Stop Waiting for Permission. The Fight Against Trump Needs New Leaders. That Means You.

For months, Democrats in Washington have responded to Donald Trump’s authoritarian return with press releases, tepid floor speeches, and carefully rehearsed talking points. The Republican Party, led now by a man who openly brags about defying court orders and targeting his enemies, has moved with speed and ferocity. In response, the Democratic establishment has offered caution, delay, and consensus-building.

This is not a matter of style. It is a matter of survival.

President Trump is dismantling public institutions with the help of allies like Elon Musk. Federal workers are being silenced or purged. Courts are under siege. Immigrants, LGBTQ+ people, and the poor are targeted daily by a regime that knows exactly what it wants and is willing to break laws and norms to get it. In this moment, the opposition party must be willing to draw a line. But the Democrats who have been given the microphone are instead fumbling the most basic responsibility of leadership: to speak clearly, and to act without fear.

You can see it in how they talk. House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries delivers statements as if he is still on a corporate law panel. Every word is calculated. Every response is filtered through layers of approval. The passion is gone. The urgency is buried under bullet points. It is not that he is a bad man. It is that he has been shaped by a system more concerned with keeping its balance than with protecting its people.

When former Pelosi adviser Ashley Etienne called this strategy the “dumbest s—t ever,” she was not speaking out of personal bitterness. She was identifying a crisis. Democrats have been handed every tool they need to rally this country—Trump’s extremism, Musk’s cruelty, the public’s hunger for honesty—and they are refusing to use them. They hold back out of caution. Out of habit. Out of fear that someone might call them impolite.

Fear has become the defining feature of Democratic leadership. Fear of looking radical. Fear of losing control of the narrative. Fear of saying what everyone already knows to be true: Trump is not just wrong. He is evil. And anyone in power who refuses to oppose him with everything they have is complicit.

We cannot afford to wait any longer for permission from people like Chuck Schumer, who just helped pass a budget that slashes Medicaid and hands tax breaks to billionaires. We cannot wait for more focus groups or slow-building consensus. This is a time for ordinary people to step forward and say, “If you won’t fight, we will.”

The Founders of this country warned us about unchecked power. They spoke not as perfect men, but as people who understood that liberty requires vigilance. Not obedience. Not deference. Vigilance. And when those in power stop listening, it is not just our right but our duty to challenge them.

It is time for regular citizens—teachers, nurses, veterans, farmworkers, students—to stand up and run for office. Not in some future cycle. Now. It does not matter if you have never fundraised before. It does not matter if you are not polished. If you are honest, if you are brave, and if you are tired of watching this country fall apart while so-called leaders smile and pose for photo ops, then you are qualified.

We need campaigns that speak the language of real life. Not think tank jargon. Not vague promises. We need candidates who will say what is happening plainly and promise to fight it at every turn. We need candidates who will walk into Congress not looking to be liked, but looking to shut things down until justice is served.

This is not about purity. This is about power. And who is willing to use it on behalf of the people, not the wealthy donors or the party insiders.

I decided to run for Congress because I am done asking the powerful to care. I believe in the dignity of every human being. I believe that love is shown in action, and that justice is something we build, not something we wait for. My district deserves more than press releases. It deserves a representative who will show up at detention centers, stand with striking workers, and call out every single elected official who chooses comfort over conscience.

Since announcing my campaign, we’ve started to build something different. We’ve organized clothing swaps for families struggling with this collapsing economy. We’ve held community events where kids and elders build LEGO cities together, because we believe joy is a form of resistance too. We’ve knocked doors, posted flyers, and spoken plainly about what we face: a fascist administration, a failed opposition party, and a choice between obedience and action.

I’m not running to climb a ladder. I’m running to tear down walls that were built to keep people out. And I don’t want to do it alone.

If you have ever felt like no one in government speaks for you, I am asking you to join us. If you have ever felt that your values—compassion, fairness, honesty—are not represented by the people in charge, then this campaign is yours too. We are building a movement that honors those values not with slogans, but with courage.

It will not be easy. Power does not give itself up quietly. But we were never promised ease. We were promised a republic, if we could keep it. And right now, that republic is being stolen piece by piece.

The people in charge are not coming to save us. But we can save each other.

So stop waiting. If you live in a district where your representative voted for Trump’s budget, run. If you live in a city where your councilmember sat silent during the deportation raids, organize. If you see someone trying to speak truth, help them be heard. This country will not be rescued by consultants. It will be rescued by neighbors.

Run for office. Not because it’s safe. Not because it’s certain. But because it is necessary. And because this time, we are not asking for permission.

Jesse MacKinnon, Candidate, CA-10