Why mass protests alone will not stop Trump and we need campaigns that can pull in new supporters AND take down pillars of his regime. Plus, some fresh thoughts on the politics of Israel/Palestine.
A friend just told me about your newsletter. At The Civics Center, we're in the middle of our annual tentpole events, Cap, Gown & Ballot. Your readers might be interested in the possibilities of making voter registration part of every high school in America. https://www.thecivicscenter.org/cap-gown-and-ballot
I’m leading efforts to grow a distributed organizing network of resistance to authoritarians via a coordinated campaign “hub” at ResistTrump (www.resisttrump.us). Our first chapter, ResistAustin (www.resistaustin.us), is off and running, and we’re looking to scale up with many more in the months to come!
Hey Micah, if I may make a suggestion: the single most important act any of us can take, whenever we are going to participate in anything, is to ask at least 1 friend to do it with us. Ask a friend to come to the protest you want to go to. Ask a friend to go canvassing when you go. And if an activity is inherently done in isolation, how about considering it a low priority compared to activities where you can take action with someone you know, along with others? An action that counts on any of us repeatedly acting alone is one that won't prove sustainable, won't bring us into community, and won't get us closer to a breakthrough. Dave
The other night I heard Joe Trippi go on and on about the 3.5 million trope. He did some quick math based on each one brings one to show how reachable goal the 11 or 12 million is. I was waiting for him to say what would come next. He only said "and then we will be there." Where and to do what? He had no idea. Just as those calling for a general strike are in lala land and need to do some reading on what a general strike is and how you get there. I would estimate that on the 1 to 100 path to one, we are currently at .02. Wishcasting should be illegal. Couldnt agree more on Israel/Palestine. I have the same view. But what would I know. I only spent several weeks with the Palestinian leadership in Beirut... eons ago in the wake of the 73 war.I've never been a zionist and have had many a debate in my life opposing zionism. But I have to say hearing it as a stand alone epithet makes my skin crawl.
If the Trump/Musk gov't will not spend money that congress appropriated for things that we want (healthcare, science, weather reports, better air and water, arts, education etc) and Congress will not take back power of the purse, and the plan is to give more money to billionaires why should we pay taxes? Withholding taxes to an escrow fund is a challenge, but it has been done before by War Resisters and other peace and justice groups. If MANY do it in a coordinated way--with the IRS having been defunded and fired-- it would send a very powerful message; and with the jails full of immigrants they can't put us all in there. Please have the lawyers weigh in on this tactic.
Where is the defining music of this century? All the amazing "Defiance" music is stuck in the 60s and 70s... I can think of zero contemporary music that is part of any resistance.
Totally agree with your take on Israel/Palestine. Regarding attitudes of American Jews, I read somewhere that 72% of American Jews disapprove of Trump's presidency.
A reminder that there are open microphones at local municipal and school board meetings nearly every month where regular citizens can share their stories and demand that local officials not only address the impacts of federal actions on communities, but also REPRESENT the community up through the administrative and power structure they are also connected to.
Don't let local officials bury themselves under a heads down approach. Demand that they speak up by speaking up at every occasion.
We need strategies and tactics that can stop the MAGA regime. The OODA Loop, a decision-making model that involves four stages: Observe, Orient, Decide, and Act, developed by Colonel John Boyd, emphasizes the importance of adapting and reacting faster than an opponent to gain an advantage. Right now MAGA has the advantage. Everyone else is just reacting. Anyone interested in exploring this join our virtual No Kings event June 14: https://www.mobilize.us/nokings/event/794393/
Thanks for this substack Micah! I was intrigued by a tactic Beto O'Rourke is taking at town halls in Texas. Rather than just the usual, he's turning the meetings into a mutual aid/community building event, where he asks folks in the audience what challenges they are facing, then asks who else in the audience lives near that person. I think we've all talked about the need to build up our local communities and this is as useful a use of these town halls as I've heard about. (I mean it's good that other Dems are also going to Republican districts, but Beto is taking it a step further into action on the ground and community building.)
The discussion of NYC mayoral is just moronic. Lander is part of a progressive establishment heavily tainted by its tendency to cow-tow to the real estate industry in town. He is not particularly charismatic, and as someone who was widely expected to run for mayor, displayed serious incompetence by not getting his face out there when the Eric Adams scandals hit. Mandami, who himself has some experience as an elected official, is quite a bit more dynamic, has foot soldiers starting with DSA but not ending there, and has connected with the South Asian and Middle Eastern communities. As we have rank choice voting here, there is room for multiple candidates on the progressive side, and there are several others, all of whom are, like Lander, languishing. The big issue for progressives is the inability to find strong support in the African American community. Adams did, and now Cuomo looks likely to get most of his supporters. Some people are hoping Adrienne Adams, another progressive, may be able to change that, but she has a steep hill to climb. Mandami's position on Israel is closer to the movement than yours (or mine), but this is hardly the main issue of the campaign. It mostly just supplies grist to try to discredit him and also bolsters his credibility among young people. Acting as if Mandami is, by virtue of running and running well, getting in the way of Lander, who really hasn't distinguished himself, is just nauseating Democratic Party politics as usual. Mandami may well win the AOC endorsement (she is in a tough spot, because she is personal friends with Lander, and his campaign is basically a non-starter) and may also get the Working Families ballot line in the likely event that he comes in second in the Democratic primary and they decide to not endorse Cuomo and not strengthen ties with a faded progressive establishment epitomized by Lander. Because he is an exciting politician, not because he is a purist on Palestine.
