Forty-seven lawmakers are quitting, chaos is spreading, Republicans are exposed, and Democrats are quietly preparing to turn this mass exit into a historic political advantage in 2026.
Michael, lemme say this piece really captures what it feels like watching a whole damn building quietly head for the exits because they know the foundation’s cracked. From where I sit, this doesn’t look like “Teflon Don,” it looks like staffers and members trying to get off a sinking ship without admitting it’s sinking. The way you tie the polling, the prices, and the retirements together turns all that noise into a clear siren. If Democrats treat this as the warning flare you describe instead of a victory lap, 2026 really could be the start of that restoration. www.xplisset.com
They're a lil more discreet at the Jersey Shore than during his first term. I'm guessing a cold beer and a side of empathy converted a few flag wavin' pick-up drivers.
Sarah, I hate to break it to you, but these Magas are not all ignorant, uneducated people. most of them are the educated, ultra wealthy, fast track money people with their own agenda. BIG business is fighting to keep control of their money, their wealth. Then you have the Tech Bros. Who again, are all about hoarding their money and have crazy dreams of rebuilding this country back to the " Golden era" where they controlled the money and little people. Then you have the wealthy far right Christian folks fighting for reform and destroying all of our freedoms.( they have been working on this agenda for 30 years) And yes, then there is a group of uneducated people who believed that he became president to help them live a better life. The good news is, because there are so many fragmented powerful groups, they are fracturing as they are coming to realize that mIller has only his own agenda in mind and you can''t please all of the people all of the time. He has no intention of pleasing any of them, and as this is sinking in, it's fragmenting. What leads us to believe they are uneducated, is that they have been spoon fed the repeated lie, that only Fox and Newsmax ( and a few podcasters) are delivering the REAL truth. So that is all they hear. They never actually see the truth because they have been led to believe that everyone else is lying and only out to " get trump" .
Never have I ever heard trump say he is educated.?? I have heard him brag about knowing how to make the deal, and make money, and build things, but never heard him brag about his education. Yes narcissistic, and lustful for money. And even though you feel education doesn't make people smart, it does open them up to other points of view and ways of living. It expands the mind. And he is not smart, nor educated.
i would disagree based on the fact that the majority of really well educated people are successful in cities....and the vast majority of cities go blue. so to account for the volume of people that vote trump, the majority will be in small town suburban and rural areas....and there are a lot of people in those.
sure the greedy rich people are everywhere and believe that whatever is good for them is all they are going to worry about, but i disagree that trump has a yuuuuuge number of educated people on his side (other than billionaires and uber wealthy who live in total disdain for the plebians - hard working regular americans). trump knows his marketing...and he said he 'loves the uneducated' for a very valid reason....his base
Then there are the families that have been 'R's for generations, and just vote straight R down the ballot. Even before the parties morphed into a switch of ideologies in the early 1900s, they were 'R's. That would describe my in-laws, unfortunately - my dh was apparently, the only 'nonconformist in the entire clan. Years ago, I learned, that my s-i-l whom I see most often, votes anti-abortion. That is really her only criteria! She is NOT stupid, just overly religious, willfully ignorant, and blind. I finally and totally gave up discussing anything political with her after I commented on the Hollywood Tapes and she told me she hadn't see that and couldn't believe what I told her. I wrote down where she could find them online (including his non-denial when he said it was 'locker room talk.') She pushed the paper back to me and said she had no desire to see it. So I said, "Ok, if we are going to remain 'family' then we do NOT discuss politics or politicians", and that's how it has remained. Sad.
Sigh, yes I have a sister that is identical to your story of your sister, They are in denial and don’t want to hear about it. My mother’s side of the family were straight R’s down the ballot, ( they were well to do as they used to say) but my father’s side of the family were not, and they all voted D’s.
This question has been answered many times........Maga is a cult......Their leader is Cankles McTacotits. Maggots are brainwased with round the clock lies from Faux News.
They're the Fox and NewsMax viewers who have no idea how to discern the truth about anything. They've been aggrieved haters much of their lives and Trump feeds that hate. Sadly, many are in the little lost towns all over the country - no decent jobs and no money to move elsewhere and they believe the Dems have never stood up for them. Kind of hard to build jobs where there's no industry and where the farmers who all inherited their land use immigrants as they can stiff them easier. The rich want it that way for their own benefit.
That apocalypse is what our election process should have avoided. Everyone knew he was russian, a liar, rapist, criminal, and thief. Wake up Americans! He's a con job!!
Not everyone. Maga didn't. They still won't believe it, even with proof and evidence. By now, everyone (except maga) who doesn't see the con job are either willfully ignorant or just don't give a damn - to their own detriment. I'm 75, and though I have no children of my own, I have nieces, nephews and grands - the age where the "kids" are nearing middle-age, and their kiddos would inherit absolutely nothing if we don't all stand against this hot mess together NOW.
