Okay, it’s time to wake up!

Joe Biden is not going to be rescued by the courts. Or by a few good speeches. Or by a new pep in his step. Or by downballot races with an updraft. Or by the public’s disgust with a do-nothing, GOP-led Congress.

I know, I know. Earlier this month, Democrats got a fleeting sugar high from Biden’s State of the Union address. Because he demonstrated coherence, clarity, and vigor. Because he sparred impressively with his political opponents. Because he spoke persuasively about his administration’s accomplishments—and America’s future. His strong showing gave Dems evidence to push back against the “He’s so feeble, he can’t walk and chew gum” narrative. But the following week, his poll numbers were no better. In fact, some were worse.

Indeed, there are now mountains of data that show Biden is running clearly and consistently behind Donald Trump. People can cite the 2022 midterms all they want as evidence that polling can be dead wrong. But between now and November, there will be no Dobbs decision to help rally the electorate and skew voting in a way that assures Biden the big lift he needs.

It’s time to get real. Blue-minded Americans—and anti-Trumpers—have long held on to their legal fever dreams. They believed Trump would be denied the presidency yet again—because of a court case or two. Because of a clear-eyed jury. Because of a clear-cut conviction that would keep him out of office.

But Trump’s legal-and-political strategy of delay, delay, delay has proven to be ruthlessly effective. It seems clear, with every passing week, that there will be no judicial conclusion to his array of cases until after the election. Ironically, it’s been the prosecutors, in some instances, who have contributed to this predicament. Fulton County DA Fani Willis may have a formidable case in Georgia, but thanks to the hard-nosed GOP purity police—and her astonishingly irresponsible and unethical behavior—she has effectively ensured that no trial will be scheduled for the foreseeable future.

There’s still an outside possibility that Manhattan DA Alvin Bragg’s hush money case may proceed. But politically, it’s the weakest of all the pending Trump trials, and it’s not hard to imagine the ex-president’s team actually wanting that one resolved so they can say, wholly without merit: “See the lengths to which Democrats and their judicial witch-hunters have gone to try to deny Trump his right to a free and fair election?”

And what on earth took Merrick Garland so long to be roused from hibernation?

The problem is that the average voter who is not paying close attention—by which I mean most voters—may buy the argument, at a certain point, that all these Trump trials are not indicative of the truth: that Trump, of course, is crooked; a serial legal abuser; and a venal crime boss turned autocrat who feels he’s above the law. Rather, they may come to believe that he’s being pilloried by partisans throwing everything they can at him, hoping that something, anything, will stick.

Moreover, there’s evidence to suggest that the legal and political efforts to stop Trump have only made him stronger with his base and helped cast him as a martyr; they may possibly lead to more civil unrest and violence.

For a year now, political strategists (including yours truly) and members of the pundit class (including yours truly) have proposed Hail Mary options to upend the 2024 election. In previous columns in this space, for example, I floated a couple plan B options. First, I posited that an eleventh hour independent candidate might emerge. Second, I suggested that the much-talked-about political organization No Labels might come up with a viable ticket—or, in a maneuver meant to directly thwart Trump, might parse the electoral map and run separate favorite son or daughter candidates in a handful of swing states. Neither option, at this point, seems likely—though I’d love to be surprised. And while my typical rule of thumb for 21st-century politics is to always expect the unexpected, the message of this column is the opposite: Don’t count on surprises.

Now a chorus of Washington’s Cassandras has begun to chime in—and with good reason. Vermont senator Bernie Sanders spoke ominously in a recent video: “If Donald Trump is elected this November, the fight against climate change is over, period. It’s the end. And the people of this planet will have lost…. The already obscene levels that we are now experiencing, of income and wealth inequality, will only get worse…. We can expect him and the Republican Party to escalate the attacks on women’s reproductive health in this country…. If Donald Trump is elected again, it is likely…that the almost 250-year experiment of American democracy is all but over.”

Eric Holder, President Barack Obama’s former attorney general, stated it plainly and clearly: “There is no cavalry coming. No miracle solution. No saviors. In the end, we, the American people - not any of our institutions - have to save our democracy by voting in defense of that democracy this fall. We are the cavalry. The responsibility is ours.”

All of which suggests: It’s time to enlist every voter in the fight.

By that, I mean: Voters themselves have to step up—in record numbers. Because the only way to beat Trump and diminish his political power is not in the jury box but at the ballot box. And I’d like to propose a three-point plan of action.

First, each voter has to become a kind of lightning rod in his or her circle of friends, family, and community—reinforcing the significance of voting itself.

Volunteer in your precinct. Become a poll worker—and encourage your friends to sign on as well. Seek out ways to assist those who might otherwise have challenges getting to their polling stations. Travel to swing states to help with “get out the vote” campaigns. Canvass for candidates you believe in. Transform mere citizenry into democratic action.

Second, spread the gospel of democracy on social media. American democracy, as Sanders pointed out, is an experiment. And each voter who has an active online presence needs to understand and convey to others the reality that if Trump is elected, democracy won’t be the only experiment at risk. Also at risk will be: reproductive freedom. Women’s rights across the board. Free and fair elections. The separation of powers. The peaceful transfer of power. Civil liberties. The Civil Rights Act. LGBTQ+ rights. Workers’ rights. Protections against hate speech. Protections against discrimination based on race, ethnicity, and national origin. Respect for the rule of law. Respect for America abroad. Respect for public education. Freedom of the press. Vaccines. An independent Justice Department, US military, Interior Department, Energy Department, CDC, EPA, and FCC. Safeguards ensuring freedom of religion, religious tolerance, and the separation of church and state…

This is merely a partial list of the rights, entitlements, departments, programs, and privileges that may be taken away. But together they comprise, in effect, the fundamental principles of the American way of life.

Third, and finally, choose one of these at-risk aspects of democracy—one facet that is near and dear to you—and take it with you into the polling booth. It could be reproductive freedom. It could be respect for education. It could be the effort to close the gap on income inequality. But take that one flag and hoist it high. Cherish it. Vote for it.

In sum: You don’t have to be happy with the two choices on the ballot this November. But you will be eternally unhappy with the outcome if you fail to act responsibly—if you fail to cast your vote for the guy who may be old but is not a madman.

If you don’t take the talk about Trump’s dismantling of democracy with utter seriousness, then just fuck around and find out.