Building the Opposition

After the 2016 election, a movement that would become known as “the resistance” quickly emerged to protest and confront Donald Trump and his incoming administration.  The hope was that if Trump could simply be held back — resisted — for four years, politics would go back to normal. A Democrat would retake the White House and Trump would be viewed as an unfortunate aberration.

Since Election Day, it has become fashionable in some circles to view that effort as a failure. The cynics dismiss the grassroots energy and the hard work of so many as naïve and without impact.

As usual, they are wrong. The resistance movement helped protect the Affordable Care Act from repeal and lead to bold policies at the state and local level. It built new pro-democracy institutions that challenged Trump in the courts and in the streets. It inspired thousands of new candidates to run for office and contributed to a successful mid-term election. Most importantly, in 2020 it helped defeat Donald Trump

Republicans used that time fruitfully. They built new ideological organizations, new campaign structures, new media outlets and new leaders. Even as they suffered losses in the midterms, they were undeterred from their mission of fleshing out what a second Trump term would look like. For all of Trump’s disavowals of Project 2025 during the campaign, that effort and other, equally extreme measures were being planned.

MAGA was not focused specifically on resisting Biden. It had a bolder agenda. It wanted to build an opposing ideological and political movement to win elections and govern over the long term. It prioritized hate over hope, cronyism over competence and retribution over reconciliation.

As we head towards January, it is our turn to use this period productively. Hoping that Trump fails is not a plan. We must develop and foster new movements, structures, tactics, platforms and leaders to oppose Trump and articulate a positive vision.

In most democratic political systems, this is referred to as the opposition. Rather than a resistance, the concept of an opposition is more comprehensive and durable. It recognizes that there are no time limits to the effort. 

In some systems the opposition entails an entire shadow government, in others it focuses on specific platforms. I don’t pretend to know the exact form it will take in this country, but I do know some of the basic principles it must embrace.

The success of our democracy rests on an effective opposition movement.

First, we must prioritize effective electoral campaigns that maximize the chances of electing Democrats and defeating Republicans. Obtaining power in our system of government means running well-funded and professionalized campaigns. Now is not the time to unilaterally disarm in the service of some higher principles. All legal tactics must be on the table. Ideological fights must yield in service of winning. We must recruit and fund candidates who can win their state or districts.

Second, we must be a big tent full of diversity of new policy ideas and approaches to governing. Political movement must be about big ideas. New Deal liberalism was a big idea. So was the Great Society, neo-liberalism and populism. But the leaders who embraced and implemented these ideas were not dismissive of other, competing visions.

A strong opposition movement needs to allow for people within it to exchange, debate and even disagree over the best way to solve problems. Failed oppositions seek to impose purity tests and purge dissent. Successful movements incorporate ideas from across the spectrum of its participants.

Third, we need new and existing institutions to bolster the opposition, not work against it. We cannot be afraid to let new institutions rise, and others fall. The only litmus test for groups is whether they help the opposition effort. Republicans and their conservative allies have spent years investing billions in a range of civil society and political groups. Building and funding pro-democracy opposition groups needs to be a critical priority for years to come.

Fourth, we must cultivate and amplify new communication methods and messengers. We need to identify and promote our best messengers and pair them with the most influential platforms, period. This means ending our reliance on credential-based legacy media. These high prestige outlets command very small audiences and that audience is shrinking. They speak to almost no persuadable audience. The goal should be to reach voters, period.

Finally, we must be comfortable using every legal tool available to challenge Trumpism in court. One of the most important lessons from the last eight years is that the courts matter. Many of the resistance’s successes were fueled by lawsuits. And when Biden took office, conservatives ruthlessly used the courts to block his agenda. More than half of federal judges were appointed by Democratic presidents. Many state courts are controlled by liberals. Litigation is one of the most important tools to protect democracy and we must use every tool we have.

I know that these ideas are just a starting point. The success of our democracy rests on an effective opposition movement. We all must play a part in offering additional ideas and approaches and not being afraid to take risks. I plan to be a part of that effort. I hope you will too.

Last week, in an email to premium members, I outlined the need for a new opposition movement to confront Trump and Trumpism. The feedback was overwhelmingly positive, but people wanted more details. To reach a broader audience, I thought I would post a revised and expanded version of my thoughts here.