the guy to rally the troops? I'm the guy in the back making policy and perhaps crunching data on politics. I'm not the face man.

I have been asking a genuine question, though. What do people want to see? What is a reasonable expectation of what Dems could and should be doing right now?
Click to expand...
I’ll bite but don’t have time to get into a big discussion about it. All I can do I say what the Democratic base is looking for out of its leaders right now:

Yes, more forceful language is a big part of it. Right now, Democrats can compete in two arenas. The legal arena and the arena of rhetoric. The legal proceedings are doing nothing for the rhetorical fight.

Dems have to be forcefully speaking out against the fascist actions of Trump and the GOP. This rhetorical seeding is crucial to success not only in 2026 and 2028 but beyond. Fascism will not be defeated in the courts. Dem leaders must rally those who are ideologically sympathetic to liberal and leftist causes.

Bernie has been doing a tour across the country in small towns and red areas where he actively talks about how Trump is harming working people. In these events, he is also fielding responses from regular people about what they’re concerned about. Dems need to do more stuff like that in order to break through the modern media ecosystem.
 
Paine said:
Bernie has been doing a tour across the country in small towns and red areas where he actively talks about how Trump is harming working people. In these events, he is also fielding responses from regular people about what they’re concerned about. Dems need to do more stuff like that in order to break through the modern media ecosystem.
Click to expand...

I know you're a Bernie bro, but I agree that this has been hella productive. And maybe this is the type of thing the Dems should do in lieu of mega rallies.
 
FBI is freezing accounts of united way and habitat for humanity nothing to see here the courts will handle it trust the system despite the system granting trump immunity
 
Paine said:
I’ll bite but don’t have time to get into a big discussion about it. All I can do I say what the Democratic base is looking for out of its leaders right now:

Yes, more forceful language is a big part of it. Right now, Democrats can compete in two arenas. The legal arena and the arena of rhetoric. The legal proceedings are doing nothing for the rhetorical fight.

Dems have to be forcefully speaking out against the fascist actions of Trump and the GOP. This rhetorical seeding is crucial to success not only in 2026 and 2028 but beyond. Fascism will not be defeated in the courts. Dem leaders must rally those who are ideologically sympathetic to liberal and leftist causes.

Bernie has been doing a tour across the country in small towns and red areas where he actively talks about how Trump is harming working people. In these events, he is also fielding responses from regular people about what they’re concerned about. Dems need to do more stuff like that in order to break through the modern media ecosystem.
Click to expand...
1. Yes, I agree with those tours.
2. I'm really not convinced that anti-fascism is the message. How well did it work in 2024?
3. There's value in keeping the rhetorical power dry as long as the shit hasn't completely hit the fan. Then, when the shit does hit the fan, and the public is especially receptive to "Trump is a tyrant" arguments, the Dems will be there. Building on the last point, it seems like voters don't really care much about fascism until they are personally hurt by it.
4. Everybody needs down time. If we try to maintain a fever pitch for two years, we risk burnout. I don't know how big a concern this is. I'm not on the ground in activist organizations, or in DC. Maybe this is just speculation and nothing more.
 
McAdooSmackinYou said:
FBI is freezing accounts of united way and habitat for humanity nothing to see here the courts will handle it trust the system despite the system granting trump immunity
Click to expand...
1. If Trump ignores court orders, then we have a big, big problem. I don't think that's relevant to the calculus here. We would need to do something about it.
2. I didn't say to just trust the system. I said that he was going to be released. If he's not released in due course, then maybe there's a campaign to be had there. But if the courts are going to solve the problem, why invest political capital?

3. Another thing to consider: I'm pretty sure Trump is out there looking for and trying to instigate a Reichstag fire. Big protests around ICE detention centers and the like could possibly give him exactly that excuse. Which is not to say that we should do nothing and cower in fear. It does counsel for some careful thinking and not just knee-jerk reactions.
 
