FEAR ISN'T THE REASON REPUBLICANS ARE TALKING ABOUT THE NO KINGS RALLIES
By: Steve M.
S E E D E D C O N T E N T
Saturday, October 18, 2025
FEAR ISN'T THE REASON REPUBLICANS ARE TALKING ABOUT THE NO KINGS RALLIES
I'm heading out to the Manhattan No Kings rally soon. I'm hoping for a huge nationwide turnout and for a peaceful day with no arrests, no violence, and no property damage. I hope the policing is restrained and respectful. (I've been to a lot of demos this year in New York. The police, for the most part, have been surprisingly calm.)
But I have concerns about today, because Republicans have been talking about No Kings a lot. I've been going to demonstrations since the late 1970s, when Jimmy Carter reinstated draft registration, and in all that time the administrations we were protesting never acknowledged the existence of the protests -- certainly not to the extent we've seen Republicans talk about No Kings in the past week or two.
I don't think they're doing this because they're afraid. They're doing this because, rightly or wrongly, they see today's rallies as something they can leverage in their war against democracy and pluralism.
If you want to know what the Republican Party is thinking at any given time, go to the Fox News website. Right now, here's what you'll see:
I bet you can guess (((who the billionaire is))).
The story tells us:
New York City organizers embedded in the global intifada to destroy the state of Israel moved Friday to join the controversial "No Kings" protests planned for today, despite the peace deal reached between Israel and Hamas.
"UAW Labor for Palestine" and "NYC Labor for Palestine" quietly posted a call-to-action for the "Palestine Labor Solidarity Contingent" to meet Saturday at 11 a.m. at Duarte Square at the corner of Grand Street and Canal Street in midtown Manhattan and then flow into the #NoKings protests planned to protest President Donald Trump.
They're not alone. Around the country, anti-Israel blocs are slotting themselves into the "No Kings" protests as a "Palestine Contingent" and "Socialist Contingent," positioning their messages "front and center," as Seattle activists put it, "from Providence to Palestine."
The alignment underscores a strategic pivot in the global intifada's next phase, experts say, carrying the anti-Israel message into any high-energy civic protest, even after Hamas agreed to a ceasefire by linking "Free Palestine" to domestic fights like ICE, police and "fascism."
This is a scaremongering appeal to American Jews and Christian Zionists, but it also harks back to the post-9/11 era. Palestinian = swarthy Muslim = evil terrorist. This is "the global intifada" aimed at killing you in your bed in Bugtussle, Arkansas, Mr. Fox Viewer.
Yet the big villain here is the right's favorite Jewish Antichrist.
Billionaire donor George Soros is reportedly funding many of the organizations leading the "No Kings" protests, like Indivisible, whose co-founders, Leah Greenberg and Ezra Levin, received a $3 million two-year grant last year from Soros's Open Society Foundations for "social welfare activities." Details about the "Palestine Contingent" weaving into the "No Kings" protests raises new questions about the way big Democratic donors like Soros are funneling nonprofit dollars into a professional protest industry that is fractious, divisive and partisan, potentially in violation of tax and nonprofit laws.
... According to a public database of the protest's organizers, compiled by the Pearl Project, a journalism initiative, the protest's "partners" include 265 mostly nonprofit organizations, including some anti-Israel groups, like Jewish Voice for Peace, exploiting their nonprofit benefits to wage a political war against the sitting president.
This, as you know, is a major part of the White House plan for establishing a permanent one-party state: a legal assault on liberal-leaning groups that neutralizes them prior to the 2026 midterms, and wipes them out by 2028.
In the near future, we're going to hear a lot about tax-exempt organizations that are seen as fronts for "the Democrat Party," so let's remember that many tax-exempt organizations lean pro-GOP. The Heritage Foundation is tax-exempt. So is the Federalist Society. So is Turning Point USA. Even extremist right-wing organizations such as Identity Evropa and the Oath Keepers Educational Foundation have received tax-exempt status. If their main purpose is "education" and they avoid direct involvement in electoral politics, they can be granted this status.
This is a well-established principle:
Big Mama Rag, a radical feminist nonprofit magazine, lost its tax exemption in the late 1970s. The IRS revoked its charitable status upon seeing that the magazine refused to publish views contrary to its own. When the magazine fought back, an appeals court determined that the criteria the IRS and a district court had used to deny exemption were unconstitutional because they were based on the organization's constitutionally protected views.
