I would love to see a Democratic leader sit in an armchair with a camera and just talk to the American people. Not screaming, not calling people nsmes, just, in plain English that a second grader could understand, explaining what is happening right now and why it's troubling, no matter what party someone is in.
Most people think the government IS inefficient. OK! Tell them that it can be but also here's why things have been set up as they have. Yes, we can change them, and we probably should modify aspects, but for Medicaid/SS/VAN benefits to work, here's the setup. Here is how DOGE will affect the services and benefits you rely on. Here's what it means that these people suddenly have the details of millions of people. Here's why that is of concern, whether they are all scrupulous with his it's handled. Help people realise that it doesn't matter who is doing this, what matters is that they are.
I wish they'd stop with the theatrics that no one cares about. Did they learn nothing from the last few years that the whole "fascist takeover," "death of democracy" messaging doesn't work? Just talk to people like...people. Break it down. My god. If this is the next four years, we're all fucked.
I think this *is* the next four years (and longer), and I’m sure we’re fucked. I’ve decided that the Dems secretly love this because they get to play politician for a few days and pretend to care about their constituents. None of what DOGE proposes will affect a single politician, regardless of party.
I’m probably outside of my prognostication zone, but seeing Jim Acosta nervously doing his new show, from his office, phone with really bad audio and his big ol’ puppy Duke (off camera, of course) was somehow amidst the noise, almost reassuring. . It could have been a setup, but no. He read from notes, stumbled here and there, bumped the camera, yet it still seemed to me like he was waking up in this new role and was owning it. (I hope his pledge to add more ‘frills’ includes a new mike)
Even if it never happens, it felt like you describe, reminiscent of FDRs fireside chats and I can easily imagine Acosta - and the rest of us who are so grateful he got out of Legacy when he did- being a face we will turn to. I understand the job of “most trusted man in America” has been vacant since 2009.
Toootally agree. But a lot of people aren't seeing it that way. So I believe it is our legislators' job to meet people where they're actually at, not where they wish people were.
You might be right, I'm not arguing against your point, but I keep turning over in my head the Biden admin's CDC saying they should have "met people where they're at" for the pandemic, which led to PR and decisions that did things like coddle anti-vaxxers, and now the CDC is decimated and HHS and NIH are or are about to be run by anti-vaxxers. While we're ushering in bird flu.
That might have been a good idea sometime in the distant past. BREAKING NEWS: This is actually what dems have been doing for decades while fascism steadily took hold. If your method was able to work, it would have already. It did not work, is not working, and will not work. Did Republicans calmly explain all their positions quietly and rationally in armchairs to fuel their rise to minoritarian strong-arming dominance over the past few decades?
I’m probably outside of my prognostication zone, but seeing Jim Acosta nervously doing his new show, from his office, phone with really bad audio and his big ol’ puppy Duke (off camera, of course) was somehow amidst the noise, almost reassuring. . It could have been a setup, but no. He read from notes, gently stumbled here and there, bumped the camera, yet it still seemed to me like he was waking up in this new role and was owning it. Like, being human and not allowing himself to be a media shill exiled to cable “news” Siberia. (I hope his claim in ep 4 to get “better stuff” includes a new mike.)
Even if it never happens, it felt as described, reminiscent of FDRs fireside chats and I can easily imagine Acosta - and the rest of us who are so grateful he got out of Legacy when he did- being a face we will turn to. I understand the job of “most trusted man in America” has been vacant since 2009.
I respect your opinion, but this is a miss for me Ken. I've been one of the thousands of calls to my reps daily. In the heat of the moment, especially from where I sit in a red state? I wanna see a response to the illegal unconstitutional actions being taken rapid fire in DC right now. God knows my Senators and Congresswoman have been silent... likely complicit. I felt relieved to see a response at all. I was becoming furious that not a single congressperson was standing up for our rights, to enforce their duties as a coequal branch of government.
I agree with you that coopting their language with stop the steal and lock him up is stupid. And the congresswoman who called for war was irresponsible. But hearing Rep. Jasmine Crockett speak truth in plain language, being our voice in the middle of this bs? Excellent, more of that. Genuinely, went from feeling completely abandoned by our representatives to feeling seen and heard. Thank God for her. Hearing Congressman Raskin speak from a place so rooted in respect for the constitution and with a mind towards everything our previous generations fought and sacrificed for? His quoting the American Crisis by Thomas Paine? Hit perfect. He showed more honor and respect for our country in that speech than I've seen in politics in years.
