Since you need an actively engaged society interested in knowing the answer to this question, day by day, and that society has mostly disappeared, in the US, corporate media refuse to report on it. So we have to actively look for the info ourselves.
You can find it by watching/reading MTN, Letters from America (Heather Cox Richardson), Paul Krugman etc.
Some examples: one of the key things an opposition party can do (and is doing) to slow down the installation of neofascism is to NOT shut down the government. Making sure that all Democrats Reps and Senators understood why that was vital is what Schumer worked on. The good news? He succeeded!
Another crucial activity is holding hearings, so that cabinet members have to explain to the American people what they're doing and why. In this way, everyone who decides to watch can see, in detail, how immoral this cabinet is. Once we have this info, we can show it to Trump voters. That is OUR job, in a democracy. No politician can do this in our place.
Then there is the fact that they can work hard to not vote for any GOP bill that is neofascist, which requires a LOT of work and coordination among Democrats in DC.
They can go to town halls in their home states/districts, or to red ones, to make sure that constituents are informed and have all they need to fight back.
And they can come up with alternative bills, so that as soon as "we the people" give them Congress and the White House back, we don't waste time and can immediately roll back all the damage the neofascist GOP is doing right now.
I agree with all of what you are saying. I still do not see Schumer engaging though. I wish I did. I see him as feckless. I want him replaced by someone strong. That is my opinion and maybe I am wrong. I’m a 61 year old white woman and feel we need new younger thinkers. I have nothing against Schumer and hope that he is doing things behind the scenes I know nothing about. I don’t think we need flashy but we need strong voices and people who can pull us together. Just my opinion. In the interim I stand with the Democrats and do my part. Protesting, boycotting, calling reps, and staying informed. Thank you again for getting back to me. I truly appreciate your time and information very much.
You need tremendous experience, wisdom and strength to convince enough Democratic Senators to vote AGAINST a government shutdown when most of the base is kicking and screaming and sees shutting down the government as a very satisfying SYMBOLIC action of protest against the disgustingly fascist GOP, without taking its consequences or the history of defeating fascism into account at all.
A Senate Leader needs to be able to have all the knowledge, experience, and level-headedness required to make the WISEST decision, especially when the base doesn't understand yet why that's the case.
Defeating fascism is not easy. It's not a matter of having some charismatic TV celebrities that look good and convincing on camera, offering "fresh ideas". It's a matter of having the determination and patience to dig deep and do all the 24/7, boring work needed to restore democracy.
And to know what Schumer is doing when TV cameras only want to focus on controversy rather than educating the American people at a time when it truly matters, just watch MTN, or C-Span. Or make sure that you subscribe to Schumer and Jeffries' social media accounts. It's all there, for anyone to see. We just need to decide to look and remember why doing this is absolutely crucial.
In the meantime: yes, protesting, boycotting, calling reps, and having debates among ourselves is definitely vital too.
Thank you so much for doing so, and for sharing your thoughts. Together, we WILL defeat them!!
With legacy media systematically refusing to report on what Democrats are doing (apparently, reporting on who does what in Congress it too boring so reduces their profits, compared to posting one clickbait headline after the other - screw democracy in the process) and limiting all coverage to cynical horse race articles only, it's not that easy to know what they're doing indeed.
Also, cynicism isn't a character trait, it's an understandable reaction, based on not knowing key facts.
And yes, we absolutely need to be a team! So thanks for your question.
I already replied to it in replies to other people above, so I'll copy-paste some of them here in a few minutes.
Agree on media 100%. They only want breaking news. Having conflicting views is fine we just need to work through them and stay strong! Thanks for getting back to me!
Exactly. In a democracy, disagreements and real, respectful debates are not only unavoidable, they are vitally important and exactly what makes democracies more competent in bringing about the well-being of all than dictatorships.
Please inform me. Not being snarky because we need to be a team. Please inform me of what he is doing.
