{"id":39184,"date":"2025-02-01T13:33:35","date_gmt":"2025-02-01T21:33:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/?p=39184"},"modified":"2025-02-01T13:33:42","modified_gmt":"2025-02-01T21:33:42","slug":"the-opposition-cant-allow-itself-to-be-distracted-by-shiny-objects","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/2025\/02\/01\/the-opposition-cant-allow-itself-to-be-distracted-by-shiny-objects\/","title":{"rendered":"THE OPPOSITION CAN’T ALLOW ITSELF TO BE DISTRACTED BY SHINY OBJECTS"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

THU, 1\/30\/2025 – BY\u00a0CARL GIBSON<\/a> (Occupoy.com)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"\/<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

(This is part two of a multi-part series on how to form an effective opposition to the Trump regime. Read part 1<\/a>.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Democrats\u2019 theme for President Donald Trump\u2019s first term was \u201cresistance,\u201d which was largely ineffective. Between 2025 and 2028 the theme should instead be \u201copposition,\u201d as the latter offers us far more productive ways to invest our time and resources. But because time and resources are limited, we have to be smart in how we fight against Trump and the Republican Party this time around. That means picking our battles wisely, and not taking bait that\u2019s dangled in front of our faces.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As a \u201cresistance\u201d effort, Democrats sought to find ways to preemptively drive Trump from the presidency. We put all our eggs in the basket of democratic institutions like the courts and Congress to hold Trump accountable and strip him of power. This manifested in high-profile investigations like Robert Mueller\u2019s probe into Russian election interference and two impeachments.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Of course, despite Trump being the first president in history to be impeached twice \u2014 along with being the first ex-president to face criminal charges \u2014 he\u2019s right back in the White House despite the resistance\u2019s best efforts. Even Trump being found guilty by a jury of 34 felony crimes and officially sentenced didn\u2019t stop him from assuming a second and final four-year term as the most powerful person on the planet.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The most important thing for people who oppose Trump to do over the next four years is to not fight against everything that comes down the pipeline, but to discern what\u2019s important from what\u2019s just noise, and focus our efforts on where we can truly make a difference in our communities and in people\u2019s lives. The regime is hoping to exhaust us early so they can run up the score further down the road \u2014 it\u2019s absolutely imperative that we not let that happen.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"\/<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

WHAT TRUMP\u2019S PLAN TO \u201cFLOOD THE ZONE\u201d LOOKS LIKE<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

According to the New York Times, Stephen Miller, who is the 47th president\u2019s top immigration advisor, has explicitly said his goal is to \u201cflood the zone<\/a>\u201d with a blitz of activity aimed at discouraging and fatiguing the opposition. Miller is correct in assessing the regime\u2019s enemies as \u201cdepleted\u201d with limited \u201cbandwidth for outrage and opposition.\u201d If everything is deemed an emergency, then nothing is.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the first 100 days of the Trump regime, it\u2019s critical for anyone in the opposition when taking in new information to ask ourselves: \u201cIs this worthy of my time?\u201d And when answering that question, we should consider if we have the capacity and the means to oppose it. If there\u2019s a concrete course of action to follow, then follow it. But if there isn\u2019t, then move on.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

One good example of something clearly not worth our time is the news that Trump plans to change the name of the Gulf of Mexico<\/a> to the \u201cGulf of America.\u201d Aside from noting that former Mississippi Democratic state representative Steve Holland was the first to do this in 2012<\/a> as a means of mocking Republican anti-immigrant legislation, there\u2019s really no need to respond to this.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In some cases, the answer of whether to devote time and attention to something is less clear, like Trump\u2019s plans to end birthright citizenship for the children of undocumented immigrants. On one hand, this is a clear attack on the Constitution, and absolutely worthy of our attention. But it\u2019s also dead in the water the moment it gets challenged in the courts \u2014 as the American Civil Liberties Union has already promised to do<\/a>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