A friend just told me about your newsletter. At The Civics Center, we're in the middle of our annual tentpole events, Cap, Gown & Ballot. Your readers might be interested in the possibilities of making voter registration part of every high school in America. https://www.thecivicscenter.org/cap-gown-and-ballot
The Defiance needs to be FOR something rather than against everything.
I’m leading efforts to grow a distributed organizing network of resistance to authoritarians via a coordinated campaign “hub” at ResistTrump (www.resisttrump.us). Our first chapter, ResistAustin (www.resistaustin.us), is off and running, and we’re looking to scale up with many more in the months to come!
Hey Micah, if I may make a suggestion: the single most important act any of us can take, whenever we are going to participate in anything, is to ask at least 1 friend to do it with us. Ask a friend to come to the protest you want to go to. Ask a friend to go canvassing when you go. And if an activity is inherently done in isolation, how about considering it a low priority compared to activities where you can take action with someone you know, along with others? An action that counts on any of us repeatedly acting alone is one that won't prove sustainable, won't bring us into community, and won't get us closer to a breakthrough. Dave
The other night I heard Joe Trippi go on and on about the 3.5 million trope. He did some quick math based on each one brings one to show how reachable goal the 11 or 12 million is. I was waiting for him to say what would come next. He only said "and then we will be there." Where and to do what? He had no idea. Just as those calling for a general strike are in lala land and need to do some reading on what a general strike is and how you get there. I would estimate that on the 1 to 100 path to one, we are currently at .02. Wishcasting should be illegal. Couldnt agree more on Israel/Palestine. I have the same view. But what would I know. I only spent several weeks with the Palestinian leadership in Beirut... eons ago in the wake of the 73 war.I've never been a zionist and have had many a debate in my life opposing zionism. But I have to say hearing it as a stand alone epithet makes my skin crawl.
If the Trump/Musk gov't will not spend money that congress appropriated for things that we want (healthcare, science, weather reports, better air and water, arts, education etc) and Congress will not take back power of the purse, and the plan is to give more money to billionaires why should we pay taxes? Withholding taxes to an escrow fund is a challenge, but it has been done before by War Resisters and other peace and justice groups. If MANY do it in a coordinated way--with the IRS having been defunded and fired-- it would send a very powerful message; and with the jails full of immigrants they can't put us all in there. Please have the lawyers weigh in on this tactic.
Where is the defining music of this century? All the amazing "Defiance" music is stuck in the 60s and 70s... I can think of zero contemporary music that is part of any resistance.
Just released by Fiona Apple: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ki1nvcNbYH8
Macklemore getting a lot of airplay: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sn9EKC9nqU4
And then there's https://www.ongoinghistoryofprotestsongs.com/category/2025-the-year-in-protest-music/
Totally agree with your take on Israel/Palestine. Regarding attitudes of American Jews, I read somewhere that 72% of American Jews disapprove of Trump's presidency.
A reminder that there are open microphones at local municipal and school board meetings nearly every month where regular citizens can share their stories and demand that local officials not only address the impacts of federal actions on communities, but also REPRESENT the community up through the administrative and power structure they are also connected to.
Don't let local officials bury themselves under a heads down approach. Demand that they speak up by speaking up at every occasion.
OperationSunshine.info is there to help.
Follow @operationsunshine, as well.
We need strategies and tactics that can stop the MAGA regime. The OODA Loop, a decision-making model that involves four stages: Observe, Orient, Decide, and Act, developed by Colonel John Boyd, emphasizes the importance of adapting and reacting faster than an opponent to gain an advantage. Right now MAGA has the advantage. Everyone else is just reacting. Anyone interested in exploring this join our virtual No Kings event June 14: https://www.mobilize.us/nokings/event/794393/
Thanks for this substack Micah! I was intrigued by a tactic Beto O'Rourke is taking at town halls in Texas. Rather than just the usual, he's turning the meetings into a mutual aid/community building event, where he asks folks in the audience what challenges they are facing, then asks who else in the audience lives near that person. I think we've all talked about the need to build up our local communities and this is as useful a use of these town halls as I've heard about. (I mean it's good that other Dems are also going to Republican districts, but Beto is taking it a step further into action on the ground and community building.)
The discussion of NYC mayoral is just moronic. Lander is part of a progressive establishment heavily tainted by its tendency to cow-tow to the real estate industry in town. He is not particularly charismatic, and as someone who was widely expected to run for mayor, displayed serious incompetence by not getting his face out there when the Eric Adams scandals hit. Mandami, who himself has some experience as an elected official, is quite a bit more dynamic, has foot soldiers starting with DSA but not ending there, and has connected with the South Asian and Middle Eastern communities. As we have rank choice voting here, there is room for multiple candidates on the progressive side, and there are several others, all of whom are, like Lander, languishing. The big issue for progressives is the inability to find strong support in the African American community. Adams did, and now Cuomo looks likely to get most of his supporters. Some people are hoping Adrienne Adams, another progressive, may be able to change that, but she has a steep hill to climb. Mandami's position on Israel is closer to the movement than yours (or mine), but this is hardly the main issue of the campaign. It mostly just supplies grist to try to discredit him and also bolsters his credibility among young people. Acting as if Mandami is, by virtue of running and running well, getting in the way of Lander, who really hasn't distinguished himself, is just nauseating Democratic Party politics as usual. Mandami may well win the AOC endorsement (she is in a tough spot, because she is personal friends with Lander, and his campaign is basically a non-starter) and may also get the Working Families ballot line in the likely event that he comes in second in the Democratic primary and they decide to not endorse Cuomo and not strengthen ties with a faded progressive establishment epitomized by Lander. Because he is an exciting politician, not because he is a purist on Palestine.