Stephen Edward Schmidt (click that link for a photo) was born on September 28, 1970, and had a successful career as a Republican campaign consultant, working for President George W. Bush, California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, and Arizona Senator John McCain during McCain's 2008 presidential campaign.
More recently, Schmidt co-founded the Lincoln Project in 2019, in opposition to Donald Trump and his leadership of the Republican Party. Schmidt left the project in 2021 and has co-founded the Save America Movement, a Political Action Committee organized to oppose the actions of the Republican Party under our current president. Schmidt authors a podcast on Substack entitled, "The Warning."
As you can see from the image at the top of this blog posting, which came from a recent edition of "The Warning," Schmidt also sells various kinds of political apparel. Lots of online "influencers" do sell things, and Schmidt, it turns out, is no exception.
The blog posting in which I found the advertisement reproduced above was published on October 10, 2026, and was headlined this way: "The Sidelines Are Closed: Democracy Is A Participation Sport. Introducing The Warning's New SHOW UP Collection."
I am all for "participation" in politics, and I absolutely agree that politics is a "participation sport," using that sports metaphor, though "sport" might undersell the priority I put on "politics."
Let me suggest, however, that while I think it's great for people to "wear their heart on their sleeve," or on their "chest," as they engage in political activity, donning a pro-democracy tee-shirt is not the kind of participation that is going to change our political world.
Politics is not only a "participatory" sport, it's a "team" sport, too. Let me just reiterate for you the "Seven Step" program that I believe should guide our serious efforts to make politics "count," and that can change the world:
- Find Some Friends
- Create A Group (Or Join An Existing One)
- Make Certain That Group Regularly Meets In Person
- Have The Group Decide What It Wants To Make Happen
- Figure Out A Strategy To Accomplish The Changes Desired
- Implement The Strategy Developed
- Modify As Needed; Rinse And Repeat
Wear whatever you like!
Image Credit:
https://steveschmidt.substack.com/p/the-sidelines-are-closed
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