NBC Supreme Court reporter Lawrence Hurley wrote last summer that attempts to undermine birthright citizenship are doomed to fail precisely because actually doing so would require another Constitutional amendment<\/a>. Even US Circuit Judge James Ho, who Trump himself appointed to the notoriously far-right 5th Circuit Court of Appeals in 2018, wrote in a 2009 paper<\/a> that the 14th Amendment applies to the children of undocumented immigrants.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The 14th Amendment of the Constitution is clear that all children born on US soil are citizens, and if any judge were to side with Trump on this, it would not only negate the 14th Amendment, but the Constitution itself. And because judges get their power directly from Article III of the Constitution, any judge that agrees to strike birthright citizenship would effectively be stripping themselves of their own power and legitimacy by chipping away at a fundamental cornerstone of the Constitution. Beyond educating ourselves about the 14th Amendment, there\u2019s really nothing needed from those of us not actively suing the government in federal court.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In another example of shiny objects meant to distract us, Trump announced a cryptocurrency \u201cmeme coin\u201d just days before he took the oath of office that quickly accumulated a valuation of roughly $32 billion<\/a>. The \u201ccoin\u201d is a digital currency dubbed $TRUMP that serves as essentially a speculative asset, with 80% of the coins in circulation being owned by the Trump Organization. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The $TRUMP meme coin has all the hallmarks of a \u201crugpull\u201d or \u201cpump-and-dump\u201d operation, in which speculators pump value into a fake asset, only for the majority holders (known as \u201cwhales\u201d) to sell off their assets once the value has been inflated far beyond its actual worth. This happened earlier this year, when 22 year-old Haliey Welch \u2014 better known as the \u201cHawk Tuah\u201d girl \u2014 launched her own cryptocurrency venture dubbed $HAWK. Welch\u2019s crypto scheme immediately skyrocketed in value to as high as $490 million<\/a> only for the whales who owned between 80% and 90% of the supply to sell and leave the rubes holding the bag after its value plummeted to just $26 million.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If any other public official did this, it would rightly be considered a massive scandal requiring public hearings and impeachment proceedings. And as a nation, it\u2019s a jarring contrast given that we just witnessed the burial of former President Jimmy Carter, who famously had to put his peanut farm in a blind trust upon taking the oath of office in order to stay above board (his business was deeply in debt<\/a> by the time he left the White House). But because the 78 year-old Trump is in his second and final term (his bluster about potentially seeking a third term is another shiny object, as the 22nd Amendment to the Constitution<\/a> is unequivocal about limiting presidents to two terms), and because he\u2019s wormed his way out of three of four criminal cases, it would sadly be a waste of time and resources to focus on holding Trump accountable for this crypto scam.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"\/<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

SAVING OUR ENERGY FOR WHEN TRUMP OVERPLAYS HIS HAND<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

When there are opportunities for the public at large to take action to stop the Trump regime, we should recognize those moments and not hesitate to be an effective oppositional force. One good example of this is in Chicago, Illinois, where Trump border czar Tom Homan has said he plans to carry out his first arrests<\/a> of undocumented immigrants. Illinois Governor JB Pritzker has shared a detailed list of rights<\/a> all Illinois residents have regardless of their immigration status, in both English and Spanish. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

That list \u2014 compiled by the Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights \u2014 includes hotlines for people to call when they believe they or their neighbors are in imminent danger of being arrested and deported. It encourages residents to not open their doors (and to teach their children the importance of not opening doors), and that warrants are only valid if signed by a judge. As attorney Sheryl Weikal wrote on Bluesky<\/a>, the \u201cadministrative warrants\u201d carried out by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents are not legally binding if not signed by a judge. Sharing this information with friends and neighbors you believe could be targeted by ICE is a great example of how you can make a difference in people\u2019s lives with your actions as an agent of the opposition.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The opposition should also be on guard for attempts to use the law to illegally target marginalized populations for state-sanctioned oppression. The far-right Project 2025 playbook<\/a> has already laid out its plans to target the LGBTQ+ population in its foreword by conflating their very existence as \u201cpornography\u201d to be outlawed on page 5 of the document:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“Pornography, manifested today in the omnipresent propagation of transgender ideology and sexualization of children, for instance, is not a political Gordian knot inextricably binding up disparate claims about free speech, property rights, sexual liberation, and child welfare. It has no claim to First Amendment protection. Its purveyors are child predators and misogynistic exploiters of women. Their product is as addictive as any illicit drug and as psychologically destructive as any crime. Pornography should be outlawed. The people who produce and distribute it should be imprisoned. Educators and public librarians who purvey it should be classed as registered sex offenders. And telecommunications and technology firms that facilitate its spread should be shuttered.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Any effort by the regime to designate an entire population of people as second-class citizens to be harassed by the state and its supporters should be fiercely opposed at every turn. If the Trump administration attempts to conflate \u201ctransgender ideology\u201d with \u201cpornography\u201d and \u201csexualization of children,\u201d and thereby criminalize the existence of marginalized people, that should necessitate a massive mobilization in the streets to demonstrate solidarity for those people. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

It should be known that failing to stand up on behalf of the trans population \u2014 or any group of Americans subjected to state-sanctioned persecution \u2014 will be interpreted as a green light for the regime to eventually do the same to other groups. Martin Niem\u00f6ller\u2019s \u201cFirst They Came\u201d poem<\/a> explicitly warns that it is the duty of those in countries ruled by tyrants to exercise solidarity, not only because it\u2019s the morally right thing to do, but out of self-preservation: \u201cThen they came for me \/ and there was no one left \/ to speak for me.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s inevitable that Trump will overplay his hand. And when he does, the opposition should be ready to pounce. One-off media trolling stunts like renaming the Gulf of Mexico aren\u2019t worth our time: Opponents of Trump should instead save energy for marshaling opposition to his tariffs, his mass deportations, and for actual legislation Trump aims to pass through Congress, like extending his tax cuts for the super-rich and corporations for the next decade. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

