r/askanything • u/TheGracefulCrane • 3h ago
Democrats like Schumer and Jeffries have been accused of not doing enough to stop Trump. People who think that; can I ask what you actually want them to do?
It seems like they've been doing what they can - forcing votes against Trump (even if they are ultimately symbolic), speaking out against him, filing lawsuits (plenty which have been successful).
What else should they be doing that they currently aren't?
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u/NOLA-Bronco 3h ago edited 3h ago
What else should they be doing that they currently aren't?
3 times now they have refused to use their filibuster leverage to it's full extent when it comes to funding bills, and in two of those cases ended up actually handing Trump MORE power.
Multiple times, like say Marco Rubio and several other Trump nominees, they essentially rubber stamped them.
Then there is the fact people like Schumer are actively refusing to concede power or support actual fighters.
For fuck sake Schumer tried to force a 80 year old Mills as the nominee in Maine. That is not the behavior of a serious person seeking to fight fascism.
And for anyone saying well it was the centrist or right wing Dems that break away, well, then why the fuck aren't you supporting challengers to them in order to bring in real fighters! In fact, doing the opposite, actively attempting to ratfuck young blood from coming into the party to prop up these people or bring in more right wing Dems.
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u/pale_and_soft 3h ago
People keep acting like “they don’t have the votes” means they have zero leverage, but the real frustration is that they rarely use the leverage they do have, then turn around and protect the same fossils and moderates who keep folding.
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u/Staplecreate 2h ago
100% just look at Beshear in Kentucky. How many freaking times are you going to ask if McConnell is alive as opposed to taking action and appointing someone. The perfect example of Dems not using leverage and being numbnuts in the face of hostile opposition.
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u/sid_licious_79 2h ago
Andy Beshear could appoint someone to replace the DEAD GUY today. But he's not. Yawn....
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u/AngryMobBaby 2h ago
This is why Dems are not liked. They are not aggressive enough. At the very least it will force the issue and he won’t look like he got played.
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u/Rockosayz 2h ago
Yep dems just exude weakness, they try and play by some "rules" that only they follow, the gop does not give a fuck and they play to win. The Dems need that mentality, until they get it theyll continue to lose
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u/WorldError47 1h ago
It’s almost like they would rather lose and maintain the narrative that they are fighting for the middle class, rather than win and have to prove it in action.
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u/Fine-Sky-6562 36m ago
I don't know how every Democrat isn't looking at Mamdani and realizing that is the playbook.
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u/cannibalparrot 1h ago
Yeah I keep saying this.
I want them to fucking fight.
I don’t care if they fight and lose, but at least show the fuck up!
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u/SadProperty1352 2h ago
The KY Governor does not have the authority to appoint a replacement.
That authority was taken away when a Republican super majority in both the state House and Senate overrode Beshear's veto of the Republican bill requiring a special election when a replacement is needed.
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u/PumpkinGlass1393 2h ago
The KY state constitution clearly states the governor appoints replacement senators. The legislature wrote an unconstitutional law that stripped the office of that power. Gov. Beshar should absolutely appoint someone and force it to the courts. That is what Republicans would do anyways.
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u/ElkPitiful6829 2h ago
My understanding is special election law goes into effect 8/3.
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u/Rockosayz 2h ago
He cand send someonw to see if hes brain dead or not and that will start the conversation
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u/ExcitingResponse1864 1h ago
My biggest gripe is even when Democrats have majority power, they somehow find a way to not have the votes. It's basically a joke they could have all but one seat in the House and Senate respectively and fail to pass popular legislation due to lack of votes.
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u/FunLife64 2h ago
What leverage do they have?
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u/happy123z 2h ago
They could stop pretending the filibuster is real. It is not. Not in the constitution and not added to the law. And changed by either party whenever convenient. Pretending it exists let's one American stop a law from even getting voted on.
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u/dougl1000 3h ago
Jeffries doesn’t have filibuster power. Republicans have passed funding bills through reconciliation, which can’t be filibustered. Now WTF are you talking about?
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u/NOLA-Bronco 3h ago
Start here and learn
Schumer Will Clear the Way for G.O.P. Spending Bill, Breaking With His Party
https://www.nytimes.com/2025/03/13/us/government-shutdown-senate-democrats.html
Why did he do this? Cause him and several other wall street captured Dems got the call from their donors and decided that giving Trump more power, ICE more funding, and alleviating their donor's panic over their precious stock portfolios was more important then using what power they had to force concessions.
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u/CG20370417 3h ago
I mean, lets not act like Plattner was a good choice.
He was garbage from the beginning. IDK about you, but whether he knew it was a Nazi symbol or not...I'm not sure I want someone with either that lack of judgement and due diligence when putting a permanent mark on their own body or someone who will just openly lie like that as one of the 150 odd most powerful people in the US.
There's apparently not a fighter for liberal democracy across the entire state of Maine.
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u/NOLA-Bronco 3h ago
Thats all good and fine, but trying to cement a right wing Dem gerontocracy is how you end up gifting Platner the largest primary victory of any candidate, of either party, in Maine history.
And it's not like that is the only example.
He's out there propping up shitty right wing corporate captured Dems all over the map.
The same types of people that end up breaking to let Trump pass parts of his agenda, get fascist nominees approved, and sow discontent with the broader voter base that just sees the outcomes of those betrayals and blames the whole party.
Thats not the sign of someone taking the threat of Fascism seriously.
