Sadly, it is not AI-generated

Democrats need to stop producing stupid videos

I start every day reading Heather Cox Richardson Letters from an American to find out what I need to know. Then I look to see if Scott Dworkin has posted a new “good news for us, bad news for Trump” in his Dworkin Report on Substack. I find great information from Heather Cox Richardson and desperately needed shards of hope from Scott Dworkin. Then I lurk around Substack and Bluesky looking to see what else I might need to know. I came across this video called “Choose Your Fighter.”

I immediately checked Google and ChatGPT and other sources to see if, by any chance, it was an AI-generated video put out by MAGA or right-wing media to mock the Democrats. Nope.

Sadly, it is a real video created by Democrats in collaboration with a TikTok influencer (Jessica Woo). The video features Democratic Representatives Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Jasmine Crockett, Lauren Underwood, Katherine Clark, Judy Chu, and Susie Lee posing as video characters adopting a fighter stance. They created it willingly and knowingly. I hope they at least had fun doing it because the video has been mocked by the right-wing, the left-wing, and everything in between wings.

I’m torn. Heather Cox Richardson (who is my idol) frequently cautions against piling it on and criticizing the Democrats. ¹ I get it. The Republicans basically own the executive, legislative, and judicial branches of government. However, the Democrats are squandering the little power they do have, and they are certainly raising serious questions about their ability to win in 2026 and 2028 (presuming there are still elections).

I wish the “Choose Your Fighter” ridiculous video was the only example of problematic issues with Democrats.

Remember this pathetic “We Will Win” video too? Yikes.

The “Choose Your Fighter” video included the new generation of Democratic rising stars like AOC and Jasmine Crockett, and this “We Will Win” has the old guard Democrats: Chuck Schumer, Maxine Waters, and Al Green. Both videos are terrible.

Further evidence that Democrats need serious help with their media strategy was the widely mocked fiasco before Trump’s speech to Congress when 22 Democrats produced “Sh*t That Ain’t True” videos, each reciting the exact same rebuttal (almost word for word) to Trump’s statement regarding lowering prices.

WTF!? Excuse my acronym langage. Here we are in the midst of a coup, the destruction of our democracy as we have known it, and this is what we are getting from the Democrats?

And then there was this:

That was really effective. None of the Democrats walked out with Rep. Al Green when he was removed from the building. More troubling still, the next day, ten Democrats joined all the Republicans in voting to censure him for protesting. In the name of “decency and decorum” (spare me), House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries had “come to Jesus” meetings with some of the disrupters of Trump’s address to Congress, advising them their behavior was not acceptable. ² I think decency and decorum are the least of their worries at this point.

We need Democrats to do better. We also need Democrats who are not in the House or the Senate to step up and help. As I wrote recently in Who We Gonna Call, we need all hands on deck and we need helpers. We need the DNC, Pete Buttigieg, Kamala Harris, President Obama, Michelle Obama, President Biden, Hillary Clinton, and other strong voices in the Democratic Party. Heather Cox Richardson also says that it is “we the people” who are going to have to grasp the urgency and emergency of the situation we are in, and each of us, however we can, needs to do whatever we can to help. Here are some action steps:

Action Steps

1. Call the offices of the ten Democrats who voted with the Republicans to censure Representative Al Green to express your disappointment/dismay at their vote and enCourage them to do better. Here is a list with their phone numbers:

   Ami Bera (CA)– Phone: (202) 225-5716 – Website (bera.house.gov)

   Ed Case (HI)– Phone: (202) 225-2726 – Website (case.house.gov)

   Jim Costa (CA)– Phone: (202) 225-3341 – Website (costa.house.gov)

   Laura Gillen (NY)– Phone: (202) 225-5516 –Website (gillen.house.gov)

   Jim Himes (CT)– Phone: (202) 225-5541 – Website (himes.house.gov)

   Chrissy Houlahan (PA)– Phone: (202) 225-4315 – Website (houlahan.house.gov)

   Marcy Kaptur (OH)– Phone: (202) 225-4146 – Website (kaptur.house.gov)

   Jared Moskowitz (FL)– Phone: (202) 225-3001 – Website (moskowitz.house.gov)

   Marie Gluesenkamp Perez (WA)– Phone: (202) 225-3536 – Website (gluesenkampperez.house.gov)

   Tom Suozzi (NY)– Phone: (202) 225-3335 – Website (suozzi.house.gov)

2. Contact House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries and let him know that “decency and decorum” are beside the point and that he needs to work a lot harder at figuring out a more effective and coherent strategy for dealing with the Trump/Musk regime (it might be helpful for him to consult with Nancy Pelosi). His contact information is: Phone: (202) 225-5936 and Website: https://jeffries.house.gov/contact/

3. If you live in a district that has a Democrat representative and/or senator(s), call them and let them know that we need them to fight much harder for our democracy. You can find the phone numbers of your representatives on the 5 calls app.

Conclusion

Although I want to believe Heather Cox Richardson when she says the Democrats are doing the best they can under difficult circumstances, they have to do better. They need to get on the same page, develop a coherent strategy to effectively deal with the Trump/Musk regime, fix their messaging, and STOP producing stupid videos.

1. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pSkZeoMLdlQ

2. https://www.axios.com/2025/03/06/trump-speech-congress-democrats-disrupt?