I totally agree. Trump’s biggest weakness (chosen from a long list) is his total lack of morality, principles and firm policies or even ideology.
He is the ultimate grifter out for himself. And thus the way to defeat him is by providing a stark contrast - someone with moral clarity, integrity and an authentic voice.
They have their exits and their entrances,..." As You Like It, Shakespeare
I lived in California from 1968 to 2003, with a two-year interruption spent in the military during Vietnam, but fortunately, my cancer & blood disease specialty in medicine kept me stateside.
I have seen the paradise of California turn into a parking lot (Joni Mitchell style), and the initial civic kindness, beauty of the natural landscape, and caring of citizens, sacrificed to the Gods of greed by raping the landscape and not vetting those coming into our country. I watched Los Angeles and San Francisco being plundered by get-rich-quick realtors and developers. I saw individual beach towns merge into an overpopulated mishmash of nonstop people and traffic. It was the “kid's” game of Sim City come nightmare. A drive from LA to San Diego lengthened from 1.5 to 4 hours. Now it is probably longer.
No doubt that California is a ridiculously tough state to manage. But we trash, literally and figuratively, all our great cities. OK, not all, but many. Why? That’s easy; it’s that some of the population positions Greed before Good—gold before Grace. I never learned “the name of the game" as one prominent Beverly Hills cardiologist (Corday) told me one day over the phone. The game in medicine had become physician income >> patient outcome.
I think Newsom is just a pretty face, but sadly, the John Wayne America that has emerged has this concept of what is Presidential. Newsom, like Reagan, fits this bill. And believe it or not, many Americans find Trump “presidential” in appearance.
The harsh reality that Americans don’t face is that our nation is built on racism. Doing its best to wipe out those “savages” and plunder the country and enrich each White man, but not learning a single thing from the wisdom of the First Peoples.
Looking at what Mike Brock has focused on, I would say that these issues are of prime importance:
#1. "the path to defeating Trumpism lies in adopting its language, accepting its framing, and finding “common ground” with an administration actively dismantling constitutional governance."
ss: The end-game for Trump, and the GOP, involve Ego, Avarice, and Ambition (power, opportunism). People declare themselves. There is no bipartisanship with the current GOP. Wake up Democrats and wake up many Americans. Damn, we just do not read enough and learn from others. Remember:
“Know the enemy and know yourself; in a hundred battles you will never be in peril. When you are ignorant of the enemy, but know yourself, your chances of winning or losing are equal. If ignorant both of your enemy and yourself, you are certain in every battle to be in peril.”― Sun Tzu, The Art of War
Sun Tzu also said "Strategy without tactics is the slowest route to victory. But tactics without strategy is noise before defeat."
▶︎ My comments are too long, so I will stop here with something that may help shed light on why we now in the throes of a Fascist regime. We are no longer at. tipping point, on the brink, near the precipice. We have fallen into the chasm of Fascism.
▶︎ We have forgotten the importance of the 4 R's: reading, writing, respect, and resolution. These help develop critical skills, including empathy, community building, and conflict resolution.
▶︎ We have forgotten the 4 R's to resurrect Society: Recognition ⇢ Reconciliation ⇢ Reconstruction.
We are beyond reconciliation with the GOP. We have seen what Mike Johnson of the House and most Republican Senators are about.
Trump is the anti-Christ in his heartless and soulless acts. What would Jesus say?
The GOP is the anti-Lincolnists. What would Abe say about how the GOP has behaved? Is it anything close to "With malice toward none with charity for all with firmness in the right as God gives us to see the right let us strive on to finish the work we are in to bind up the nation’s wounds, to care for him who shall have borne the battle and for his widow and his orphan ~ to do all which may achieve and cherish a just and lasting peace among ourselves and with all nations."
Suggested reading: Washington’s Farewell Address: Washington warns America to guard the Constitution because it is the Constitution that limits government and defends rights and liberties. He also warns the people to guard against political passions and partisanship. Lastly, Washington encourages public virtue and points to religion and morality as its source.
Playing footsy or worse yet having foreplay with fascist perpetrators has historically led to a Gone Nazi condition. The GOP aka Gathering Of Putiners is a prime example of how good men get rolled by the psyops of those that everything to gain by killing this nation.