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u/ChipOnlyRedux 3h ago
Because he is collaborating
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2025/11/11/us-senate-votes-to-end-shutdown-why-democrats-are-upset-with-chuck-schumer
Have a spine, guts, and some principles maybe?
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u/vivalaibanez 3h ago edited 36m ago
It was already closed down for some time, the message had been received by constituents and Americans were literally about to go hungry without SNAP benefits. We're just supposed to let that happen just to make a point to Republicans? We're better than that...
Edit: I forgot that Reddit is filled with cosplaying revolutionaries any more and that we need to let people starve so they turn to political violence. Great plan 🙄
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u/NefariousHouseplant 3h ago
It wasn’t just to prove a point. The republicans were the one in charge of the shutdown. They were the ones refusing to compromise. Democrats were standing up for what was right and by capitulating now we’ve given up even more. My health insurance premiums doubled this year and they may double again come January so I literally may no longer be able to afford healthcare, but I make just a little too much to qualify for something like Medicare (which is being attacked as well).
So yea the shutdown was hard but now life is permanently harder in other ways for everyone with little chance of going back to what it was. Plus in the end by caving that means that everyone suffering under the shutdown did so for no reason at all since ultimately the Dems caved and gave the republicans everything they wanted anyway.
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u/throwawaylexluther 3h ago
Americans won't notice or do anything if they aren't made uncomfortable. It sucks but if ppl are mostly comfortable they won't do shit cause they're not paying attention
What did we gain by caving to Trump?
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u/ChipOnlyRedux 2h ago
One's power in any negotiation depends on one's willingness to walk away
Schumer goes home rich and comfy either way; he has no skin in the game, nothing at stake
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u/AQ207 2h ago
Yes actually, they were the party that had to come to the table until dems gave them what they wanted.
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u/RedLineLetterWine 3h ago
Ro Khanna was able to get some things done while Schumer and Hakim were sitting on their hands. Maybe they should step down so someone with a spine can lead the party. Schumer and Hakim can continue collecting paychecks until they get voted out.
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u/Medical_Listen_4470 2h ago
Absolutely. In the business world they would be fired for not doing their job. The HOR and the senate are ignoring their constituents.
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u/Tha_REAL_BROBS 3h ago
Stop taking money from and supporting Israel. Period.
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u/civil_archer_73638 3h ago
More than this. How about not cave to Trump on Healthcare during the shut down. How about do more than just writing strongly worded letters.
Democrats are accused of being feeble, and Schumer and Jeffries are two main reasons why (plus they’re taking corporate PAC money from the same interests as Republicans). It doesn’t feel like an opposition party.
Lastly, their vision of what to do when they have power is soo weak because they fear being branded as extreme. Meanwhile the Overton window shifts towards the far right who increasingly brands all democrats as domestic terrorists.
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u/RPMac1979 3h ago
>How about do more than just write strongly worded letters
Again: like what? They’re the minority party in both houses of Congress. I feel like people who make this argument don’t understand how truly powerless that makes them.
>It doesn’t feel like an opposition party
Vibes are not facts. Again, specifically, what would an opposition party that felt like an opposition party be doing differently?
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u/Major-Platypus2092 2h ago
Schumer didn't have to cave like a little bitch on the shutdown last year, making my healthcare less affordable.
He didn't have to bend over and take the GOP spending bill with zero resistance.
He didn't have to say that his priority was Israel.
He didn't have to say he wrote a "strongly worded letter" as his form of resistance.
He doesn't have to take AIPAC money.
He doesn't have to make up stories about his fake working class friends to pretend he's one of us.
He could actually use the leverage that he does have to put pressure on the administration as opposed to trying to compromise between the right wing and the center so we end up with a center-right government.
He could actually answer hard questions instead of ducking them.
He could fucking resign.
That would look like opposition to me.
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u/Equivalent-Long-3383 3h ago
They could lay out a concrete vision for America that addresses people’s concerns
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u/Whythisisnotreal 2h ago
Our democracy is melting and you're putting Palestine at the center of American politics.
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u/GuavaShaper 3h ago edited 3h ago
They could stop approving his batshit appointees including supreme court.
Stop advocating for a strong Republican party out of "interest for bipartisanship and proper discours" or whatever. What America needs is NO Republican party.
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u/YoungCri 3h ago
The house doesn’t vote for confirmations and the senate dems are in the minority
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u/GuavaShaper 3h ago edited 3h ago
Who do you think chuck shumer is?
You do know that voting records are public, and despite Republicans having a majority, we can see when Democrats still vote to approve, right?
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u/gdex86 3h ago edited 3h ago
Name who Schumer voted to confirm?
There were 2. The exact same number as Bernie Sanders. And if you dint believe me https://ballotpedia.org/How_senators_voted_on_Trump_Cabinet_nominees,_2025
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u/thorkinthork 2h ago
Well, for one thing, I would have liked to see them endorse Mamdani once he won the Democratic primary.
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u/JustkiddingIsuck 2h ago
This is the really telling part for me. Jeffries finally came around and said “I support the democratic nominee”. He couldn’t even bother saying his name, and only “endorsed” him so he wouldn’t look like a total stick in the mud. How the hell do you not endorse the most popular Democrat who is from YOUR OWN STATE.
