No.
Hakeem Jeffries had an at-the-time brilliant idea of standing back and letting the GOP implode. Instead it gave them time to regroup, cull the moderates who resigned and reach an internal agreement to support Trump. Schumer has been completely ineffectual as Senate Minority Leader where you only need 40 members in your caucus to have substantial minority power. No one has really risen to be a voice for the Dems as an early front-runner in 2028 or at the very least throw out ideas to see what resonates with the voters.
Yeah, that’s about it. The others have been expelled, for all practical purposes.
The Big Lie I was taught in school was that bullies were cowards, and that if you ignore them they will go away.
As long as Trump has a veto, even winning both houses of Congress will just stop further bleeding. Fixing things he’s already broken by the end of 2026 will still be right out.
Not to mention, we’d need to flip four Senate seats that are up for election in 2026 in order to gain control of the Senate. We’d have to win in some pretty red territory to do that.
Exactly. The Dems need to stop playing nice and start pushing back with more than words.
That’s a very interesting question. I may have completely misunderstood the comment about “nuts” in the party that I replied to. I wasn’t even thinking of the politicians themselves. I was thinking entirely of party members (regular voters). I can’t think of anyone off the top of my head on the left side of the isle that I would classify as crazy or a nut.
I think the thing that really pushed so many people right was how each party treats their more extreme members (so called ‘nuts’). The right tolerates their Nazis, extreme religious people, and conspiracy theorists, but you are entirely welcome to be on the right and disagree with any or all of those people. The left has been kicking people out of their party over the last few years for not believing what they believe.
I first noticed it (or should I say experienced it) when Covid hit. My degrees are in biology and so the origin of the disease was of interest to me. We didn’t know much at the time, so I was willing to accept that there was a 50% chance it came from a lab and a 50% chance it came from an animal. I was then informed that any discussion of a lab was racist. Obviously, this was nonsense, and I recognized it as such because biologists discussing viruses isn’t racist, it’s science. But I recognized that racist was the most effective way to get white people to stop talking, so I recognized the manipulative tactic for what it was. I have to admit though, it was very strange suddenly being treated like a Republican simply because I know that the origin of diseases is a science topic and not a racial/social issue.
This was just the first of many examples where you were not allowed to have a differing opinion from the Democratic mainstream. Joe Rogan, for example, who had always been quite liberal, was kicked out of the party for believing that a biological woman should be informed that her opponent was a trans woman. That was it. That was his great sin. He was happy to call Trans women, women. He was happy to call them she/her. He didn’t have any animosity in his heart for them. He simply knew enough about combat sports to know that 30 years of natural testosterone was going to give the Trans woman a significant advantage and the opponent should at least be aware of what she was getting into so she could make an informed decision as to whether or not she wanted to participate. That was enough to start to attacks against Joe Rogan that eventually led to him embracing Donald Trump.
Another example I see from a lot of people that turned to Trump was the Trans woman debate. Within Democratic circles it isn’t acceptable to believe that sex is determined at birth. If we dealt with this the way Republicans do, we would have some people that believe Trans women are actual women and some people that think Trans women and just men pretending to be women and we would all get along. But as Democrats, only one opinion is acceptable, and the ‘wrong’ opinion needs to be removed from the party. I experience this type of thinking a lot with vegans who frequently behave in much the same way.
The vast majority of Republicans do not like Nazis. They reluctantly tolerate them because they vote in the same direction, but they find their Nazi beliefs abhorrent. The lack of tolerance for differing beliefs within the Democratic party over the last 5 years has pushed many once left-leaning people into the arms of Donald Trump.
I heard a quote after the last election that really struck me. I may not have it word for word exact, but a voter was asked why she voted for Trump (she was not a typical Trump supporter and didn’t particularly like voting that way). She said, “The Republicans and crazy, but the Democrats are preachy.” She then added reluctantly, “At least crazy doesn’t judge me.” I found that very powerful. If you say one thing Republicans like they will welcome you into the party with open arms (because they want your vote). If you say one thing Democrats don’t like, they ask you to leave the party. Not all of them of course. Just the “nuts.” But the nuts are allowed to do this. Nazi’s don’t speak for the Republican party. They are not given permission to excommunicate anyone that doesn’t hate Jews. But nothing is done to stop people from being made to feel uncomfortable that they think sex is determined biologically at birth and some of those people eventually voted for Trump even though they think he is crazy (and most of us can agree is a terrible/dangerous president).
