Ted Cruz and Jim DeMint ground things to a halt in the Senate quite effectively during the Obama era, and Democrats should take a cue from them for Trump's appointments: Demand hearings or hold their own.
Made some themes. Didn't have a chance to remove the markdown:
Here’s a strategic guide to messaging and actions focusing on **federal workers, immigration, the rule of law, and justice**, tailored to resonate with broader audiences and embolden anti-Trump Republicans:
---
### **1. Federal Workers: Protecting Public Servants**
**Theme**: *“Defending the Backbone of American Government”*
- **Message**:
- *“Federal workers serve every American, regardless of politics. They process your Social Security, keep our food safe, and protect our national security. Targeting them is an attack on the services we all rely on.”*
- Highlight Trump’s history of undermining public servants and politicizing their roles.
- *“The government shouldn’t become a political weapon. We must protect the integrity and neutrality of public service.”*
- **Action Plan**:
- **Rally Support**: Host town halls or webinars with former federal workers to share their experiences and the risks of political targeting.
- **Messaging Campaign**: Use social media to tell stories of federal workers who’ve helped communities (e.g., FEMA during disasters, CDC during COVID).
- **Legislative Push**: Advocate for laws protecting whistleblowers and insulating federal agencies from partisan manipulation.
- **Appeal to Anti-Trump Republicans**:
- *“Do you want a government that works for the people—or one that serves only the president’s friends and punishes his enemies? Standing up for federal workers means standing up for fairness and accountability.”*
---
### **2. Immigration: Balanced Policies Respecting Law and Humanity**
**Theme**: *“Fairness and Humanity at Our Borders”*
- **Message**:
- *“Immigration policy should be about safety and fairness, not fear and political theater. Using the military to patrol our neighborhoods is a dangerous overreach.”*
- Expose abuses like separating families and deporting legal residents, framing them as betrayals of American values.
- *“Real security comes from smart, lawful policies, not turning our military into a police force or sowing division among neighbors.”*
- **Action Plan**:
- **Spotlight Legal Abuses**: Share stories of immigrants or legal residents who’ve been unfairly targeted, emphasizing shared values like family and justice.
- **Engage Faith Leaders**: Many Republicans are guided by faith. Encourage clergy to speak out about the moral failings of inhumane policies.
- **Promote Alternatives**: Advocate for policies like improved visa processes and border technology that enhance security without harming communities.
- **Appeal to Anti-Trump Republicans**:
- *“Immigration isn’t about left or right—it’s about doing the right thing. Let’s demand policies that honor our nation’s values without compromising security.”*
---
### **3. Rule of Law: Standing Against Pardons and Politicized Investigations**
**Theme**: *“Justice for All, Not Just the Powerful”*
- **Message**:
- *“Pardoning violent rioters or targeting critics sends a message that the law only protects Trump’s allies. That’s not justice—it’s corruption.”*
- Emphasize the dangerous precedent of weaponizing investigations: *“If it happens to them today, it could happen to you tomorrow.”*
- *“The rule of law isn’t about politics. It’s the foundation of freedom.”*
- **Action Plan**:
- **Public Education**: Create explainer videos or infographics detailing how pardons for January 6th rioters undermine the justice system.
- **Support Targets of Abuse**: Rally legal aid and public support for those unfairly investigated or punished.
- **Expose Injustice**: Highlight cases of blatant cronyism, like RFK Jr.’s nomination or abusive pardons, framing them as threats to everyone’s rights.
- **Appeal to Anti-Trump Republicans**:
- *“The GOP has always stood for law and order. Let’s not throw that away for one man’s agenda. Upholding justice means protecting the principles that make America strong.”*
---
### **4. Justice: Upholding Fairness Over Partisanship**
**Theme**: *“Justice Must Be Blind, Not Loyal”*
- **Message**:
- *“Justice fails when it serves political power over the people. Let’s demand fair investigations, impartial judges, and independent law enforcement.”*
- Call out actions like the appointment of unqualified loyalists (e.g., Matt Gaetz) as direct threats to the judiciary.
- *“True justice protects every citizen equally. Anything less is un-American.”*
- **Action Plan**:
- **Expose Cronyism**: Publicize the qualifications (or lack thereof) of Trump’s appointees, comparing them to historical standards.
