Nancy Braus , a retired independent bookseller, is a longtime activist.
GUILFORD-One of the major reasons we have watched the remains of American democracy slip through the hourglass with barely an obstruction is the fecklessness of the Democratic Party.
As the Republicans have spinelessly united behind the policy of siccing the barely trained, heavily armed, masked Gestapo force into our previously peaceful cites and attacking citizens and noncitizens alike with no legal framework and certainly no humane limitations, the Democrats have been far from a unified opposition.
Once we understood the magnitude of the attacks on our own people, as first exhibited in the Los Angeles area in June 2025 — only nine months ago — the Democrats should have gotten together immediately and demanded the end to masked, nameless, violent military-style attacks in our streets.
Sure, a few congressional Democrats have joined the millions of unpaid, unelected citizens who have spent parts of the past nine months organizing in every way we know how to keep our immigrant friends and neighbors safe and as secure as possible in the face of a constant threat.
These Democrats have been out in the streets and have been speaking forcefully for immigrant rights. They have been demanding real investigations into the murders of dozens of victims of ICE, culminating with the executions of Renée Nicole Good and Alex Pretti.
Where are the others?
* * *
Brazil is a lesson in what opposition parties looks like.
When Jair Bolsonaro attempted to remain in office after losing an election — as did Donald Trump on Jan. 6, 2021 — the result was far different.
From Time magazine, which cited “the robust mobilization of Brazil’s civil society.”
“It incorporated opposition political parties, the trade unions, human rights organizations, professional associations such as the Brazilian Bar Association, major newspapers, LGBTQ groups, the heads of universities and cultural institutions, and the Brazilian Conference of Bishops. These groups called out Bolsonaro’s false claims about a stolen election. More importantly, they have made the case that Bolsonaro deserved to be held accountable for having endangered democracy. That means a lot in Brazil given the country’s recent political history; it lost democracy to a military coup in 1964, with democracy restored in 1985 and a brand-new democratic constitution enacted three years later.”
Kind of different, right?
Had the Democrats, under the weak Joe Biden and his missing attorney general, Merrick Garland, done their jobs, Trump would have been prosecuted under the Insurrection Act, and we would be in a very different country right now.
* * *
The concept of a disciplined, unified Democratic Party such as existed under a strong leader was always going to be a stretch, at best, but those in the current Democratic party, led by weak and unpopular Chuck Schumer and Hakeem Jeffries, have never been willing to unify the party around saying no to Donald Trump’s Project-2025-inspired agenda, knowing full well where the antidemocratic and fully fascist programs were leading.
Immigrations and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and “Homeland Security” (who is this making feel secure?) were being run like all Donald Trump’s departments: with no-bid contracts going to cronies, flouting the law in pretty much every endeavor, using government private jets for personal fun and games, and making a mockery of the job title they have been honored with.
Education secretary? Dismantling the Education Department. Health and Human Services? Thanks for the measles epidemic. And the list goes on.
Kristi Noem may have gone too far in her ego trip as secretary of cruelty and sadism toward anyone Black or Brown, as well as those pesky white people who got in the way.
Or it may have been her audacity as a woman to think she could play with the big boys — the macho dudes who really run things — like our anabolic-steroid-pumped “secretary of war.”
* * *
For whatever reason, Noem is being replaced by Oklahoma senator and mixed martial arts fighter Markwayne Mullin.
Some of the lowlights I was able to find:
• Upon entering Congress, Mullin responded to the notion that as a public official, the public pays his salary.
“Bull crap, I paid for myself,” he told a town meeting of his constituents. “I paid enough taxes before I ever got here and continue to through my company to pay my own salary.“
He still collects $174,000 per year in congressional pay. And the man is a multimillionaire, like almost every other senator.
• He voted against the reauthorization of the Violence Against Women Act.
• He wants to override a very important court case: the Flores Settlement, a legal agreement that limits the time immigrant children can spend in detention camps (or concentration camps, my preferred term).
• Last, this is Mullin’s take on the cold-blooded murder of Renée Good:
“The fact is that Renee Good was interfering with police activity. There’s no question about that right now. Once she blocked the ICE agents from doing their job, they exited the vehicle. Gave her a verbal command, she wasn’t listening, and then she purposely tries to accelerate and run over.”
I guess he didn’t take the time to watch the actual video — seen by millions of us.
* * *
So, in spite of the above, or because of it, my senator from Vermont, Peter Welch, stepped into the limelight on March 6:
“Senate Democrat Fawns Over Trump’s Pick to Replace Kristi Noem,” read the headline from Mediaite. “Markwayne Mullin is ‘Respected...Honest and... Competent.’”
Thanks, Peter. If we only had an opposition party.
This Voices Viewpoint was submitted to The Commons.
This piece, published in print in the Voices section or as a column in the news sections, represents the opinion of the writer. In the newspaper and on this website, we strive to ensure that opinions are based on fair expression of established fact. In the spirit of transparency and accountability, The Commons is reviewing and developing more precise policies about editing of opinions and our role and our responsibility and standards in fact-checking our own work and the contributions to the newspaper. In the meantime, we heartily encourage civil and productive responses at voices@commonsnews.org.