Esquire: "The Next Democratic President Better Be Merciless"

[TheProle]

Main thrust of the article:

Assuming it even happens, the process of recovery is not going to be discreet. It’s not going to be painless or easy. It is going to be loud and necessarily bloody. Arms will need to be twisted. Careers will need to be ended. Indictments ought to fly, thick and fast. The republic is going to need radical surgery because the malignancy is everywhere. That is the reality of the next several elections. Any Democratic politician who is not prepared to be merciless is unworthy of support.

https://www.esquire.com/news-politics/politics/a70246850/josh-shapiro-andy-beshear-president/

[WarGamer]

1. We're heading toward Robespierre... I'm just not sure if he will wear red or blue.

[littlemissmartypants]

11. I'm all for revival of the guillotine.

[WarGamer]

12. What if it's Miller at the controls?

[TheProle]

16. Or, to your Robespierre point, a "good guy" who turns into Miller

[WarGamer]

17. Exactly... as Robespierre himself did.

[littlemissmartypants]

23. He'll be hanged or emigrated to Russia or Venezuela by then.

He can always join the Venezuelan Regional Group of the Nazi Party and the weather is nicer.

[KS Toronado]

72. Want to borrow mine?

[dweller]

37. Calling all DIY'ers

Join us






✌🏻

[littlemissmartypants]

43. Hahaha!! Getting a head!!! 😆❤️😆

Love you, dweller.

[tonekat]

88. We're going to need a lot of these! N/T

[MarcoZandrini]

73. Gravity....

…..always wins.

They want Germany 1939.
We want France 1789.

[bluestarone]

86. Agree. I'm thinking our biggest problem will be,

Who, out of all these monsters will be the FIRST one to use it. Will we have to roll the dice or would picking names out of a hat (garbage can if we need something with more room)?

[littlemissmartypants]

94. The irony, bluestarone, of...

Using a hat to make heads roll kind of delights me. But a cardboard box works for me, too. 🌞 👋 ❤️

[Javaman]

65. even he fell victim to the mobs.

started off interesting, then became a clearing house for anyone that had a grievance with anyone, regardless if they were a royalist or not.

[ColoringFool]

67. Let's At Least Give Our Version A Try Before ASSuming.....

I might like knitting. 🧶

[Bettie]

80. I was never able to catch on to knitting

I think it was because I am hopelessly left-handed and all the knitters I know are right handed.

But, I'd try again if my area needed a knitter in the front row!

[Scrivener7]

89. I'm a great knitter! We'll sit together.

[Unrepentant Fenian]

2. They're not wrong!

[B.See]

4. No. They aren't. If

letting treasonous insurrectionists like Donald Trump and his accomplices get away with an attempted COUP didn't teach us anything, NOTHING will.

[Unrepentant Fenian]

47. Thanks!

[TheProle]

5. Elizabeth Warren: "My Plan to End Washington Corruption" (Sep 16, 2019)

In 1958, the National Election Survey first asked Americans a simple question: Do you trust the government to do the right thing most of the time? That year, 73% of Americans said yes.

In 2019, that number is just 17%. Five out of every six Americans do not trust their government to do the right thing.

Why have so many people lost faith in government?

https://medium.com/@teamwarren/my-plan-to-end-washington-corruption-554c7f01aaa5

[WarGamer]

19. That's a fantastic point to ponder and unravel.

[angrychair]

41. My opinion is it was on purpose

It's a lot easier to have a dictatorship if no one trust the government to do the right thing.

I mean the rise of ever dictator in modern history was because of corruption, mismanagement and negligence by the existing government in power.

Honestly, we are in a pretty precarious position if I'm are being honest. The Democrats will likely get one more shot at it but if they don't make headway on some of these issues, in which people see real progress and change for the better, our chances to fall into a dictatorship are nearly 100% in my opinion.

[LiberalLovinLug]

95. The Biden AG delayed the Jan 6th investigation until it was too late. And ignored the Epstein Files.

We all know the damage Garland did by dragging his foot on the Jan 6th investigations

But the Epstein Files also were ignored. Why? To protect Bill Clinton, Bill Gates, Somners and billionaire class Democratic party donors? That they felt any gain in exposure against Trump and other Republicans would not be worth the exposure within their own ranks? All while survivors suffered? Not a good look.

I agree. They, hopefully, have one more shot. No more "we must move forward" before we address what happened behind us. Because if not, it will embolden the Fascists to go even further. And there is a further, despite the horrors of today.

[fujiyamasan]

59. If it was that low in 2019

Can you imagine how low it is now?