I get the cynicism and while we can stay sharp eyed for BS, we also have GOT to stop encouraging despair and defeat. It's irresponsible and unimaginative. We can't only focus on obstacles, we have to leave room for possibilities. Where are the people seeing this massive challenge as an opportunity to make a positive, meaningful change? Are we so beaten down and tired that we only dream of nightmare and disaster? We are in deep sh**, make no mistake, but while we fight, we need to believe that a future worth fighting for is possible.
(Maybe this is an unreasonable comment to make on the Substack of an investigative journalist who specializes in reporting leaked documents - you obviously come at things from a different perspective. I have just found this to be so, so important to keep in mind.)
To talk about how this impacts average Americans, they would first need to understand what’s actually happening—not just rely on staff briefings. Then, from their multimillion-dollar mansions, they’d have to grasp what everyday people worry about. Finally, they’d need to connect the two in a way that resembles genuine concern—something they haven’t had to do in years. That might be asking too much. 😔
Valid and I agree that "plain spoken" is called for and sorely lacking.
However this is a situation where national security could in fact be threatened. The DOGE staff plugged random hardware into secure networks. We have no idea what's on that hardware or where it came from. While I agree it's generally better to assume stupidity over malice, hardware compromises are serious enough that they must be treated as a national security threat until proven otherwise.
You're right that "national security threat" is a set of magic words that gets thrown around way too often and used to excuse all sorts of federal nonsense. But insecure hardware being attached to secure IT systems is a huge, new, unnecessary, grave vulnerability.
Typical Democratic Party (lack of) strategy approach to staying in their seats. Instead of championing policy that would truly improve people’s lives, they only really focus on just how bad the other side is. This way, they can continue to reap the rewards of being plutocrat warmongers while giving the appearance that they are the “good ones.” Exhausting.
I'm having difficultly figuring out where you are going with this Ken. But I think I saw a glimpse. Are you saying the dems (or whomever) should be "making a plainspoken case to the public about how DOGE could negatively affect their daily lives"? I'd love to see some followup here.
Short, punchy videos featuring ppl in purple districts speaking in their own voices about how various actions being taken by Trump/Musk are harming them. That's my prescription to stanch the bleeding now and save the patient. Then followed up with bold, positive reform proposals from Democrats that will bring material improvements to their lives in terms of cost, access to health care, their kids schools, etc.
Yes. I think it’s up to us, the Non-elected types, to do the work of exposure. As Ken is doing here. More will be revealed as we move through the process.
Elizabeth Warren is great at elucidations and educating. Jamie Raskin is as well. norm Ornstein is also great at explaining things. I agree with the comment above about folks from purple states or even government employees explain what is happening to them personally or their families. Have them make TikToks. I don’t know how you beat the algorithms though. People listened to folks on the ground going through it after the NC floods and the recent airplane crash. Maybe there’s too much noise and people are overwhelmed. Just spitballing.
Agreed. Plain speaking is called for. Getting folks to understand that every action has an equal and opposite reaction--like no social security check--is key. But we're not playing checkers. It's multi dimensional chess. Multifaceted responses would be key.
Liberals thinking that their precious norms and institutions will protect them, and that any normal person gives a shit.
Oh also where's that Senate Parliamentarian in all this? How come the all powerful Parliamentarian that could stop Democrats from doing anything during the Biden administration suddenly can't stop any of this?
How come the Washington Generals keep losing to the Harlem Globetrotters?
I'm conflicted on this. As a lawyer, my first instinct is to talk about how unconstitutional his actions are, how they're a violation of the separation of powers, how they're demonstrating that our laws and checks and balances are illusory.
But most people aren't lawyers. My friends have said things like, "who cares who has my SSN? It got leaked already by a corporation."
There are a lot of reasons that people should be mad at DOGE, but it's hard for me to figure out which ones dems should be talking about.
Do people even give a shit about soft power and USAID?
Should they care that the department of labor and education are on the chopping block? Yes! But I'm not sure how to tell people WHY they should care if they don't already.
