Losing My Perspicacity, January 13, 2026

Good morning and Happy Tuesday. Thanks for reading.

On Sunday night, after a full day dealing with a sore throat, a lingering headache, and about 12 hours of video of DHS agents attacking citizens in Minneapolis, I deactivated my Bluesky account until Monday afternoon. It’s a tactic I’ve used before, to take away the option of commenting on my posts to circumvent the pile-on — something that served me well when dealing with the Stoolies and incels over at Twitter. I just never expected to have to use it against other Democrats on Bluesky.

So what did I say that was so abominable that I had to temporarily shut down my account? See for yourself.

In the hours that followed, what I thought was a fairly innocuous comment resulted in a deluge of “ARE YOU STUPID?” and “It’s ASTOUNDING that you don’t know that Democrats don’t have the votes for that!” A few people even tried to explain the math to me, apparently thinking I can’t figure out how many votes Dems would need to impeach Donald Trump. One person called me a “privileged white woman,” and, while I acknowledge my privilege, I’m not sure what it has to do with my criticism of congressional Democrats. I’m hardly the only person claiming they need to do more.

So, a bit of background: I posted that comment after reading piece after piece about Trump’s intransigence on “needing” Greenland. As you all know, Trump recently said that the US is “going to do something in Greenland whether they like it or not.” If that “something” involves any kind of military force, Trump will have likely ended NATO, the most important treaty for the free world since 1948. Given that both my grandfathers fought in World War II, and one was a POW in the Pacific, and given that I enjoy peacetime and the free world, I have strong feelings about NATO. And, like many of us, I am prone to yelling into the void late at night when I’m tired and upset.

Of course, there are literally dozens of other reasons to impeach Trump. His unleashing of violent thugs on the US populace, the decimation of what little social safety net we had; using the Oval Office as a means to increase his personal wealth; trying to overthrow the Republic; selling US citizenship to the highest bidders; using the DOJ as his personal revenge machine; his likely inclusion in the Epstein files; the extrajudicial murder of “narcotraffickers” in the Caribbean … the list goes on and on. Any one of those accusations would have been a major scandal, were anyone else in the White House. I know I don’t have to tell you any of this.

Here’s what you may not know: On December 15, Rep. Al Green (D-TX) introduced Articles of Impeachment against Trump, which read as follows:

You can read the entire document here.

So, between you and me, how many congressional Democrats do you think voted to advance the Articles of Impeachment? All of them? Ninety percent of them?

Wrong. While 140 Democrats in the House voted to advance the Articles of Impeachment, 70 House Democrats either voted “present” or voted with Republicans.

What are we doing here, America? Actually, a better question: What are we doing here, Chuck Schumer and Hakeem Jeffries?

Look, I’m not an idiot. I get it. Democrats don’t have the numbers, straight up, to advance bills for a vote, much less get them passed. But when presented with a bill that seeks to do the right thing, i.e., remove a madman from office, how can you possibly vote “present?” Or worse, vote with the party that protects him? I mean, I don’t seek out petitions to sign, but when someone presents me with one that sets out a position I agree with, I sign it.

As one Blueksy mutual pointed out, there were plenty of times during the Biden and Obama years when Mitch McConnell managed to gum things up pretty well, even though Republicans were in the minority. Hell, am I the only one who remembers waiting with bated breath in 2017 while John McCain cast the final vote to save the ACA, even though Republicans held both the House and the Senate? Sometimes people surprise you. Sometimes, people do the right thing, party line be damned. We didn’t think we had the votes to extend ACA subsidies in December, but a bill doing just that passed the House in January. Things change. And anyway, how many times did Republicans try to repeal the ACA? Oh, that’s right, over 60 times.

I fear that we make politics too complicated. “If we keep impeaching with no wins, we diminish the meaning of impeachment.” Okay, well. What’s the alternative? Cooling your heels on Rachel Maddow while wringing your hands over Trump’s many high crimes and misdemeanors?

Keep in mind that Democrats are still facilitating Trump’s agenda. Just days after Trump made the decision to remove Venezuela’s Nicolas Maduro from power, without congressional approval or regard for human life on the ground, six Senate Democrats voted to confirm his nominee for Assistant Secretary of Defense, Keith Bass. Six Senate Democrats (nearly the same ones) also voted to confirm Trump’s judicial nominee Alexander Van Hook last week. Last Summer, while ICE was ramping up its abuses in Portland, 75 Democrats signed on to a resolution praising ICE.