This is a copy-paste of a reply to someone else:
Since you need an actively engaged society interested in knowing the answer to this question, day by day, and that society has mostly disappeared, in the US, corporate media refuse to report on it. So we have to actively look for the info ourselves.
You can find it by watching/reading MTN, Letters from America (Heather Cox Richardson), Paul Krugman etc.
Some examples: one of the key things an opposition party can do (and is doing) to slow down the installation of neofascism is to NOT shut down the government. Making sure that all Democrats Reps and Senators understood why that was vital is what Schumer worked on. The good news? He succeeded!
Another crucial activity is holding hearings, so that cabinet members have to explain to the American people what they're doing and why. In this way, everyone who decides to watch can see, in detail, how immoral this cabinet is. Once we have this info, we can show it to Trump voters. That is OUR job, in a democracy. No politician can do this in our place.
Then there is the fact that they can work hard to not vote for any GOP bill that is neofascist, which requires a LOT of work and coordination among Democrats in DC.
They can go to town halls in their home states/districts, or to red ones, to make sure that constituents are informed and have all they need to fight back.
And they can come up with alternative bills, so that as soon as "we the people" give them Congress and the White House back, we don't waste time and can immediately roll back all the damage the neofascist GOP is doing right now.
All of this is absolutely VITAL.
I agree with all of what you are saying. I still do not see Schumer engaging though. I wish I did. I see him as feckless. I want him replaced by someone strong. That is my opinion and maybe I am wrong. I’m a 61 year old white woman and feel we need new younger thinkers. I have nothing against Schumer and hope that he is doing things behind the scenes I know nothing about. I don’t think we need flashy but we need strong voices and people who can pull us together. Just my opinion. In the interim I stand with the Democrats and do my part. Protesting, boycotting, calling reps, and staying informed. Thank you again for getting back to me. I truly appreciate your time and information very much.
Yes, I do believe that that idea is wrong.
You need tremendous experience, wisdom and strength to convince enough Democratic Senators to vote AGAINST a government shutdown when most of the base is kicking and screaming and sees shutting down the government as a very satisfying SYMBOLIC action of protest against the disgustingly fascist GOP, without taking its consequences or the history of defeating fascism into account at all.
A Senate Leader needs to be able to have all the knowledge, experience, and level-headedness required to make the WISEST decision, especially when the base doesn't understand yet why that's the case.
Defeating fascism is not easy. It's not a matter of having some charismatic TV celebrities that look good and convincing on camera, offering "fresh ideas". It's a matter of having the determination and patience to dig deep and do all the 24/7, boring work needed to restore democracy.
And to know what Schumer is doing when TV cameras only want to focus on controversy rather than educating the American people at a time when it truly matters, just watch MTN, or C-Span. Or make sure that you subscribe to Schumer and Jeffries' social media accounts. It's all there, for anyone to see. We just need to decide to look and remember why doing this is absolutely crucial.
In the meantime: yes, protesting, boycotting, calling reps, and having debates among ourselves is definitely vital too.
Thank you so much for doing so, and for sharing your thoughts. Together, we WILL defeat them!!
With legacy media systematically refusing to report on what Democrats are doing (apparently, reporting on who does what in Congress it too boring so reduces their profits, compared to posting one clickbait headline after the other - screw democracy in the process) and limiting all coverage to cynical horse race articles only, it's not that easy to know what they're doing indeed.
Also, cynicism isn't a character trait, it's an understandable reaction, based on not knowing key facts.
And yes, we absolutely need to be a team! So thanks for your question.
I already replied to it in replies to other people above, so I'll copy-paste some of them here in a few minutes.
Agree on media 100%. They only want breaking news. Having conflicting views is fine we just need to work through them and stay strong! Thanks for getting back to me!
Exactly. In a democracy, disagreements and real, respectful debates are not only unavoidable, they are vitally important and exactly what makes democracies more competent in bringing about the well-being of all than dictatorships.