Gov. Pritzker: It's time to fight everywhere and all at once" & Blasts "the do nothing crowd of Dems response to Rs

[Nanjeanne]

Last edited Mon Apr 28, 2025, 04:23 PM - Edit history (1)

https://www.semafor.com/article/04/27/2025/gov-jb-pritzker-makes-the-case-for-a-fighting-democratic-party-in-new-hampshire]

Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker told New Hampshire Democrats to “stop apologizing” and “stop surrendering” as the party battles the Trump administration, blaming a “culture of timidity” for its losses last year.

“We will never join so many Republicans in the special place in hell reserved for quislings and cowards,” Pritzker said at the party’s annual McIntyre-Shaheen fundraising dinner here. “We will relegate their portraits to the museum halls reserved for tyrants and traitors.”

https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/2028-election/jb-pritzker-implores-democrats-fight-trump-new-hampshire-rcna203229]

“They spent years watching Republicans illegitimately pack the Supreme Court, take away voting rights from people of color, systematically chip away at the constitutional order,” he said. “Those same do-nothing Democrats want to blame our losses on our defense of Black people and trans kids and immigrants, instead of their own lack of guts and gumption.”

Speech here:

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[bucolic_frolic]

1. This guy has a plan!

I bet he writes his own speeches and let's a speechwriter edit it.

[elleng]

53. YES, and more than 'a' plan, imo!!! IMPORTANT!!!!!

[Autumn]

2. I can't say he's 100% wrong.

[Bluetus]

14. I can't say he is even 1% wrong.

He said what needs to be said. I only wish it were said 20 years ago when we had a better chance of getting onto a more successful path.

[Autumn]

46. True. Gov. Pritzker sounds like he might join the small crowd fighting for us.

AOC, Warren, Sanders, Crockett and a couple of others.

[Bluetus]

51. I was thinking the same thing. I hope he does.

I hope that egos don't get in the way here. For example, a person with 2028 ambitions might decide to not participate in FIghting Oligarchy because he sees AOC as a rival. I hope none of that comes into play. The moment is too important, but a certain amount of ego is inherent in politics.

I am not sure what is happening with FIghting Oligarchy. They had a flurry of highly successful events, and I rather expected that to continue. Their website says they are planning more but need contributions. Well, there have been a lot of contributions, so I don't believe money is the limiting factor.

I suspect this is a strategic pause. I am sure that Bernie and AOC were surprised at the huge response, especially in MAGA country. My guess is that they are concerned about burning white hot for a month and then disappearing. I hope they are recruiting some more fighters to join the tour, and plan to resume these events in a month or so when store shelves are empty and recession is at hand.

This has to be planned like a revolution. It is not the events themselves, but the moment that makes it powerful. We can already see that shipping activity has dropped at least 1/3, and will probably get worse as small businesses find out there is no grand China deal and these businesses simply can't operate at Trump tariff prices. And large businesses stocked ahead, but that will run out in a month or two. Meanwhile, everybody will be jacking up the prices on whatever goods are already imported before the tariffs.

Timing is important. I hope the Fighting Oligarchy people are planning along these lines. I wish there could be a little more transparency. If I knew what they intend to do, I could certainly donate more.

[Bluetus]

52. Update. There is a new date. May 2 in Harrisburg

[stillcool]

3. Music to his audience's ears

Dissing the Dems in New Hampshire is such a winning strategy for who?

[Nanjeanne]

4. Considering he was speaking to Top NH DEMOCRATS and his biggest applause came from

The crowd of Democratic donors and elected officials cheered when Pritzker criticized “incrementalism,” and applauded at the references to “pundits” who had given bad advice. It rose for a standing ovation when he talked about the deportation of Kilmar Ábrego García: “It’s wrong to snatch a person off the street and ship them to a foreign gulag with no chance to defend themselves in a court of law.”

I’d say he’s talking to fellow Democrats and they think it’s a winning strategy.

You might consider reading full articles and watching entire speech.

[Alice B.]

7. I know calling out incrementalism is music to my ears.

I’m a fan.

