Weak Democratic Response to Crooked King Trump
- SidLinx
- Sep 10
- 4 min read
"Weak Democratic Response to Crooked King Trump"
Can Democrats stop Trump from doing more damage to Americans and the economy. The Democratic Party appears toothless, and ineffective against bulldozer Trump. What is stopping the Democratic Party from acting; putting up roadblocks to at least slow him down. All we hear are words in debates objecting to Trumps policies. Worse still is Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer with fellow democrats helping pass the “Big Beautiful Bill”. A Trump initiative the “Big Beautiful Bill” is a sweeping domestic policy package passed in mid-2025 that aims to cement his second-term agenda. It’s a massive budget and tax bill.
YouTube commentator, Ezra Klein, suggests “Democrats either fund a government increasingly shaped by Donald Trump’s authoritarian agenda, or trigger a government shutdown to resist its transformation.” Klein comments further, “Democrats face a stark and urgent choice. This is not a theoretical debate—it’s a live crisis. The stakes are no longer abstract. They are institutional, economic, and moral.”
Paraphrasing Klein’s Comments continued
Six months ago, Democrats encountered a similar crossroads. Despite lacking control of Congress, they held a sliver of leverage: Senate Republicans needed at least seven Democratic votes to pass a government funding bill. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer chose to support the bill and encouraged his colleagues to do the same. To many Democrats, this felt like a betrayal—their first real opportunity to resist Trump’s consolidation of power had been squandered.
At the time, the party was divided. Hakeem Jeffries argued that a shutdown would create a crisis, draw public attention, and allow Democrats to make their case. Schumer countered with a more cautious rationale: Trump was losing in the courts, and a shutdown might halt those cases. He warned that a funding crisis would give Trump’s executive branch more control over remaining resources, and that economic chaos from Trump’s tariffs was already rattling markets—Democrats didn’t want to confuse the public about who was to blame.
But that logic no longer holds. Trump is now winning in the courts, gaining powers that past presidents never claimed. He has refused to spend appropriated funds, fired civil servants without cause, dismantled agencies, and used state power for personal gain. The markets have stabilized, and Democrats can no longer rely on economic backlash to weaken Trump. His presidency has shifted from chaotic experimentation to authoritarian consolidation.
In recent months, Trump has impounded $4.9 billion in foreign aid using a “pocket rescission,” bypassing Congress entirely. The Supreme Court has enabled his expansion of executive power, undermining traditional checks and balances. Once again, Democrats are being asked to vote on funding a government that is being weaponized against democratic norms.
The picture painted is one of mafia-style corruption. Basic services may still function, but the system’s purpose has shifted—to preserve and expand Trump’s power. The government is being reshaped in his image. Trump has fired key officials for political reasons, targeted critics like Jerome Powell, Adam Schiff, and Tish James with federal investigations, and suggested revoking media licenses for networks he deems “biased.” He has purged prosecutors, inspectors general, and military officers who resist his agenda, deployed masked ICE agents and National Guard troops in cities, and pardoned January 6th participants while firing DOJ lawyers who prosecuted them. Cabinet meetings have become spectacles of sycophantic praise, evoking comparisons to authoritarian regimes.
Meanwhile, Trump and his family are accused of launching crypto ventures and attracting foreign investment from Qatar and the UAE, allegedly leveraging political power for personal financial gain. Forbes estimates his net worth has more than doubled in a year. His Oval Office is described as “festooned with gold,” his agents roam the streets masked and unaccountable, and his appointees compete to flatter him with praise that would make Fidel Castro blush.
Democrats are urged not to fund this version of government. A shutdown is proposed as a strategic flashpoint—a way to force public attention. But Democrats lack a unified message, clear demands, or preparation. They must define red lines: no masked ICE raids, no foreign enrichment of the Trump family, and restoration of oversight through inspectors general and career prosecutors.
The author suggests a path forward: fuse two narratives—corruption and economic pain. Trump looted Medicaid to fund tax cuts for himself and his allies. That’s why prescriptions cost so much. The cost of healthcare, denied insurance claims, and economic hardship are symptoms of systemic corruption. Trump promised to fix a broken system, but instead, he’s re-rigging it for personal gain.
This is not a normal administration or a normal political moment. Democrats must stop pretending otherwise. Trump’s government is accused of deploying armed troops in cities, channeling billions into family businesses, and spinning off multiple scandals weekly. If Democrats fail to make this a political issue, they risk irrelevance—and so does democracy.
Even if Democrats had a message, do they have the messengers? Leaders like Jeffries and Schumer have shown rhetorical skill, but will they hold the line when shutdown pain hits ordinary Americans—when national parks close, federal employees are furloughed, and flights are delayed?
The political reality is grim. Democrats are polling at historic lows, even below Trump and the GOP. Fundraising is collapsing—$15 million compared to Republicans’ $80 million. Infighting and lack of enthusiasm are eroding the party’s base. Power, as political scientist Russell Hardin argued, is a coordination problem. People do what others do. Right now, Democrats are signaling passivity—“wait for the election”—which undermines collective action.
The stakes are enormous. The machinery of government is allegedly being weaponized to entrench Republican power, punish enemies, and deploy masked paramilitary forces. Waiting passively is not strategy—it’s complicity.
A Shutdown or New Leadership
Klein isn’t certain Democrats should trigger a shutdown. But joining Republicans to fund this government without resistance is worse than losing—it’s surrender. If Democrats still have no plan, no message, and no demands, then they need new leadership. Link is below.
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