It’s Our Government — We the People Can Shut It Down
What’s at stake is the very soul of the American experiment. If we wait for politicians to save us, we’ll lose everything.
There’s a debate in Washington right now — if you can even call it that — about whether Democrats should vote for the next continuing resolution to keep the government running. That’s the question the media is asking. That’s what the pundits are chattering about. That’s what the consultants are polling.
But it’s the wrong question.
Because what’s on the table isn’t just a budget. It’s not just a continuing resolution. It’s not just another beltway tug-of-war over funding. What’s at stake is the very soul of the American experiment.
We are standing at the edge of something far more dangerous than partisan gridlock. This is not the usual left vs. right fight. This is top-down power vs. bottom-up democracy. This is about whether one man — Donald Trump — continues to cement his authoritarian grip on the institutions of our government. And whether RFK Jr., the Trojan Horse of disinformation, helps him do it by spreading lies that threaten our health and divide our nation.
ICE raids. Troops patrolling our cities instead of well-trained police protecting our communities. Cuts to Medicaid while COVID still haunts hospitals and long-haulers and access to vaccinations are cut. Slashing funding for public broadcasting, science, and the universities that built America’s leadership in the world. This isn’t just a conservative budget. This is an assault — on the Constitution, on the American people, on our shared future.
So no, the real question isn’t: Should Democrats vote for it? The real question is: What will we do?
Because this isn’t their government. It’s ours. We the People built it. We the People fund it. And We the People have the power to shut it down — not to hurt ourselves, but to stop this slow-motion coup before it locks into place.
And we’re not talking about violence. We’re talking about voice. About scale. About showing up in every district, in every city, on every phone line to every member of Congress and saying, loud and clear:
“Serve us — or shut it down.”
Don’t fund Trump’s police state. Fund public safety. We demand a budget that trains and supports real community policing — not boots on our necks.
Don’t cut Medicaid. Expand it. We demand COVID vaccines and treatment for every American who wants them — without red tape, without political games, without delay.
Don’t defund PBS. Don’t defund research. We demand more public broadcasting, more truth, more science, more investment in the future — not less.
Three demands. Clear as day. Supported by the overwhelming majority of Americans.
And here’s the thing Washington still doesn’t get: They work for us. Not for Trump. Not for RFK Jr. Not for billionaires. For us. And if they forget that, we remind them — by flooding their inboxes, jamming their phone lines, showing up at every town hall and campaign stop with one unified demand:
Put country over party. Serve the people. Or we will shut it down.
And if they still don’t hear us? Then we grow louder. We organize. We march. In October, we show up everywhere under one banner: No Kings.
Because that’s what this is about. No Kings. Not Trump. Not RFK Jr. Not Biden. Not anyone. This is our country — and no one man gets to rule it.
This is a moment to act — not next year, not after the election, but right now. If we wait for the politicians to save us, we’ll lose everything. If we act, we can’t lose — because when the people lead, the leaders follow.
They’ll hear us when we speak with millions of voices. When we make it clear that this budget doesn’t represent America — it represents fear, greed, and power. We choose a different path. And we make that path real by showing up.
We don’t need permission. We don’t need approval. We need courage. We need clarity. We need each other.
It’s our government. And if they can’t get that straight — then shut it down.
Can millions of Americans create a crisis by demanding to shut down the government?
Hell yes. Shut it down while it is still ours — before it’s too late.
'It's Our America': LIVE from the 'No Kings' Protests Across the Country
Today is a good day to celebrate our democracy. Many of us in the Lincoln Square/Lincoln Project family have fanned out at “No Kings” protests on Saturday, June 14 in what organizers are calling the largest single-day mobilization since Trump returned to office.
I’m with you all the way, Mr. Trippi!
I’ve been calling the three GOP stooges who allegedly represent me in Congress for months to register my outrage about the catastrophes inflicted on this country by tRumpy and his wankers. Almost always, Chuck Grassley’s phone numbers go straight to voicemail.
Yesterday, a human answered in the Senator’s office.
It was the most chillingly depressive phone call I’ve had out of literally hundreds of calls to Congress. The aide, once she recognized that I was “not a fan” was dismissive and bored. “Yeah, I got it, ma’am” was her repeated response to me. I was profoundly unsettled by this aide’s tone: after months of phoning Grassley, Ernst, and Miller-Meeks, I have grown used to total inaction on their parts. But still, up until yesterday, their aides at least put on a show that a constituent’s comments were of interest.
I know it’s just one 2-minute phone call with one aide in one office, but it felt so different that I was stunned. I would be interested to know if others have experienced something similar.
I’ll try to get back to my phoning today, but I really feel now more than ever that it’s those of you represented in Congress by Dem’s who are the only ones who can make the difference. Call every day and let them know you’re behind them if they have to shut the government down to rein in this regime.
Make your calls and be glad to know that they won’t be responding to you with a sneering, “right, sure, whatever you say, loser”
America has had riots when certain groups felt they were not being treated fairly. Now, where is the communal outrage that our Democracy is being sold to the highest bidder? We have become a country of hypocrites and cowards.