I like Amanda's parsing of what we don't like about Trump 2.0 into two broad areas (as I understood her)...
1. Things that are policies we don't like, sometimes because they are really reprehensible and morally bankrupt, and are likely to lead to actions that are outside the pale, but which in and of themselves are legal. An example would be a draconian border policy.
2. The things that are actually outside the pale--illegal or unconstitutional. An example would be using the military to execute a draconian border policy.
The first group are policy disagreements; the second group is actions that undermine the legal basis of the republic. Not keeping these these two types of harm separate risks having voters start to conflate them...many Americans believe stricter immigration controls are needed. That shouldn't lead to them normalizing using the US military against US citizens.
Tim, I agree that maybe doing the hand-off without smiling was a better plan. Maybe refuse to shake hands. Certainly don't have Jill attend.
And, I'm in for some vermin, or enemy within, or fifth column merch.
Along with some commenters before me, I suugest folks go back to the punk rock well. Get the genuine article. Sex Pistols. The Clash. Social Distortion. Talking Heads. It's like orange juice. It's like everything you've ever known that's good for you.
Hey Tume & Bulwarkers — Another great session with Amanda, and I’m gonna break down and read Amanda &/Company’s Authoritarian Playbook. It’s comforting to hear from fellow (real) patriots and I truly appreciate the mission and Bulwark’s unstoppable commitment. But it’s not enough for me and I’m going to ask same question I asked at the live SF session earlier this year.
How/where can we (or I) get more hands-on involved? Real time, real work beyond talking, persuading & influencing. I do all this but that’s not enough. Experienced professional (or rookie depending on the job), and I’m willing to take a sabbatical to make a difference This is serious shit and for my kid’s future sake and for my own sanity I need to do more, but not sure what …
I disagree with parts of the criticisms of Biden. I agree in part that I don't think he should show any ways to normalize it. But Biden was elected to reestablish norms and he did that time and time again. Biden could have done more, but so could a lot of people who actively enabled Trump. As a country, we asked Biden to unilaterally save us from ourselves and failed to hold up our end of the bargain.
I have agreed with Amanda 99.99%of the time for 6 years She is smart, concise, and understands the threat. More all caps Amanda! However,. whatever band she was talking about is not better than Talking Heads ( that's right, no the) Watch the Stop Making Sense doc. You'll see
Without question "the Paramore cover of Burning Down the House is better than the Talking Heads version" is the worst take I've ever heard Amanda give.
Though I cringe every time she reminds us that she was deeply involved in some of Ted Cruz's greatest hits and helping the GOP steal a Supreme Court seat.
Re: "Also, yesterday's guest, Rick Wilson, said something about Matt Gaetz and a dead person in his dorm room. I did not know what he was referencing and did some Googling after. There didn't really seem to be any evidence of that out there. There was a Snopes item on it. So, look, there are plenty of things to criticize Matt Gaetz on without getting into conspiracy land. We're going to try to be reality-based here at The Bulwark."
So... Does that mean no more Rick Wilson on Bulwark podcasts?
He's been on Michael Steele's podcast several times. He said changing from Joe Biden to anyone else would be an impossibility. That didn't age well. Then, the next time, he was over the moon about how great Kamala Harris was, which is true, but he forgot to mention his prior take. The next time, after her loss, he dissected the failures of the Harris campaign. He was able to say that things are easy to see in hindsight, but he didn't mention how completely wrong HE was or why. And now this, peddling some weird story about a dead body in Matt Gaetz' dorm room for which there appears no evidence.
I mean ... why? I sent money to The Lincoln Project several times. I supported them from the beginning. Then they had their scandal -- about which Rick Wilson said on The Breakdown, a Lincoln Project production, he would "name names" when the time was right, but never did -- and I stuck with them. Then the documentary came out and I was still kinda on board. But now, I just can't anymore. I'm actually sorry about that because Rick's Rants are my rants, but it's really looking like The Lincoln Project is the grift a lot of people thought it was and I feel like a mark.
Tim, I’ll take an Enemy Within hoodie. I’ve been trying to promote that as the moniker for our coalition. It projects the IDGAF two finger salute attitude that’ll be required for the next four years (even when it’s hard to feel it) - AKA the punk rock spirit, as per Amanda.