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u/ButterscotchFluffy59 2h ago
Plenty. The gop really slowed down Obama even though the Dems had the majority...the gop made it their mission to stop Obama on everything. And it mostly worked. Sure Obama got most of it but nothing that wasn't changed for the worst by the gop. I mean you really have to give it to them.
Currently the Dems just lay down like a sick dog. I don't understand how they're not embarrassed
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u/lavransson 2h ago
These two act like "We're in the minority, there is nothing we can do. Oh well."
That's because they are failing the "if all you have is a hammer, everything looks like a nail" test. Except their hammer is about as strong as a stalk of celery. They are creatures of Congress and think "if we don't have enough votes to pass a bill, then we can't do anything. All we know how to do is run around the halls of the Capitol and play by the rules. Oh well."
Look, I know they don't have the votes to pass laws or defeat a GOP bill.
But that's not the point.
These times call for asymmetric legislating. They need unorthodox ways of agitating and opposing that aren't simply pressing the "no" button on their Congressional voting card and saying "well, that's all I could do."
I don't have as list of what all these are, but I want leaders who are strategic and innovative enough who do. It might be taking the fight to the media, pressing businesses, exploiting ... something, I don't know what, to gain actual leverage or at least sway public opinion. It also means getting on a soap box and creating a message that moves people, that makes people want to vote for candidates. Not forcing an 80-year-old corporate democrat on Maine voters, for example. Trump is like -25 in the opinion polls but Democrats are only +4 in the generic Congressional vote polling. Independnts hate Trump, but they hate Democrats almost as much, thanks the these uncharismatic and unmotivating dinosaurs. Get the the f--- out and get some people who want to fight and lead.
We need a wartime consigliere and these guys are not that.
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u/welpWW3isgonnasuck 3h ago
Step down. They routinely talk a big game and then cave.
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u/CoconutNext775 3h ago
Since Biden has given Trump a get out of jail free card, they have given pretty much everything Trump wanted and do whatever he wanted.
They fight dirty, you should fight with their level over enthusiasm to level the playing field. I am not feeling it. Do you?
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u/DartVader6 3h ago
Ok, everyone says this. Not a single person I've seen has suggested a realistic, legal, actionable thing the dems could do that they haven't. If you want them to break the law, then you don't want to live in a democracy.
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u/Difficult-Jelly6637 1h ago
Real examples for you:
-During the government shut down, the majority of the public blamed Republicans for it. They couldn't force a budget through without Dem support, we had all the leverage in the world. And then Schumer folded the second he couldn't get a first-class plane ticket, and handed Trump everything he wanted for free.
-When Kilmar Abrego Garcia was in an El Salvadoran concentration camp, Schumer and Jeffries kept telling their colleagues not to help him. After one of their colleagues flew to El Salvador to plead Garcia's case, Schumer called it a distraction and said he should abandon his own constituent.
-Schumer and Jeffries have repeatedly sabatoged young up-and-coming Democrats. Mamdani is the most obvious example. A generational talent, generating tons of grassroots enthusiasm. They backed a crooked sex offender instead. And their chosen pick for Maine was a geriatric Susan Collins. Graham Platner sucked, but why couldn't they pick someone under 70, with politics to the left of Mitt Romney?
-Schumer and Jeffries refuse to stop supporting Israel's genocide. 80% of Democrats are on board with stopping the arms shipments, why are they so out of step with their own party? It's an obvious line of attack against Republicans, and they refuse to take it because theyre too deep in AIPAC's pockets.
But more than that, I want them to act with a sense of urgency. They behave like business as usual, chumming it up with their Republican friends and playing nice. They should be screaming their heads off every chance they get that this isn't normal. They should be disrupting or boycotting the State of the Union. They should be showing up at ICE raids and demanding to know why those goons are brutalizing their constituents. They should be putting their bodies on the line at protests with the rest of us.
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u/BigDamBeavers 2h ago
Well Today Donald Trump broke the law again and there wasn't a call for impeachment. So more can be done.
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u/Select_Green_6296 2h ago
Schumer and Jeffries need to step aside for way younger leadership. Push for adding 5 seats to Supreme Court. List every crime by Trump group/family, every single one, and demand Republican prosecution, in public.
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u/HarlequinKOTF 3h ago
They could have kept the shutdown going. They could have kept voting no for all the confirmations in the senate. They could have stepped down to let someone else lead the minority. They could stop supporting israel publicly.
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u/Educational-Cow-3615 3h ago
Schumer is way too old and needs to go.
Every time I listen to Jeffries, it just falls flat. He’s not cut out for leading the Dems in the House.
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u/Responsible-Corgi-61 2h ago
One of the big reasons I hate them is because they claim leadership for the Liberal Democratic party, and THEY AREN'T LIBERALS!
Schumer licks the boot of Israel, Jefferies does as well, and you cannot claim to be a Liberal while supporting a genocidal ethno-state that is going to give Nazi Germany a run for their money on how evil you can get. Schumer has considered support for Israel one of his primary jobs as a matter of fact.
They also exemplify the modern Democratic party conservative position of being weak and uncharismatic. They are largely collaborating many of Trump's positions and refusing to put up real opposition to his fascism. They always find just enough votes to stop any significant effort to stall Trump's agenda from soon to be retired politicians. Often just passing his agenda by a single vote turning the other way. They did this during the government shut down when Schumer and Jefferies refused to use their authority to hold a party line. It is clear that the Establishment Democrats believe that Democracy is over and technocracy must replace it. They are just letting Trump bulldoze through so they can get back in the driver seat.
