Stop Playing Fair or Lose It All

While Republicans redraw the battlefield, Democrats draft press releases. This isn’t politics; it’s an ambush. And if they don’t act now, democracy dies in committee.

Guest article by Michael Cohen. Join him on Substack here.

Let me spell this out in no uncertain terms: we are on the brink. Not figuratively. Not potentially. Not someday. Right now. This moment. We are watching in real time as democracy is disassembled—district by district, map by map—and the Democratic Party is still busy workshopping its messaging strategy.

The alarm isn’t just sounding; it’s screaming. And if Democrats don’t act decisively, forget 2028. Hell, forget 2026. Because there won’t be free and fair elections left to save.

Look at what’s happening in Texas. Governor Greg Abbott, at the direction of President Trump, has called a special legislative session to redraw congressional districts. Not because it’s time. Not because the census demands it. But because they’re afraid. Afraid of losing their razor-thin House majority. Afraid of an electorate that’s not as white, not as compliant, and not as easily manipulated as they’d like.

So what’s the plan? Simple. Wipe out Democratic seats in Houston and Dallas by declaring them “unconstitutional racial gerrymanders”—code for too many Black and Latino voters. This is a coup in pixels. It doesn’t require tanks or tear gas. Just AI programs, some Sharpies, maps, and a rubber-stamp legislature.

And Democrats? What did they do? A few brave Texas lawmakers fled the state to block the vote. They landed in California like political refugees, seeking asylum from their own government. They met with Governor Gavin Newsom, who rightfully declared that everything is on the line. He even said the quiet part out loud: if we don’t crush this now, there may not be an election in 2028.

And he’s absolutely right.

But here’s the catch: California’s hands are tied. Thanks to well-meaning reformers and a decades-old constitutional amendment, redistricting is handled by an independent commission—a bipartisan body designed to keep politics out of maps. In theory, it’s noble. In practice, it’s an anchor around our necks while the other side torches the rulebook and sprints toward authoritarianism.

Newsom is now “exploring options”: a ballot measure, a temporary pause on the commission, some workaround to give Democrats a fighting chance. That’s great. But it’s not fast enough. Not nearly.

Meanwhile, Republican-controlled states like Ohio and Missouri are already following Texas’ lead, eager to juice their House advantage while Democrats debate the moral high ground. My Substack community, this isn’t a moral debate. This is a power grab. And unless we match it with action—and immediately—it will become a permanent condition.

Let me be clear: I am not advocating for lawlessness. I am advocating for urgency. For recognizing that the house is on fire and we can’t just debate sprinkler systems while the GOP pours gasoline on the Constitution.

There is no “both sides” here. One party is actively trying to rig the system. The other is trying not to offend voters by fighting back too hard. If this were war—and it is, a political and ideological one—we’d be losing because our generals are too polite to fire back and unleash hell.

Governor Newsom can’t afford to tiptoe through this one. He needs to act. Now. That means calling a special election, fast-tracking a proposal to temporarily override the redistricting commission, and making the case—not just in legalese or Sacramento policy briefings, but in plain, urgent, street-level language that voters understand: this is about survival. This is about fairness. This is about ensuring every vote matters. The message has to be clear: we’re not dismantling democracy; we’re protecting it from those who already have.

And he cannot be the only one in the trenches. New York, New Jersey, Illinois, and all Democrat-controlled states must wake up and recognize that “independent redistricting” is a fine principle, but it’s meaningless in a system where only one side plays fair. They must follow California’s lead and look for every legal and constitutional lever they can pull to redraw the map before Republicans redraw the country into a permanent minority-rule dystopia.

As for the national Democratic leadership—here I go again… where the hell are they? This isn’t the time for quiet conference calls and soft-focus ads about kitchen-table issues. The GOP is coming for the whole damn table, chairs included. The DNC needs to sound the alarm, not with bureaucratic finesse, but with the kind of fire that meets the moment. No more silence. No more texts asking for donations. No more waiting to poll-test the outrage. Start coordinating, start grassroots campaigning off this crisis, and start telling voters exactly what’s happening and what they stand to lose if it’s allowed to continue.

And above all, voters must be told the truth. Loudly. Urgently. Repeatedly. This is not just about Texas. This isn’t about cartography. This is about whether or not your vote counts. About whether your district exists. About whether your voice survives the next election cycle. Because if the GOP succeeds in this quiet coup, elections become performances. The winners are chosen before the curtain rises.

Republicans have realized something Democrats seem terrified to admit: if you don’t hold power, you can’t govern. And if you can’t win under the rules, you change the rules—or erase them. That’s what they’re doing. Systematically. Boldly. Proudly.

So here’s the deal: this is not a drill. It’s not an abstract threat. It’s a full-blown crisis. And if we Democrats don’t respond with urgency, creativity, and yes, a little ruthlessness, we will lose this republic—not to a landslide, not to a civil war, but to a revised map.

And know this: history won’t care how ethical we were on the way down.

---

WE ARE RUNNING OUT OF TIME!

NOW DO ME THIS FAVOR: JOIN THE FIGHT.

SUBSCRIBE. SHARE. RESTACK. SHOW UP AND BE LOUD.

I’ve spent the last 8 years throwing punches in the dark so truth could get a little daylight. And now I’m asking you to step into the ring with me.

Because if you’re still reading this, you already get it:
This isn’t just a newsletter. It’s a rally cry. A war drum. A line in the sand.

We are not passive observers of the downfall. We are the resistance. We call out the liars. We drag corruption by the collar into the sunlight. We say the quiet parts out loud—and we don’t flinch.

But here’s the truth: I can’t do this solo. Not anymore.

The storm is already here. We are standing in it. And it’s wearing stars and stripes like camouflage, preaching “freedom” while it sells fascism at retail.

So let me ask you:
Are. You. In?

Because this is not a scroll-and-forget read. This is a living, breathing, fire-breathing movement—and movements don’t move unless you do.

We need to be louder than spin, tougher than propaganda, and impossible to gaslight.
That takes more than clicks. More than likes.
It takes skin in the game.

So if you believe truth matters—if you're sick of the bullshit, if you’re ready to stop screaming into the algorithm and start pushing back with purpose—this is your next step.

HERE’S HOW YOU PUT YOUR FOOT ON THE GAS:

Become a paid subscriber. Fund fearless, unfiltered journalism that hits back.

Share this with the loudest people you know—the ones who never sit down and shut up.

Build the community. Amplify the message. Be the damn megaphone.

And yeah—Founding Members? The first 240 of you will get a signed, numbered, limited-edition Substack version of Revenge. That’s not just a collector’s item. That’s receipts. Proof you didn’t sit this one out.

But let’s be clear:

This isn’t about a book.
It’s about backbone.
It’s about calling out the gaslighters and refusing to be played.
It’s about locking arms and saying, "Not. On. Our. Watch."

You want to make a difference?

Then make it—right now.

Because if we don’t fight for truth, no one will.
But if we fight together?

They can’t drown us out.

Let’s be so loud, they wish we were just angry tweets.
Let’s be unshakable.
Unignorable.
Un-fucking-breakable.

Let’s go!