Thanks for your response Mike. Two thoughts: 1. damn near everything in life can be represented by a Pareto distribution. 20% of issues get 80% of people’s attention. So for Newsom to put issues on the back burner that ain’t in the 20% that matters is actually kinda smart. 2. We do need a strong border. When I was a young man, I had a job in a maquiladora in Reynosa Mexico. I lived in South Texas and crossed the international bridge to/from Mexico twice a day. Even sat in the shockingly long queues after Enrique Camareno was killed by a cartel and the US Govt. responded by slowing border traffic to a snail’s pace. The border was under control then. You’d see the odd tire-tube crossing, but nothing like today. Leaving the border so permeable made an issue that was a non-issue into a 20% attention getter. BTW - ya probably couldn’t hVe that job anymore. You’d risk getting killed or kidnapped if you did. Any way, I love your newsletter and appreciate you taking on challenging topics.
Thank you for this essay. I too am repulsed by Newsome's embrace of far right folks like Charlie Kirk and Steve Bannon. The Democrats and Independents whom I appreciate most include Jasmine Crockett, AOC, Bernie, Chris Murphy, JB Pritzger (governor of Illinois), Janet Murphy (governor of Maine)...
I feel a strong need to disagree with you Mike, but since you’ve not mentioned a single proposal of Newsom’s that you dislike you’ve made it a challenge. Are you irked that he’s “come out” (pun intended) against former boys in girls sports? If you are, you are in a small minority of folks who think that way. Or are you against him “dialoguing” with Republicans? If so, you’d evidently prefer Dems to hide their heads in the sand and complain about trump et al for the next four years instead of understanding voters’ concerns and what the competition thinks about them. I could go on, but… instead you ought to be more specific about what it is that you don’t like. Personally, I loathe Trump and his sycophants and all they stand for, and am hopeful the dems will start listening to voters instead of condescending to them with they/them silliness. While our democracy gets destroyed.
Thanks for the thoughtful reply. I don’t mind disagreement at all—in fact, I welcome it. But it’s important to clarify: my critique of Newsom isn’t about his policy positions. I agree with many of them.
What concerns me is his posture—his decision to engage authoritarian collapse on its own terms. His use of Trump’s language (“strong border,” “we need a reckoning”) isn’t an effort to “dialogue” with voters. It’s an effort to appropriate authoritarian grammar, and that comes at a cost.
Why? Because democracy doesn’t just depend on policy. It depends on shared meaning. On moral clarity. On the ability to recognize certain behaviors—like defying court orders—as violations of constitutional order, not political preferences. When Newsom frames those violations as “distractions,” he’s not persuading new voters—he’s helping dissolve the distinction between lawful governance and unlawful rule.
That’s not leadership. It’s capitulation.
And that’s the heart of my argument: in a moment of democratic erosion, we need leaders who can make virtue legible again. Who can say no—not just to Trump’s policies, but to the entire performance of authoritarianism. Not mimic it. Not accommodate it. Refuse it.
So yes, I want Democrats to listen to voters. But not by abandoning their moral architecture. Not by mirroring Trump’s style. And certainly not by treating constitutional defiance as just another item on the campaign to-do list.
Because if we lose the ability to recognize meaning in democratic refusal, we’ve already lost more than an election.
".......... as optional, principles as negotiable, and constitutional violations as mere tactical concerns, they reinforce the nihilistic view that nothing is real, nothing matters, and power is the only currency worth pursuing. They don't just fail to counter Trumpism; they actively strengthen its foundations"
It's called machiavellianism and as old as politics. The "end" in this case is fascism. The elimination of a democratic system. Rule by the elite billionaires. Control of the masses by total surveillance and the economy. "The end justifies the means."
Since Reaganomics there has been no difference in the two parties. Reaganomics has been the downfall of the country. Democrats have had ample options to eliminate it and have done nothing and in fact have exacerbated it. The two parties are one and the same but just use different rhetoric to make themselves appear different on the surface. Corporations now own America. Project 2025 began in the late 70s with Reagan. It's now in the final chapter of establishing fascism for Americans.
When I moved to California, I came to clearly understand that the state’s Democrats are no way the “tip of the spear” regarding any type of moral or ethical leadership. Newsom, Harris, etal are just gatekeepers, like AOC and Bernie Sanders with their “The Fighting Oligarchy Tour (CIRCUS),” a scheme to sheepdog the masses for the un-principled Democratic Party. They are not our saviors.
Excellent! Thank you. Newsom stopped being a viable presidential candidate for 2028 when he started looking for common ground with Steve Bannon.
another reason some people voted for Trump was to be able to watch him burn the country to the ground.