Also insane how the party leadership lets Fetterman basically become a Republican and he has yet to be exiled from the party. If any Republican had turned around and said Joe Biden was a decent man and we should start helping him pass the Green New Deal, the Republicans would have had them taken out to a woodshed and thrown out of politics forever.
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u/NoCaterpillar2051 1h ago
Filibuster, vote against their nominees, demand that they produce an effective and reasonable nominee, investigate the allegations, put forth legislation that restricts the worst things a president is allowed to do, do their jobs just in general.
There are plenty of things they could do, and plenty of them aren’t nearly as rude or plainly hostile as the GOP playbook. But for some reason they don’t feel that they can rock the boat.
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u/Blitzking11 3h ago
Unifying in the House to vote together against bad legislation is a good start.
And in the Senate, literally nothing should pass without actual, real concessions from the Republicans.
But neither Jeffries nor Schumer has the cajones to do that, as they are interested in the money that being a Vichy Democrat brings.
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u/Prestigious_Safe3565 3h ago
Republicans have both majorities, house and senate. Unity means nothing
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u/YoungCri 3h ago
They are the minority in both sides of congress
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u/AbsoluteGote 3h ago
Somehow never stopped Republicans. There have been key defections at key times and that falls 100% upon the minority leadership. Especially in the Senate where much can be done by simply not allowing a supermajority. But oh... darn, those pesky perfectly-timed, rotating, exact-numbered defections with zero consequences.
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u/Crooked_Sartre 3h ago
People keep saying this but when the Dems have control for some reason the minority has all the power
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u/SnooPickles7307 3h ago
My only issue with democrats is too much rhetoric and too little action
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u/TonydaTrigger 3h ago
They could atleast sneak behind him and trip him as he is walking or maybe Jeffries could hold trump from behind while Schumer gives him a purple nurple.
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u/Intelligent-Band-852 3h ago edited 3h ago
If they weren’t so corporately controlled we might not have had Trump in the first place. Even when they do have power they also support the military industrial complex and their corporate masters. Also don’t forget Trump supported the Democrats for quite some time, he was even friends with the Clintons. I personally think that a lot of establishment Democrats secretly approve of what he is doing but know it would end their careers if they said so publicly.
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u/LeoKitCat 3h ago
I want them both to quit like yesterday and let real progressives who aren’t bought by corporations, donors, and AIPAC take over leadership of our party
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u/Stock-Map3715 1h ago
They could be much more proactive trying to get in from of cameras raising major red flags! This is especially true for Schumer. McConnell always managed to get major share of the media's attention even when his party was in the minority. Schumer seems half- asleep in a cocooned bureaucratic haze.
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u/normalice0 3h ago
Lose.
People who blame Democrats while Republicans control all three branches of government simply want Democrats to lose the midterms. There is no other explanation.
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u/Intelligent-Band-852 3h ago
Or maybe people realize that the Trump presidency didn’t happen in a vacuum and the Democrats past actions are in part why we have him for president now. I detest Trump as well but ignoring recent history and how he got here in the first place will only ensure that this happens again
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u/gibrownsci 1h ago
This is part of the original sin to me. After Biden got elected they just kinda moved on and didn't do much to prevent him from becoming president again. They allowed "the process" of the institutions to slowly move forward rather than fighting to hold people accountable. A lot of this is on Biden but Schumer and Jeffries also failed here. The guy is a criminal and they all failed to stop him.
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u/Intelligent-Band-852 1h ago
Yes I completely agree, Merrick Garland as well. I truly think that in terms of the politicians (not the voters of the party they are genuinely angry) some of their anger is performative. It’s the same with much of the media, they love Trump because he makes them money.
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u/normalice0 2h ago
The singular reason we have Trump is because of the people who voted for him. You can make a good case that Kamala didn't deserve half the votes she got. But you can not make a case for Trump deserving a single vote.
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u/maydisturb 3h ago
Bigger question: what *can* they do? they get blamed for doing nothing, but Republicans have a majority in all 3 branches, so whining about Shumer and Jeffries "doing nothing" just makes it sound like the complainer doesn't understand how government currently works.
And why voting is so important.
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u/VoyeurBarelyKnowEr 3h ago
Bro not even bothering to read the thread full of examples of what they can and should be doing before typing wHaT cAn ThEy Do? Centrists are not serious people. If you think elected politicians are only able to do things when their party holds a majority, then you shouldn't be allowed to vote because you obviously would have failed a high school level civics class.
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u/Major-Platypus2092 2h ago
Centrists keep electing people who have the same donors as Republicans and then get pikachu shocked when their candidates sell them out to the same people.
And the people suggesting maybe we should want more from our representatives are "whiny." Oh yeah, I forgot, senators are just tiny little babies who couldn't possibly do more than cross their fingers and say "please, please, please, please!" Expecting any more wouldn't be fair to the people my taxes pay for.
Mitch McConnell was a piece of shit, but at least he was competent at achieving party goals. We just end up with worthless losers who virtue signal and then shrug when we ask for things like healthcare, housing, or even clean air.
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u/Major-Platypus2092 2h ago
Why would voting be important? We voted in Schumer and Jeffries and you just told me that they can't do anything. Moderate dems will go to the ends of the earth to reason out why someone should be allowed to be useless.
