… convoluted? Uncertain?

Well… whatever it is… the State of the Union certainly isn’t strong.

10 days ago, President Donald Trump delivered his first Joint Address to Congress. In his Address to the nation, President Trump spoke of rigged elections, and “securing free speech”, and even dipped back into his 2016 bag of insults, calling Sen. Elizabeth Warren, “Pocahantas”, which was greeted with raucous cheers from the Republican side of the aisle. And despite my frustration in the moment, I decided to sit and think about how I felt about it before I wrote anything.

So, 10 days later, regardless of what he did say, I think the real story was in what he didn’t say.

President Trump didn’t mention that the stock market was down over 5% since his Inauguration Day, or that the price of eggs has increased over 25%, or that he plans to cut over 80,000 employees from the Department of Veterans Affairs.

To me, the State of the Union is pretty clearly unclear. We have a President in power who cares about vanity projects, a senior advisor who is the richest man on earth, and all the while, working class folks suffer. Lord knows where this braintrust of billionaires and tech bros will take us, but I’m confident in saying that the billionaires don’t have the interests of the working class at heart.

Fighting Back

Democrats don’t have the White House, are in the minority in the Senate, and are in the minority in the House of Representatives; so, what can we even do?

The answer is simple: we need to try. I’m not going to sell you a one size fits all strategy, or tell you that we have to go down some path.

Here’s what I can tell you, though. The American people are hungry for two things in this moment: authenticity and effort. We need leaders with a spine, who will unequivocally stand up to Elon Musk and Donald Trump, not ones who just talk in empty platitudes.

Look no further than Bernie Sanders, who has filled up high school gymnasiums four times over in various communities across the country. I’m not here to comment on Bernie’s policies, but what we can all admire is his authenticity and effort.

Senator Sanders has traveled to five communities now, each with a Republican member of Congress who refuses to hold a town hall. In each of the five communities, he has spoken to a crowd, as well as multiple overflow crowds. He is treating this moment like a campaign against authoritarianism and oligarchy, and Lord knows we need that urgency right now.

Bernie is also unequivocally a fighter – love him or hate him, you know what he stands for. We can no longer just be a party that is “against Republicans” or “anti-Trumpers” – we need to be a party that proudly stands for our own beliefs. The belief that corruption shouldn’t roam the halls of the White House, the belief that all of us were created equal, or the belief that students should have access to a high quality education. Those principles are what we stand for, and it is crucial, now more so than ever, that we are proud and unapologetic in what we believe in.

Moving Forward

So, what does fighting look like? It looks like attending a town hall, it looks like getting involved with your county party, it means marching in a local parade, or talking to your neighbor who has been impacted by Trump’s trade war.

I know we’re just coming off the heels of an election, and many of us are still struggling to deal with the loss we’re feeling – but this campaign, one against authoritarianism and billionaire control of our government, is just as important.

I don’t care what you believe in, who you are, or which party you voted for in November. We can all agree that our government should not only be controlled by the wealthy and well connected. We need to make our voices heard

I mean, Donald Trump, who was born a millionaire, has hired the literal richest man on earth as his #1 advisor. We can disagree about Elon all we want, but unequivocally, he doesn’t have the interests of the working class at heart.

As Democrats, we have the power to fight back, and we should expect our elected officials to fight back tooth and nail. We’ve seen what happens when we bend the knee to Trump or cede any leverage – he just does whatever the hell he wants anyways.

At this moment, we need to organize; in our communities, in our friend groups, in our families, and in our neighborhoods. We need to be clear and concise in our expectations for our elected officials, both Democrat and Republican. Let’s make our voices clear, Nebraska. The people deserve a government by the people, for the people – not by the billionaires, for the billionaires.

Let’s make sure our voice is heard.

Around the Horn

And in other news this week… it’s finally warm outside, and time to bring out my favorite annual meme.

Don’t get me wrong – I love 60 and sunny more than anyone else, but we are cooked, my friends. Climate change is real.

This week, the CDC reports all of Dulles Airport could’ve been exposed to measles. Between a measles outbreak, a looming recession, and global authoritarianism is on the rise… welcome back 1929!!

And finally, last week the Husker men’s basketball team finished their season with a loss at home to Iowa. I love my Huskers, but if there’s one thing they have in common with Nebraska’s representatives right now, it’s that neither of them showed up when we needed them most.

Have a great week and GBR, folks.

Thank you for reading,

Please consider donating to the NDP here. The fight to keep our nation afloat takes money just in the same way it takes authenticity. Please consider donating to help fund key battles that make a tangible difference in the lives of Nebraskans.

If you have any questions or comments, feel free to contact [email protected].

All the best,

Jack Schiewe