Preparing for Liftoff by Barry Rosenbaum

I attended the Hands-Off! demonstration in Torrance, California on Saturday, a truly inspiring event with police estimates of 10,000 people. The mood was festive yet defiant. The signage was extraordinarily creative and the passion of the crowd and drivers passing by was palpable. The extended horn honking and responsive cheering was non-stop. It was abundantly clear that Americans intend to be participants in this struggle for the long haul. We have been a democracy for almost 250 years. No one there was prepared to let it be destroyed by a maniacal orange man and his cohorts ruling through hate and deception.

While the events of that day are certainly reason to celebrate the movement’s rapid growth and reach, the crowds were predominately comprised of Boomers and Gen Xers. There was a fair representation by Millennials but only a smattering of Gen Ys and Gen Zs. Why was that? So many major protest movements have been led by the young. Gen Y and Gen Z, in a way, have the most at stake for the simple biological reason that as a group, they have the greatest portion of their life still ahead of them. If real change is not undertaken quickly, they will suffer disproportionately.

How can we turn this around?

We must demonstrate that we have an approach to governance that meets their needs and promotes a future far different than our current reality and projected shortcomings – economically, environmentally, and socially.

The Democratic Party’s favorability rating is at a record low, which reflects the need to rebrand the party. We need to reinvigorate its leadership and return to our legislative roots – working on behalf of the working class in ways that are tangible and immediate. As Jamie Raskin said after speaking at Saturday’s D.C. event, you need a popular-resistance strategy coupled with an effective legislative strategy.

What might that legislative strategy include?

First, we must promise to put an end to the Trump era as quickly as we can. The litmus test for election to the next Congress should be: “Will you immediately act to take all necessary steps to impeach Donald Trump and JD Vance for high crimes and misdemeanors?” Trump and his hooligans have been in office for eleven weeks and there is already more than enough evidence to support this. We simply cannot afford four years of this.

His enablers in Congress must also bear a heavy cost. They have allowed tyranny to reign and put their interest in self-preservation ahead of the interest of the country. As such, they have absolutely forfeited any right to continue in high office. We must call them out at every opportunity for their treachery and their willingness to effectively destroy the government so they can provide tax cuts for the ultra-wealthy.

Yet, that is not enough. We must also acknowledge where the party has missed the mark. As Joe Trippi, a renowned political strategist, wrote on Monday:

Democrats, in defending democracy, were essentially defending the status quo. Capitalism had been running roughshod over our economy and our democracy to the point where both were broken.

In a sense, the jujitsu that this created for Trump was fuel for the fire. Trump, when he raged that “America was becoming a third world country,” was seen as telling the truth. Democrats saying that Trump was a threat to democracy — were seen as defending a broken system at best and, at worst, were seen as perpetuating the lie that democracy was working.

Capitalism and democracy are compatible only if capitalism is subservient to democracy and not the other way around.

Thus, we must also promise real change in the priorities of the Democratic Party.

• We must get back to basics by supporting candidates up and down the ballot who understand that economics drives all else and that economic policy must be guided by meeting the needs of the working class.
• The level of wealth concentrated in the hands of a few is obscene and we must require that these individuals pay their fair share in taxes.
• We must ensure that everyone is paid a living wage and is provided equal access to quality health care and childcare.
• We must foster an environment that supports healthy life, not one that is being rendered uninhabitable through climate change.
• We must protect the long-term viability of Medicare and Social Security by ensuring that the wealthiest among us pay into these programs far longer than they currently do — in 2024, the cap was $168,600.

But we can also only reclaim people’s trust if the leadership of the Democratic Party more closely reflects the demographics of the people it strives to serve. We are in dire need of swiftly moving forward with leadership that understands the new priorities. It needs to be nimble, creative, youthful in spirit, and able to inspire the American people and regain the trust of our allies around the world.

They say that Tesla vehicles can go from 0-60 mph in under 3 seconds and achieve a top speed of 200 mph. That seems to be the speed with which Trump/Musk are destroying our government and our democracy. As Heather Cox Richardson said: “It’s as if the Confederates’ descendants have captured the government of the United States.” We must respond with the same speed and urgency and be prepared to implement systematic and far-reaching changes when we return to power.

The resistance movement has obtained lift-off, and we must now maintain the velocity necessary to escape Trump’s devastating gravitational pull. The next day of action is April 19, 2025.