 |
On Saturday, I spoke at the Hands Off rally in D.C.—over 100,000 people there and millions of others around the nation and the world telling Trump and Musk: Hands Off our democracy.
As I explained, Trump, Musk and their corrupt cronies made a big mistake. They tried for a fast knockout of democracy—but we, in the court of law and the court of public opinion—met their “flood the zone” flurry with rule of law counterpunches and rafts of raucous (albeit peaceful) rallies.
Like Ali did to Big George Foreman in their famous fight, we rope-a-doped them with litigation. We and our coalition and allies denied and defied autocracy in court in over 200 cases—at least two for every autocratic initiative. That litigation is funded in part by your paid Contrarian subscriptions. So if you haven't subscribed, please consider doing so.
Also like Ali, this was the week that democracy came out swinging and landed a series of consequential counterpunches, with litigation wins and much more culminating in yesterday’s rally. We covered it all here at the Contrarian.
The Warm-up to the Rallies
In anticipation of Saturday’s monumental events, Jen spoke with Executive Director of MoveOn, Rahna Epting to kick off the week-long buildup. “People coming together because they believe in the project of American democracy—that’s success,” she said. And boy was she right.
We bookended the week by speaking with Ezra Levin, Maria Peralta, and Ana María Archila, about the power of collective action ahead of the April 5 day of action.
Though we were all optimistic about the turnout, I don’t think anybody could have anticipated numbers like what we saw (over 1400 mass protests, with millions of global pro-democracy voices involved), the energy we felt, or the resounding affirmation of positive, peaceful, patriotic opposition that has now been established.
In light of its success, Jen Rubin’s first piece of the week now scans as prophetic: Not Tired of Winning Against Trump shared the auspicious news of Trump’s ongoing losing streak in court, including recent TROs on Trump’s retaliation against law firms, the “arbitrary and capricious” dismantling of Voice of America, the dissolution of the Consumer Finance Protection Bureau, the ban on Trump’s deportation scheme via the Alien Enemies act, and more. The bully isn’t winning—no wonder he keeps lashing out.
The Contrarian covers the Democracy Movement. It’s an ongoing joy to cover the Democracy Movement, as Americans nationwide step up to defend our rights. This week (even prior to yesterday’s lollapalooza), we saw Tesla Takedowns, a big turnout in Kansas City, protests in California and Ohio, and much more.
The Democracy Index, spearheaded by Joyce Vance and collaborated on with Julie Zebrak, Joshua Kolb, Bri Murphy, Domenica Alioto, and Lily Conway, notes that the vision of our democracy that emerged this week was of one that is battered but resilient. The wellsprings of resistance are flowing in abundance, despite the serious damage this administration is trying to inflict. The Index takes stock of both forces.
Hands Off our National Security
Does Trump Bear NO Responsibility? The legendary Marvin Kalb wrote on the notable absence of one name from the headlines and blame game on last week’s Signalgate debacle (guess who).
He wasn’t the only one who wanted to make sure that we didn’t let the zone get too flooded to forget this catastrophic event. As Mimi Rocah wrote, Signal-gate shows what happens when accountability is broken. In a functional administration, Signalgate would have had swift and dramatic consequences for the parties at fault. The absence of accountability just adds to the evidence of how the Trump administration is systematically hobbling the justice system by eliminating all accountability for executive action.
“Hegsethive” Pride. Jonathan Alter, Alisyn Camerota, & David French joined Harry Litman on “Talking Feds” to carry on the chat of the Signalgate fallout and coverup, the national shame of the El Salvadoran prison, good news from the courts, and an assessment of the state of the union.
Hands off our Economy
In anticipation of a day of senseless tariff hikes, Jen had a readymade Phrase We Could Do Without: the total farce of Trump’s Liberation Day, which equates independence with punishing consumer taxes. It was a day of liberation only in the same sense that a pickpocket liberates you of your wallet.
A trade war—for what? Jared Bernstein covered another thing “Liberation Day” is freeing America from: critical global supply chains.
Hands off our Courts
Democratic governors are countering Trump in the courts. Executive director of the Democratic Governors Association Meghan Meehan-Draper wrote on how, as major political battles shift to the states, governors are turning their focus to the courts, where strategic judicial appointments are essential to countering Trump’s autocratic agenda.
Jen Rubin and Andrew Weissmann broke down the Eric Adams Corruption Case and Federal District Judge Dale Ho’s dismissal of the corruption charges against NYC Mayor Eric Adams. “It’s nice to see a decision where the courts, especially the district courts, have really continued…to be a functioning part of our tripartite system of checks and balances.”
Eliza Orlins explained the dismissed charges against Adams in a different manner, and explained the with prejudice catch. Adams’ "win" isn't an admission of innocence—it’s about curbing political favoritism in prosecutorial decisions.
Hands Off our Healthcare
Trump and Kennedy just put America at risk Jeff Nesbit discusses the dark days ahead for public health as Trump & RFK Jr. fired thousands of HHS workers, putting vaccine safety, drug oversight, and pandemic preparedness at risk.
Smart framing can increase immunization rates. Dr. Julie Sweetland shared strategies to combat the measles outbreak currently threatening more children in West Texas by the day. She started with one crucial antidote: open communication with vaccine-hesitant parents.
