The heroes among us
March 22, 2025
I will hold my tenth regular “Saturday Morning Live” livestream on the Substack App on Saturday, March 22, at 9 am Pacific / Noon Eastern. I will post the video immediately after the livestream for those of you who can’t join me live.
I can preview my opening statement on Saturday morning’s livestream—a statement that has been the same for each of the past nine sessions: “Just when we thought it couldn’t get any worse, it has.”
The unrelenting pace of lawless actions that qualify as “never before in the history of our nation” is difficult to tolerate. Worse, travesties capable of stunning us into disbelief standing alone are exacerbated by the effortless capitulation by bulwarks of democracy: the Senate, the legal profession, corporations, universities, billionaires, and major media outlets.
On Friday, Columbia University joined the ranks of those who will appoint an internal committee in the future to answer the questions, “How is it that we abandoned our values so quickly? How did we fail to appoint leaders of courage and principle? What must we do to rebuild our credibility and integrity? How can we ensure it never happens again?”
See Raw Story, ‘What a travesty’: Outrage as Columbia University 'surrenders' to Trump's $400M threat.
I understand the defensive rationales and gymnastic apologetics that seek to explain (but do not justify) Columbia’s surrender. Ultimately, Columbia’s failure is not singular; it “obeyed in advance” because the rest of America’s universities did not rally to its defense, choosing instead to cower in silence, worried that the slightest hint of a backbone would draw the ire of the Trump revenge machine.
Every university that remained silent earned a new Trumpian nickname: “Next!”
And for all my rage in yesterday’s newsletter over the capitulation of the law firm of Paul Weiss, I learned one fact today that made me feel an iota of sympathy for Paul Weiss: When Trump stripped Paul Weiss of security clearances necessary to serve its clients in the defense contractor industry, Paul Weiss’s competitor law firms tried to solicit its clients on the ground that “Paul Weiss can’t meet your needs if it doesn’t have security clearances.”
Per the WSJ, “Competitors immediately began circling after the March 14 order, calling coveted Paul Weiss clients to note that the firm had been marked as an enemy of the president . . . .”
The surrender by Paul Weiss was disgraceful, exceeded only by its competitors' shameful acts and lack of foresight and integrity. It takes no great genius to understand that if Trump can do it to Paul Weiss, he can do it to the firms that attempted to cherry-pick Paul Weiss’s clients instead of coming to its defense. A truly disgusting display by the legal profession.
It is easy to feel dispirited and bewildered by the cascading collapse of institutions at the core of our democracy. But there are heroes among us that provide hope.
Perkins Coie and Covington & Burling have resisted Trump, fighting back with the help of other courageous firms like Williams & Connolly. Per The ABA Journal, the following major firms are representing plaintiffs in cases opposing Trump's attempt to dismantle the government:
Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr, representing fired inspectors general. (Law.com)
Hogan Lovells, seeking to block executive orders to end federal funding for gender-affirming medical care. (Law.com)
Jenner & Block, also seeking to block the orders on cuts to medical research funding. (Law.com, Reuters)
Ropes & Gray, also seeking to block cuts to medical research funding. (Law.com)
Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher, representing the Amica Center for Immigrants Rights and others seeking to block funding cuts for immigrant legal services. (Law.com)
Arnold & Porter Kaye Scholer.
No list of heroes would be complete without acknowledging the front-line work of Democracy Docket, Democracy Forward, Public Citizen, Lambda Legal, and CREW.
And, of course, there is Marc Elias, who stands as a singular testament to courage.
In the political arena, Senator Bernie Sanders and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez are demonstrating to other members of Congress what it means to be a leader during perilous times.
There are countless others, and my brief list is intended as a starting point. Identify others in the Comment section and tell us why they provide hope and inspiration during this difficult time.
We can focus too much on those who capitulate; my newsletters over the last two days can be faulted for accentuating the negative at the expense of the positive.
Instead, let’s lift up those who refuse to back down in the face of pressure. Take heart from their courage. Follow their example and become “a hero among us.”
Personal courage in defense of democracy is the only path forward.
Whenever an individual or institution stands up to Trump, others will be inspired to do the same.
We only need enough of us to be strong enough for all of us.
We can do that. We are doing it.
Stay strong! Talk to you tomorrow!
Daily Dose of Perspective
The light captured earlier this week in the photo below originated from NGC 2403 more than 8 million years ago—or about 2 million years before ancestral hominids first began walking upright in the grasslands and forests of Africa.
My Senator, Jeff Merkley has been outstanding in his questioning during Senate hearings. Rep. Bill Keating for defending Rep. Sarah McBride for the hateful treatment she received in a committee hearing, and Rep. McBride for always being a class act no matter how poorly she is treated. Of course, AOC, Jamie Raskin and Elizabeth Warren. New to me, Rep. Melanie Stansbury of New Mexico for her "This is not normal" sign and "Where are the Republicans?" speech. No list would be complete without Rep. Jasmine Crockett who gives us sass and fire.
Tim Walz also needs a shout out to holding town halls through the Midwest. Another one last name of Dim from California speaking up and delivering truth like Walz.