I totally agree. Trump’s biggest weakness (chosen from a long list) is his total lack of morality, principles and firm policies or even ideology.
He is the ultimate grifter out for himself. And thus the way to defeat him is by providing a stark contrast - someone with moral clarity, integrity and an authentic voice.
This rules out Newsom.
" All the world’s a stage,
And all the men and women merely players;
They have their exits and their entrances,..." As You Like It, Shakespeare
I lived in California from 1968 to 2003, with a two-year interruption spent in the military during Vietnam, but fortunately, my cancer & blood disease specialty in medicine kept me stateside.
I have seen the paradise of California turn into a parking lot (Joni Mitchell style), and the initial civic kindness, beauty of the natural landscape, and caring of citizens, sacrificed to the Gods of greed by raping the landscape and not vetting those coming into our country. I watched Los Angeles and San Francisco being plundered by get-rich-quick realtors and developers. I saw individual beach towns merge into an overpopulated mishmash of nonstop people and traffic. It was the “kid's” game of Sim City come nightmare. A drive from LA to San Diego lengthened from 1.5 to 4 hours. Now it is probably longer.
No doubt that California is a ridiculously tough state to manage. But we trash, literally and figuratively, all our great cities. OK, not all, but many. Why? That’s easy; it’s that some of the population positions Greed before Good—gold before Grace. I never learned “the name of the game" as one prominent Beverly Hills cardiologist (Corday) told me one day over the phone. The game in medicine had become physician income >> patient outcome.
I think Newsom is just a pretty face, but sadly, the John Wayne America that has emerged has this concept of what is Presidential. Newsom, like Reagan, fits this bill. And believe it or not, many Americans find Trump “presidential” in appearance.
The harsh reality that Americans don’t face is that our nation is built on racism. Doing its best to wipe out those “savages” and plunder the country and enrich each White man, but not learning a single thing from the wisdom of the First Peoples.
Looking at what Mike Brock has focused on, I would say that these issues are of prime importance:
#1. "the path to defeating Trumpism lies in adopting its language, accepting its framing, and finding “common ground” with an administration actively dismantling constitutional governance."
ss: The end-game for Trump, and the GOP, involve Ego, Avarice, and Ambition (power, opportunism). People declare themselves. There is no bipartisanship with the current GOP. Wake up Democrats and wake up many Americans. Damn, we just do not read enough and learn from others. Remember:
“Know the enemy and know yourself; in a hundred battles you will never be in peril. When you are ignorant of the enemy, but know yourself, your chances of winning or losing are equal. If ignorant both of your enemy and yourself, you are certain in every battle to be in peril.”― Sun Tzu, The Art of War
Sun Tzu also said "Strategy without tactics is the slowest route to victory. But tactics without strategy is noise before defeat."
▶︎ My comments are too long, so I will stop here with something that may help shed light on why we now in the throes of a Fascist regime. We are no longer at. tipping point, on the brink, near the precipice. We have fallen into the chasm of Fascism.
▶︎ We have forgotten the importance of the 4 R's: reading, writing, respect, and resolution. These help develop critical skills, including empathy, community building, and conflict resolution.
▶︎ We have forgotten the 4 R's to resurrect Society: Recognition ⇢ Reconciliation ⇢ Reconstruction.
We are beyond reconciliation with the GOP. We have seen what Mike Johnson of the House and most Republican Senators are about.
Trump is the anti-Christ in his heartless and soulless acts. What would Jesus say?
The GOP is the anti-Lincolnists. What would Abe say about how the GOP has behaved? Is it anything close to "With malice toward none with charity for all with firmness in the right as God gives us to see the right let us strive on to finish the work we are in to bind up the nation’s wounds, to care for him who shall have borne the battle and for his widow and his orphan ~ to do all which may achieve and cherish a just and lasting peace among ourselves and with all nations."
Suggested reading: Washington’s Farewell Address: Washington warns America to guard the Constitution because it is the Constitution that limits government and defends rights and liberties. He also warns the people to guard against political passions and partisanship. Lastly, Washington encourages public virtue and points to religion and morality as its source.
Playing footsy or worse yet having foreplay with fascist perpetrators has historically led to a Gone Nazi condition. The GOP aka Gathering Of Putiners is a prime example of how good men get rolled by the psyops of those that everything to gain by killing this nation.