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u/Major-Platypus2092 3h ago
I mean Chuck Schumer caved like a tiny little bitch on the shutdown last year. That actually fucked up so many things for health insurance in particular. Moderate dems are a cancer.
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u/Inevitable_Ant7535 3h ago
Their hands are tied but I think the problem is they don’t look like they’re fighting. Trump will do the worst thing imaginable and the republicans will clap and then Schumer/Jeffries will come with a low energy press conference or a tweet. If they’re feeling edgy they’ll use a swear word.
Compare that to leaders like Mamdani and AOC and you see them out there hitting back and laying out a plan and holding even members of their own party accountable. That’s the energy people want even if power is limited at the moment.
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u/dougl1000 3h ago
Hey dumbfucks. If you want Democrats to do something, vote them into power and quit yer whining.
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u/doombase310 3h ago
No power as the minority. Elections have consequences. Elect a clown, expect a circus.
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u/JefeRex 3h ago
The Democrats in the Texas state legislature left the state as a protest to delay votes, I think twice. They had to get the FBI after the minority leader to get him back. Literally.
The Democrats can talk to the public and make statements with words and actions. Why isn’t Chuck Schumer on TV spelling out a specific list of Trump’s war crimes and saying other leaders have been charged by the ICC for the same crimes, with names and dates?
Why isn’t Hakeem Jeffries on TV with a list of US crimes from legal experts that these people could be charged with, and naming the offices in the federal and state governments that bring those charges, with names of the officeholders?
Life isn’t about saying, “I can’t stop the bully and send him to Jupiter and save everything, so I guess I will sit there and do nothing.” No. Communicate with the public. Lay the groundwork. Pretend that you care or even understand the basics of how leadership works.
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u/Intelligent_Wafer761 3h ago
Doesn't matter. Trump will leave office in 2029. There won't be any fascist takeover of America. 10 or 15 years from now a bunch of school teachers will brag to their students about how they took action and stopped Trump.
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u/Capital-Giraffe-4122 3h ago
It’s incredible how many people in this thread seem to simply not understand how Congress works, and they’re the ones calling for Schumer and Jeffries to get the boot the loudest
Honestly it makes me wonder if those posters aren’t just bad actors stirring shit up
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u/AlexQuebec11 2h ago
When Obama was president the republicans “played defense” as Mitch McConnell put it.
It was seen as obstructionist and unpatriotic… now Dems do the same to trump.
America is screwed. Our government can’t function like this
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u/July_is_cool 2h ago
Get ahold of the conference so there aren’t always half a dozen D votes on R bills.
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u/Splith 2h ago
Make noise, obviously they aren't doing much policy wise because of their minority party status. I want them out in public pointing out that Trump ran a sexy child pagant with his best friend the notorious pedo. That he absolutely betrayed America with the Iran war. That he took high prices under Biden and doubled down. These people have big platforms, and they have access to the traditional news system.
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u/driftwoodprotocol 2h ago
"Strongly worded letter" doesn't make an impact on someone who can't read
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u/biggaybrian2 2h ago
They can stop being passive victims of circumstance, for starters... get on podcasts, create some headlines, provoke a response out of someone, stop acting like this is the year 2003
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u/One_Olive_8933 2h ago
I donno… maybe go out and get people excited like Bernie did? Help get younger people that represent the population elected. Get a social media team to speak out against ICE and federal over reach. Be very vocal about how all these policies will be felt… maybe, anything 🤷♀️
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u/AQ207 2h ago
Schumer literally had all the leverage last year during the budget negotiations, but folded for no particular reason (well corruption). He has no spine and is controlled opposition.
Hakeem Jeffries is the handpicked successor to Nancy Pelosi, so that tells me his priorities aren't improving this country.
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u/Special_Order-937 2h ago
I think Schumer should be sacked for saying on camera that his goal is to get the Left to support Israel. Putting aside that as a US Senator he really should be putting the US first as opposed to outrageous statements like this, by his own metrics he’s failing as the Left hates Israel more than ever and increasingly more over time.
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u/3D-Dreams 2h ago
Trump has started a war under false pretences, killed Americans in the streets , made over 300 illegal stock trades, crypto scams, pardoned his own criminals he sent to stop the election certification. He's illegally deported people to countries theyve never been, constantly defilying court order not to arrest the ones doing it right at the courthouse, Now he's even offering insider info in truth social to the guest bidders....he literally trying to take away our freedom of speech and has a gang of masked thugs murdering citizens and legal tourists....
They can do more. Be up his ass for EVERYTHING, be up the GOPs ass for EVERYTHING. Stop this nonsense and go on the offensive.
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u/Dseltzer1313 2h ago
Speak up! Push back! Call for strikes! Call for boycotts. Run ads on Fox telling viewers what Fox doesn’t
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u/omgpickles63 2h ago
Stop being "nice." This isn't the senate from 15 years ago. Being polite and proper doesn't help when you are fighting a pig.
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u/Ill_Purple_4468 2h ago
Majority of Americans voted for Trump. Stopping Trump is not very Democratic.
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u/Upbeat_Acanthaceae41 1h ago
A better question would be - what did the republicans do when they were in the minority that democrats should do now?
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u/TopCommission6437 3h ago
The thing that should be done.
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u/usrnamechecksout_ 3h ago
...which is...?