This case set an important precedent: The government considers charities advancing unpopular views to be educational enough to keep their tax-exempt status.
The IRS now evaluates educational methods, not content.
But the Trump regime intends to attack the tax-exempt status of these groups, and to shame them publicly along the way.
Will it work? I don't know. I know that Republicans are hoping there'll be violence or smashed windows at today's demonstrations, which they can blame on Soros, thus bolstering their case against groups he helps finance. Will there be right-wing efforts to provoke violence today? It's possible. It's also possible that the White House doesn't feel the need to devote resources to that sort of thing, which could backfire.
Or Fox might simply assume that one of its usual montages -- the most inflammatory signs, the most pink-haired and pierced protesters, plus a few signs from organizations like the Revolutionary Communist Party -- will be enough to scare Grandma and Grampa in Bugtussle ... and Grampa in the White House.
I think the overwhelming majority of demonstrations today will fit Ed Burmila's description:
But She Guevara's more paranoid vision might be accurate in one or two places. Be a little bit wary, but be righteous and peaceful out there today. And loud. Posted by Steve M. at 8:25 AMOlder PostHome Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)
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George Soros, communists, NPR, pink hair, TDS, blah blah blah.
Maybe they are just making fun of people protesting something the US has not had since 1776.
Dishonest. A rose by any other name…
Does anybody outside the Left-o-Sphere even care about this?
Have they said what they want, or is this just another of their "raising awareness to the obvious" programs?
No one cares except the ones protesting something we haven't had since 1776 except for the media that is trying to make a mountain out of a molehill and the pro hamas folks that need a new thing to protest.
So when a president acts like he wants to be king, we should all just remain silent until the coronation?
"Nothing to see here. Move along." Just keep telling yourself that, Jack.
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This sounds like a great place for ICE to set up immigration checkpoints.
Good luck with that.
they haven't been issued their tactical ski masks yet ... /s
Why should anyone care? What did the previous rallies accomplish?
I don’t know, but Republicans sure are talking about it a lot.
Define "a lot".
Of course Jack, we know you dont care about any of this. We dont care that you dont care.
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Correct.
It's a silly waste of time but I support your right to do it.
Seems like you should serve beer and call it a festival.
No, that’s dumb. Don’t sea lion me.
That’s cool. The people doing it should be talking about it. I myself have observed Republicans talking about it much more than they did last time.
Do you feel that way about all demonstrations? Is there something uniquely silly about this one?
Most modern demonstrations, pretty much.
There never seems to be an actual goal. The last one I remember that was actually trying to accomplish something specific was that group of Native Americans that managed to get a pipeline rerouted. Well done to them, BTW.
But this one.... Well I guess we avoided getting a king and Donald Trump is one day closer to not being the president, so it's a good thing they were out there.
Oh....wait....
Then you should maybe open your mind and actually listen to the things people say at these things. Read the signs, even, and consider why a reasonable person might feel that way.
Protests spread ideas, and over time - long or short - they can change minds. They can also inspire politicians and fellow citizens to seek justice, or try harder, if they are already so inclined.
If there were no protests at all, a lot of people would just assume that everyone is happy with the way things are going. After seeing this, you should, at minimum, understand that not everyone feels that way.
No we didn’t. Trump is working on it as we speak. The fact that he hasn’t been act7ally crowned is irrelevant. This shit takes time, unless you are born into it.
If you don’t think he has been consistently trying to expand his power, silence dissent, and avoid any accountability or check on his power, then you haven’t been paying attention.
Many right wingers have been paying careful attention and fully support Trump's actions, however, when they are dealing with non-magas they feign ignorance. It's an intentional deflection.
You have a chance right here to describe some sort of actual goal, but instead you opt for personal attacks.
There is an article by Nick Gillespie in Reason today.
Best description I've seen so far.
We all know how you feel. You're all very good at telling everybody how you feel. What you don't do as well is tell us what you actually want, and more specifically, WTF we're all supposed to do about it.
I'm guessing you don't think this is vague. But it is.
You vastly underestimate the amount of whining, screaming, and angry personal attacks your fellow liberals have been subjecting the rest of us to for the last 10 years. Nobody is confused about this.