Thanks for your response Mike. Two thoughts: 1. damn near everything in life can be represented by a Pareto distribution. 20% of issues get 80% of people’s attention. So for Newsom to put issues on the back burner that ain’t in the 20% that matters is actually kinda smart. 2. We do need a strong border. When I was a young man, I had a job in a maquiladora in Reynosa Mexico. I lived in South Texas and crossed the international bridge to/from Mexico twice a day. Even sat in the shockingly long queues after Enrique Camareno was killed by a cartel and the US Govt. responded by slowing border traffic to a snail’s pace. The border was under control then. You’d see the odd tire-tube crossing, but nothing like today. Leaving the border so permeable made an issue that was a non-issue into a 20% attention getter. BTW - ya probably couldn’t hVe that job anymore. You’d risk getting killed or kidnapped if you did. Any way, I love your newsletter and appreciate you taking on challenging topics.
Thank you for this essay. I too am repulsed by Newsome's embrace of far right folks like Charlie Kirk and Steve Bannon. The Democrats and Independents whom I appreciate most include Jasmine Crockett, AOC, Bernie, Chris Murphy, JB Pritzger (governor of Illinois), Janet Murphy (governor of Maine)...
He has always said "sleeze" to me, even before these recent events. He was married to Kimberly Guilfoyle. That's all I needed to know.
I feel a strong need to disagree with you Mike, but since you’ve not mentioned a single proposal of Newsom’s that you dislike you’ve made it a challenge. Are you irked that he’s “come out” (pun intended) against former boys in girls sports? If you are, you are in a small minority of folks who think that way. Or are you against him “dialoguing” with Republicans? If so, you’d evidently prefer Dems to hide their heads in the sand and complain about trump et al for the next four years instead of understanding voters’ concerns and what the competition thinks about them. I could go on, but… instead you ought to be more specific about what it is that you don’t like. Personally, I loathe Trump and his sycophants and all they stand for, and am hopeful the dems will start listening to voters instead of condescending to them with they/them silliness. While our democracy gets destroyed.
Thanks for the thoughtful reply. I don’t mind disagreement at all—in fact, I welcome it. But it’s important to clarify: my critique of Newsom isn’t about his policy positions. I agree with many of them.
What concerns me is his posture—his decision to engage authoritarian collapse on its own terms. His use of Trump’s language (“strong border,” “we need a reckoning”) isn’t an effort to “dialogue” with voters. It’s an effort to appropriate authoritarian grammar, and that comes at a cost.
Why? Because democracy doesn’t just depend on policy. It depends on shared meaning. On moral clarity. On the ability to recognize certain behaviors—like defying court orders—as violations of constitutional order, not political preferences. When Newsom frames those violations as “distractions,” he’s not persuading new voters—he’s helping dissolve the distinction between lawful governance and unlawful rule.
That’s not leadership. It’s capitulation.
And that’s the heart of my argument: in a moment of democratic erosion, we need leaders who can make virtue legible again. Who can say no—not just to Trump’s policies, but to the entire performance of authoritarianism. Not mimic it. Not accommodate it. Refuse it.
So yes, I want Democrats to listen to voters. But not by abandoning their moral architecture. Not by mirroring Trump’s style. And certainly not by treating constitutional defiance as just another item on the campaign to-do list.
Because if we lose the ability to recognize meaning in democratic refusal, we’ve already lost more than an election.
".......... as optional, principles as negotiable, and constitutional violations as mere tactical concerns, they reinforce the nihilistic view that nothing is real, nothing matters, and power is the only currency worth pursuing. They don't just fail to counter Trumpism; they actively strengthen its foundations"
It's called machiavellianism and as old as politics. The "end" in this case is fascism. The elimination of a democratic system. Rule by the elite billionaires. Control of the masses by total surveillance and the economy. "The end justifies the means."
Since Reaganomics there has been no difference in the two parties. Reaganomics has been the downfall of the country. Democrats have had ample options to eliminate it and have done nothing and in fact have exacerbated it. The two parties are one and the same but just use different rhetoric to make themselves appear different on the surface. Corporations now own America. Project 2025 began in the late 70s with Reagan. It's now in the final chapter of establishing fascism for Americans.
When I moved to California, I came to clearly understand that the state’s Democrats are no way the “tip of the spear” regarding any type of moral or ethical leadership. Newsom, Harris, etal are just gatekeepers, like AOC and Bernie Sanders with their “The Fighting Oligarchy Tour (CIRCUS),” a scheme to sheepdog the masses for the un-principled Democratic Party. They are not our saviors.