We've got a long way to go before Nov. 2026. It's too soon to be "counting our chickens". American voters have over and over shown what short memories they (we) have. Complacency is a killer.
And in 2028 I hope the Dem's can resist the urge to "move forward and forget the past". Fuck that! The future health of American democracy demands accountability.
Thank you for this article. I do have to say that the Dems may win in the midterms. Riding this new wave against DJT is not hard. Unless the Dems address the elephant in the room, their victory will be short lived indeed!! They need a focus!! They need a spearhead issue! They need something to make them into a cohesive unit with a vision! Clarity is key to maintaining their success and bringing lasting change to your country!!
Absolutely, you nailed it. Winning a wave is one thing, but sustaining it takes real direction and unity. Without a clear vision, any momentum fades fast. What do you think should be their main focus if they want lasting impact?
And please Lord no more weak puppies who are afraid to use the levers of power, rules and norms have no meaning in this era, the elite magas just scoff at such things.
These weak lawmakers can run but they will never be able to hide from their crimes! They’ve all committed Treason! They all voted and applauded the destruction of our ACA medical protection, our governmental structure, our people of color, and our global reputation just to remind you of a few areas where they aided and abetted! Treason is punishable by death with flying bullets! We know who you are!
Imagine the advantage a strategic eviscerating of FOX brings. MAGA must have FOX to survive. Kick the legs out from under FOX and MAGA is dead. It’s a simple indirect strategy to do it. Deny FOX 48% of revenue by preventing ad buys. How? Make it personal to ad buying CEO’s by denying them their annual bonus numbers through mass public action of they buy ads on FOX. Execution details matter. Talk to me. I’ll fill you in.
All they had to do was impeach and convict Trump, and they wouldn’t have to give up their careers. THAT would be the right thing to do, and it would make the strong statement that they stand on the side of decency and the law. But, alas, they don’t.
We lost the election with Kamala trotted out Liz Cheney........the fake Christian nationalist's in their Satanic maggot churches will never leave their orange lord and savior....
Restoration won’t win the day in the end. Vichy Democrats likely won’t last more than one cycle and the right wing populists like MTG and Tucker Carlson will be seen as the answer. I agree with Wajahit Ali. We must aim for reform, not restoration, and elect DEMS who present a message of economic populist reform. Is there a white, male, straight Christian from the heartland not beholden to Wall Street or Big Tech and pushing ideas similar to Bernie and AOC? Asking for a friend. People are hurting economically and want real relief and hope. Support for Israel has declined significantly and candidates closely aligned with unquestioned funding for Israel and close alignment with AIPAC likely won’t be popular in the future. The days of Chuck Schumer are over and a new Democratic Party must emerge. If not, we could face a right wing White Christian Nationalist surge with strong racist and antisemitic undertones/overtones. Would not be pretty and must be avoided. Tucker, Fuentes, Musk, Theil are very dangerous and worse than Trump.
Michael, lemme say this piece really captures what it feels like watching a whole damn building quietly head for the exits because they know the foundation’s cracked. From where I sit, this doesn’t look like “Teflon Don,” it looks like staffers and members trying to get off a sinking ship without admitting it’s sinking. The way you tie the polling, the prices, and the retirements together turns all that noise into a clear siren. If Democrats treat this as the warning flare you describe instead of a victory lap, 2026 really could be the start of that restoration. www.xplisset.com
Michael is always right on. He ties everything together.
On the money, X!!
“Gallup has him at 36% approval”.
How could 36% approve of this incompetency, insanity and cruelty? Who are these people?
Come to a red county in the south and you'll find them. 🙄 Ppl here are still praising him thru it all. That cult hive mind is hard to break away from.
Hell yo don't have to go south. There are maga's here on Cape Cod!
Even here in Hawai'i too.
MAGA north, in Canada too 😔
Saw it referred to as the Maple MAGA
I was just saying the same but I wrote blue state but I should have said Cape Cod. It’s disgusting.
They're a lil more discreet at the Jersey Shore than during his first term. I'm guessing a cold beer and a side of empathy converted a few flag wavin' pick-up drivers.
Cheers 🍻
Because they are uneducated and inbred idiots
They are just completely and sadly ill informed.
It’s bad here- like they are in a zombie coma!
After all who wants to be outcast from their family, friends and neighbors ?
I’m in a blue state and I see it here.