[Evolve Dammit]

84. 40 plus years of Limbaugh and then copycats. Faux News. "The Fleecing of America." Tea Party. MAGA. and all

the GOP "think tanks" with Grover Norquist types wanting to shrink government and "drown it in the bathtub." Stop the recount in 2000; Brooks Bros. riot (Bolton, Stone, etc.). Project for a New American Century. It goes on and on.

[Scrivener7]

90. She's a goddess.

[pfitz59]

3. Seize MAGA assets and thrown the bums in jail

Corruption on a massive scale.

[tavernier]

6. I don't see Newsom singing Kumbaya over a a campfire log

with any fascists. Kelly might also not be in the mood to “fellowship”…..

Good start IMO.

[TheProle]

7. "Kumbaya" is a judgment call,

but Newsom giving a platform to Bannon, Shapiro, Kirk, Michael Savage, et al. feels a little "campfire-y"...

[Mr. Evil]

54. Or...

you can follow the old adage, "keep your friends close but, keep your enemies closer."

[LudwigPastorius]

55. How about "keep your enemies close, but don't give them a platform to spew their fascist ideology"?

[Scrivener7]

91. I do think that was a ridiculous thing for him to do. BUT

I'd still happily vote for him if he wins the primary.

[TheProle]

96. Same.

[justaprogressive]

8. Can't happen soon enough

[samsingh]

9. i agree completely

anyone who say:

'look forward, not back'

'for the good of the country, let's not look for the criminals'

or 'goes slow like a snail'

is essentially punching Democracy in the face.

[Scrivener7]

92. And God help the asshole who says, "Patience grasshopper" or

"This isn't a Law and Order episode."

[littlemissmartypants]

10. Archive, no paywall:

https://www.archivebuttons.com/articles?article=https://www.esquire.com/news-politics/politics/a70246850/josh-shapiro-andy-beshear-president/

[TheProle]

13. Thank you, littlemissmartypants

Much appreciated

[Seinan Sensei]

14. I couldn't agree more

I couldn’t have said it better myself

[mdbl]

15. Ask Jack Smith to be Attorney General.

[Jack Valentino]

46. I've had that thought myself !!!

[returnee]

64. Good luck getting him confirmed.

Good choice, though.

[BidenRocks]

18. As they would say,

FUCK THEIR FEELINGS!

They have and are, attempting to overthrow our Constitution!

No Gerald Ford warm fuzzy pardons!

[Vogon_Glory]

20. One of the reasons we're on this situation is because President Joe was too (darn) nice

He tried to be collegial and cordial when he should have been ruthlessly pulling up the Trumpist roots that had poisoned the soul of the federal government.

One of my painful memories of the Biden administration was how he let one Trumpie thug or ideologue after another without making any effort whatsoever to go over their activities with a fine-toothed comb and then prosecute them for malfeasance when they broke the law.

[Bettie]

22. An9ther reason is Nixon did not

feel the full force of what he did. He was allowed to get away with everything he did simply by resigning.

Each Republican administration afterward has been more corrupt than the last...and here we are.

[ColoringFool]

68. Not Quite "Simply." He Was Actually Pardoned By Ford.

[Bettie]

71. You're right

But the point remains, he did not have to face the consequences and corruption became a little more normal. Now? We’re at a place where the corruption is open, blatant, and constant, and there is virtually no real pushback.

Yes, Democrats speak about it, but it has become obvious that our system was set up with the assumption that the people in office would have some degree of ethics…

Seems to have been a grave error

[Joinfortmill]

26. We don't really know what the Biden Administration was doing or not doing.

Can we give it a rest. Overall, Joseph Biden was an excellent President and Statesman.

[Lemon Lyman]

21. -

I love Charlies Pierce (writer of article). I'm not thrilled with either Shapiro (taking too many shots at Kamala) or Beshear. I like them were they are, doing good work in their states. But president? I'm not seeing it.

I'll vote for whomever wins the primary though.

[littlemissmartypants]

25. I'm a hard no for both of them. We need them where they are.

[JHB]

24. Don't leave out the credit. The author is Charlie Pierce

Is it too much to ask to promote liberal authors and commenters?

If it were some damn NeverTrumper who spent their career building the road to Trump, someone like Rick Wilson or Charlie Sykes, you can bet that their name would be right in the subject line. But liberals who've been calling the shots accurately for years? Apparently they don't have names.

[3825-87867]

27. If you haven't read Pierce,

you can get one "free" article at a time. It's worth the time.
I've followed him for 200 years, yet he doesn't look a day over 70+, on politics and sports.