Interesting show as usual. Thanks for your continued work.
While the idea of enemies within swag is funny, I don't think this is productive in this disinformation war and may even be counter-productive. I would like to offer the alternative phrase "Patriots Within" because Trump calls "Patriots Within" "Enemies Within."
It is an inherent critical requirement in a system of freedom and human rights through democracy, like ours, for the media to speak truth to power and the people. As result, speaking truth to power and to the people is an inherently patriotic act. Suppressing truth, spreading lies and perpetrating a divide and conquer disinformation strategy is inherently anti-patriotic. Therefore it follows that when Trump and his co-conspirators attack and claim that they seek to jail those in the media speaking truth to power and the people, he is inherently attacking some of our Patriots Within.
Let’s be clear about how the electorate spoke this past election:
They (the unsilent majority) said very clearly that character does not matter.
Truthfulness doesn’t matter.
Compassion toward your fellow humans, including legal immigrants, does not matter.
Stealing things from work (classified things, boxes and boxes of them no less!) doesn’t matter.
Speaking of women and people of color in the most demeaning and disgusting terms possible does not matter.
Sedition, however flagrant and televised, does not matter.
Whether or not women and girls will be forced to bear their rapists’ babies does not matter.
Nor does women and girls bleeding out and entering septic shock because DJTs handpicked court threw out Roe and now states are back to 1860s laws dominating women and girls’ bodies.
All that matters is your (white or light) skin color.
All that matters is your (male) gender.
All that matters is the letter (R) by your name in the ballot.
And if you can throw in blatant and sickening violence towards groups you fear and hate, that meets voters approval too.
We cannot normalize DJT, or his voters.
And even if in the grand scheme of things one voter does not matter much, I will never normalize and of the above, and I’ll never bend the knee. Perhaps our sense of justice, dignity and our need to resist tyranny and injustice are all we have left. Better to lose the whole world, than you own soul. Thank you Bulwark, for keeping your soul in these dark times. We shall overcome.
Anger activation and time to fight -- I'd suggest simmer down and hold your horses. The fighting of the last decade proved so ineffective that things got worse. It didn't even hold the line. Going off half-cocked without a proper reanalysis means more failure. People sometimes mistake feeling emotions for doing something. Admitting you were wrong and trying something new leads to success.
First, we must unite the country. Only our enemies benefit from our polarization. So does the fighting help reunite the country? It's not about success of the parts, but the whole. If all someone can do is get points for their side, they're not really helping the needs of the moment. They must be good enough and smart enough to create consensus. Be an American, not a side.
Second, don't start off with assumptions. The assumptions have been wrong for a decade. Wait and see, and respond to actual events, not suspected events.
Third, fight corruption, not political differences. Political differences are allowed.
Fourth, empower norms. Remember why they exist and what their purpose accomplishes.
I still haven't emptied my six-pack of JVL's deep dark. IMO there will be NO change in attitude until and unless the worst excesses come to Average America. Until and unless there is violence, no one will take the dire predictions seriously. I would not "rally around" actions until there are -- as Amanda calls it -- painful outcomes. No one cares about soft impressions like "corruption" or "Constitutional crisis." When there's blood, people will pay attention. I wish it weren't so.
The photos of the Bidens welcoming the Fall of America into the White House made me sick. There is nothing "normal" about the Trump dictatorship and it looks like the most abject prostration to invite the destroyer in before the cameras to smile and shake hands, knowing what he intends to do to America. I don't know what I'd have done myself - as Amanda and Tim say - just the bare minimum. One stern-faced photo, knowing that it will be in history books (in other countries if not in the US) as the beginning of the end.
Made some themes. Didn't have a chance to remove the markdown:
Here’s a strategic guide to messaging and actions focusing on **federal workers, immigration, the rule of law, and justice**, tailored to resonate with broader audiences and embolden anti-Trump Republicans:
---
### **1. Federal Workers: Protecting Public Servants**
**Theme**: *“Defending the Backbone of American Government”*
- **Message**:
- *“Federal workers serve every American, regardless of politics. They process your Social Security, keep our food safe, and protect our national security. Targeting them is an attack on the services we all rely on.”*
- Highlight Trump’s history of undermining public servants and politicizing their roles.
