An excellent essay by @pluralistic , as always.

And it underscores an important point for #USPolitics : " #VoteBlue ", in itself, is not a useful strategy for stopping fascism in the USA.

Because it won't do much if those elected Democrats are not afraid of the wrath of the voters each and every time they give in to Trump and the other oligarchs.

If they are not afraid of the voters, a lot of them will just do what they have kept on doing - as their voters for donations while selling out democracy and civil rights to their corporate donors.

True reform in the USA will not come without powerful organization outside of the party apparatuses.

https://pluralistic.net/2026/01/29/post-american-canada/

An excellent essay by @pluralistic , as always.

And it underscores an important point for #USPolitics : " #VoteBlue ", in itself, is not a useful strategy for stopping fascism in the USA.

Because it won't do much if those elected Democrats are not afraid of the wrath of the voters each and every time they give in to Trump and the other oligarchs.

If they are not afraid of the voters, a lot of them will just do what they have kept on doing - as their voters for donations while selling out democracy and civil rights to their corporate donors.

True reform in the USA will not come without powerful organization outside of the party apparatuses.

https://pluralistic.net/2026/01/29/post-american-canada/

@juergen_hubert @pluralistic

#VoteBlue is what you do in November, when the choice might be down to some stale corporate Democrat versus some Republican fascist.

> Because it won't do much if those elected Democrats are not afraid of the wrath of the voters each and every time they give in to Trump and the other oligarchs.

This is utterly wrong. 2021-2024 we didn't have this shit, and a bunch of corp Dems being in control is why. That made a fucking difference.

@juergen_hubert @pluralistic

This reminds me of Hamilton Nolan’s “Enemies and Cowards” political framing:

https://www.hamiltonnolan.com/p/how-to-think-about-politics-without

@juergen_hubert @pluralistic

#VoteBlue is what you do in November, when the choice might be down to some stale corporate Democrat versus some Republican fascist.

> Because it won't do much if those elected Democrats are not afraid of the wrath of the voters each and every time they give in to Trump and the other oligarchs.

This is utterly wrong. 2021-2024 we didn't have this shit, and a bunch of corp Dems being in control is why. That made a fucking difference.

@jztusk @juergen_hubert @pluralistic

There's an old saying: when people fear their government, that's tyranny. When government's fear the people: that's freedom.

This doesn't mean you should be a violent threat to the government (at least outside of rare and exceptional circumstances: violent revolutions very rarely have good outcomes so are almost never worth the risk), in every normal moment, every politician needs to be extremely afraid he won't be there after the next election.

That's the only way to get good leadership.

And no, corp dems had nothing to with the relatively less damaging Trump 1st term.

@jztusk @juergen_hubert @pluralistic

There's an old saying: when people fear their government, that's tyranny. When government's fear the people: that's freedom.

This doesn't mean you should be a violent threat to the government (at least outside of rare and exceptional circumstances: violent revolutions very rarely have good outcomes so are almost never worth the risk), in every normal moment, every politician needs to be extremely afraid he won't be there after the next election.

That's the only way to get good leadership.

And no, corp dems had nothing to with the relatively less damaging Trump 1st term.

@jztusk @juergen_hubert @pluralistic
I will tell you why the 1st Trump term wasn't as bad: because nobody thought he would win.
The nutjobs had no infrastructure to make his insanity come to fruition. The civil service was filled with people who are employed for skill, not loyalty, who refused to implement outright insane or illegal ideas.

It was, overwhelmingly, NON-politicians (let alone corporate ones) that prevented his worst instincts happening.

In 2024 - with the real possiblity of winning there was Project 2025: and it's most important clause: mass firings in the civil service and politicising non-political posts.

@jztusk @pluralistic

Corpo Democrats do not prevent fascism, they only delay it. I remember how #DefundThePolice was called for, yet Democrats still expanded police forces, including ICE.

How ICE grew to be the highest-funded U.S. law enforcement agency

ICE's budget hovered around $10 billion for years. But President Trump and the Republican-controlled Congress are taking the agency's funding to unprecedented levels.

NPR (www.npr.org)

@jztusk @juergen_hubert @pluralistic
I will tell you why the 1st Trump term wasn't as bad: because nobody thought he would win.
The nutjobs had no infrastructure to make his insanity come to fruition. The civil service was filled with people who are employed for skill, not loyalty, who refused to implement outright insane or illegal ideas.

It was, overwhelmingly, NON-politicians (let alone corporate ones) that prevented his worst instincts happening.

In 2024 - with the real possiblity of winning there was Project 2025: and it's most important clause: mass firings in the civil service and politicising non-political posts.

@jztusk @juergen_hubert @pluralistic
So this time what's left of the civil service is stuffed entirely with sycophants who happily do whatever Trump wants - regardless if it's sane, sensible or legal.

Now you have an EPA that considers profit impacts of regulations but does NOT consider how many lives it would save.

Now you have a labor relations board that is effectively unable to function.
A CFPB that's been basically neutered.

This time the craziest of the crazies in America knew he COULD win, and they were ready to provide the infrastructure to support his vision and destroy the infrastructure to oppose it.

That is what is REALLY different.

@metalpoetnl @juergen_hubert @pluralistic

2021-2024 was not Trump's first term.

Love Europeans, but so many of them know nothing about American politics, or about how to survive with a massive population that is content with racist fascism.

@juergen_hubert @pluralistic

Delay matters. People should vote blue every November. Do you dispute that?

@metalpoetnl @juergen_hubert @pluralistic

2021-2024 was not Trump's first term.

Love Europeans, but so many of them know nothing about American politics, or about how to survive with a massive population that is content with racist fascism.

@juergen_hubert @pluralistic

#VoteBlue is what you do in November, when the choice might be down to some stale corporate Democrat versus some Republican fascist.

> Because it won't do much if those elected Democrats are not afraid of the wrath of the voters each and every time they give in to Trump and the other oligarchs.

This is utterly wrong. 2021-2024 we didn't have this shit, and a bunch of corp Dems being in control is why. That made a fucking difference.

@jztusk @pluralistic

I do not.

But real change must come in the Primaries. Otherwise the USA will simply continue to alternate between "slow-walking fascism" and "speed-running fascism".

@juergen_hubert @pluralistic

Excellent! Do you know how many people there are spouting off against "Vote Blue", didn't vote for Kamala Harris over Trump because "purity", and are still defending that decision? And your slamming "Vote Blue" reinforces their self-sabotaging ideas.

I agree primaries are the strongest place to get better Dems. Plus people need to keep after their elected officials during their terms. ...