Hey now…they’ve stopped several outrageous and illegal attempts through court orders. Agree their messaging needs a little (ahem) work, but courts are often the legit means to stop them. Meanwhile Dems on the ground are rising . One Senator today reported getting 1600 calls per day, vs 40! before Trump took office. I can’t get thru to my reps offices as lines are constantly overwhelmed. Indivisible had 50000 people call in on their Sunday night call! Just saw a poll tonight…Republican support for Musks involvement fell to something like 26% (can’t recall exactly) vs over 50% last November.
They should be required to state exactly what laws have been broken. An analysis of Trump’s Executive Order creating DOGE turns out to have been quite carefully crafted to take an existing gov’t agency (U.S. Digital Service (aka. USDS) and renaming it to U.S. DOGE Service (now aka. USDS :). So nothing new was created, rather something old was redirected. Trump’s lawyers clearly did their homework here.
If it's like the FDA (which is the agency that oversees my highly regulated work, so the only one I know the details about), they still have to follow the authorizations in the CFR written by Congress, right? Who would care about those besides a judge?
It appears that they used the U.S. Digital Service in part because of its existing mandate around systems, which is the bulk of the work the DOGE team has focused on.
What to do to win an election and build a coalition in the long term is different from what needs to be done now.
In the short term, lawsuits and injunctions around legality and process are the absolute most effective thing that can be done right now. Actual bad things causing real harm are happening in real time. I work in health and research and grants are being frozen. In some cases this means clinical trials of drugs and procedures are unable to move forward. Patients are being harmed, not just researchers. This type of thing is happening everywhere and needs to be stopped in any way possible.
I would argue an effective path forward is stopping everything you can through the courts on process and constitutionality grounds. That will make the other side defend what they’re doing, both legally but also publicly. At that point you can bring out your winning arguments and start your political coalition building.
In the mean time, you’re a sucker if you think the most important thing to do right now is to make plain spoken arguments to the people two years out from any election.
I would love to see a Democratic leader sit in an armchair with a camera and just talk to the American people. Not screaming, not calling people nsmes, just, in plain English that a second grader could understand, explaining what is happening right now and why it's troubling, no matter what party someone is in.
Most people think the government IS inefficient. OK! Tell them that it can be but also here's why things have been set up as they have. Yes, we can change them, and we probably should modify aspects, but for Medicaid/SS/VAN benefits to work, here's the setup. Here is how DOGE will affect the services and benefits you rely on. Here's what it means that these people suddenly have the details of millions of people. Here's why that is of concern, whether they are all scrupulous with his it's handled. Help people realise that it doesn't matter who is doing this, what matters is that they are.
I wish they'd stop with the theatrics that no one cares about. Did they learn nothing from the last few years that the whole "fascist takeover," "death of democracy" messaging doesn't work? Just talk to people like...people. Break it down. My god. If this is the next four years, we're all fucked.
Well put.
I think this *is* the next four years (and longer), and I’m sure we’re fucked. I’ve decided that the Dems secretly love this because they get to play politician for a few days and pretend to care about their constituents. None of what DOGE proposes will affect a single politician, regardless of party.
I was saying before the election that the Democrats' actions show that they're just fine with facism as long as it's not detrimental to them.
I’m probably outside of my prognostication zone, but seeing Jim Acosta nervously doing his new show, from his office, phone with really bad audio and his big ol’ puppy Duke (off camera, of course) was somehow amidst the noise, almost reassuring. . It could have been a setup, but no. He read from notes, stumbled here and there, bumped the camera, yet it still seemed to me like he was waking up in this new role and was owning it. (I hope his pledge to add more ‘frills’ includes a new mike)
Even if it never happens, it felt like you describe, reminiscent of FDRs fireside chats and I can easily imagine Acosta - and the rest of us who are so grateful he got out of Legacy when he did- being a face we will turn to. I understand the job of “most trusted man in America” has been vacant since 2009.
well said, except rather or not the messaging works - it is a[n attempted] fucking fascist takeover....
Toootally agree. But a lot of people aren't seeing it that way. So I believe it is our legislators' job to meet people where they're actually at, not where they wish people were.
You might be right, I'm not arguing against your point, but I keep turning over in my head the Biden admin's CDC saying they should have "met people where they're at" for the pandemic, which led to PR and decisions that did things like coddle anti-vaxxers, and now the CDC is decimated and HHS and NIH are or are about to be run by anti-vaxxers. While we're ushering in bird flu.
