Power to the People by Barry Rosenbaum

The shooting of two National Guard members in Washington, D.C., the day before Thanksgiving was tragic. While the ultimate responsibility is borne by the shooter himself, it is Trump who illegally put these troops in harm’s way. However, as one has grown to expect, the Trump Administration has used this incident not to express real sorrow or do any form of reassessment, but to wrongly blame the Biden Administration, ignoring that Trump granted the killer asylum in April and claiming instead that the killer was radicalized in this country.

While no doubt this individual had serious mental issues, the radicalization that we should be addressing is that of the Republican Party over the past decade. This party no longer has any commitment to this grand experiment we call democracy. Quite the contrary—it has become a vehicle for white nationalism and authoritarianism, and, unchecked by the Republican Congress, is led by an administration that has engaged in the following atrocities:

1. Committing war crimes, cold-blooded murder, or both.

2. Kidnapping, detaining, and removing law-abiding U.S. citizens and immigrants who have been in this country for decades without any semblance of due process.

3. Usurping the constitutional powers of Congress.

4. Courting extreme racists and antisemites.

5. Converting the Justice Department into the private law firm of the President to pursue his political opponents on flagrantly unsubstantiated criminal charges.

6. Ignoring binding and unambiguous judicial orders.

7. Pursuing the agenda of oligarchs and totalitarians while siphoning off billions from the American people.

8. Conspiring with Russia to facilitate a Russian victory over Ukraine.

9. Threatening to strip naturalized citizens of their citizenship.

10. Coercing our historical allies while emulating our enemies.

11. Unlawfully imposing tariffs.

12. Receiving foreign and domestic emoluments.

13. Abusing the pardon power.

14. Illegally mobilizing military forces in major metropolitan areas against the will of state and local officials.

Unbelievably, this list of unconstitutional, unlawful, and immoral actions is far from complete, yet its breadth alone demonstrates that this administration has no legitimate right to hold onto power through January 2029. It has become little more than a crime syndicate. There is abundant, clear, and convincing evidence that the President, the Vice President, and certain cabinet secretaries and principal officers have and continue to engage in treason and/or high crimes and misdemeanors, doing so with impunity. We are in danger of becoming lost in the fog of this unrelenting chaos and depravity.

Democrats must make clear that it will end this obscene abuse of power in 2027 through lawful processes. Democratic candidates running for the House and for the Senate in 2026 should promise to instigate and/or support the impeachment, conviction, and removal of Donald Trump and those who have participated in this unprecedented attack on the American people, the dismantling of our institutions, and the degradation of our bedrock constitutional principles. But this cannot be the entirety of the Democrats’ message. Democrats should also present an aggressive economic platform directed to the needs of the working class. We must unambiguously shift our financial policies and focus from the wealthy to the average American, and this change must be real, immediate, and understandable to the electorate.  We will build back better.

The Democrats should also campaign on the promise to establish a presidential crimes commission. Independent prosecutors would review the actions of those who affirmatively enabled this corrupt president. This regime of despicables, and those who have aided and abetted it, should start to fear the coming wave of accountability.

For any of this to occur, the Democrats will need to retake the House and the Senate (in large numbers) in 2026. This is a herculean task. Few are willing to entertain such a vision. But if we can take the fight to the Republicans in TN CD7, as we did this week, we can take the fight anywhere. Now is not the time to remain trapped in the old playbook. We must be bold, and we must be fearless.  Everyone needs to understand the stakes. 

The Democratic Party believes in everything that the Republican Party has rejected. We are the patriots.  We will restore the principles that have made the United States a beacon to the world and reaffirm the right of every person in this country to be treated with dignity and to be accorded due process and equal protection under the law. 

We will proceed against this Administration in accordance with the rule of law because, unlike the Republican Party, we still adhere to these principles. However, recognizing the urgency of this moment, we must begin the process of redeeming our country now with the fervor and conviction that it demands. Ultimately, we will restore the power to the place it rightfully belongs — to the People!