Very insightful and very knowledgeable.
Doesn't pull punches.
He's still around because the trump people can't understand what he writes.
To get access to all of his articles, you will need to subscribe and it's currently $25 per year and well worth it in my opinion.
But at least try it out for free.

EDIT:
The comments are extremely topical and from the well informed.

[SunSeeker]

28. Fuck yes. Gavin would be good at that. nt

[sanatanadharma]

29. If the USA survives as intended by the Founders who fought against the kings-men.

From Trump forward in time, NO maga, no republican, no conservative, no fundamentalist, no jingoist-nationalist, no militia-NRA-gunner need EVER be listened to, believed, trusted, elected, or respected for the next half-century; and that is if the USA survives as intended by the Founders who fought against the kings-men.

[dalton99a]

30. What's good for the goose is good for the gander.

The next Democratic president should exercise all authority available at full speed from day one.

If any Republican objects, tell them to go fuck themselves

[Just Jerome]

31. Maybe

Newsom the Neutralizer

Pritzker the Pulverizer

Buttiegieg the Bastard

Mark (The Merciless) Kelly

Of course it takes more than a name. You have to earn it.

[ShazamIam]

32. There are so many criminals and so many crimes; a special organization must be set up to persecute the criminals so that

Congress can do their ordinary and normal functions.

[eppur_se_muova]

61. Like South Africa -- after all, Trmp has been trying to re-create their old gov't ! nt

[mikewv]

33. Agree. Hopefully we reach this point. nm

nm

[Figarosmom]

34. Wow, that's Esquire Magazine

I don't recall them being so mercenary before.

Political yes, but usually not so hard-line.

[swong19104]

35. It has to be severe and uncompromising

The rest of the world needs to know that the US federal government has made a complete break from the past. Any lingering MAGAt politician is a sign that the US government hasn’t learned its lesson and that government can’t be trusted to adhere to any international agreement.

[rickyhall]

36. He/She needs to clear out all the traitors and all the cowards. Which leaves very few.

[Buddyzbuddy]

38. Unfortunately, I think we will need a Democratic President

that is as ruthless and dictatorial as the Felon currently in office. He/She will need to work quickly and and with determination to right this ship ASAP. It won't be completely fixed for many years to come and the American voters will have to come to terms with the idea of voting for a person that is more than just a personality. Not just speeches about what is desired but a plan to "attack" the problems at hand without worrying about a second term.

I also think we'll need an equally determined Vice President that's is not a place holder but one that can yield the power of investigations and punitive measures by working closely with a completely revamped DOJ and intelligence services. We cannot afford to have nominees for cabinet positions nominated because they raised X amount of $ for the campaign nor for ambassadorships as is customary. We need allies to be reassured that we are serious and we value their friendships and support.

Plans by the Democratic party need to be in place by day 1 and finalized within 60 days+-.

#1 eradicate any stench from the previous Admin.
#2 rehire worthy applicants to previous posts if they are willing.
#3. Triage the damage, get a heartbeat back. Then get to work.
#4. Dismantle DHS. Make each Dept. answerable to Congress.
#5 Assess the damage to our military and hold those responsible for breaking our laws accountable. Pardons shouldn't supercede military rules and regs. Replace all necessary leadership.
#6 Social Security is on life support, fix it.

I could keep going but I will spare you any further anguish. It's just a start.

[slightlv]

50. I love what you've written here...

You speak my mind. I count these as things to accomplish in the first 100 days.

I would also include reforming SCOTUS as high priority.

Also pushing cases back to be readjudicated and rewinding citizens united.

[Buddyzbuddy]

56. Thank you. I agree with your response as well.

[rhiannon55]

39. I love President Obama, but he let Bush, et al off the hook

For all their war crimes. I was sickened by the torture that was carried out at Guantanamo Bay, among so many other atrocities. He I was so hopeful that Dubya and Cheney and the rest of those monsters would face consequences for their crimes, but President Obama was all about “looking forward, not back”.

Democrats really are too nice. We have consciences and empathy and it can trip us up at times.

[slightlv]

52. I think Dems want to govern

They don't mind the hard work... and they're good at it.they see getting bogged down in undoing the harm of the last admin as badness that keeps them from miving forward. Just my opinion.

The one thing I want more than anything is a united congress... so work can be split up among committees and the whole congress multitasking like crazy.

I also want all potential campaigners to be thoroughly vetted so we know who were voting for. And we need to make sure no pedos and other criminals can qualify to run.

And I see two public commissions that need to be held. One being a Nuremberg style and another one for us, the citizens p. Our voices haven't been in 10 years. We need to be heard on our ideas after living through this terror.

