Hope, for a change

Tomorrow, millions of Americans will take to the streets to express their extreme displeasure at the dismantling of our democracy and the dangerous idiots who are responsible for that.

To celebrate No Kings Day they will march, hold up signs, shake their fists, cheer each other on, and enjoy the solidarity of knowing there are still tens of millions of sane and reasonable citizens who believe in the premise this country was founded on.

At the same time, it's reasonable to ask whether this is just a hollow act of toothless defiance, designed to make us all feel a little better for a few hours on a Saturday — a nice spot of tea before the SS Democracy hits the iceberg and sinks.

I think it's more than that, and I'm not alone. In fact, key members of the ruling junta agree with me. As Garrett Graff, former editor of Politico and current author of the Doomsday Scenario blog [1], notes:

... the Trump administration appears especially concerned and worried about the public backlash it’s facing this weekend. House Speaker Mike Johnson is railing against as them as a “hate America rally,” while Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent bloviated this week, “No kings equals no paychecks,” a message so dumb, out-of-touch, and wrong that it almost sounds like a tweet from Chuck Schumer’s social media team.

If it's all so pointless, why are they calling us terrorists?

Ultimately, protests serve one of two purposes: On a benign level, they're a cry for help — a signal to our elected officials their constituents are unhappy and something needs to change. But they're also a warning: Ignore us at your peril. More than one all-powerful ruler has been dragged through the streets by the mob.

It's good to remember that, unlike other would-be autocrats nine months after ascending to power, Trump is deeply unpopular outside his base. Pollster G. Elliot Morris has written extensively about how underwater Trump is on every issue. He also notes that when people dislike Trump, they really dislike him — the "intensity gap" is huge.

Americans are hopping mad

When latex-party-doll-turned-real-girl Karoline Leavitt calls us all "Hamas terrorists, illegal aliens, and violent criminals," she's speaking directly to the Fox/Newsmax audiences that will hear her words and no others. Breaking through that wall of disinformation and propaganda is probably the biggest barrier we face in reaching otherwise reasonable Americans who believe US cities they've never visited really are war-torn hellholes (if so, why are the rents so high?), that tariffs will bring industrial jobs back to America (they won't), and that eggs are cheaper than ever (nope).

Which is why Portland's Operation Inflation is so brilliant. [2] It's really hard to portray citizens exercising their First Amendment rights in public as violent America-hating extremists when they're dressed like Reptar from Rugrats. And it's really hard to shoot video footage of ICE without capturing images like this:

That photo is from the Hindustan Times, by the way. That's how viral these frogs have become. They're the new Tank Man.

One of the things that's brilliant about the Portland Frogs — and I assume this is deliberate, though I can't say for sure — is that they're reclaiming one of the icons that the worst humans on the planet subverted during the reign of Trump I: Pepe the Frog.

Pepe is the unofficial mascot for the Groyper Army, a group of deplorables led by neo-Nazi Nick Fuentes. You know: The white nationalist racists who are pissed off other white nationalist racists are not nationalist or racist enough (despite being plenty white)?

If you wander into the steaming heap of offal that is now Xitter (or Gab, Truth Social, Parler, etc) and see someone who uses Pepe as their avatar, you know everything you need to know about them. They are deeply troubled and pathetic man-boys cosplaying as tough guys. They haven't had sex with anything with a pulse for years. Their family members are quietly moving and not leaving a forwarding address. They have at least one restraining order in place and are required to stay at least 500 feet from any playground.

Taking that symbol and using it troll the Trump Administration's attempts to intimidate us into silence is a master stroke. The one thing bullies hate more than anything is to have people laugh at them.

When some ICE goon attacked one of the frogs by spraying pepper into his air vent, he told reporters, “the spray tasted minty and wasn’t that bad.... I’ve definitely had spicier tamales.”

Warts and all

Graff's blog post, titled "Three Reasons I Still Have Hope for America," is worth a read in full. One of his key points to remember is that time is on our side. Once cholesterol finally does its job and finishes 47 off, there is no charismatic blowhard ready to take his place. I bet even JD Vance's mother secretly despises him. And the rest of MAGA will then start tearing each other to bits.

Graff writes:

If civil society and good people, like the millions who will march this weekend at the No Kings protests, can stay strong, vocal, and active in the months and years ahead, there’s plenty of reason to believe that the United States — or at least parts of the United States — can begin to repair the damage done by Trumpism and continue to advance our national, collective 250-year-old dream of a multiracial democracy more just, more equal, and more free.

The ultimate goal is to unite all of us as Americans. To do that we need to change the narrative that 30% of the country is seeing. Hitting the streets — in inflatable frog costumes or otherwise — seems like a good way to start.

What are you wearing for NKD? Share your costumes of choice in the comments or email me: [email protected].

[1] Doomsday Scenario is a great name for a blog. Wish I'd thought of it.

[2] Operation Inflation is now an online fundraiser. They're accepting $35 donations to fund more inflatable frog protesters.