For the record, I am steadfastly of the belief that the Dems should not accept this CR. That's one way to resist. The Dems aren't going to get blamed for shutting down the government. People who would care about the ins-and-outs won't be paying attention to the fine details of which house voted when. Everyone will blame Pubs for the shutdown because a) Pubs are in control; b) Pubs have been trying to murder the government for months; c) Pubs have done these shutdown games many times before; and d) it's a clown-car show on the GOP side.

I think the approach that Senate Dems seem to be arriving at -- support for a 30 day extension to get a better bill -- is the right one. That's how to resist. Call the GOP's bluff. Make this problem come up again and again. It will be hard for the Pubs to pass their big tax cuts if they are having to whip everyone for CR after CR.
 
Every good Jewish person I know is appalled by this. My old Zen master, a Jewish guy from Berkeley, almost never says anything relevant to current events. But yesterday on his FB page was: "AS A JEWISH AMERICAN I SAY, NOT IN MY NAME!!!"

lol, Trump can make even zen masters lose their pickles.
 
superrific said:
3. Another thing to consider: I'm pretty sure Trump is out there looking for and trying to instigate a Reichstag fire. Big protests around ICE detention centers and the like could possibly give him exactly that excuse.
Click to expand...

That's a good point, and sobering.

If he detains people illegally and ignores court orders to let them go, and the result is demonstrations, then he can use and justify violence against those demonstrations and sell it to his MAGA base as "anti terrorism"
 
dukeman92 said:
It's not a matter of if. He's going to do it. And then we'll have more than a problem. We'll have a constitutional crisis.
Click to expand...
Yes, I'm aware of the threat.

We'll see if he actually does it. My instinct is the same as yours, but that's speculation.

To me, this is all the more reason to chill out on crying fascism over the detention of Khalil. Beryl Howell in DC today -- not the judge in his case -- ruled for Perkins Coie and said the idea of targeting people based on viewpoints "sends shivers down her spine." That's going to be the attitude of most federal judges, including the majority of Trump judges.

Take to the streets when the court orders are ignored. Until then, work within the system. Put up a fight in that way. Ask "what would Mitch McConnell do" and then do that.
 
superrific said:
Yes, I'm aware of the threat.

We'll see if he actually does it. My instinct is the same as yours, but that's speculation.

To me, this is all the more reason to chill out on crying fascism over the detention of Khalil. Beryl Howell in DC today -- not the judge in his case -- ruled for Perkins Coie and said the idea of targeting people based on viewpoints "sends shivers down her spine." That's going to be the attitude of most federal judges, including the majority of Trump judges.

Take to the streets when the court orders are ignored. Until then, work within the system. Put up a fight in that way. Ask "what would Mitch McConnell do" and then do that.
Click to expand...
I don't think a habeas-type court order is one that Trump or his underlings would ignore. I think it is much more likely to be about a funding/impound type issue. If the Supreme Court says release and Trump says no, that will cause his popularity to crater (especially if the economy is tanking).

At that point, Trump will have all the political power of Jimmy Carter. Right now, he can influence politicians because he still has political capital. If he spends all that power ignoring direct orders of the Supreme Court, he will become toothless and lose the ability to intimidate Congress.
 
Calheel said:
I don't think a habeas-type court order is one that Trump or his underlings would ignore. I think it is much more likely to be about a funding/impound type issue. If the Supreme Court says release and Trump says no, that will cause his popularity to crater (especially if the economy is tanking).

At that point, Trump will have all the political power of Jimmy Carter. Right now, he can influence politicians because he still has political capital. If he spends all that power ignoring direct orders of the Supreme Court, he will become toothless and lose the ability to intimidate Congress.
Click to expand...
This is why the economy tanking is so important.

I think there are enough reasonable Pubs to keep the system functioning well enough, if Trump's hold on them were to diminish because of his unpopularity. Like, would Bill Cassidy really have voted for RFK Jr if Trump's popularity is 30%?

So my advice for resisting would be this: buy a lot of weed, don't spend money, get high for three months, and check back. Well, I'm being flippant but not entirely joking.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top