[stillcool]

8. New Hampshire is New Hampshire

just ask Jeanne Shaheen. You take from it what you will. To me what he is saying is very simply the same old schtick of blaming the Democratic Party as a whole, for every wrong occurring in this country for over 50 years.

“They spent years watching Republicans illegitimately pack the Supreme Court, take away voting rights from people of color, systematically chip away at the constitutional order,” he said. “Those same do-nothing Democrats want to blame our losses on our defense of Black people and trans kids and immigrants, instead of their own lack of guts and gumption.”

The Republican Party has no guts or gumption, but they do have the wealth and power behind them, that owns this country.

[Nanjeanne]

9. Ok. So you listened to the whole

speech and interviews and then came to this conclusion. I appreciate that.

[gab13by13]

10. The Republicans have unified messages,

they hammer those messages over and over again to control the narrative.

Schumer's message when he appeared on Chris Hayes was to let Krasnov burn it all down and then beat them in the next election.

No one told Bernie and AOC to go across the country, even in bright red areas, pushing a narrative of what Krasnov is doing to them.

The majority of the protests that I see happening every day have been organized by Indivisible.

I cannot understand how DOGE is legal or Constitutional?

[Bluetus]

15. It is NOT legal, but the Beltway Dems just don't seem to care

"I cannot understand how DOGE is legal or Constitutional?"

There is absolutely nothing legal about any of these firings and budget cuts. Appropriations are 100% the province of Congress, and it is ILLEGAL for the Executive Branch to impound funds. If Congress appropriates it, the Exec branch has to spend it.

This has been the law since the 1970s, but Beltway Dems never even mention that. They have decided they either don't care about the slash and burn, or else they are happy to wait 3 years for these cuts to be restored through litigation.

This is EXACTLY the attitude the good Governor is talking about. We should be screaming bloody murder about these things. We criticize the MSM for not covering it, but why should they? If Dems don't think it is worth even an occasional comment, then why should any media person put a target on their own chest?

When Bernie and AOC drew crowds of 20,000-plus, the media covered that. That's how it works.

[stillcool]

25. nothing is legal or constitutional

which is why a broken government can't fix it. There needs to be something(?) other than the status quo. Not Legilsative. What is that? Electing different bodies to fill the same seats in a broken house with no tools to fix the frigging house(?) Thats where you get what we got. I have no answers, but I'm such a sucker for defending people who are just being human. AOC is an extremely talented speaker. That is not a common trait, and she should be used in a way where she can use her gift for the greatest good. Chuck Schumer is not. I don't know what he brings to the table, or why his fellow Senators choose him to be the Senate Leader. Bernie Sanders? Whatever. I've been listening to him for a long time. And that is the problem. Good talks, but no mention of how to get out of money in politics, voting rights, health care, just blame. Doing the same thing over and over. Insanity. Here I am.

[Prairie_Seagull]

5. The time we are in calls for the suspension of

or at least ignoring, bipartisanship. What this administration is up to are fighting words. I mean that figuratively?
Some democrats will benefit from my/our choices for where our money goes soon. We have some soloish singers. Now we need the chorus.

[murielm99]

6. I am so proud of my guv.

[PortTack]

19. SAME!!

[Chi67]

44. Me too!

And the GQP is gonna Find Out.

[Kid Berwyn]

11. Absolutely.

It’s about time we acted like the Constitution is on fire, because it is.

People from Chicago can recognize a fire when they see one.

[Bluetus]

12. Funny how this works.

When regular posters say exactly what the Governor said, the flagger brigade is all over them. But I guess a Governor of one of the largest states deserves some immunity from the flagger brigade.

The Governor is 100% correct. We are at war, whether we recognize it or not. Timidity, whether among elected officials, or among us rank and file, is no answer.

[progressoid]

30. +1

It wasn't that long ago that his words would get a spanking.

[Bluetus]

32. The first step toward recovery is admitting one has a problem.

And for many people, that first step is extremely difficult.

[J-9]

50. Pair him with David Hogg

and we may have a plan to actually win the house.

