“The big joke on democracy is that it gives its mortal enemies the tools to its own destruction.” - Joseph Goebbels 1928

It feels like Donald Trump has ripped off the right arm of our body politic and is beating us to death with it.

All America really wanted was a quick end to inflation, coherent border security, decent healthcare, and maybe, a kick-ass new video game. But when Kamala Harris was asked during the campaign if her policies would differ from those of Joe Biden, she decided to damn the torpedoes. She said, “There is not a thing that comes to mind”.

The End.

So, America went with Trump, his promises to fix everything on “day one”, and his big fat new video game: “Liberation Day: Thunderdome”. And the game is ironclad - replete with a goth billionaire wielding a chain saw, a drunk Hells Angel Secretary of Defense, a hot dominatrix who is a bit scary as she stands in front of heavily tattooed gang members, and a scion of a beloved American political dynasty who is inarguably off his rocker.

America, you asked for it. Nihilism and Nazis. Mad Max and fascism. And now the question is “How do we get out of this?”

All the rest is sound and fury, signifying nothing. Well, maybe something…

Maybe fulfilling the GOP’s decades long crusade to squeeze the life out of Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid. (The eternal “More for Me” holy grail so cherished by the Republican oligarchs who rule the party from their hunting lodges.)

Maybe whitening up the complexions of Americans with a pretty stiff forced breeding program that brings with it an even higher infant mortality rate in America due to the resumption of back-alley abortions for the poor.

And maybe the whittling down of American education to the point that all Americans are as pliant and impressionable as a bowl of drool.

Note to Christians: When your mythology includes an End Times narrative, you’re on the road to a self-fulfilling prophecy, Mad Max style.

For those Republicans who now confess that they didn’t vote for this - well, yes you did. It was all there: the Unitary Executive Theory, proposed by Richard Nixon and furthered by Ronald Reagan. https://www.democracydocket.com/.../what-is-unitary.../ ; the SCOTUS ruling in Trump v. The United States - a big wet demagogic kiss from the Federalist Society and the Heritage Foundation https://www.scotusblog.com/.../trump-v-united-states-3/ , and the series of policy stances championed by Mitch McConnell, the silent but deadly Grim Reaper of democratic legislation. Each one a neon sign pointing to Fury Road, the road that ends in autocracy.

So now, here we are. It has been a long road that started with “morning in America” – a road that has run through the American heartland, through its purple mountain majesty and, yes, above its fruited plain. And we’ve gone from “Mr. Gorbachev, Tear Down That Wall” to “We’ll Build a Big Beautiful Wall, and Mexico Will Pay for It”.

Political scientists will likely debate how America fell so far in only a matter of decades. What were the factors that opened the niche through which a parasite like Donald Trump squirmed? I think it happened in 2010 when the Supreme Court released one of its most consequential rulings: Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission. Citizens United reversed a century of campaign finance law and tilted subsequent elections toward powerful individuals, corporations, and foreign influencers like Russia, China, and others This ruling ushered dark money into American elections, where hundreds of millions of dollars can now be contributed by any entity with no disclosures required. Enter Russian and Chinese disinformation propaganda ads on social media. And as ambiguity concerning the limits of First Amendment rights followed, an arms race began with news outlets such as Fox News fielding spokesmen who pose as journalists delivering unexpurgated propaganda and Republican “alternative facts”. Case in point: In order to obtain access to additional federal funding for his technology companies, Elon Musk contributed $288 million dollars to Donald Trump’s reelection campaign. The image of Musk wielding a chainsaw at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) in February 2025 above the chyron that reads, “Musk contributes $288 million to Trump’s reelection campaign” should remind Americans of the urgent need for campaign finance reform.

If the Democratic Party succeeds in winning back the legislative branch in 2026, and that assumes that there is a legislative branch to win back, there are many initiatives that speak to the structure of our democracy that must be addressed immediately. Campaign finance should be at the top of the “to do” list. But the Democratic Party itself needs to be re-imagined. Both parties have been, in varying degrees, hijacked by their extremes. And while the Republican Party is now unambiguously fascist and poses an existential threat to our Republic, the Democratic message is less than coherent. We absolutely must have a charismatic leader who can lead Americans out of the policy house of mirrors it currently finds itself in. Now would be the time to convene former Democratic Presidents in a town hall style forum to address the dead end that America is currently facing with Donald Trump and the Republican Party. And not just once. They should go on the road so that Americans across the nation can begin to understand how we got here and what road we can take to re-imagine the Democratic Party of the future.

image: The Oligarch by Anthony Machuca