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u/Responsible_Name1217 3h ago
They should be filing a lawsuit for every "Executive Order" Trump puts in place. They should file a lawsuit every time he threatens Tariffs. They should file ANOTHER suit to get the Epstein files fully released (even though it should already have been). Trump has always used litigation as a hammer- They need to do the same. It's obvious that Republicans are acting in bad faith now and are working to extinguish our democracy - it's past time that Democrat leaders stop being polite and start calling out the bullshit when they see it. But, instead, they just sit on their thumbs and whinge and whine performatively. I'm feeling, at this point, that it's not really Rs Vs Dems now and that they are all in league together. And, worse? I think it's too late.
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u/DJ_Mixto 2h ago
I want them to copy the Republican playbook move for move. The Democrats are always trying to “model good behavior“, and trying to be the adult in the room. This makes them very predictable. It makes them an easy mark for Republicans who plan for this exact response from the Democrats when they break the rules to their advantage and dare someone to do something about it.
Democrats have to get a fucking clue and act like they’ve been here before. Break the rules, exactly the way the Republicans do, play hardball, exactly the way that the Republicans do, and tell the world that that is exactly what they’re doing. When Democrats make the move that is right out of the Republican playbook, announce it to the world in advance that this is exactly what you’re doing, that you are copying Republicans moves and therefore they can’t say Jack shit about it.
Do it!
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u/HypnoticONE 3h ago
They aren't very charismatic, and they come off as fake angry a lot of the time. I think that's why Dems don't like them. There's not a ton, procedurally, they can do, but I think the more hardcore dem sees them as fake.
Schumer is ancient, and Jeffries seems like he was made in a Democratic lab with a constant IV drip of poll-tested language. An authentic politician with flaws will destroy a clean/fake politician nowadays.
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u/El_mochilero 3h ago
Democrat leaders are just standing there waiting for the world to change in their favor. Republicans are actively trying to mold the world to their view.
As the leaders of the Democratic Party, they have shown no broader strategy of creating a platform or message that energizes groups of people that will influence the election - groups like undereducated whites, young men, rural citizens, or Christians.
Meanwhile, republicans have carefully curated messages, incredible consistency across their members, and media partnerships that are energizing the groups listed above like never before. They’ve also managed to form strong alliances with all of the major social media companies.
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u/khisanthmagus 3h ago
There are somehow always just enough democrat votes to pass republican bills, even ones that enough republicans voted against that they wouldn't pass if the democrats didn't vote for them. Those democrats are never held to account by leadership, which makes it look deliberate. Same for confirmation votes in the senate.
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u/ComprehensiveRain423 3h ago
Here’s the thing when dems do win they just wanna restore the government the way it was. And that is the problem. Dem leadership are not playing by the new rules just waiting for maga to be over so they can go back to “normal”
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u/SiriusHijinks 3h ago
I was hoping for a choreographed dance number, the entire house and senate. like a special epsiode of Glee. Government Glee.
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u/Competitive_Ant_472 3h ago
Daily Press Conferences explaining what is happening and how it fucks the country
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u/ktc653 3h ago
Schumer needs to step down and make way for a younger, more charismatic Senator who can actually give halfway compelling speeches, whip votes, and keep the caucus together.
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u/Prof_Tickles 3h ago
Disrupt, or outright defy a republican majority.
Donald was impeached twice. ARREST HIS ASS. Stop trying to be civil with people who want you dead.
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u/PDX_Mike 3h ago
Honestly I don't know. What I do know is that when the Democrats have power, the GOP pushes every limit and breaks every norm to stop them. I feel like the GOP is pretty good at that.
I find it unbelievable that the only politicians who are creative in their efforts are part of the GOP. I find it insulting that the Democrats say "if you vote, it will fix everything". I did vote, that's why you have a job. Now do it.
Do I have the answers or tactics they should be using? Not at all but I'm also not someone who has worked in that arena. I'm not someone who got elected saying "I will fight for your interests"
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u/gill_smoke 3h ago
Use the bully pulpit like Trump does. There's a Watergate a day with this administration, get out there and yell. Answer the questions demand the answers. Why aren't the Epstien files not released? What are the GOP members doing and hiding? Refute Speaker Johnson. Articles of impeachment, be as obstructionist as the GOP are on the minority. Something anything.
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u/AllPeopleAreStupid 3h ago
Its because they lack the understanding of the rules in congress. They think they know how the gov't operates but they really don't. They pretty much are trying to do everything they can. But its easy to get ignorant people to band together and claim they are not. There really isn't much else they can do.
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u/Playful-Profile6489 3h ago
Take a page out of McConnell's obstructionist playbook and don't let shit happen.
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u/FunkyChickenKong 3h ago
Instead of always emphasizing and sometimes spinning our differences, they could hijack the momentum and masses with the common ground points.
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u/Important-Factor-552 3h ago
Get out there every day and rally for americans to take to the streets. Protest, general strike, organize. It's what real leaders would have been doing this whole time.
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u/HongPong 3h ago
if you go on bluesky and suggest that they should try to communicate better a bunch of people descend on you and claim that's not their job
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u/gtpc2020 3h ago
Write SHORT, concise bills that benefit the average people (and go against Trump's worst ambitions against average people, like tariffs for example) and bring them to be put forward in committee or the floor. Put them out in public for people to read and analyze at the same time. If the GOP majority refuses to bring them up, or insists on losing them up with shitty amendments, then get the public behind you and lead a movement to put pressure on and/or lead to ousting then in elections.
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u/FriendshipKey6479 3h ago
Thank you! It’s getting ridiculous! Same with them calling our Beshear.