F is For Fertilization (And Fool). Jennifer Weiss-Wolf marked April Fools’ Day by looking at the latest headlines in reproductive health and civil liberties from an administration that is somehow both one big joke and no laughing matter.
Musk and Kennedy have taken a chainsaw to HHS. What does it mean? Jeff Nesbit sounded the alarm on Trump’s reckless slashes to HHS. “Virtually everything of importance that HHS is responsible for that affects our daily lives—whether it’s big social safety net programs like Medicare or Medicaid or lesser-known programs like “Meals on Wheels” for seniors and energy assistance help for low-income homes—is now at risk.”
Trump’s administration is trying to take our government Backward; we’re moving it Forward
Amber Ruffin fires back after WHCA cancellation. Culture columnist Meredith Blake wrote about the White House Correspondents’ Association’s spineless decision to unbook comedian Amber Ruffin for its annual dinner. As Ruffin joked on Late Night, I guess “We have a free press so that we can be nice to Republicans at fancy dinners.”
Split Screen: The Visual Politics of Presidential Military Moments. Azza Cohen’s Split Screen column took an incisive look at the optics of presidential-military relations, from Trump’s power posing to Biden’s eye-level respect. Our VP could use a few pointers…
Truth still matters. As some of Trump’s most egregious lies are imploding in real time, wrote Jen Rubin, voters are seeing—and experiencing—that his lies have real consequences.
The shareholder warning Trump would never file. Brian O’Neill gave Trump his worst nightmare: an honest business audit. If he’s going to frame himself as the model of executive leadership, we deserve a shareholder report on governance.
Service members: Remember the duty to disobey. In the not-too-distant future, wrote Air Force veteran Valerie Rivera, military members of all ranks and specialties might have a difficult choice: side with an unlawful president or with the Constitution.
Why Trump’s Smithsonian executive order is especially painful. Shalize Manza Young unpacked what’s at stake in Trump’s new Smithsonian EO, which singles out the National Museum of African American History and Culture, pushing for a whitewashed version of history. Even if never enacted, the message is a travesty of racist backsliding.
Legacy Media is losing America The first robust study of what really happened in the 2024 election should serve as a wakeup call to Democrats and to legacy media. Josh Levs evaluated the data, coming to the conclusion that earning the attention of more Americans, especially those who are not firmly in a political camp, requires telling the truth.
Tom the Dancing Bug. This week Ruben Bolling gave us SeverVance. The administration’s work is mysterious and important…definitely…
Hands in the Air for Senator Cory Booker
Good trouble. In a world of sleepy senators, Nick Anderson suggested, be a Booker.
Cory Met the Moment. Speechwriter and executive Michael Franklin wrote on how Sen. Booker’s record-breaking speech reminded us that voice is still a form of resistance, and that when those in power are doing everything they can to keep us distracted, disconnected, and discouraged, sometimes “political theater” is exactly what’s needed to counter their narrative.
Booker delivered a historic speech because we're in extraordinary times. Carron J. Phillips celebrated Sen. Booker’s day (and then some) as “Captain America”: putting patriotism in action in what will serve as a powerful example of resistance through history–and a rebuke to racist politics past and present.
Mr. Booker Goes to Washington—and delivers a must-see cultural moment. With Emmys season around the corner, we’ve seen a flood of prestige shows to watch & dissect; but as Meredith Blake wrote, Sen. Booker gave us the must-watch TV event of 2025 with an historic speech long on patriotic fervor and devoid of gimmicks.
All-time congressional records. RJ Matson celebrated Sen. Booker’s record-length floor speech alongside Speaker Mike Johnson’s historic achievement: 74 days (and counting) of silence!
Contrarian Culture Club Recommendations. In honor of Sen. Booker’s historic Senate speech, Meredith Blake gave her weekly culture recommendations a New Jersey spin. From 'Street Fight' to 'Brick City,' Booker’s journey is one of resilience and inspiration.
Marissa Rothkopf delivers a marvelous recipe for her Senator: her Cake for Cory Booker is a vegan apple crumb cake, honoring his dietary choice and Jersey’s farming finest. Crumble is great for cakes–not for democracy.
Undaunted, Uninterrupted. This week’s Undaunted selection was easy. Booker’s marathon 25+ hour Senate speech was a masterclass in substance, courage, decency, and conviction, wrote Jen—qualities our democracy needs now more than ever. Unlike our cake recipe, he did not crumble….
Hands On our Pets
Our own Ginny Terzano’s dogs, Gia and Max (named for MLB pitcher Max Scherzer due to his heterochromia–his different colored eyes), were our Contrarian Pets of the Week, despite Gia’s propensity for ripping apart couches.
Congratulations, Contrarians, on another wonderful week, one that history may well look back upon as the beginning of the end of Trump’s failed autocratic takeover. You help make that possible by turning out for rallies like Hands Off and in so many other ways—including with your paid subscriptions! From all the Senators and aides who helped Sen. Booker break Strum Thurmond’s record, to the volunteers from both parties in Wisconsin and Florida, to anybody who took to the streets with their homemade signs yesterday, to everybody reading these words, I thank you for being a part of this journey.
Warmly, Norm
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.