One man’s bold plan to defeat Trumpism—once and for all

He describes cycles where concentrated wealth tries to “lock in” control, followed by waves of public pushback that rewrite rules to expand democracy. He argues today’s accumulation is faster and potentially supercharged by AI, increasing the urgency of “unrigging” government.

He recounts how the Wisconsin Supreme Court election became a test of whether elections can be “auctioned off,” with Musk funding ads, door-knocking, and offering million-dollar incentives. Wikler says Susan Crawford’s decision to confront Musk directly—rather than avoid provoking him—helped crystallize a simple anti-corruption message.

Wikler argues winning one marquee race isn’t enough because state legislators, judges, mayors, and other offices “make the rules” that shape everything from voting access to gerrymandering. In Wisconsin, he says the “skeleton key” to unrigging maps was flipping the state Supreme Court majority, after other avenues failed.

He defines a “permanent campaign” as year-round, neighborhood-level organizing and trust-building—not nonstop TV ads. He says organizing is relatively cheap compared with paid media, but only works when funded early and continuously rather than in the final weeks.

Wikler says the most persuasive voter contact comes from someone the voter trusts, and he claims Musk tried to “manufacture” relational organizing with paid petition/referral schemes. He argues Democrats should do more genuine relational organizing and listening (“bridge-building”) year-round to build trust.