Speak Now or Be Complicit Forever

In an age of political cowardice and performative unity, real leadership means having the guts to say no—even when it’s not convenient or popular.

Guest article by Michael Cohen

Photo by Cameron Smith on Unsplash

Here’s the thing: back in the day, there used to be a little something in Washington called compromise. Not capitulation, not boot-licking, not selling your soul for a committee assignment or a dinner invite at Mar-a-Lago. Real, honest-to-God negotiation. You’d walk into a room, maybe flip a few tables, but at the end of the day, you walked out with a deal that wasn’t perfect, but it worked for the American people. You took the heat from your base, but you had something to show for it. That’s called governing.

But now? Compromise is dead. Buried in an unmarked grave behind the Capitol, right next to shame, ethics, and functioning democracy.

And nothing makes that clearer than the Republican Party’s latest legislative monstrosity: the so-called One Big Beautiful Bill Act, or OBBBA. Yeah, that’s the actual name. Sounds like something dreamed up after a few too many Diet Cokes and a Steve Bannon fever dream.

Let’s talk about what this “beautiful” bill actually is: a multi-trillion dollar giveaway to the ultra-wealthy, dressed up as economic patriotism. A reverse Robin Hood scheme if there ever was one—steal from the working poor and give to the private jet class. And what’s wild? There isn’t even a debate about it within the GOP. Not a single raised eyebrow. Not a “wait a second, guys, shouldn’t we maybe pretend to care about the deficit we’ve been screaming about for decades?”

Nope. Just robotic bobblehead nodding and synchronized “yea” votes.

Thirty out of thirty-one members of the hard-right Freedom Caucus—members who used to foam at the mouth at the thought of raising the debt ceiling—voted for this bill. Why? Because Daddy Trump wanted it. Because being the adult in the room might mean going against the President, and in today’s Republican Party, that’s sacrilege. We’re not even talking about policy anymore; we’re talking loyalty oaths, political cosplay, and economic sabotage masquerading as legislation.

Let me be clear: there’s nothing conservative about OBBBA. There’s nothing fiscally responsible about adding $3 to $4.5 trillion to the deficit so the top 0.1% can pocket another $300,000 a year. There’s nothing patriotic about slashing Medicaid so a hedge fund manager can buy another yacht. But the worst part? The cowardice. The absolute absence of anyone willing to stand up and say, “Mr. President, this is just wrong.”

Now, I’ve been in those rooms. I know what it’s like to be surrounded by sycophants. I was one once. When you’re next to power, you convince yourself that staying close gives you more influence than speaking out. But I can tell you from experience: staying silent only makes you complicit. And that silence, that refusal to push back, is how bad policy becomes law and how democracies crumble from within.

It didn’t used to be like this. Republicans and Democrats could disagree—fiercely, passionately—but there was always a core understanding that you had to govern for everyone, not just your donors. Reagan worked with Tip O’Neill. Clinton cut deals with Gingrich. Hell, even Trump in his first term had moments when people actually told him “no.” Spoiler alert: that’s when things were least chaotic. And by the way, he respected them. He didn’t always agree with their assessment, but respected them nonetheless.

But now? You’ve got a Republican majority goose-stepping in lockstep behind a bill that explicitly hurts the bottom 80% of Americans, while handing out tax breaks like Halloween candy to the rich. And they do it with a smile. “Unbelievable unity,” Mike Johnson says. Yeah, because unity without principle is just a cult.

Here’s a wild idea: what if someone—anyone—on the Hill decided to be the grown-up in the room? What if a Republican lawmaker said, “You know what? I don’t think I can vote for a bill that cuts Medicaid by $800 billion and kicks 16 million people off health insurance just so a billionaire can get a bigger tax return.” What if disagreement wasn’t seen as disloyalty, but as proof that maybe, just maybe, you’re using your damn brain?

And look, it’s not just the GOP. Democrats have their flaws, no doubt. But this level of ideological rigidity? Of willful detachment from the facts? Of blind obedience to one man’s belief? That’s not governing; it’s authoritarian cosplay. And it’s truly dangerous.

Because here’s the reality: when the only thing that matters is loyalty to the man in charge, compromise becomes betrayal. Dissent becomes heresy. And truth? Well, that’s just whatever gets the biggest applause at a rally.

So, where are the adults? Where are the people willing to walk into the Oval and say, “Mr. President, this isn’t good policy, and here’s the data to prove it”? Where are the leaders who understand that real strength isn’t saying “yes” to everything—it’s having the guts to say “no” when it matters?

Compromise isn’t weakness; it’s the bedrock of democracy. And when you lose that, you’re not governing. You’re just ruling.

Until someone on the inside decides to remember that, the rest of us will keep watching as the rich get richer, the poor get poorer, the divide amongst Americans grows, and the United States Congress becomes a very expensive echo chamber.

History has its eyes on you—and it doesn’t look kindly on cowards.

---

THIS IS A CRITICAL PERSONAL APPEAL…FROM ME TO YOU!
JOIN ME. STAND WITH THIS COMMUNITY. WE CANNOT DO THIS ALONE.

If you’re reading this, you’re already part of the resistance. You believe in truth. In justice. In dragging the roaches of corruption into the light. But let me be brutally honest: I can’t do this without you.

This isn’t just another newsletter; it's a war cry. A movement. A battering ram aimed at the liars, the grifters, and the authoritarian wannabes hijacking our democracy. And we need to grow this platform into a voice so loud, so relentless, that they can’t spin it, silence it, or shut it down.

I’m calling on you—not passively asking, but urgently demanding—to fuel this fight. We are the last line of defense between democracy and dictatorship.

And yes, as a small token of my appreciation, the first 240 Founding Members will receive a signed, numbered, limited Substack edition of my New York Times bestseller, Revenge: How Donald Trump Weaponized the U.S. Department of Justice Against His Critics. It’s not just a collector’s item. It’s a declaration of where you stood when history came calling.

But this isn’t about a book.
This is about defiance.
About refusing to be gaslit.
About locking arms and shouting back at the madness.

Here’s how you can raise your voice:

1. Become a supporter today.

2. Forward this post to people who won’t sit on the sidelines.

3. Bring your crew. Grow this community. Be the megaphone.

You want to make a difference? This is your moment.
Rise up. Speak out. Show up.
Because if we don’t fight for truth, no one will.
And if we do it together? They’ll never drown us out.

Let’s be impossible to ignore.
Let’s be un-fucking-breakable.
Join now. Share widely. Let’s go.

---