Sadly we weren't aware of so many ignorant uneducated people in this country until this narcissistic evil idiot got in
Sarah, I hate to break it to you, but these Magas are not all ignorant, uneducated people. most of them are the educated, ultra wealthy, fast track money people with their own agenda. BIG business is fighting to keep control of their money, their wealth. Then you have the Tech Bros. Who again, are all about hoarding their money and have crazy dreams of rebuilding this country back to the " Golden era" where they controlled the money and little people. Then you have the wealthy far right Christian folks fighting for reform and destroying all of our freedoms.( they have been working on this agenda for 30 years) And yes, then there is a group of uneducated people who believed that he became president to help them live a better life. The good news is, because there are so many fragmented powerful groups, they are fracturing as they are coming to realize that mIller has only his own agenda in mind and you can''t please all of the people all of the time. He has no intention of pleasing any of them, and as this is sinking in, it's fragmenting. What leads us to believe they are uneducated, is that they have been spoon fed the repeated lie, that only Fox and Newsmax ( and a few podcasters) are delivering the REAL truth. So that is all they hear. They never actually see the truth because they have been led to believe that everyone else is lying and only out to " get trump" .
I know but Trump says he's educated too so I just throw them in his group
Schooling really doesn't make people smart
They're narcissistic lust for money and profiting off of other people to get rich, is there a way of life
It means more to them than human life So you are absolutely correct💙
My view of T: Trump is a Malevolently Uninformed Narcissist.
Never have I ever heard trump say he is educated.?? I have heard him brag about knowing how to make the deal, and make money, and build things, but never heard him brag about his education. Yes narcissistic, and lustful for money. And even though you feel education doesn't make people smart, it does open them up to other points of view and ways of living. It expands the mind. And he is not smart, nor educated.
When I said education doesn't necessarily make people smart I was referring to the fact that you cannot teach common sense
That doesn't even take an education but a good upbringing and the environment that you surround yourself with
I agree
i would disagree based on the fact that the majority of really well educated people are successful in cities....and the vast majority of cities go blue. so to account for the volume of people that vote trump, the majority will be in small town suburban and rural areas....and there are a lot of people in those.
sure the greedy rich people are everywhere and believe that whatever is good for them is all they are going to worry about, but i disagree that trump has a yuuuuuge number of educated people on his side (other than billionaires and uber wealthy who live in total disdain for the plebians - hard working regular americans). trump knows his marketing...and he said he 'loves the uneducated' for a very valid reason....his base
Then there are the families that have been 'R's for generations, and just vote straight R down the ballot. Even before the parties morphed into a switch of ideologies in the early 1900s, they were 'R's. That would describe my in-laws, unfortunately - my dh was apparently, the only 'nonconformist in the entire clan. Years ago, I learned, that my s-i-l whom I see most often, votes anti-abortion. That is really her only criteria! She is NOT stupid, just overly religious, willfully ignorant, and blind. I finally and totally gave up discussing anything political with her after I commented on the Hollywood Tapes and she told me she hadn't see that and couldn't believe what I told her. I wrote down where she could find them online (including his non-denial when he said it was 'locker room talk.') She pushed the paper back to me and said she had no desire to see it. So I said, "Ok, if we are going to remain 'family' then we do NOT discuss politics or politicians", and that's how it has remained. Sad.
Sigh, yes I have a sister that is identical to your story of your sister, They are in denial and don’t want to hear about it. My mother’s side of the family were straight R’s down the ballot, ( they were well to do as they used to say) but my father’s side of the family were not, and they all voted D’s.
This question has been answered many times........Maga is a cult......Their leader is Cankles McTacotits. Maggots are brainwased with round the clock lies from Faux News.
https://open.substack.com/pub/ojaiohana/p/essay-debunking-official-wh-fake?r=5chxge&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&showWelcomeOnShare=true
The same idiots who shoved him down our throats by voting for him
They're the Fox and NewsMax viewers who have no idea how to discern the truth about anything. They've been aggrieved haters much of their lives and Trump feeds that hate. Sadly, many are in the little lost towns all over the country - no decent jobs and no money to move elsewhere and they believe the Dems have never stood up for them. Kind of hard to build jobs where there's no industry and where the farmers who all inherited their land use immigrants as they can stiff them easier. The rich want it that way for their own benefit.
Senseless, uneducated, bigoted, racist idiots!
36% of the voting population can't admit to being conned
When Cankiles tells his 36% to drink the Orange Kool-Aid......they will guzzle it down by the gallon.......
It is the cult that is that 36%. It has been 38-40% but even that has sunk!!
Good question but I still know people that aren’t really paying attention. I can’t wrap my head around it.
I just saw Nuremberg yesterday. Some of the similarities were scary. Excellent movie
That would be his brainwashed MAGA cult who thinks felon 47 is doing a good job.