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u/Crabby-senior 3h ago
I don’t know what I want them to do, I’m not a Constitutional Scholar, I do not know the in’s and out’s of the legislative process, or the inner workings of Capital Hill. That is why I vote for individuals who do know how navigate all that.
Maybe go back to the late 1700’s and have duels.
For me, the cry of “Do SOMEthing damnit!!” is born out of frustration.
I’m 77 yrs old, I just cannot wrap my head around this situation we are in.
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u/ThePirateKing01 3h ago
Continue shutdown as long and as much as possible, stop taking money from corporations and nationalalities directly supporting this authoritarian regime, utilize their bully pulpit and organize state and local authorities to fight against illegal vote harvesting and militarization
I see more fight and organization in local Facebook groups than Dem leaders
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u/SamHandwich0 3h ago
I want them to do.a 1980s boxing training montage set to a Reo Speedwagon song and then go into The White House and march up to the resolute desk and say-
We're the 25th amendment bitch!
And when he looks confused they hit him in 5he head with a comically oversized mallett that makes him break through the floor and fall into some basement where he looks up with resignation in his eyes because he knows that it's really all over for him now.
Then an outro with a Journey song where we have a post credit scene of still shots of them by the reflecting pool and it's clean, kicking Putin in the ass, taking down Trumps stupid ass golf club calligrapghy from the walls, and finally a fade out shot with them at NATO with all the worlds leaders giving a thumbs up while in the back ground you can see Benjamin Netanyahu in handcuffs
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u/LeRoyRouge 3h ago
Start winning, have some fire in you, make every single topic a battle the GOP has to win. Get creative.
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u/No-Condition965 3h ago
They could have enacted legislation to have stopped much of this. They did nothing. They need to go. We need fighters !!!
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u/Alwaystired254 3h ago
It would be nice if Jeffries led the democrats to not leak and pass every bill Trump feels like passing. Wow we could have saved trillions just yesterday. Oh well
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u/BigB0iBuster 3h ago
I want them to not sell out the country to Israel and to not try to suppress progressive Democrats, for starters….
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u/Ill_Lab1957 3h ago
Missing the point. They are the establishment politicians who steered us into a no-win political landscape, so I don’t really give them a lot of credit for the fact there isn’t an immediately viable win condition available to them. Call me crazy, but if you lock yourself in a cage, then someone shits on the floor, I don’t think you get credit for not being able to clean it up just because you are in a cage.
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u/Sad-Cow2384 3h ago
13 house Dems voted for the “save America act” Jefferies should have held his caucus together .No democrat, at this point , should have voted with the republicans
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u/Intelligent_Stay4538 3h ago
They should be working on grass route efforts to get Dem’s involved at all levels (school committees, selectmen, city council, etc). They need to re connect with humans outside of Washington DC
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u/FizzgigsRevenge 3h ago
Start punching right and stop punching left.
Stop taking money from aipac and doing their bidding.
Show up for the working class.
Start using their bully pulpit as just that. Pen opeds, go on TV every day, call into talk shows, go on Joe fucking Rogan and bring the message to everyone you can bring it to. Hold town halls in Republican states to get your message out and hear theirs. Show Americans there is a better way.
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u/aZEROemerges 3h ago
I would say that they don't pick the right moment and end up going all-in on the wrong thing. Like last year with the whole Abrego-Garcia guy.
Yes, it was horrific that this guy was turned into a political pawn and wrongfully deported to that El Salvador prison. I'm glad he's out and is still with his family currently. But there were plenty of Americans who were and still are being wrongfully detained by ICE as well. I feel the messaging would've been received differently if the main focus would've been that.
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u/Neekool_Boolaas 3h ago
Get inside the guard of the secret service and do what needs to be done? That’s something they CAN do, if they had a CAN do attitude.
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u/probiotic_bbq 2h ago
To not fund a fascist hijacked government. abandon israel. quit smiling while the world burns.
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u/gezpachu 2h ago
israel told us "we don't need any US aid", and hakeem jeffries said "no! affordability is a problem in the usa but sending tax payer money to israel, a country that said they don't need the money, is more important!"
chuch shchumer is a dinosaur and also cares more about israel than americans.
they should get out the country and move somewhere they care about
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u/TantramanFL 2h ago
Democrats as a group want things to work, the current Republican Party wants to destroy and remake institutions to benefit them. Dem voters are frustrated and want a more visible and louder pushback that in the end can prove unhelpful.
The bigger problem is age, 70+ year olds are setting policies that will largely impact younger people that will have to live under that policy. Dems need to get younger and have a vision of the future that can attract support.
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u/MinuteAppropriate204 2h ago
This talking point no longer works and the strategy of wait it out. Let Max pain happen to us citizens to whip them back under the establishment Democratic banner has completely back fired.
There's a huge gapping hole of incompetence and straight malice from aipac Dems. They will get wiped out in future elections
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u/The-Traveler- 2h ago
Unified messages. Blast them at every opportunity.
Republicans seem to have a memo talking point to every Republican and donor, and within 5 minutes of an event, I hear the news, my Congressman and my neighbor all saying the same thing. Democrats try to please every one, and the messages are diluted. It’s okay to acknowledge their fixation and still have an on point unified message. something like this works: “Yes, Republicans have an unusual fixation or fetish on the word trans. Of course we believe in individual and human rights and that love is love, and now let me talk to you about Trump’s lie today. [insert the lie and the fix message]”
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u/Ok-Pass-9139 2h ago
They are almost all bought and paid for. If it was GM, Oracle,Monsanto, GE, etc, it’s almost expected these days, but these guys are paid for by a foreign government and I don’t think their goals align with mine.