- *“The government shouldn’t become a political weapon. We must protect the integrity and neutrality of public service.”*
- **Action Plan**:
- **Rally Support**: Host town halls or webinars with former federal workers to share their experiences and the risks of political targeting.
- **Messaging Campaign**: Use social media to tell stories of federal workers who’ve helped communities (e.g., FEMA during disasters, CDC during COVID).
- **Legislative Push**: Advocate for laws protecting whistleblowers and insulating federal agencies from partisan manipulation.
- **Appeal to Anti-Trump Republicans**:
- *“Do you want a government that works for the people—or one that serves only the president’s friends and punishes his enemies? Standing up for federal workers means standing up for fairness and accountability.”*
---
### **2. Immigration: Balanced Policies Respecting Law and Humanity**
**Theme**: *“Fairness and Humanity at Our Borders”*
- **Message**:
- *“Immigration policy should be about safety and fairness, not fear and political theater. Using the military to patrol our neighborhoods is a dangerous overreach.”*
- Expose abuses like separating families and deporting legal residents, framing them as betrayals of American values.
- *“Real security comes from smart, lawful policies, not turning our military into a police force or sowing division among neighbors.”*
- **Action Plan**:
- **Spotlight Legal Abuses**: Share stories of immigrants or legal residents who’ve been unfairly targeted, emphasizing shared values like family and justice.
- **Engage Faith Leaders**: Many Republicans are guided by faith. Encourage clergy to speak out about the moral failings of inhumane policies.
- **Promote Alternatives**: Advocate for policies like improved visa processes and border technology that enhance security without harming communities.
- **Appeal to Anti-Trump Republicans**:
- *“Immigration isn’t about left or right—it’s about doing the right thing. Let’s demand policies that honor our nation’s values without compromising security.”*
---
### **3. Rule of Law: Standing Against Pardons and Politicized Investigations**
**Theme**: *“Justice for All, Not Just the Powerful”*
- **Message**:
- *“Pardoning violent rioters or targeting critics sends a message that the law only protects Trump’s allies. That’s not justice—it’s corruption.”*
- Emphasize the dangerous precedent of weaponizing investigations: *“If it happens to them today, it could happen to you tomorrow.”*
- *“The rule of law isn’t about politics. It’s the foundation of freedom.”*
- **Action Plan**:
- **Public Education**: Create explainer videos or infographics detailing how pardons for January 6th rioters undermine the justice system.
- **Support Targets of Abuse**: Rally legal aid and public support for those unfairly investigated or punished.
- **Expose Injustice**: Highlight cases of blatant cronyism, like RFK Jr.’s nomination or abusive pardons, framing them as threats to everyone’s rights.
- **Appeal to Anti-Trump Republicans**:
- *“The GOP has always stood for law and order. Let’s not throw that away for one man’s agenda. Upholding justice means protecting the principles that make America strong.”*
---
### **4. Justice: Upholding Fairness Over Partisanship**
**Theme**: *“Justice Must Be Blind, Not Loyal”*
- **Message**:
- *“Justice fails when it serves political power over the people. Let’s demand fair investigations, impartial judges, and independent law enforcement.”*
- Call out actions like the appointment of unqualified loyalists (e.g., Matt Gaetz) as direct threats to the judiciary.
- *“True justice protects every citizen equally. Anything less is un-American.”*
- **Action Plan**:
- **Expose Cronyism**: Publicize the qualifications (or lack thereof) of Trump’s appointees, comparing them to historical standards.
- **Organize Watchdog Groups**: Monitor judicial nominations and challenge unqualified candidates publicly.
- **Community Outreach**: Partner with bipartisan organizations to hold forums on the importance of judicial independence.
- **Appeal to Anti-Trump Republicans**:
- *“The GOP should lead on fair and impartial justice. Compromising these values for temporary political gain weakens our country.”*
---
### **Strategies to Strengthen Republican Resistance**
1. **Frame Resistance as Loyalty to Conservative Principles**:
- Emphasize that opposing Trump’s abuses is about preserving the core Republican values of law, order, and limited government.
2. **Promote Role Models**:
- Highlight Republicans who’ve stood up to Trump (e.g., Liz Cheney, Mitt Romney) as principled leaders protecting the party’s integrity.
3. **Create Safe Spaces for Dissent**:
- Establish anonymous platforms or private forums for Republicans hesitant to speak out publicly.