That might have been a good idea sometime in the distant past. BREAKING NEWS: This is actually what dems have been doing for decades while fascism steadily took hold. If your method was able to work, it would have already. It did not work, is not working, and will not work. Did Republicans calmly explain all their positions quietly and rationally in armchairs to fuel their rise to minoritarian strong-arming dominance over the past few decades?
Bernie’s the only one I see that puts out regular YouTube updates.
I’m probably outside of my prognostication zone, but seeing Jim Acosta nervously doing his new show, from his office, phone with really bad audio and his big ol’ puppy Duke (off camera, of course) was somehow amidst the noise, almost reassuring. . It could have been a setup, but no. He read from notes, gently stumbled here and there, bumped the camera, yet it still seemed to me like he was waking up in this new role and was owning it. Like, being human and not allowing himself to be a media shill exiled to cable “news” Siberia. (I hope his claim in ep 4 to get “better stuff” includes a new mike.)
Even if it never happens, it felt as described, reminiscent of FDRs fireside chats and I can easily imagine Acosta - and the rest of us who are so grateful he got out of Legacy when he did- being a face we will turn to. I understand the job of “most trusted man in America” has been vacant since 2009.
I respect your opinion, but this is a miss for me Ken. I've been one of the thousands of calls to my reps daily. In the heat of the moment, especially from where I sit in a red state? I wanna see a response to the illegal unconstitutional actions being taken rapid fire in DC right now. God knows my Senators and Congresswoman have been silent... likely complicit. I felt relieved to see a response at all. I was becoming furious that not a single congressperson was standing up for our rights, to enforce their duties as a coequal branch of government.
I agree with you that coopting their language with stop the steal and lock him up is stupid. And the congresswoman who called for war was irresponsible. But hearing Rep. Jasmine Crockett speak truth in plain language, being our voice in the middle of this bs? Excellent, more of that. Genuinely, went from feeling completely abandoned by our representatives to feeling seen and heard. Thank God for her. Hearing Congressman Raskin speak from a place so rooted in respect for the constitution and with a mind towards everything our previous generations fought and sacrificed for? His quoting the American Crisis by Thomas Paine? Hit perfect. He showed more honor and respect for our country in that speech than I've seen in politics in years.
I get the cynicism and while we can stay sharp eyed for BS, we also have GOT to stop encouraging despair and defeat. It's irresponsible and unimaginative. We can't only focus on obstacles, we have to leave room for possibilities. Where are the people seeing this massive challenge as an opportunity to make a positive, meaningful change? Are we so beaten down and tired that we only dream of nightmare and disaster? We are in deep sh**, make no mistake, but while we fight, we need to believe that a future worth fighting for is possible.
(Maybe this is an unreasonable comment to make on the Substack of an investigative journalist who specializes in reporting leaked documents - you obviously come at things from a different perspective. I have just found this to be so, so important to keep in mind.)
I would like to read more like this, because it's a glimmer of hope that I desperately need (especially where my Reps are trash in PA-01).
To talk about how this impacts average Americans, they would first need to understand what’s actually happening—not just rely on staff briefings. Then, from their multimillion-dollar mansions, they’d have to grasp what everyday people worry about. Finally, they’d need to connect the two in a way that resembles genuine concern—something they haven’t had to do in years. That might be asking too much. 😔
Valid and I agree that "plain spoken" is called for and sorely lacking.
However this is a situation where national security could in fact be threatened. The DOGE staff plugged random hardware into secure networks. We have no idea what's on that hardware or where it came from. While I agree it's generally better to assume stupidity over malice, hardware compromises are serious enough that they must be treated as a national security threat until proven otherwise.
You're right that "national security threat" is a set of magic words that gets thrown around way too often and used to excuse all sorts of federal nonsense. But insecure hardware being attached to secure IT systems is a huge, new, unnecessary, grave vulnerability.
Typical Democratic Party (lack of) strategy approach to staying in their seats. Instead of championing policy that would truly improve people’s lives, they only really focus on just how bad the other side is. This way, they can continue to reap the rewards of being plutocrat warmongers while giving the appearance that they are the “good ones.” Exhausting.
Understood, but all tools should be used. Now is not the time to edit choices (in my not so humble opinion) :D
I'm having difficultly figuring out where you are going with this Ken. But I think I saw a glimpse. Are you saying the dems (or whomever) should be "making a plainspoken case to the public about how DOGE could negatively affect their daily lives"? I'd love to see some followup here.
That is exactly what I think they should be doing.
