No Kings is a Bad Strategy - Newt Gingrich
No Kings could end up meaning no elected Democrats in 2026 if they continue down the path of blind opposition.
gingrich360.com
I think Gingrich predictably has this very, very wrong in a way I wasn’t actually expecting when I opened the article. For all its stupidity, I actually agree with him that the parade organizers did a hell of a job of delivering a product that was light and positive. But just as the Army parade defied the expectations of the left, the No Kings protests defied the expectations of the right. There was no meaningful violence or lawlessness during last Saturday’s protests, and there was a truly impressive turnout nationwide. I’d argue it doesn’t really mean anything important, but it seems silly to me to suggest that the left lost on public sentiment on the contrast between those two events.
Where I mostly object to Newt’s framing though is in what he’s saying about the joyous and positive history of the US Army vs. the lecherous intentions of the No Kings protestors. It feels openly deceitful to claim a parade that purports to celebrate 250 years of the Army protecting our freedoms and Constitution is celebrating the best of us while claiming citizens peacefully exercising those rights are representing darkness simply because those citizens disagree with your assessment of the current Administration and its approach to civil liberties.
The frustrating thing about this line of criticism is it’s not that far off from some genuine criticism you could throw at the movement. The parade was in many ways more persuasive and well organized in my opinion because it knew what the fuck it wanted at least. I don’t think what it wanted is remotely near what Donald Trump wanted in his heart, but the people who organized it had a message and it was obvious: celebrate the Army in a family-friendly way that is as far from a traditional authoritarian military parade as possible. They succeeded in that.
The No Kings protests are ultimately a failure to me because there’s no coherent vision of what it intended to accomplish or what the leaders on the left might do if they were elected, and also because the left needs to fundamentally recognize that the real villains here in the story of Trump acting with any King-like way are House Republicans. Making the protest about Donald Trump’s overly centralized power plays perfectly for Republicans because it pits a bunch of unpopular Dems against a charismatic Trump instead of a bunch of unpopular Republicans. But I think the dirty little secret for Democrats is that they know they’re exposed on this front because then they can’t continue to follow their own recent playbook of legislating via the executive branch. The Republicans are being more brazen about it because Trump is so popular with the same voters that elect the House members themselves, but Democrats legislate in the same way, just with a bit less idolatry.