Another “bothsider” that just happens to play down one side while playing up the other.
You’re examples don’t support this claim. No one has been kicked out of the Democratic Party. But, take a look at Liz Chaney if you want a better example.
Moderating:
This is a generic mod note to point out that a number of you have wandered far off topic. Please take further discussions that have nothing to do with Trump seeking a third term to a different thread. By now, you should all be familiar with how to do this:
How to Reply as a linked Topic
Click Reply, in the upper left corner of the reply window is the reply type button, looks like a curving arrow point to the right.
Choose Reply as linked topic and it starts a new thread. As an example, you can choose GD, IMHO or The Pit for it.
That is actually the best method.
If the Republicans don’t do anything more than wag their fingers and say, “Don’t worry, it can’t happen”, what are the Democrats ready to do to take on what looks like most of the work? Trump has already shown us that wagging fingers, consternation and even “official admonition” doesn’t matter to him when it comes to a possible third term.
What can the Democrats do?? They do not have control of either house of Congress.
And it would seem kinda silly to me anyway if the Dems were to focus now on the prospect of a third Trump term when so much is going on right now that needs addressing. Deportations, tariffs, the Signal chat, the evisceration of numerous government agencies, the erasure of trans personhood, the list goes on.
I think this may actually contribute to Trump running for a third term (bringing this round to the OP). Trump cannot stand someone standing out more than him, or having power over him. Anyone else running with an (R) behind their name will not be under his control, and (hopefully!) will have less support especially if he successfully tanks the economy.
That means assuming Trump makes it all 4 years, he’s looking at a LOT of people with an axe to grind and democratic norms having been weakened. The setbacks he more-or-less stalled for 4 years of Biden will return amplified, and while yes, the SCOTUS will likely provide some covering fire, we’ve seen a lot how bad things can get with just un-benign neglect.
No, especially if he thinks his position is weakening, I fully expect that he’ll go for a third term, and hope his past successes in ignoring "well everyone knows you CAN’T do that* will continue. It’s a learned behavior and worked well so far.
That and as I said upthread, he LOVES it when people are cheering him, and even if they hate him IF they can’t do anything about it. Attention, attention, attention.
For all the people here who genuinely think a 3rd term or 2028 Trump presidential campaign is coming, do you truly think the courts - from district up to circuit and SCOTUS - are going to say, “Yeah, the 22nd Amendment explicitly bars such a person from being president again in crystal-clear terms, but, whatevs, we’ll let Trump be elected again, fuck that piece of paper called the Constitution”?
I’m being serious; not rhetorical. Do people really think that’s what’s going to happen?
Speaking only for myself, I certainly don’t think (or have stated) that a 2028 Trump campaign is coming. I also don’t genuinely think a 3rd term is coming. But I have pointed out that there may be a completely legal and constitutionally-correct method by which a 3rd term might happen.
And, by that method, he won’t be elected to either POTUS or VP.
Also, this has been stated multiple times in this thread, but the 22nd amendment states:
No person shall be elected to the office of the President more than twice
Bolding mine, of course.
I think the courts will rule against him if he tries to run for a 3rd term. I’m more interested in what happens if he ignores the courts. How will the law, and the clear constitutional intent, be enforced? Laws don’t enforce themselves. People have to decide to enforce the law.
Why not? It wasn’t always in the constitution. There are precedents for multi-term presidents. Trump has a habit of breaking the law and getting away with it. It wouldn’t surprise me if he found a way to do it again, what with the house, senate and Supreme Court all working for him. He’s like a mob boss.
The law would be enforced at the ballot level. You can’t be elected if the states that you need to get you to 270 don’t put you on the ballot. And if Trump miraculously somehow gets 270 as a write-in candidate, it still runs afoul of the 22nd amendment.
You’re still assuming that he will follow rules and norms. Who’s gonna make him?
Yes. Out of indifference, devotion to Trump, or just the fear that if they don’t submit they’ll be killed.
And if they don’t roll over for him he’ll just ignore them anyway, and how will they enforce it?
As mentioned above, if the states don’t put him on the ballot, then he can’t reach 270.