A Lenin Statue? In Seattle? In This Economy?
Answering your questions!
Happy Friday and not happy Victory Day (the only real Victory Day was yesterday—read my latest column to understand why).
The Next Move has been on Substack for just over a month. In that time, we’ve published more than 20 posts, hosted and participated in seven live broadcasts, (my eighth with Jim Acosta is coming up later today at 4:30 pm ET), racked up over 40,000 subscribers, and sparked plenty of lively debates.
And if you haven’t already done so, I’d encourage you to join us as a paid subscriber where you could enjoy incredible conversations like this one with General Stan McChrystal.
Now on to your comments.
Andrew had some thoughts on General Ben Hodges’s piece on how Europe can secure a deal in Ukraine.
I constantly repost Gen. Hodges on X & send his articles out. His take is usually spot on. Recently I've been reposting & sending to all his interview where he said "Europe has all the economic and military power to defeat russia in Ukraine". He talked about the fact that russia is weak and must be defeated.
So I don't really understand his take here that we are headed towards "peace talks" and need a "peacekeeping force". Undefeated Putin will not stop & if he did for a bit, a peacekeeping force will never deter him. Also Eur army fighting russia head on seems pretty unlikely.
Well—I agree with you that “peace talks” belong in scare quotes and that the situation is not ideal. But General Hodges is dealing with the world the way it is, not the way we wish it were. Another person who’s taking that approach: Volodomyr Zelenskyy. I’m sure the president of Ukraine wishes he had an easier partner in the White House, but he has the one whom the American people chose and that is who he has to deal with. So General Hodges’s point isn’t that a European-backed peace agreement is ideal, but how to execute that option if indeed it is the option.
Next up, our video in the Garden of Evil touched a nerve for Tai.
What sends me to an incandescent rage is in the Fremont neighborhood of Seattle, there is a Lenin statue erected after someone purchased it from Slovakia or another Warsaw Pact country after the Cold War.
I had to look this one up—there is indeed a statue of Vladimir Lenin in Seattle. Who knew? Apparently back in 2017, the mayor of Seattle rightly called for the removal of both a pro-Confederate monument and the statue of the Soviet Union’s founding father. You can guess which one is still standing in that deep blue city.
Selective morality isn’t just wrong on the merits—it’s bad politics. I’m sure that the lefty Seattleites who adore their local Lenin share my alarm over the authoritarian slide taking place on Donald Trump’s watch. But their tolerance for a communist authoritarian makes their opposition to a right-wing populist one look insincere, and millions of Americans in the middle can see it.
Now, while I love to debate and politely disagree, I’m also happy when you’re happy! And happy Naima was when she watched my interview with General Stan McChrystal on effective leadership. Here’s what she had to say:
I must compliment you and the production team who made this an engaging and compelling conversation to help we the people comprehend military strategy…taking me back to my high school Civics class, where for the first time I was introduced to the concept that …”the price of freedom is eternal vigilance”….(beautiful setting, excellent photography and the addition of music made it brilliant. Thank you).
Thank you, Naima! If you want to find out why she loved the video so much and watch the full interview with General McChrystal, you’ll have to upgrade to a paid subscription.
I don’t take one kopek from your subscriptions. Everything we earn goes right back into publishing more content and supporting the work of Renew Democracy Initiative. So consider upgrading today.
That’s it for this week! I’ll see you on Monday at 5pm ET/2pm PT for our weekly Substack Live. Lots to discuss, and lots more to come!
The Lenin statue in Seattle is privately owned, displayed, and maintained; the city can't unilaterally make it go poof. However, it is frequently the target of additional decoration: during some Easters (not all), Lenin sprouts floppy bunny ears (but, sadly, no fluffy cotton tail on his butt, mainly because the statue does not show his butt); during Halloween, he gets an inflatable pumpkin head; at Christmas, he gets a special Christmas crown; any other time, he gets whatever some artist takes the time to express which is almost always not positive for Lenin. And yes, he has rightfully received his share of blue and yellow paint. I almost forgot his blood-red hands. It sure is fun to see what appears on that statue. I'm waiting for him to get a clown face.
Since Garry does not have it posted on his Substack, I wanted to comment on his interview with Jim Acosta. I think there are clarifications and additions that need to be made.
First, with regard to Trump as dictator, if you consider that he has created a unitary executive in which he is personally in charge of EVERY aspect of that Branch; that both houses of Congress (controlled by the GOP) have abrogated their two primary responsibilities - legislation, and advise and consent - completely to Trump; and that Trump (despite Mr. Acosta's comment) has ALREADY defied the courts - including his own Supreme Court, which effectively renders the Judicial Branch largely moot - then Trump is already a dictator of sorts, since he either controls or ignores all three branches of government.
Second, re the media, while it is true that "State control" of media does not necessarily mean only one Sate-sponsored news source - or even a few sources all "friendly" to the regime (OAN, Newsmax, Fox, Breitbart, Washington Times, The Hill et al) - there is still (for now) an active and lively opposition media in force. Yes, threats are being made (though even Trump's own FCC seems unwilling (for now) to literally remove licenses and shut down opposition media), but we still have both national and local opposition media. (Support your local media!!)
In this regard, a quick comment on Mr. Acosta's (and Garry's) comments on State media in Russia and the dearth of opposition media and information. I know quite a few people living in Russia right now, and they tell me that Russians are getting PLENTY of "Western" information by "getting around" certain rules and regs, and the State's attempts to prevent outside information from coming in. In actual fact, Russians have far easier access to "opposition" (and simply non-Russian) media and information than perhaps even Mr. Acosta and Garry realize. And while Russia certainly has a large percent of MAGA-like "brainwashed" citizens, they also have a larger dissent movement (admittedly mostly underground for now) than most people realize.
Third, The Sanders/AOC "tour" has been bringing in thousands of people to each rally - including rallies in VERY "red" cities and States. And with GOP members not willing to attend town halls to confront their constituents, Democratic leaders are stepping in - and being WELCOMED by MAGA members. As well, there are an increasing number of individual videos being made by MAGA members who regret their vote. Sadly, they only do so when one of Trump's policies personally affects either them or someone they love. But at least there is MAGA backlash to some of Trump's policies - and it is growing.
In fact, MAGA is being hit hardest right now by the tariffs - whether it is auto workers in Michigan, farmers in the heartland (which is MAGA country), or dock workers on the near-empty docks at major ports. In this way, Trump is undermining his own base - again, at an increasing rate, even if it does not look to US like that.
Finally, the bad news, as Garry has implied several times, Trump needs only the flimsiest of excuses to impose martial law, and potentially cancel the 2026 elections. He is already wildly flouting the Emoluments Clause, and is also flagrantly violating the Posse Comitatus Act. So as Garry has said, we cannot put anything past him; he could easily slip into full dictator mode, invoke martial law, and cancel the 2026 elections.
THIS is the greatest concern right now prior to mid-2026. And we need to do everything we can - personally, via our elected officials, via protests, etc. - and, yes, by trying to join with the increasing percentage of MAGA members who are finally seeing the light, and have actual respect for the Constitution, democracy and rule of law. Right now, Trump is putting as many "shiny objects" as he can in the mix, to prevent us from focusing on what truly matters. We need to ignore those shiny objects (at least for now), and focus entirely on the Constitution and saving democracy and the rule of law. Otherwise, nothing else will matter.