Is There a Way Out of Our Political Crisis? By J.E. Dean

A wave of hopelessness is descending on Americans troubled by the MAGAfication of the United States. I think of the 1987 Kevin Costner movie No Way Out because, well, a convincing strategy to stop Donald Trump’s assault on democracy, civility, and truth has not yet been found. Not that a few courageous people are not trying. 

One of those people is California Governor Gavin Newsom. After Texas reworked its Congressional Districts to pick up five more Republican seats in the House of Representatives in next year’s mid-term elections, Newsom followed suit. If Texas is going to Gerrymander, California will too. 

Newsom also writes his own social media posts, matching Trump’s skill at random CAPITALIZATION and name-calling. Newsom posts on X rival Trump’s for outrageousness. In June, for example, after Alabama Senator, former football coach, and Trump ally Tommy Tuberville called for Newsom’s arrest, Newsom responded: “Alabama has 3X the homicide rate of California. Its murder rate is ranked third in the entire country. Stick to football, bro.”

Newsom also has not hesitated to file lawsuits against Trump administration actions, including a challenge to Trump’s deployment of California National Guard troops in Los Angeles.

And, just to remind the public of Trump’s grift, Newsom is offering merchandise inspired by Trump, including $100 Bibles with his signature and hats reading “Newsom Was Right About Everything.”

Unfortunately, Newsom’s tactics are not likely to end the Trump regime or change his policies. Only the election of a Democratic House or Senate, and preferably both, will do that. And even if Democrats win control of Congress, there is no guarantee that Trump won’t continue to attempt to run the government through executive orders and judicial decrees issued by judges like Aileen Cannon, the Florida judge who spared Trump accountability in the Mar-a-Lago documents case.

Recently, the producers of the TV series South Park have taken on Trump with ridicule. An article in Slate magazine reports, “South Park’s New Episode Takes on the Ass-Kissers Surrounding Trump.” People are talking about the episodes, but will they make a difference? Trump’s artificially colored orange complexion and bizarre hairstyle failed to prevent his election in 2016 and 2024 as did reports of grift, tax-evasion, sexual assault, and marital infidelity.

For the last two months, the ghost of Jeffrey Epstein has returned to haunt Trump. Many of us suspect that not only did Mr. Epstein maintain a “client list,” but Donald Trump was on it. Trump’s campaign of distraction has motivated things like a major, albeit unsuccessful, push to end the war in Ukraine and an FBI raid on the home of former National Security Advisor John Bolton. And let’s not forget the military takeover of the Washington, D.C. police. If you are looking for a word to describe all three events, try “distraction.”

If you are counting on Epstein’s ghost to stop Trump, don’t hold your breath. The Epstein scandal is slowly fading from the public’s attention as it prepares for Labor Day. As fall approaches, Trump’s minions at the Department of Justice, FBI, and Congress will announce that all investigations of the matter are over and that everything appropriate to share with the public has been released. Case closed, or so Trump hopes.

Are we doomed to lose our Constitution? Is America fated to following the path of 1920s Italy and 1930s Germany into a “Golden Age” that destroys democracy? Let’s hope not.

I am heartened by the continued growth of the Indivisible movement. In the face of a relentless Trump, this group has not quit. I also am finding that other people, including many not yet engaged with Indivisible or any other anti-Trump movement, are questioning fines levied against elite universities, the termination of NIH research, the surrender in the fight against climate change, the ironic war against crime in D.C. (and soon Chicago and other cities, including Baltimore) launched by a convicted criminal, and all that gold decoration in the White House. 

 I sense that Trump may be edging closer to a tipping point—the point where even people who like some of his policies such as “border security,” will say, “enough” or conclude that Trump really does want to be a dictator or, due to mental illness and debilitation, think he already is one.

Let’s hope there is a way out before it is too late. The Trump administration is not the yang to the Democrats’ yin. It is an assault on democracy.

J.E. Dean writes on politics, government but, too frequently, on President Trump. A former counsel on Capitol Hill and public affairs consultant, Dean also writes for Dean’s Issues & Insights on Substack. Dean fondly remembers when the Republican Party accepted democracy, civility, and the rule of law.