{"id":15584,"date":"2025-10-14T02:11:22","date_gmt":"2025-10-14T07:11:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/midamerica.news\/winnebago-county-tribune\/?p=15584"},"modified":"2025-10-14T02:11:23","modified_gmt":"2025-10-14T07:11:23","slug":"who-will-defend-ordinary-working-people-against-trump-and-maga","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/midamerica.news\/winnebago-county-tribune\/2025\/10\/14\/who-will-defend-ordinary-working-people-against-trump-and-maga\/","title":{"rendered":"Who will defend ordinary working people against Trump and MAGA?"},"content":{"rendered":"
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A decal at the No Kings Protest which took place nationwide on June 14th. A second No Kings protest is scheduled for October 18. This photo was taken in Washington, D.C. (Photo by Diane Krauthamer, Flickr, CC BY 4.0)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

by Jeremy Brecher<\/em><\/p>\n

You don\u2019t have to be radical leftist to be concerned about the way Donald Trump and his MAGAs are threatening the well-being of ordinary Americans\u2014and government of the people, by the people, and for the people.<\/p>\n

In a recent\u00a0Washington Post poll<\/a>, those polled disapprove of how Trump is handling the economy by 59 to 40%. Some 70% said tariffs are increasing the prices they pay for basic necessities.<\/p>\n

A\u00a0Reuters\/Ipsos poll<\/a>\u00a0found that, in the face of President Trump\u2019s threat to send troops into American cities, 58% of Americans said the president should only\u00a0send armed troops to face external threats.<\/p>\n

Some\u00a062% of Americans<\/a>\u00a0say the federal government has too much power, up from 51% a year ago.<\/p>\n

The problem is, few people see the Democratic Party as an effective opposition that is fighting for their interests. A recent Economist\/YouGov\u00a0poll found<\/a>\u00a0that only 33% of adults had a favorable opinion of the Democratic Party while 60% had an unfavorable opinion.<\/p>\n

Fortunately, there is an effective opposition developing in America. It is being created by grassroots social movements and by ordinary people who have decided they have to take responsibility for their own future. This \u201cmovement-based opposition\u201d doesn\u2019t run campaigns for politicians, but it is having a powerful if little-recognized impact on American politics.<\/p>\n

Civil society resistance has emerged rapidly during the first year of Trump\u2019s presidency. It is represented by the mass nonviolent protest to Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in Los Angeles and elsewhere and the five million participants in No Kings Day and other national days of action. It is developing significant power as more and more people see and experience the harm the Trump administration and the MAGA Congress are inflicting on individuals, groups, and society as a whole. This movement-based opposition is no longer a marginal force but is now MAGA\u2019s most powerful opponent.<\/p>\n

How powerful can this movement-based opposition be? That depends on what the ordinary Americans being harmed by the Trump regime decide to do. We can stand on the sidelines and watch, or we can join the millions of Americans who are actively protecting ourselves and our society against that attack.<\/p>\n

How can we protect ourselves and others who are under attack:<\/p>\n

We can organize in our own communities and constituencies to fight for our needs. Parents can organize through their PTAs; the elderly can organize through their senior centers; veterans can organize through their networks of fellow veterans; workers can organize through their unions; all of us can organize through our community organizations and local governments.<\/p>\n

We can participate in actions like No Kings Day that bring together all of us who refuse to be turned to impoverished peons by the Trump offensive.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s easy to feel that such actions are futile, but there is plenty of evidence to the contrary, including (and there are many more examples):<\/p>\n