Maybe, as I was told repeatedly on Monday night, I’m just too stupid to understand the nuances of politics. But I fail to see the strategy behind giving Trump or congressional Republicans what they want. I’ve been told, over and over, that doing the little things, like withholding consent and holding the party line against all of Trump’s nominees, would be “pointless,” as the former would only delay things by “ten minutes,” and Trump’s nominees would all pass anyway. I don’t care. Delay things by ten minutes, then. Make them fight over every single thing. As we’ve learned all too well over the last year, fighting about everything is exhausting.

And it’s not true that all Trump’s nominees would get confirmed, no matter what. Fifty-seven of Trump’s nominees during his second term were forced to withdraw, and it’s only been a year. Sure, it took Republicans getting on board to put pressure on Trump, and that may not always be the way things turn out, but you certainly don’t have to help him get his people into office, particularly into lifetime judicial roles.

Even if you take impeachment off the table, there is much more that Congressional Democrats could be doing. They could propose a bill that limits border patrol to the actual border, not within 100 miles of any Great Lake shoreline, which is the justification ICE and CBP have been using to invade Chicago and Minneapolis. They could propose legislation that mandates regular checks of ICE facilities, forces federal agents to take off their masks, and makes clear that federal agents don’t have immunity for crimes they commit on the job. “Oh, that would never pass! Republicans would never vote for it!” Fine — let the Republicans explain to their constituents why they voted to allow the American Gestapo to run hog wild on US cities. Force them to run on their voting record in the midterm elections. (And yes, I, too, am on the Abolish ICE train, but it’s pretty clear that Congressional Democrats are not.)

Instead, Americans and their local representatives are putting their bodies on the line, while Congress dithers about what to do.

Maybe I’m stupid and naive, but I’d want to tell my grandchildren, and the American people, “Yes, I was in Congress when Donald Trump was in office, and I did everything I could, every day, to remove him from office.” I’d rather say I filed Articles of Impeachment every day of Trump’s presidency, and they were all defeated, than to say I sat back and did nothing.

And to be sure, there are some congressional Democrats who are willing to do the right thing. Rep. Robin Kelly (D-IL) says she’ll introduce Articles of Impeachment against Kristi Noem. As previously mentioned, Al Green (D-TX) had the courage to try to impeach Trump. Lauren Underwood (D-IL), my representative, managed to get a bill extending ACA subsidies through the House, even though the bill is almost certain to die in the Senate. Forcing Republicans to go on the record and take a position that can be used against them in the midterms is as important as anything else congressional Democrats can do right now.

And look, for those bristling at this and seething, “Don’t blame Democrats! Blame the party in power!” — I do. I blame Donald Trump and the sycophants around him for all of this. For everything. I also blame Hitler for taking over Czechoslovakia, but I still think Neville Chamberlain was wrong to try to appease him. I blame the Nazis for the murder of Anne Frank, but I also blame the US and every other country that turned her boat away. Evil doesn’t succeed in a vacuum; it depends on the demoralization of the opposition.

Finally, congressional Democrats must do a far better job of communicating what steps they are taking to stop Donald Trump. I spend a huge part of my day reading and watching the news, and if I’m not getting the message, you can bet that average Americans, who have to get three kids to after-school activities and still make dinner, aren’t getting it. Part of the reason the Epstein Files became such a big story is that Ro Khanna (D-CA) stood on the steps of the Capitol with Jeffrey Epstein’s victims and screamed for justice. Then Thomas Massie (R-KY)  joined. Then Marjorie Taylor-Greene (R-GA). If you frame these issues, like opposing the release of the Epstein Files, as dead-bang losers for Republicans, you might get some defectors. We certainly won’t know if we don’t try. And the American people can’t get behind moves they don’t know about.

Maybe all of our screaming into the void is working, because this happened while I was writing this piece. 

Big ups for Rep. Khanna, who has been out in front on these issues a lot recently, and I thank him for it. But as much as we need Democrats to propose legislation to rein in Trump, we need minority leaders Hakeem Jeffries and Chuck Schumer to champion these bills. Loudly. With or without the votes.  Not being able to pass legislation in a regime run by fascists doesn’t make you look weak — it makes you look like a fighter who never gives up.

Look at how much we have lost in a year. Imagine how much more there is to lose before the end of Trump’s term. We all have to do more, and that includes our representatives in Congress. When we look back at this time in history, I hope people will say, “Trump was evil, but the opposition fought like hell. And in the end, they won."

Beehiiv is being extremely wonky tonight, with a typing lag that’s making it impossible to format anything. So I’m going leave it there for today. Hopefully, the platform will be working better tomorrow.

The High Note

Each Day, I do my best to leave you with a smile on your face, a song in your heart, and the will to fight another day.

Here’s American Treasure Yo-Yo Ma to brighten your day.

Hey, survive and advance out there today, kids. Don’t let the bastards get you down.

Follow Julie on Bluesky and Instagram so she can get another book contract.