I think you'll find we did, and all of the melodramatic Lord Voldemort bullshit people spout doesn't change that.
He's a jagoff not fit to hold office.
We've told you over and over.
We've explained the transgressions that he has taken against the Constitution and the rule of law.
You choose not to listen.
Instead you pretend that the normal workings of government will take care of themselves, and that since Trump hasn't achieved full control over everything there is absolutely no reason for alarm.
At least that is what your commentary would lead one to believe.
A great deal of the population of the United States is not as complacent. They dislike the clear and evident signs that Trump wishes to remain in power and his obvious disregard for the Constitution and Laws of the United States.
That is why we protest. When something is spoken it becomes more real. When people share ideas they gain real strength. The more people, the greater the reality, the greater the possibility of substantial change. We have chosen to unite around the idea that the Constitution is and shall remain our imperfect document to base our laws on, not the whims of a madman who would be king.
Trump took questions on his flight back from Florida today and every one of his answers was disturbing.
In no way did I attack you. I tried to appeal to your senses of empathy, rationality, and fairness. Rather than take that invitation, you deflect and accuse me of attacking you. That’s ridiculous.
What is so good about it? It confirms your preconceptions?
I find this ironic coming from someone who rejected the chance at a conversation to feign offense at an imagined personal attack - twice.
Read it again. Maybe with an open mind for a change.
I'm still asking the same question. You are the one deflecting. You'll apparently do anything to avoid answering it.
Here it is again, in case you forgot... what was the actual goal of the event? What have you actually accomplished?
No, you and a few others have been doing that, because you can't answer a simple question: What did you actually accomplish?
I'm shocked to hear you say that.
So did the marches somehow make him more fit? Or did they remove him from office? How does that work?
You've avoided the question over and over.
You've explained you believe that to be the case. That doesn't actually make you correct, but that's another matter.
And how, exactly, did you change any of that on Saturday? How, exactly, did you change any of that the last time you got together a few months ago?
You're not helping your case. What you're saying here is that you all got together to march around about ideas you've collectively fabricated.
Are you able to explain in tangible terms how your lives or our lives will be measurably better on Monday than they were on Friday?
If your only doing this because it makes you feel better, that's fine. Serve beer and call it a festival. That's great. But let's be honest about it for once.
None of your posts include a question mark. So, you seem to be making something up.
If you actually care about what people are protesting for, I’m happy to discuss it, but your pattern has been to troll and sea lion, so I am hesitant to waste my time.
That’s why I suggested that instead of relying on me, you just look at what protestors are saying. I don’t think their concerns are a secret. So far, you seem unwilling to do even that much.
But I’ll give you something to start with.
First, our president is a convicted felon. The party of law and order elected a convicted felon. The only reason he’s not serving time is because he got elected again, and it’s too complicated to pursue it. I mean, he didn’t even have to pay a fine or get put on probation.
What’s more, other criminal cases against him were dropped. Not for reasons of justice, but for political reasons. It’s ludicrous.
Why would a man like this seek to be a “public servant?” It is keeping him out of jail, and making him richer than he already was.
Second. That same president intends to illegally seek a third term. Not one Republican has spoken out against that, so far as I know.
Third. That same president is sending the military to our own cities, against the will of the people in those cities. He does so while lying about the justification. Only cities that vote for the Democratic party are invaded this way.
Fourth. Congress has abdicated any responsibility to check his authority, and he has no care for working with Congress.
Fifth. He is systematically robbing the press of its power to monitor and report on the people’s government.
I haven’t touched policy here. All of the above actions are about seizing and consolidating absolute power. In other words, he is trying to become king. I will not wait for someone to plant an actual crown on his head before I speak out against it.
The purpose of the demonstration is to raise awareness, persuade if possible, and embolden allies and representatives to act, if they are able.
The obvious irony being it would have taken far less time to post the goals than write what you actually posted.
As I've already said, they're very good at broadcasting their concerns. The realism of those concerns is a matter of opinion, but they're very good at declaring them.
What they're not very good at doing is stating what they want done by whom. So what is that?
What do you expect anyone to do about that now?
I think that is a laughable claim.
So is your goal to get those troops removed? Why isn't it called the "no troops" protest?