Short, punchy videos featuring ppl in purple districts speaking in their own voices about how various actions being taken by Trump/Musk are harming them. That's my prescription to stanch the bleeding now and save the patient. Then followed up with bold, positive reform proposals from Democrats that will bring material improvements to their lives in terms of cost, access to health care, their kids schools, etc.
If only Democrats weren't afraid of offending their oligarchical donors or risking their stocks.
Yes. I think it’s up to us, the Non-elected types, to do the work of exposure. As Ken is doing here. More will be revealed as we move through the process.
How do we make that happen? Would love to see those short, punchy videos too. Although it may be too soon? "Could " vs "is" happening.
Elizabeth Warren is great at elucidations and educating. Jamie Raskin is as well. norm Ornstein is also great at explaining things. I agree with the comment above about folks from purple states or even government employees explain what is happening to them personally or their families. Have them make TikToks. I don’t know how you beat the algorithms though. People listened to folks on the ground going through it after the NC floods and the recent airplane crash. Maybe there’s too much noise and people are overwhelmed. Just spitballing.
Agreed. Plain speaking is called for. Getting folks to understand that every action has an equal and opposite reaction--like no social security check--is key. But we're not playing checkers. It's multi dimensional chess. Multifaceted responses would be key.
Liberals thinking that their precious norms and institutions will protect them, and that any normal person gives a shit.
Oh also where's that Senate Parliamentarian in all this? How come the all powerful Parliamentarian that could stop Democrats from doing anything during the Biden administration suddenly can't stop any of this?
How come the Washington Generals keep losing to the Harlem Globetrotters?
"The argument that protocol violations (like of the Privacy Act) can stop what’s coming is laughable. "
Perhaps the goal isn't to stop it, but rather to fund raise off it.
Shoulda broke out the Kente cloths
lol
I'm conflicted on this. As a lawyer, my first instinct is to talk about how unconstitutional his actions are, how they're a violation of the separation of powers, how they're demonstrating that our laws and checks and balances are illusory.
But most people aren't lawyers. My friends have said things like, "who cares who has my SSN? It got leaked already by a corporation."
There are a lot of reasons that people should be mad at DOGE, but it's hard for me to figure out which ones dems should be talking about.
Do people even give a shit about soft power and USAID?
Should they care that the department of labor and education are on the chopping block? Yes! But I'm not sure how to tell people WHY they should care if they don't already.
This is my sense exactly!
Hey now…they’ve stopped several outrageous and illegal attempts through court orders. Agree their messaging needs a little (ahem) work, but courts are often the legit means to stop them. Meanwhile Dems on the ground are rising . One Senator today reported getting 1600 calls per day, vs 40! before Trump took office. I can’t get thru to my reps offices as lines are constantly overwhelmed. Indivisible had 50000 people call in on their Sunday night call! Just saw a poll tonight…Republican support for Musks involvement fell to something like 26% (can’t recall exactly) vs over 50% last November.
They should be required to state exactly what laws have been broken. An analysis of Trump’s Executive Order creating DOGE turns out to have been quite carefully crafted to take an existing gov’t agency (U.S. Digital Service (aka. USDS) and renaming it to U.S. DOGE Service (now aka. USDS :). So nothing new was created, rather something old was redirected. Trump’s lawyers clearly did their homework here.
If it's like the FDA (which is the agency that oversees my highly regulated work, so the only one I know the details about), they still have to follow the authorizations in the CFR written by Congress, right? Who would care about those besides a judge?
It appears that they used the U.S. Digital Service in part because of its existing mandate around systems, which is the bulk of the work the DOGE team has focused on.
What to do to win an election and build a coalition in the long term is different from what needs to be done now.
In the short term, lawsuits and injunctions around legality and process are the absolute most effective thing that can be done right now. Actual bad things causing real harm are happening in real time. I work in health and research and grants are being frozen. In some cases this means clinical trials of drugs and procedures are unable to move forward. Patients are being harmed, not just researchers. This type of thing is happening everywhere and needs to be stopped in any way possible.
I would argue an effective path forward is stopping everything you can through the courts on process and constitutionality grounds. That will make the other side defend what they’re doing, both legally but also publicly. At that point you can bring out your winning arguments and start your political coalition building.
In the mean time, you’re a sucker if you think the most important thing to do right now is to make plain spoken arguments to the people two years out from any election.