Let’s go back six months, specifically to the evening of October 1, 2024. It’s the Vice Presidential debate, and Democratic candidate Tim Walz has just shaken Republican candidate JD Vance’s hand and returned to his podium, as if they were two normal men about to have a normal debate, as if his opponent wasn’t the election-denying, constitution-burning, Greenland-annexing sycophant of the most dangerous man in America. Tim Walz treated JD Vance with politeness and respect. JD Vance deserved neither of those things. The same goes for Donald Trump, Elon Musk, and everyone who has allowed them to dismantle American democracy. None of them are owed one ounce of respect from you. And by showing them respect, by treating them like any normal American, you allow their viciousness to continue.
Nobody who crashes the stock market intentionally deserves respect.
Nobody who fires workers indiscriminately deserves respect.
Nobody who deports completely innocent people deserves respect.
Nobody who claims they have absolute power deserves respect.
They don’t deserve to speak while you stay silent. Congressman Al Green understood this when he stood up during the State of the Union and shouted at Donald Trump. He refused to let silence vindicate Trump’s rosy claims. Senator Cory Booker understood this when he spoke on the Senate floor for 25 hours and gave voice to all the problems that are festering from an unhinged and unrestricted President. And the American people understood this on Saturday when they gathered in all fifty states and made headlines for the Hands Off marches to remind us all that what’s happening now in Washington is not okay.
The era of polite politics is over, and any Democratic politician who tries to continue such decorum needs to change immediately or step down for someone who will. Senator Chuck Schumer, who recently helped pass the Republicans’ budget bill out of fear, is a prime example of bygone polite politics that no longer works in our era of headlines and soundbites and attention jockeying. The Republicans’ vagueness and misdirection must be countered with specificity and loudness. People like Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Cory Booker, Pete Buttigieg and Jasmine Crockett understand this. They understand that every time someone tells a lie, you must shout the truth so loud that people have no choice but to pay attention. And you must do it immediately. The lie must have no room to exist unchecked. Disease festers when allowed to run free.
The 2024 election proved that money matters far less than the message. And we need politicians capable of delivering the message forcefully and compellingly, every day, without hesitation. If your instinct is not to immediately call out injustice, get the hell out of politics. If your instinct is not to immediately fight back against everything that Trump and the Republicans do, get the hell out of politics. There is no more room for politicians like Schumer who need time to consider ramifications. The ramifications are already here, and they’re going to start killing people. How many market crashes can people endure? How many job losses and price increases? How many days without healthcare? We’re about to find out. And we can’t sit by and silently watch it all unfold.
While the Hands Off marches won’t change anything right away, they’re invaluable in this fight because it’s impossible for Republicans to ignore them. Same with Cory Booker’s marathon speech. They got media attention. They got people fired up. And most importantly, they reminded people of the truth of what is happening. It is all of our jobs, now, to keep that truth front and center every time there’s an election, or a crucial vote in Congress, or a new case before the Supreme Court. It’s our job to keep the truth front and center every time the Republicans breathe new life into their lies.
The era of polite politics is over. It’s time to get out, get loud, and get proud to fight.