As I\u2019ve written previously for Occupy.com<\/a>, the proposed tax cut extension would cost more than $5 trillion according to the US Treasury, and Republicans have already proposed a list of cuts<\/a> to offset the legislation\u2019s staggering sum. This includes rolling back the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, the Inflation Reduction Act, the CHIPS and Science Act, and the Affordable Care Act. The first three directly affect the job security of the working class, while the latter makes it possible for millions of people to actually afford health insurance. And all of this is potentially on the chopping block so absurdly wealthy men with more money than they\u2019ll be able to spend in 100 lifetimes can add a few more bundles of cash to the mountain of it they\u2019re already sitting on.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The new regime will also overplay their hand if they actually follow through on their plans to deport millions of undocumented immigrants. Multiple industries that are essential to the US economy, like agriculture, construction, healthcare, and hospitality<\/a>, all depend on immigrant labor. If these industries are suddenly starved of their workforces, this will result both in drastic increases in the cost of basic necessities like groceries and housing, as well as a sharp uptick in the unemployment rate.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And as journalist David Cay Johnston observed after the November election<\/a>, Trump\u2019s mass deportations will cause a tremendous legal and financial headache for local governments as the children of deported immigrants (who are legal US citizens) will be left behind, and put into foster care. This means the property tax rates of residents in counties with an influx of new children in the foster care system will go up. And that could be just the beginning of the chaos brought about by mass deportations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhen children grow up in circumstances like that, the likelihood we will have mental health and criminal problems in the future go up,” Johnston told MSNBC\u2019s Joy-Ann Reid. “So the costs of this are way beyond the estimates that focus on just deporting people, and of course, Donald Trump said it will be bloody. And I don’t see how it can be anything but that.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Trump\u2019s key campaign promise of imposing sweeping new double-digit tariffs on goods imported from Canada, China, and Mexico would be perhaps the most significant way the new administration will overplay its hand. As president, Trump doesn\u2019t need Congress to impose new tariffs, and he did so by decree without incident during his first term. But if these new tariffs are forced on foreign imports, it could mean Americans have noticeably far less purchasing power than during former President Joe Biden’s administration. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

One key example is gas prices: Canadian Natural Resources Minister Jonathan Wilkinson said in a January panel discussion that because the US imports several million barrels of oil per day from its northern neighbor, the new 10% tariff will likely result in higher gas prices<\/a>. For some drivers in the Midwest, they could expect to pay as much as 75 cents per gallon more under the new tariff. The US also imports more than $23 billion<\/a> worth of grocery staples from Mexico including dairy products, confectionery items, cereal, flour, starch, meat, and produce. Simply put, Trump\u2019s tariffs will be a huge hit to Americans\u2019 bank accounts. This is absolutely something the opposition should focus on.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The anti-Trump opposition needs to remember that the target of our rage needs to be the Republican Congress, rather than the term-limited executive. The 2026 midterms are closer than the 2028 presidential election, and Republicans\u2019 majorities in the House and Senate are incredibly fragile. Ideally, an effective opposition will be disciplined and focus on areas where Republican members of Congress from swing districts and Republican senators from purple states will be extra-sensitive to public pressure. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

It will be a long and bumpy four years, but as Turkish journalist Asli Aydintasbas wrote in December<\/a>, dictatorships take much longer than that to centralize power. By picking and choosing where and how we apply pressure, we can prevent the worst from happening, and maximize our impact to weaken Trump\u2019s hold on Congress in the next midterm cycle.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Carl Gibson is a journalist whose work has been published in CNN, USA TODAY, the Guardian, the Washington Post, the Houston Chronicle, the Louisville Courier-Journal, Barron\u2019s, Business Insider, the Independent, and NPR, among others. Follow him on Bluesky @crgibs.bsky.social<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

THU, 1\/30\/2025 – BY\u00a0CARL GIBSON (Occupoy.com) (This is part two of a multi-part series on how to form an effective opposition to the Trump regime. Read part 1.) Democrats\u2019 theme for President Donald Trump\u2019s first term was \u201cresistance,\u201d which was largely ineffective. Between 2025 and 2028 the theme should instead be… Continue reading → <\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/39184"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=39184"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/39184\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":39185,"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/39184\/revisions\/39185"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=39184"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=39184"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=39184"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}