View this post on the web at [link removed]

I had a conversation with a woman in her late 70’s from Lincoln, Nebraska. A Democrat her whole life, she’s been very politically active for most of her life, but due to family obligations, she’s not as active these days. Though she does pay attention religiously to everything that’s going on. She prides herself on staying informed.
It was an emotional conversation, pretty much from the start. She worries deeply that this country will never recover from the damage that Trump has done. And then she said something that most people might find surprising, but not me. She said the reason America will never recover from the damage Trump has done is because of the Democrats. She quite literally told me that if the country doesn’t recover from this, Democrats will be the ones to blame. I asked her to explain.
She said she worries Democrats aren’t up for this moment. They don’t understand the gravity of what Trump is doing and has done. And she made clear she was talking about Democratic elected officials and what she called the Democratic establishment. For her, the country only recovers if the people committing all this damage are held accountable — if the people in Trump’s administration, his cabinet, in DHS, in ICE, etc., etc., are impeached, prosecuted, and jailed. If Trump and his family and friends are forced to give back all of the money they stole. If every edifice to Trump is torn down, and his name ripped off of every building. Trump and the people around him, she said, must be publicly held accountable and put on trial.
And she started to tear up and admitted that she didn’t think Democrats were up for all that. This lifelong active Democrat didn’t believe her party, once in power, would do what needs to be done for this country to heal and move forward. “They haven’t met the moment these past 20 months. What makes you think they will the next 20 months and beyond?”
Without public accountability, arrests, and convictions for Trump and his people, she feels that the American people will never fully grasp how wrong everything Trump has done truly is. Americans will come to believe most of what Trump has done is just “normal.” And then, slowly but surely, things will just keep getting worse until the lines and norms of our democracy finally come completely undone. To prevent that, people in this “regime” need to be made examples of and put in jail.
And she does not believe Democrats will be capable of doing that.
I’ve heard this before in my conversations. But still, this woman in her late 70’s, so committed her whole life, resigned now to thinking we’re finished — not because of Trump, but because of the opposition party not holding Trump accountable — really shook me. I told her I had the same worry. She thanked me for listening.
BE BRAVE,
The Social Contract with Joe Walsh is a reader-supported publication. To support my work, consider becoming a paid subscriber and sign your friends and family up too.
IN CASE YOU MISSED THIS
***Supreme Court blocks sweeping mail ballot restrictions for midterm elections [ [link removed] ] - WaPo
***Donald Trump Jr.’s Wedding Bankrolled by Putin-Linked Russian Oligarch [ [link removed] ] — ProPublica
***Jared Kushner’s Dollar Diplomacy [ [link removed] ] - NewYorker.com
I [ [link removed] ]*** [ [link removed] ]CE is quietly firing new hires. For one recruit, it was devastating. [ [link removed] ] - WaPo
***DHS leaders arbitrarily cut FEMA staff by 50% even though it damaged the agency’s ability to fulfill its mission - and leaders hid their comms about it on auto-delete Signal chains [ [link removed] ] - @kylecheney on X
Catch Joe tomorrow on The Social Contract with Joe Walsh [ [link removed] ] and every weekday at 11am ET on Substack, Youtube and all social media platforms
FOUNDING MEMBERS CALL NOW SCHEDULED FOR TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 22 @ 2PM EST
This Week on The Social Contract
In case you missed my Substack Live yesterday with Ellie Leonard you can view it by clicking here [ [link removed] ].
Tuesday, 1pm ET: “A Libertarian and a Socialist Walk Into a Bar” with Xander Schultz.
Thursday, 11am ET Substack Live with Ben Cohen
Thursday, 4pm ET: “Unvarnished with Edwin Eisendrath”
Thursday, 6pm ET: “Tequila Talk” with Cliff Schecter
Thursday, 7pm ET: AMA for paid subscribers

***‘Alligator Alcatraz’ Used Small Cages as ‘Calming Areas,’ Report Says [ [link removed] ]
***The First Amendment protects verbal criticism of law enforcement, including offensive profanity [ [link removed] ]. - @walshfreedom on X
I am sharing stories every day on my social media sites, about how PAXIS can help people around the country. I want you to be aware of how effective PAXIS is and how instrumental it can be under Trump’s mass-deportation agenda.
PAXIS has helped people. I know it has. If it helped you, a neighbor, or someone you love — I want to hear about it. Email me at [email protected] [ mailto:[email protected] ] and tell me your story. I don't need your name or your town if you don't want to give it. I just want other people to know there's a way through this. Send it to me."
PAXIS is a multilingual, mobile-ready legal support and crisis-response platform built to give immigrants, migrants, advocates, journalists, and ordinary citizens clear guidance. PAXIS is protection. PAXIS is a community-built shield against panic, lies, intimidation, and state cruelty.
People need to know: Do I have to open the door? Do I have the right to remain silent? Is this a real warrant? Who can I call? What do I do right now?
PAXIS answers with calm, lawful, rights-based guidance in the language people understand, on the phones they already have. We built PAXIS. Now we need to get it into the hands of the people who need it most. A tool like PAXIS means nothing if families, communities, and immigrant organizations never hear about it. Please click PAXIS.app [ [link removed] ] for more info.
Help us get this amazing tool into more peoples’ hands GoFundMe.com/PAXIS [ [link removed] ]

Unsubscribe [link removed]?