4. **Encourage Action, Not Silence**:
- *“History remembers those who stood on principle. Be the Republican who chose country over party when it mattered most.”*
---
Would you like help crafting specific messaging campaigns or outreach plans around any of these themes?
People are allowed to change
Yay Amanda!
I like Amanda's parsing of what we don't like about Trump 2.0 into two broad areas (as I understood her)...
1. Things that are policies we don't like, sometimes because they are really reprehensible and morally bankrupt, and are likely to lead to actions that are outside the pale, but which in and of themselves are legal. An example would be a draconian border policy.
2. The things that are actually outside the pale--illegal or unconstitutional. An example would be using the military to execute a draconian border policy.
The first group are policy disagreements; the second group is actions that undermine the legal basis of the republic. Not keeping these these two types of harm separate risks having voters start to conflate them...many Americans believe stricter immigration controls are needed. That shouldn't lead to them normalizing using the US military against US citizens.
Tim, I agree that maybe doing the hand-off without smiling was a better plan. Maybe refuse to shake hands. Certainly don't have Jill attend.
And, I'm in for some vermin, or enemy within, or fifth column merch.
Along with some commenters before me, I suugest folks go back to the punk rock well. Get the genuine article. Sex Pistols. The Clash. Social Distortion. Talking Heads. It's like orange juice. It's like everything you've ever known that's good for you.
No one has inspired me more or given me greater hope than Amanda has! I’m listening to this late but I will be reaching out to her!
Hey Tume & Bulwarkers — Another great session with Amanda, and I’m gonna break down and read Amanda &/Company’s Authoritarian Playbook. It’s comforting to hear from fellow (real) patriots and I truly appreciate the mission and Bulwark’s unstoppable commitment. But it’s not enough for me and I’m going to ask same question I asked at the live SF session earlier this year.
How/where can we (or I) get more hands-on involved? Real time, real work beyond talking, persuading & influencing. I do all this but that’s not enough. Experienced professional (or rookie depending on the job), and I’m willing to take a sabbatical to make a difference This is serious shit and for my kid’s future sake and for my own sanity I need to do more, but not sure what …
I disagree with parts of the criticisms of Biden. I agree in part that I don't think he should show any ways to normalize it. But Biden was elected to reestablish norms and he did that time and time again. Biden could have done more, but so could a lot of people who actively enabled Trump. As a country, we asked Biden to unilaterally save us from ourselves and failed to hold up our end of the bargain.
This is the most constructive "Where do we go from here?" conversation I've heard since the election... by far.
I have agreed with Amanda 99.99%of the time for 6 years She is smart, concise, and understands the threat. More all caps Amanda! However,. whatever band she was talking about is not better than Talking Heads ( that's right, no the) Watch the Stop Making Sense doc. You'll see
Without question "the Paramore cover of Burning Down the House is better than the Talking Heads version" is the worst take I've ever heard Amanda give.
Though I cringe every time she reminds us that she was deeply involved in some of Ted Cruz's greatest hits and helping the GOP steal a Supreme Court seat.
Re: "Also, yesterday's guest, Rick Wilson, said something about Matt Gaetz and a dead person in his dorm room. I did not know what he was referencing and did some Googling after. There didn't really seem to be any evidence of that out there. There was a Snopes item on it. So, look, there are plenty of things to criticize Matt Gaetz on without getting into conspiracy land. We're going to try to be reality-based here at The Bulwark."
So... Does that mean no more Rick Wilson on Bulwark podcasts?
He's been on Michael Steele's podcast several times. He said changing from Joe Biden to anyone else would be an impossibility. That didn't age well. Then, the next time, he was over the moon about how great Kamala Harris was, which is true, but he forgot to mention his prior take. The next time, after her loss, he dissected the failures of the Harris campaign. He was able to say that things are easy to see in hindsight, but he didn't mention how completely wrong HE was or why. And now this, peddling some weird story about a dead body in Matt Gaetz' dorm room for which there appears no evidence.
I mean ... why? I sent money to The Lincoln Project several times. I supported them from the beginning. Then they had their scandal -- about which Rick Wilson said on The Breakdown, a Lincoln Project production, he would "name names" when the time was right, but never did -- and I stuck with them. Then the documentary came out and I was still kinda on board. But now, I just can't anymore. I'm actually sorry about that because Rick's Rants are my rants, but it's really looking like The Lincoln Project is the grift a lot of people thought it was and I feel like a mark.