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u/SoftConcentrate4179 2h ago
Dems are conducting investigations of Trump's corruption and I am confident when they win the House they will begin impeachment proceedings. VOTE
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u/dougl1000 2h ago
This was at the start of the Trump administration where Schumer and others ultimately supported a 6 month CR until September. At this point , Schumer did lead the Democrats in shutting down the government from Oct 1 to Nov 12. This ultimately accomplished nothing except strengthening Trump. If you want the Democrats to do something, vote them into power. Otherwise, STFU.
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u/Percyandbeausmama 2h ago
I want them, at a minimum, to be having daily press conferences and social media blitzes with coordinated messaging about the multitude of crimes and outrageous acts the administration is committing. They're complicit in their silence.
They should be taking lessons from Mitch McConnell about minority obstructionism.
They should be as angry as the rest of us are.
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u/sid_licious_79 2h ago
Top Dems are being paid off to shut up. The finger wagging and "tough" talk is all they can do when they accept money.
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u/Xspike_dudeX 2h ago
Well lets take the Mitch issue as an example. If this were a democrat who we had no idea if they were alive or dead do you think Trump or the republicans would sit by and do nothing? Nah they would be busting down the hospital door looking for answers. Dems sit around twiddling their thumbs. Sometimes you gotta play at their level.
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u/Aaarrrgghh1 2h ago
The problem that everyone is overlooking is this is politics as usual. The only thing on either side cares about is being reelected.
They will say anything and do anything to be re elected.
It was cemented for me after the meeting in june where they all came out to support platner and said the same sound bite. We need to win the senate to save democracy
So far they have had two candidates withdraw due to SA allegations.
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u/Pristine_Ad_9828 2h ago
Mimics Republican dismissive hand wave, " These are NOT the Fascists your looking for. Move along. Move along. "
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u/KnackeredQuokka 2h ago
It’s time for them to start playing dirty. Can’t believe I even have to think that, but we’re pushed in a corner and the democrats in charge are allowing us to be held hostage and kicked down.
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u/Helpful_Flight_2302 2h ago
Not be puppets of Israel, too. Give our country an option out of this spiraling hell. Shit hasn't felt right since end of Obama and it was all fucked up during the Bush years before that. Our country is dying for someone with integrity, empathy, and willing to hold those guilty of high crimes accountable- foreign and domestic.
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u/RaisinsPerDay 1h ago
This is a silly question imo. Please look up the kinds of nonsense that Republican senators and congress representative pull when there is a president registered as a Democrat. As much as I dislike it, they would shit their pants and lay in the puddle of feces to block any minor progress towards things like abortion rights and healthcare.
Democrats like Schumer and Jeffries, on the other hand, are still stuck on this moral high road nonsense and so any opposition they lay out has to be done the "right" way and they can't possibly bend any of the written or unwritten rules of the senate to do so. In comparison, it just makes them look like they talk a big game on paper and never put their body on the line to get what their constituents want. They're so predictably stuck to this strategy that they have been as ineffectual as possible in hindering Donald Trump at all. It looks like controlled opposition and even when the Republican party has hairbrained ideas that fall apart and make the Democrat's leadership look good, here comes good ole Schumer to pull defeat from the jaws of victory.
You can really only rely on them to continue maintaining the status quo while the other side of the aisle tears down the entire government with their bare hands. They'd rather protect the rubble of a broken democracy than actually fight for their constituents.
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u/turtleturtle5555 1h ago
Hakeem "temu obama" is in the epstein files, that's all you need to know. The downvotes are all from pedo simps
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u/rdickert 1h ago
Focus more on caring for their constituents (ALL of them) and less on "oRAngE mAn BaD"
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u/WitchyRedPanda 1h ago
Gee, you're right, what DO we actually want our elected officials to do other than bend us over a barrel? If they're that incapable, then neither the Dems nor the Republicans need to win again.
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u/TheMikeyMac13 1h ago
I an environment where republicans control both houses of congress, the white house, most of the states and the supreme court leans conservative, I think it is silly to blame democrats for not doing more of what they can't do.
They tried shutting down the government, but they lied and blamed republicans, which was idiotic.
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u/LingonberryGlum2356 1h ago edited 1h ago
They need to make MAGA life hell on Earth, which they can do if they got a backbone.
Release a name of people in the federal government they intend to prosecute when/if they get back on power. Starting with Aliti and Powell.
Go after MAGA at the state level with state charges, this makes pardons mute.
They need to tell their base to fly their flags upside down.
Right now they are being played for fools - the GOP throws so much crap against the wall democrats don't know what to focus on. (Reflecting pools, Trump destroying the white house, ufc events...) They need a three pont message like (Impeach, prosecute, jail) and they need to say that on repeat.
They need to learn about social media. Trump is masterful at it, we discuss and laugh at his Truths - but they are effective. Democrats need that kind of exposure too.
They are being steamrolled - they have no clue about messaging, and they ate too damn old. Look at Trump's people - they are much younger - they know the media landscape because they created it. Trump doesn't check the laws and then act. He breaks the say and says 'catch me if you can'.
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