What do you want Congress to do? Specifically?
OK. What do you (plural) want done about that? Specifically?
Alternatively, he is playing political hardball in order to circumvent roadblocks to the implementation of his agenda.
*sigh* "Raise awareness" is the go-to when any group of liberals holds a protest where nobody (especially them) has a clear idea what they actually want to achieve.
The problem is, not only is everybody already aware of the thing they claim they're "raising awareness" about, everybody is also clear that "raising awareness" means they have no idea WTF they actually want anyone to do about it.
Act how? What do you want them to do?
Congress passes laws. What law do you want them to pass?
I have told you repeatedly and on several articles. The fact that you repeatedly dismiss these explanations is not my concern.
If you want to live under authoritarian rule, move one of the places that already has it like Russia or Turkey. If you want to bring it here, you are doing a fine job of putting out the welcome mat. Just don't expect any help from me.
The purpose of a rally is to show support for an idea, to show the people who may not be as unafraid to reveal where they stand on an issue, that there are others who think in a kindred matter, to build community, to make friends because of these shared affinities.
The purpose of a rally is to show solidarity, courage, and visibility.
These aspects are central themes to any movement, in any country, at any time.
Movements don’t start with policy changes. Movements start with people finding each other, building community, and giving voice to shared conviction. That’s what every movement in this nation’s history has done. That is the collective fabrication of ideas, and that is the founding principle of the United States of America.
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I did state it. I wrote:
It doesn't need to be more specific than that. Those who are able to act - especially elected representatives - know what is possible and what is not to change the state of affairs. We don't need some kind of unified voice from the millions on specific actions to take, though I am sure that many individuals have ideas on the matter.
Impeach.
Then you are ignorant on the matter. He has people actively working on it. Look into it. You can start with Steve Bannon's appearance on Bill Maher last week.
I explained why I mentioned the troops already.
This is trolling. Stop.
This is off topic, but I will answer.
Require him to get Congressional authority before bombing countries, before setting tariffs, and before cutting congressionally allocated spending. His cabinet secretaries should have to actually answer questions put to them by oversight committees and provide the data to which they have a legal right. They should also have access to financial deals he is making with foreign powers that are enriching him. If he is de facto taking bribes, he should be impeached.
Again, the bit about the press was listed as a sign of how Trump is trying to be king. You are not addressing that at all.
Whatever Congress can do to support a free press. I'm not in Congress, so I don't know what is possible. Basically, kicking the press out of the Pentagon or suing anyone who says something he doesn't like is unacceptable. Perhaps all they can do is impeach.
This is a bullshit dismissal. Raising awareness - both of the problem and the public concern for it - is critical. People communicate with their representatives. Sometimes by phone or letter. Sometimes by marching. If they did not, I guarantee that people like you would simply say "well, no one is marching in the streets, so it must not be a big problem." You're going to bitch and dismiss this no matter what. Your whole attitude on this point is snobbery.
This is more classic sea-lioning (look it up yourself) by you. You get a straight answer to your questions, but it's never enough. You always want to find some other bit of minutiae that you allegedly need defined or clarified, while we stray further and further from the topic.
That is why I tried to give you a chance to do a little work yourself - if you really cared to learn something.
I gave you five points on how Trump is trying to be king and you did not address even one of them in that context. Clearly, I was right to doubt you.
Yep. The Right seems very worried about this, today.
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And yet, here you are. The Speaker of the House commented on it. So have other elected Republicans, So has conservative media.
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So, you’re one of the spinsters?
video of large No Kings protest on the streets of The Villages, the retirement community in Florida that is the beating heart of MAGA.
(2) Tim Miller on X: "The Bulwark Villages correspondent sends in this video of Hamas-loving Antifa seniors waving American flags at the Florida retirement community’s #NoKings protest. https://t.co/UaLKWziTB3" / X
No Kings Times Square
Boston
Chicago, same stage used as the headline stage at Lollapalooza music festival
100, 000 minimum
This is the same space where Obama gave his 2008 victory speech
Funny how they’re not burning the town down or attacking anyone.
No burning, no looting, no violence. It was more like just a huge party. Ran in to a few people I haven't seen in a while. Got some beers afterward.
I went looking for trouble and couldn't find any. I was bummed, until we went and got a late lunch ...