[AverageOldGuy]

40. And the ATTORNEY GENERAL . . .

. . . MUST BE COLD-BLOODED AND HEARTLESS -- along with every single DOJ and US Attorney everyone in DOJ all the way down to the secretaries.

And -- Schumer and Jeffries need to be replaced -- I nominate AOC or Raskin for Speaker, Schiff for Senate Majority Leader.

[yellow dahlia]

42. The party needs to adopt a new paradigm.

There will be endless work to be done to try and put things back together.

[littlemissmartypants]

44. Hear! Hear!! Please somebody, break us out of the Ivory Tower feedback loop!!

[yellow dahlia]

51. I think Chris Murphy brings a new style of messaging, and it is effective.

When he talks, one wants to listen to what he says. He is genuine and a good explainer.

[littlemissmartypants]

57. You're so right, yd. Excellent points! I like him bunches. ❤️

[jfz9580m]

45. K&R

I am not American, but some of the people closest to me are..

Or no…wait..they are in an undisclosed location in uhhh Australia.

The truth is that I have stopped contacting people I know who live over there - white, nonwhite, even republican (I have Republican friends! Well not quite, but I know some irl decent humans who were at least honest conservatives) or democrat.

Seeing as they are across the board honest, I can’t see them appealing to Trump once any confusion is out of the way.

People can be so daft over politics - parroting the rubbish that is mainstream. I wish we could pressure Jon Stewart into running. That would be kinda mean to Stewart since well-meaning leaders are hated as much the assholes. And no one will be able to fix the mess these assholes leave behind and our ahistorical society will blame whoever gets handed this mess. But someone has to take a hit for team humanity and a little too much agreeability aside, Stewart is trustworthy as Nathan Robinson pointed out.

Sleazy grifters/sellouts/sycophants/bullies of some kind or another are the only people Trump appeals to on a long enough timeline. No Kings is a very appropriate slogan that way.

Hell..I am a rubbish scientist. But today if I turned on academia and enthusiastically championed the GOP (Beaglegate!!!), I would probably find it easy enough to ..actually no..I would have to be a totally different human.

Even bullshit grift and hustle take more energy than I have. One of my main complaints with these out of control surveillance and bs economies is that absent the motivation required for truly worthwhile, non-performative work sans creepy drivel and panopticons run by sleazy morons, I give up entirely. It takes so much concentration to do real work that it is way harder for any but the apolitical. And it worries me if scientists who do worthwhile work now have to drop that and protest all the time. At least I was a lousy scientist no one wil miss. That is not true of the scientists I valued most.

No political party is any sort of path to science. But since Colbert’s reality’s liberal bias thing (that too in such a right shifted world) is true I do come out as left of centre. Jon Stewart’s Al Sharpton thing I suppose. Only someone with no prospects can. And if I ever have any, as much as I avoid realpolitik close to my actual life, I have to file some complaints.

The Republican-Democrat dichotomy alone is out of touch with these times imo. Oligarchy is a close partner to fascism and this article does not really address that. Probably because
Esquire is owned by Hearst. That writer is only allowed to go so far in the truth to power stuff.

The business class of a player type does not like instability to the point where their profits are affected. And that Upton Sinclair quote pretty much nailed it - the disingenuousness of the person whose livelihood depends on promoting drivel as meaningful work.

Which is why the business class routinely trashes the public sector and wants to dispense with the kind of regulation Lina Khan and the Warren wing of the party (the one I am sympathetic to aside from the Bernie faction) was bringing in and absent that it truly is a bandaid.

My sole overlap with any GOP adjacent headspace is sardonically eying even a rattlesnake like Hawley and wondering if he could have a stopped clock, pest control function wrt the mercenaries of Google, Palantir, Microsoft, Musk etc..probably for the worst reasons, but I have scant sympathy for mercenary Perilaus types like Shyam Sankar and Sundar Pichai. Anyway he is one of Thiel’s so that is unlikely.

Anyway…

It does alarm me that I do avoid people I know by now - some of the most respectable people in society by even the most exacting standards I kid you not. That cannot possibly be right…

This is fucked up. Thanks The Prole. Good article. I do not know about footsteps, but definitely serious accountability and for the tech overlords who are gaming democracy as well.

A significant failure of the Obama administration was entertaining people like Larry Summers and the creepy technocrats from Google/Facebook etc.

Without holding the oligarchs and corporate overlords of Musk Inc/Google/Facebook/Palantir/Microsoft/Oracle/Hollywood/ some of the press accountable it will all be more kayfabe and rearranging deckchairs.

Things have been rotten a lot longer than Trump and it is sourced to a private sector coup of the state dating back to the Obama era.

