There is no shortage of speculation, in the aftermath of the most consequential election of our time, about what Democrats should do, or ought to do, or aren't doing, or won't do. I've read plenty of speculation, but I think I'm capable of making my own observations without the assistance of a journalist pundit who is missing some critical thinking skills and analytical thinking ability.

My first step, and it's one I highly recommend to anyone else in this country who understands exactly what we are about to face in a second Trump Presidency, is to read through Timothy Snyder's book, On Tyranny: Twenty Lessons From the Twentieth Century. That's an important piece of information which will guarantee the ability to define exactly what is occurring in order to form reasonable, effective resistance.

If we consider the causes that motivated the Democratic party in this election as priorities, then blame for the loss is a dead issue. Gone are the days in American politics when the opposition party that lost an election shook hands, congratulated the winner and pledged bi-partisan support for whatever it was that could be supported. We Democrats set up the parameters for this election, rightly so. We called it "the most consequential election of our time," and we declared that Trump "was an existential threat to Democracy."

Well, was it? Was he?

If we act like it wasn't either of those things, then we have no credibility. We're liars, just like they are. It was all a political game and it's back to business as usual and politics as usual and hope we can do better in 2026. It will be very tempting for those Democrats who are now still in office as a minority party to try and protect what they have through self-interest, to try to hang on to their perks and privileges rather than take the kind of risks that are necessary to unify this party, fight Trump's real threat to this constitutional democracy, and find a way to defeat creeping facsism once and for all.

Real leaders will step up and take risks, rather than try to hover and protect their piece of what's left. Real leaders will take the risks that will bring genuine unity, and will motivate followers to get up off their rear ends, inform themselves about what is going on and fight for their constitutionally protected liberty.

So we need leaders who are not afraid to act like this was the most consequential election of our time, and that Trump is an existential threat to constitutional democracy. And we need to start acting like that now, before he ever takes a second oath of office that he will ignore.