[dalton99a]

13. Kick

[dsc]

16. I am not sure I have ever been so wrong about a politician

and so happy I am. I frankly thought Pritzker was a wealthy dilettante who would be an ineffective governor at best and corrupt as all get out at worst. Oh was I wrong. He is my current first choice in the presidential primaries for 2028.

[Arazi]

17. The Great Khan of the Prairie getting into battle armor for 2028

Love it

[durablend]

18. No no no

"We need to speak to these people nicely. Ask what they're REALLY FEELING. If necessary give them everything they want. Then maybe they'll sing kumbaya with us"

[et tu]

36. oh!

send stern letters- that's the ticket

[UTUSN]

20. K&R!!!!!!!!!!!

[sop]

21. He talks like my kind of Democrat.

[SpankMe]

22. For any DU'ers who are part of the do-nothing crowd...

...please articulate the strategy behind doing nothing. This isn't a snarky question. I mean it. Many in Dem leadership see this as the correct option at this time. But, I don't know the strategy behind it.

I get the do-nothing behavior up to a point. With the GOP in the majority in the House and Senate, and also in control of he WH and SCOTUS, the Dems are essentially powerless to force any "official" undoing of any of the destruction that's happening. We have no bargaining power whatsoever. The 60-vote threshold in the Senate to invoke cloture is about the only tool available to us now, and even that can be turned off by Repubs with a simple majority vote.

Consequently, some Dems feel the right thing to do is let the Trump agenda play out - since we kind of have little choice anyway - in the hopes that it will so hurt the country and alienate so many voters that Repubs will lose big in the next few years of elections. Do-nothing Dems seem to feel that protesting loudly and engaging in any obstruction or loud activism is just tilting at windmills and that it could have the effect of making us look like a bunch of whiners, losers and weaklings in the eyes of the electorate.

If this is so, then what is the endgame? Or even the "mid"-game, to coin a term?

[Nanjeanne]

23. Thought this was an interesting quote re oligarchy from Pritzker

Pritzker, who has spent more than $350 million on his campaigns for governor and an unsuccessful campaign to pass a progressive state income tax, said he agreed with the anti-“oligarchy” campaigning of Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders and New York Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.

Oligarchy is a group of the most powerful people in society who are trying to impose their will on everyone else, and make them pay for what the oligarchs are unwilling to pay for,” said Pritzker. “There’s a big difference between the people that Bernie Sanders is talking about and what I believe in.” He was opposing Trump’s agenda of “the largest tax increase, with the tariffs on working-class people, and the largest tax cut for wealthy people. That is exactly the opposite of what people thought they were voting for in November.”

From the Semafor article https://www.semafor.com/article/04/27/2025/gov-jb-pritzker-makes-the-case-for-a-fighting-democratic-party-in-new-hampshire]

[LiberalLovinLug]

24. Finally a leader saying what needs to be said about Dems that we aren't allowed to on here!

[LuvLoogie]

26. Fuckin' A!

He rocks.

[mike_c]

27. and yet David Hogg is criticized...

...for wanting to replace those ineffective democrats that Pritzker denounces. I agree with Hogg (and Pritzker). Democratic members of Congress are our national leadership. They must either lead the fight against fascism or get out of the way. I think Musk had a pretty good idea: tell us five things you did to defeat the fascist oligarchy this week!

[murielm99]

33. Hogg needs to listen and learn.

He deserves the criticism. Pritzker is trying to light a fire under Democrats, not undermine them. Many of those safe districts that Hogg gripes about have minority and women Democrats in office. We need them there. And if Hogg goes after Democrats rather than republicans, we could lose some of those safe seats. He need to remain neutral. Why do we have to tear down our own side?

[et tu]

38. he is recruiting

young involved people such as m. frost
i agree with d.hogg

[et tu]

37. sent 5 stern letters nt

[Autumn]

43. Hogg is younger and trying to change things. That does not go over well with some.

[Ponietz]

28. He's not talking about writing more letters

The Democratic Party itself needs to be more democratic. We can do that with more primaries or by enacting term-limit legislation.