Am I wrong?
I think even Rick Wilson would admit that he is looking out for Rick Wilson first, and everyone else later.
Tim, I’ll take an Enemy Within hoodie. I’ve been trying to promote that as the moniker for our coalition. It projects the IDGAF two finger salute attitude that’ll be required for the next four years (even when it’s hard to feel it) - AKA the punk rock spirit, as per Amanda.
Interesting show as usual. Thanks for your continued work.
While the idea of enemies within swag is funny, I don't think this is productive in this disinformation war and may even be counter-productive. I would like to offer the alternative phrase "Patriots Within" because Trump calls "Patriots Within" "Enemies Within."
It is an inherent critical requirement in a system of freedom and human rights through democracy, like ours, for the media to speak truth to power and the people. As result, speaking truth to power and to the people is an inherently patriotic act. Suppressing truth, spreading lies and perpetrating a divide and conquer disinformation strategy is inherently anti-patriotic. Therefore it follows that when Trump and his co-conspirators attack and claim that they seek to jail those in the media speaking truth to power and the people, he is inherently attacking some of our Patriots Within.
Let’s be clear about how the electorate spoke this past election:
They (the unsilent majority) said very clearly that character does not matter.
Truthfulness doesn’t matter.
Compassion toward your fellow humans, including legal immigrants, does not matter.
Stealing things from work (classified things, boxes and boxes of them no less!) doesn’t matter.
Speaking of women and people of color in the most demeaning and disgusting terms possible does not matter.
Sedition, however flagrant and televised, does not matter.
Whether or not women and girls will be forced to bear their rapists’ babies does not matter.
Nor does women and girls bleeding out and entering septic shock because DJTs handpicked court threw out Roe and now states are back to 1860s laws dominating women and girls’ bodies.
All that matters is your (white or light) skin color.
All that matters is your (male) gender.
All that matters is the letter (R) by your name in the ballot.
And if you can throw in blatant and sickening violence towards groups you fear and hate, that meets voters approval too.
We cannot normalize DJT, or his voters.
And even if in the grand scheme of things one voter does not matter much, I will never normalize and of the above, and I’ll never bend the knee. Perhaps our sense of justice, dignity and our need to resist tyranny and injustice are all we have left. Better to lose the whole world, than you own soul. Thank you Bulwark, for keeping your soul in these dark times. We shall overcome.
Anger activation and time to fight -- I'd suggest simmer down and hold your horses. The fighting of the last decade proved so ineffective that things got worse. It didn't even hold the line. Going off half-cocked without a proper reanalysis means more failure. People sometimes mistake feeling emotions for doing something. Admitting you were wrong and trying something new leads to success.
First, we must unite the country. Only our enemies benefit from our polarization. So does the fighting help reunite the country? It's not about success of the parts, but the whole. If all someone can do is get points for their side, they're not really helping the needs of the moment. They must be good enough and smart enough to create consensus. Be an American, not a side.
Second, don't start off with assumptions. The assumptions have been wrong for a decade. Wait and see, and respond to actual events, not suspected events.
Third, fight corruption, not political differences. Political differences are allowed.
Fourth, empower norms. Remember why they exist and what their purpose accomplishes.
Thank you Amanda! We need your fighting punk rock spirit!
I still haven't emptied my six-pack of JVL's deep dark. IMO there will be NO change in attitude until and unless the worst excesses come to Average America. Until and unless there is violence, no one will take the dire predictions seriously. I would not "rally around" actions until there are -- as Amanda calls it -- painful outcomes. No one cares about soft impressions like "corruption" or "Constitutional crisis." When there's blood, people will pay attention. I wish it weren't so.
The photos of the Bidens welcoming the Fall of America into the White House made me sick. There is nothing "normal" about the Trump dictatorship and it looks like the most abject prostration to invite the destroyer in before the cameras to smile and shake hands, knowing what he intends to do to America. I don't know what I'd have done myself - as Amanda and Tim say - just the bare minimum. One stern-faced photo, knowing that it will be in history books (in other countries if not in the US) as the beginning of the end.