I myself am gearing up to file complaints in my country about appalling rot.

I was a publicly funded scientist and never had a problem with the normal NIH. I had many problems with Google and this permacrisis has made it impossible to avoid this low effort stuff I am dubious about. But the high effort stuff needs checks against this to work.

I have contacted a few left leaning journalists I can trust to not turn things into a spectacle. What I cannot allow is my being used for what happened to Dr Fauci. I am a complainant, but not stupid.

[EnergizedLib]

49. I would absolutely sign up to be that myself

The next election will be my first in which I am technically eligible, and would definitely run if I had the funds for it.

[AllyCat]

53. I keep saying I am voting for firebrand Dems.

Done with what passes today for centrist.

[liberalla]

58. EXCELLENT! Yes, URGENT ACTION is REQUIRED!!!

Posting to read later! Thanks much!

[rampartd]

62. is it a prince song?

party like its 1789!

[Solly Mack]

63. There must be a scorched earth approach to accountability.

Otherwise, you're leaving them standing to attack America again.

[Javaman]

66. if we are to redeem ourselves in the eyes of the world...

there damn well better be a reckoning for the right wing.

if we pull a ford and pardon some or much of these fucks, we will have sealed our fate internationally.

the world is watching, we better fucking not choke.

[JT45242]

69. If only Biden and especially Garland had been with the document case

The document boxes should have put him in Leavenworth or similar super max for spies...within 24 hours as would and should happen to anyone else with that many classified documents.

10 years and $10k per document. In 10000 years they could release the dust of his corpse to the remnants of the crime family.

[Roy Rolling]

70. Better Headline Needed

Mercy is a virtue. In any personal interaction we should always be kind and merciful. Legally I can be merciful by locking up a depraved and merciless criminal for life. Should I just become merciless like that?

I think a better term might be strict, thorough, or non-negotiable.

No exceptions, no future pardons, no favoritism. Everyone is equal under the law.

But a little less equal if you’re a second-time MAGA cult leader, you need a punishment that also sets an example for society and cult minions to see. Not punishing Trump is the cause of everything now, so he needs a penalty that makes him the center of attention like he always craves.

[kentuck]

74. Yes, all the dirty laundry needs to be washed in public.

For everyone to see.

[ellie]

75. I want people to

face consequences. No more "moving on." Moving on is what got us into this mess. There is a entire group of people who think they are above the law.

[Raven123]

76. # 1 thing. Do not celebrate.

Get to work! Should have a long list of things to immediately undo or correct. Take the oath, go to the White House, end the secret service protection for Trump and his family (they made enough money off of the American taxpayers to afford their own protection), and then start signing executive orders. Immediately freeze out those employed during the Trump administration until they can be properly vetted.

Maybe have a celebration at the 1 year mark. Might have made some progress by then

[Grins]

77. Author: Charles Pierce.

And always a fun read.

[Grins]

78. Agree. And we have Schumer.... NM

[JCMach1]

79. Don't vote for anyone who does support deMAGAfication

[Martin68]

81. I hope we've all learned that lesson. Give no quarter.

[Bluetus]

82. There won't be a Dem President unless somebody steps up to this challenge.

At this point, the only ones I have seen who might break from the Dem tradition of "Shucks, we'll let bygones be bygones" are Newsom, Pritzker and maybe Chris Murphy. Personally, I don't want to see a single Dem enter the race if they aren't willing to commit to major changes, changes that will hurt some Republican feelings.

And that also means that those Dems in leadership positions had better get this message, step up their game, or get the hell out of the way.

[Crunchy Frog]

83. Yes. We're reaping the fruits of the last one not being that, and that may have been our last chance.

If we get one more it likely will be our last. Enough of keeping our powder dry.

They can start by taking a wrecking ball to all new monuments to Trump's ego. Never underestimate the importance of the symbolic.

[roamer65]

85. The next president needs to be Gavin Newsom.

Jack Smith as AG.

[Lulu KC]

87. I want someone with the brains, ego, and bedside manner of a really good doctor

A cardiac surgeon. A neurosurgeon. Maybe you know the type.

[Escape]

93. I don't think it unreasonable to expect the following people to be imprisoned indefinitely:

Trump, Vance, Noem, Bondi, Miller, Lutnick, Hegseth, Bessent, Worm Jr, Vought, Bannon, Gabbard, Navarro, Kushner, Kavanaugh, Elito, Thomas, Roberts, Gorsuch and Levitt.

And then, of course, every Ice member who shot, killed, harassed, mistreated or inconvenienced a law abiding resident of the United States.

After that, we'll look around for the enablers, accomplices and those who drove the getaway cars.