I actually support Joe Manchin’s ideas on term limits. President gets one 6-year term. They can’t do their job running for reelection. Congress members can serve 12years. Supreme Court justices must retire after 18.

[Bluetus]

29. Let me just throw out a crazy idea.

Our biggest problem at the moment is not the traditional policy issues that we often debate left versus right. Our problem today, far above every other issue, is the frontal assault on our constitutional and democratic form of government. This is being driven by the oligarchs and their fascist cohort, and supported largely by the GOP. However there are plenty of Democrats who have not been overly enthusiastic about opposing that. And that's where we are today.

When I listen to and look at Governor Pritzker, I think of Governor Christie, who is perhaps his alter ego in the gop. They have both been willing to speak the bare truth even when it goes against factions of their own party. So what I am thinking is, for the next presidential cycle, we probably need to set our normal special interests aside and really focus on what it would take to elect somebody that would restore our democracy. I am thinking about a ticket of Pritzker and Christieto run. That clearly would be a radical departure from any kind of precedent in modern political history. But I think we need a radical departure at this moment.

I know many will not like that idea. Particularly many of the Insiders from both parties, mainly the ones who have been on corporate payrolls deeply. I encourage everyone else to think a little bit about this and how it might change the whole National dialogue.

[questionseverything]

34. Not a freaking chance

[Bluetus]

40. There wasn't a freaking chance Trump could get elected in 2016

[questionseverything]

47. Jb would make a fantastic presidential candidate but he would never have a repub for vp

Christie is a monster

So again, no!

[Bluetus]

49. I said it was a crazy idea :)

But seriously, come back and think about this in 90 days when we are in a deep recession with Supply chains all screwed up and no leadership from either party to take us forward. What seems insane today may actually look sensible by then.

[ancianita]

54. As Obama would say ... "Come ON." There's such a deep bench of Democratic governors to run with him,

including the working class governor Tim Walz -- yes, again, or Bashear, Newsom, Mills, Whitmer, Stein, Hochul -- that this good oligarch would never have to even think about some rethug on his ticket.

Even a Pritzker/Sanders ticket works for me. Or a Pritzker/Warren ticket (she'd be a fearless president of the Senate). Or Pritzker with most any senator from a high electoral count state.

Haven't you learned after all these decades? NO Republican on their best day is ever as good as any Democrat on their worst day.

Rethugs perform sensible. They are never, everever sensible. Stop thinking crazy, okay?

[Bluetus]

55. I am not claiming that Christie is better than the best Dems.

What I am suggesting is that our country is so polarized, it might take something really unprecedented to shake the foundations of fascist. A Pritzker/Christie ticket would force the media to move away from the "Left-right horse race" mentality. Of course, for this to work, there would have to be a strong bargain about policies and power sharing. I'd think this would be a single-term commitment, with an agreement to set policy differences aside for 4 years, and dedicate the team effort to restoring the rule of law, returning the SC to a Constitutional basis, restoring and buttressing the independence of inspectors general, putting new firewalls in place to prevent the abuses that Trump got away with, and the elimination of dark money from political campaigns.

As a practical matter, I doubt that Christie could sign on to these things. And if not, then there would be no chance of it working. But if he COULD buy into these principles, this could be a powerful moment, as it would send the clear message that our democracy is more important than most policy differences, especially those that are manufactured to be wedges between people.

In my dream scenario, this ticket would win well over 60% of the popular vote, and practically all of the electors, being a real mandate from the people.

I agree with you that it seems very unlikely because there are so many interests that simply don't want a functioning democracy, government of, by, and for the people.

[Nanjeanne]

45. Thanks for the laugh.

[poli-junkie]

35. Links don't have complete speech.

Would someone provide link to Pritzker’s complete speech? TIA.

[Celerity]

39. Gov. Pritzker blasts Republicans and 'do-nothing Democrats' in fiery speech (FULL)

[Bluetus]

41. Perfection. THIS is what Democrats should be.

[Nanjeanne]

42. Try the 2nd link in first post

[Iggo]

48. He ain't wrong.