Enough is enough. The Texas GOP power grab attempting to gerrymander five Democratic Congressional House districts into Republican seats has finally awakened the Blue team. At last, the Democrats realize that they must go on the offensive and fight fire with fire, or our democracy is doomed. Not all of them have gotten the memo, of course, but a more progressive, aggressive leadership is beginning to emerge.

Yes, Sen. Sanders and AOC have been leading the charge for some time now. However, they are not sitting in executive offices where they could initiate real change. California Gov. Newsom, on the other hand, is in a position to do just that, and he’s not holding back. While I’ve never been a big fan of the governor’s, Newsom’s plan is a significant step that appears to be rallying Democrats across the country. It “leverages Democrats’ control of the most populous state in the Union to warn Republicans to back away from their attempt to rig the 2026 election.”[1]

Newsom exclaimed: “Donald Trump, you have poked the bear, and we will punch back.” And historian Heather Cox Richardson noted, “After years of criticism that Democrats have not fought hard enough against Republicans’ manipulation of the system to amass power, the California plan…flips the script.”[2]

Democrats in other states are standing up as well. Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker and New York Gov. Hochul have jumped into the fight. “This is nothing short of a legal insurrection,” Ms. Hochul said. She insisted that we must fight back.[3]

Meanwhile, a young, progressive candidate for New York City mayor, Democratic Socialist Zohran Mamdani, is the odds-on favorite to capture New York’s City Hall. Mamdani’s rise has been fueled by progressive proposals such as rent freezes, publicly owned grocery stores, and universal childcare.[4] 

The surge in major Democratic figures willing to stand up to Trump and his MAGA cronies gives me hope. Their outspokenness will inspire others to do the same and help increase the resistance to Trump’s authoritarian regime. At the same time, it will generate momentum for Indivisible’s One Million Rising campaign[5] around the country.

It’s a sign that the tide is changing. If you are not already active in this effort to save our democracy, we need you to get involved now. The next big national protest will be on Labor Day, September 1. See https://maydaystrong.org/ and  https://www.commondreams.org/news/trump-labor-day to learn more about what  promises to be a huge sign that the American people will not allow a two-bit, want-to-be-king grifter to destroy our country. Go to https://indivisible.org/ and help save America from Trump’s fascist takeover.

Bruce Berlin, J.D.

A retired, public sector ethics attorney, Berlin is the author of Breaking Big Money’s Grip on America (See breakingbigmoneysgrip.com.), the founder of New Mexicans for Money Out of Politics, a former U.S. Institute of Peace fellow, and the founder and former executive director of The Trinity Forum for International Security and Conflict Resolution. He can be reached at breakingbigmoneysgrip@gmail.com.

Subscribe to this blog at https://breakingbigmoneysgrip.com/my-blog-3/.

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[1] https://heathercoxrichardson.substack.com/p/august-14-2025?r=4d2np6&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=email&triedRedirect=true

[2] Ibid.

[3] https://www.nytimes.com/2025/08/15/us/politics/democrats-redistricting-trump.html

[4] https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/zohran-mamdani-odds-of-becoming-new-york-mayor-hit-record-high/ar-AA1Kx8Ab?ocid=BingNewsSerp

[5] https://www.nokings.org/rise?emci=afd31273-106e-f011-8dc9-6045bda9d96b&emdi=2789183d-2b6e-f011-8dc9-6045bda9d96b&ceid=2597101