Robert Reich reveals the good news amid the bad

Edited by Mike Killalea, NSD president

Looking for scarce good news? Robert Reich has some for us. TBH, and fair warning, some items are on the scary side. The graphic shows that the American people, at least those with a modicum of sense, are rejecting the orange convict and his obsequious minions.

Disclaimer from Robert Reich: “By listing these reasons for modest optimism this week, I don’t mean to imply we are in good shape. To the contrary, the scourge of Trump is worsening.

“My purpose in bringing you this list is so you know that despite Trump’s tyranny, the resistance to him is wide and deep — and it continues to build. That’s partly your doing, for which I send you my heartfelt thanks.”

Here are the bullet points. Read Reich for the full story.

1. Wisconsin Supreme Court vote

Despite Elon Musk’s hysterical warnings, cheesehead preening, and more than $20 million spent by the Republican in the race for the Wisconsin Supreme Court — much of it by Musk — it didn’t matter: Liberal judge Susan Crawford won by a remarkable 10 points, securing the court’s liberal majority. A state that narrowly backed Trump in 2024 swung sharply away. Every county in Wisconsin shifted to the left in this race compared to the 2024 presidential race.

Not only did Judge Crawford pile up huge margins in Milwaukee and Madison, but she kept those of her opponent, Brad Schimel, down in Milwaukee’s predominantly white, middle- and upper-middle-class suburbs, where the abortion issue doubtless moved some Republican women to cross over and vote for her. 

Wisconsin voters recoiled at the odor of Musk. At one point, Crawford referred to Schimel as “Elon Schimel.” That said it all. 

Elon is proving to be a huge political liability. Trump says Musk is leaving the regime in a few weeks, but I have my doubts. 

2. Other races

In other down-ballot races, Democrats saw success on Tuesday. 

Dems won other statewide races in Wisconsin.

In Florida, Republicans defended two congressional seats — but by much tighter margins than in November. Democrats in both districts campaigned against the DOGE cuts to Social Security/Medicaid/VA. These two districts were so red that the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee did not even consider investing campaign funds. 

If you apply the shifts in Florida across the House battlefield in 2026, Democrats would be on track to flip over 40 seats and easily retake the majority.

In another major upset, voters in Aurora, Illinois, ousted their Trump-aligned mayor, Richard Irvin, and elected city councilor and community labor activist John Laesch as their next mayor.

Republicans. 

3. Nationwide, an ever-stronger rejection of Trump 

What happened in Wisconsin and Florida reflects something that’s happening nationwide. Trump is doing far more to mobilize his opponents than to rally his supporters. See the graph. All polls conducted before Trump’s wildly irresponsible tariffs.

Indiana Republican Representative Victoria Spartz was booed and scolded by constituents at two town halls this week, over Signalgate, deportations, and DOGE cuts.

Colorado Republican Representative Lauren Boebert held a telephone town hall this week but still faced tough questions about Musk/DOGE, Medicaid, and SNAP cuts.

Boebert apparently fears her constituents: Coming out of that meeting, Boebert told CPR News that, “for me personally, it’s not safe to do an in-person town hall. I’m happy to do tele-town halls.”

Meanwhile, Democrats continue to hold town halls in GOP districts where Republican incumbents are unwilling to hold them. Republican Representative John James wouldn’t meet with voters in his district, so Democratic Senator Chris Murphy and Representative Maxwell Frost went to James’s Michigan district last Saturday to hold a town hall meeting with James’s constituents instead. 

5. Democrats are fired up (finally)

No wonder Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vermont) and Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-New York) have become heroes far beyond the party’s progressive wing and have drawn such enormous crowds for their anti-Trump, anti-oligarchy rallies. The next stop on their tour against oligarchy will be Los Angeles on April 12.

Democratic Senator Cory Booker spoke against Trump on the Senate floor for 25 hours and five minutes this week without sitting or exiting the Senate chambers to eat or use a bathroom, thereby breaking by nearly an hour the previous record set 68 years ago. He streamed the speech live on TikTok, where it garnered more than 400 million “likes.” The truly remarkable aspect of his speech was that it was a speech — not a venom-filled rant, but a substantive and thoughtful address to the nation. 

Kudos to Senator Booker for reminding us of the importance of speaking out for what we believe and demonstrating America at its best. Meanwhile, Trump and his regime are demonstrating America at its worst: cruel, inhumane, and greedy. 

6. Tesla continues to plummet

Meanwhile, Elon is the worst sales rep Tesla and its shareholders could ever imagine. We learned this week that Tesla’s global sales in the first quarter fell 13 percent from a year earlier, largely due to a worldwide consumer backlash against the role that Musk is playing in the Trump administration. After Musk endorsed far-right parties, Tesla sales plunged in Germany by 41.5 percent compared to last year; they were down in France by 41 percent; and down in the UK 0.6 percent 

Oh, and Democratic lawmakers in New York state introduced a bill on Wednesday aimed at Musk and the so-called Buffalo Billion project, in which the state spent $959 million to build and equip a plant that Musk’s company leases for $1 a year to operate a solar panel and auto component factory. The bill would determine whether Tesla was meeting job creation targets, making promised investments, paying enough rent, and honoring job training commitments. If not in compliance, the state could claw back state benefits from Tesla, impose penalties, and terminate contracts.

7. Paul Weiss and Skadden are paying a price for selling out to Trump

The disgraced elite law firms Paul Weiss and Skadden Arps — both of which capitulated to Trump to avoid executive orders that could have crippled their businesses — are already paying a price. The firms’ associates are saying both privately and openly that their leaders betrayed their firms’ principles with deals that undermine a commitment to provide free legal work to public interest groups and causes at odds with the White House. A few have quit their jobs. Many aspiring young lawyers are boycotting the two firms. Good! 

8. Trump’s tariffs cause utter chaos

I’m including Trump’s bonkers tariffs as a reason for modest optimism even though many in the United States and around the world will be terribly harmed by them, but the tariffs will smooth the way for Trump to be booted out of office — in 2028 or sooner. 

Those tariffs are likely to be the worst economic policy since the Smoot-Hawley Tariff of 1930, which worsened the Great Depression. They will cost the typical American family at least $4,000 this year, fuel inflation, and very possibly wreck the economy. 

9. Trump has lost his Senate majority (at least on tariffs against Canada, which may be a harbinger of more Senate votes against him)

Four Republicans — Senators Mitch McConnell (Kentucky), Susan Collins (Maine), Lisa Murkowski (Alaska), and Rand Paul (Kentucky) — defied Trump and Senate Majority Leader John Thune by voting with Democrats to invalidate a national emergency that Trump declared in February, allowing him to impose a 25 percent tariff on Canadian goods. “Unlike Mexico and China, Canada is not complicit in this crisis,” Collins said.

10. Trump’s abductions

My tenth reason for modest optimism is also a tragedy in the making, but it’s stirring up so much public antipathy toward Trump and his incompetent cronies that I’m listing it. 

11. Trump’s attack on Social Security is beginning to harm beneficiaries

Social Security is now engulfed in the worst crisis of its history. That’s not because it’s running out of money or because of fraud or high administrative costs. This crisis is entirely the doing of Donald Trump and Elon Musk.

https://substack.com/home/post/p-160424773