Numb nuts who only do politics light…John. MAGA till death do they part🙄
https://ojaiohana.substack.com/p/video-trump-the-downward-spiral?r=5chxge
True believers and victims lies and misinformation from their chosen media outlets. 🦊
MAGAts
I enjoy reading Michael’s articles…he’s a talented writer 😉
I agree, Lynette
That apocalypse is what our election process should have avoided. Everyone knew he was russian, a liar, rapist, criminal, and thief. Wake up Americans! He's a con job!!
Not everyone. Maga didn't. They still won't believe it, even with proof and evidence. By now, everyone (except maga) who doesn't see the con job are either willfully ignorant or just don't give a damn - to their own detriment. I'm 75, and though I have no children of my own, I have nieces, nephews and grands - the age where the "kids" are nearing middle-age, and their kiddos would inherit absolutely nothing if we don't all stand against this hot mess together NOW.
Don't forget his evil demon sycophants that are helping him! (Vought, Miller, Homan)
https://ojaiohana.substack.com/p/update-essay-and-videos-stephen-miller?r=5chxge
A Russian puppet.
We've got a long way to go before Nov. 2026. It's too soon to be "counting our chickens". American voters have over and over shown what short memories they (we) have. Complacency is a killer.
And in 2028 I hope the Dem's can resist the urge to "move forward and forget the past". Fuck that! The future health of American democracy demands accountability.
completely agree
Thank you for this article. I do have to say that the Dems may win in the midterms. Riding this new wave against DJT is not hard. Unless the Dems address the elephant in the room, their victory will be short lived indeed!! They need a focus!! They need a spearhead issue! They need something to make them into a cohesive unit with a vision! Clarity is key to maintaining their success and bringing lasting change to your country!!
Absolutely, you nailed it. Winning a wave is one thing, but sustaining it takes real direction and unity. Without a clear vision, any momentum fades fast. What do you think should be their main focus if they want lasting impact?
YES!
YEP. THIS!
And please Lord no more weak puppies who are afraid to use the levers of power, rules and norms have no meaning in this era, the elite magas just scoff at such things.
Reminds me of the band Megadeath but this is better, it’s MAGAdeath.
Christmas gift ideas for your girlfriends guys!!!!!
https://hotgirlshatefascism.com/?customer_posted=true
Don't start crowing about the Blue Wave until we see Tuesday's TN-7 House special election results
These weak lawmakers can run but they will never be able to hide from their crimes! They’ve all committed Treason! They all voted and applauded the destruction of our ACA medical protection, our governmental structure, our people of color, and our global reputation just to remind you of a few areas where they aided and abetted! Treason is punishable by death with flying bullets! We know who you are!
So, 47 have had enough of 47.
Good writer. The first to fall from Trump and publicly speak out after doing the time. I wonder if we will see others pay this price and heal from it?
Imagine the advantage a strategic eviscerating of FOX brings. MAGA must have FOX to survive. Kick the legs out from under FOX and MAGA is dead. It’s a simple indirect strategy to do it. Deny FOX 48% of revenue by preventing ad buys. How? Make it personal to ad buying CEO’s by denying them their annual bonus numbers through mass public action of they buy ads on FOX. Execution details matter. Talk to me. I’ll fill you in.
Right on
All they had to do was impeach and convict Trump, and they wouldn’t have to give up their careers. THAT would be the right thing to do, and it would make the strong statement that they stand on the side of decency and the law. But, alas, they don’t.
And all of this unnecessary suffering because they didn’t vote for Kamala Harris…
Karen, many of us believe the election was stolen by the Muskrat! We do feel Harris/Walz won by a lot!
We lost the election with Kamala trotted out Liz Cheney........the fake Christian nationalist's in their Satanic maggot churches will never leave their orange lord and savior....
Restoration won’t win the day in the end. Vichy Democrats likely won’t last more than one cycle and the right wing populists like MTG and Tucker Carlson will be seen as the answer. I agree with Wajahit Ali. We must aim for reform, not restoration, and elect DEMS who present a message of economic populist reform. Is there a white, male, straight Christian from the heartland not beholden to Wall Street or Big Tech and pushing ideas similar to Bernie and AOC? Asking for a friend. People are hurting economically and want real relief and hope. Support for Israel has declined significantly and candidates closely aligned with unquestioned funding for Israel and close alignment with AIPAC likely won’t be popular in the future. The days of Chuck Schumer are over and a new Democratic Party must emerge. If not, we could face a right wing White Christian Nationalist surge with strong racist and antisemitic undertones/overtones. Would not be pretty and must be avoided. Tucker, Fuentes, Musk, Theil are very dangerous and worse than Trump.
Win in 28 with a bidey and you're right maga will roar back in 30 and 32 .