I cannot immediately bring to mind anything significant that modern Republicans are either for or against that is not demonstrably, empirically, fake, from the promises of Reaganomics to the claims of massive voter fraud (unless you count GOP gerrymandering) that no one can prove. "More wealth for the wealthiest and 'austerity' for every…
I cannot immediately bring to mind anything significant that modern Republicans are either for or against that is not demonstrably, empirically, fake, from the promises of Reaganomics to the claims of massive voter fraud (unless you count GOP gerrymandering) that no one can prove. "More wealth for the wealthiest and 'austerity' for everyone else" is not such a popular sales pitch, so they must wrap it in a web of lies. And what a tangled web it has become.
Very well said. Contrary to "woke" the republicans remain asleep and Biden's message is a wake-up call. The RNC's fake cartoon response video perfectly expresses their desperation. But guess what--gen Z, our youth--is my prayer answered. They are truly woke, understanding the danger the other side is posing to their future, and are mobilizing. They are our hope.
Hooray for the three Tennesseans and the publicity they’ve received, including their White House visit. And an extra shout out to the former teacher who joined with the Justins.
That’s because they tend to be more progressive the the “standard” Democrat. They do not believe the policies of the Democratic Party go far enough in dealing with social issues. Quoting my young nephew here. The fact that Sanders put his support behind Biden is big. But so much focus goes to independents. They need to listen more to GenZ and the progressives. It’s their future that’s at stake.
If the youth want to snatch “defeat from the jaws of victory”, it will not be the first time this happened for Dems. I respect their passion, but question their wisdom on this. We need long-game vision here. And we need to stand united.
'Passion' on the part of the youth and many of us knowledgeable 'young at heart' folks who believe that Biden made a big mistake in approving a great deal more use of fossil fuels with the Willow Project, MLRGRMI? What about the facts?
I don’t think my position disputes the fact that his decision on the Willow Project ranks right up there with allowing the Senate to bash Anita Hill and confirm Clarence Thomas. But my long-game vision is to not descend into intra-party fighting right now, when we need to model rigorous, healthy debate, and move forward to winning the Presidency, Senate AND House. That is critical to reining in the fossil fuel impacts going forward. With the House out of our control, deals will be made that really appall us. But the future with a gop President, and gop House, and gop Senate because youth and “young at heart” are angry about the Willow Project, seems to me cutting our noses off to spite our face.
Pressing Climate Change, Biden and so forth doesn't spell weakening the Democratic Party. Why does a serious disagreement lead to tragedy? It is impossible to imagine a stronger Climate Change position? Doesn't falling back describe how we have been addressing Climate Catastrophe since the mid 1980s? How we doing, MLRGRMI? Getting better or worse? What has it cost us? Is this 'your' long-game vision?
'Many Young Voters Bitter Over Biden’s Support of Willow Oil Drilling' (excerpts from NYTimes)
'The Willow project, authorized by the Biden administration last month, allowed ConocoPhillips to expand its drilling operations in the area.'
'In the past three weeks, President Biden’s administration has proposed regulations to speed the transition to electric vehicles, committed $1 billion to help poor countries fight climate change and prepared what could be the first limits on greenhouse gas emissions from power plants.'
'And yet, many young voters alarmed by climate change remain angry with Mr. Biden’s decision last month to approve Willow, an $8 billion oil drilling project on pristine federal land in Alaska. As the president prepares to announce his bid for re-election, it’s not at all clear that those voters who helped him win in 2020 because of his commitment to climate action will turn out again.'
'Alex Haraus, 25, said he and other young people felt betrayed by the Willow decision, after Mr. Biden had pledged as a candidate that he would end new oil drilling on public lands “period, period, period.”
'Mr. Haraus, whose videos on TikTok opposing the Willow project amassed hundreds of thousands of views, described his reaction as “mad and frustrated and disappointed.”
'About a dozen young climate activists interviewed said they were not assuaged by the other actions by the Biden administration, even if they significantly draw down greenhouse gas emissions that are dangerously heating the planet, Mr. Haraus said. What they want, he said, is for the president to rein in oil and gas companies, which enjoyed record profits last year.'
“I don’t think any of those things encourage people to forgive the Biden administration for projects like Willow,” said Mr. Haraus, who lives outside Chicago. “Young voters see our future getting thrown out the window. We need Biden to take on the industry, otherwise there’s not much for us to hope for.”
'Young voters overwhelmingly — about 62 percent — support phasing out fossil fuels entirely, said Alec Tyson, an associate director of research at Pew Research Center. There is broad support among registered voters of both parties for a transition to a future in which the United States is no longer pumping carbon emissions into the atmosphere, Mr. Tyson said. But most are not willing to break with fossil fuels altogether, he said.'
'From his earliest days in office, Mr. Biden has highlighted climate action as a top priority. Soon after moving into the White House, he re-entered the United States in the Paris Agreement and set an ambitious goal of cutting the country’s emissions roughly 50 percent below 2005 levels by the end of this decade.'
'He signed into law the Inflation Reduction Act, which provides $370 billion in incentives to expand wind, solar and other clean energy and electric vehicles. He has proposed rules to ensure that two-thirds of new cars and a quarter of new heavy trucks sold in the United States by 2032 are all-electric. Within weeks, he is expected to require that coal and gas plants, responsible for 25 percent of the country’s greenhouse gases, significantly cut their emissions.'
'Yet lawmakers and activists said they worried that regulatory moves would not capture the imagination of voters and that the Willow project would cast a long shadow.'
“The Biden administration is trying to reassure swing-state Democrats like Senator Manchin that despite the new power plant rule due later this week, natural gas will still play an important role in the clean energy transition,” said Paul Bledsoe, a former Clinton administration climate official who is now with the Progressive Policy Institute. “The timing is anything but accidental.”
'But Mr. Bowman said that Mr. Biden was sending a mixed message to young voters and that they were rejecting it.'
“Young people are plugged in and more informed than they have ever been about climate change,” he said. “Now they’re feeling stabbed in the back.” If Mr. Biden doesn’t reverse course, “young people stay home in 2024, that’s the consequences,” Mr. Bowman said.' (NYTimes) Sorry that gifting is not an option. This article appeared on 4/24/23.
I'm not happy about Biden's support for the Willow project, either (though I'm far from a "young voter"!). But I think of that old expression about the perfect being the enemy of the good. Young people need to understand that declining to exercise their right to vote could easily result in a win for the other side, for the party that has fought tooth and nail against efforts to address (or even acknowledge) climate change. That would be far worse.
I totally agree with you. This is the first new drilling project I've heard this administration approve of (I wonder how much acreage is affected). Compare this with the previous crew that wanted to dismantle the EPA entirely. I too feel a sense of betrayal, but look at the choice. Gen Zers are not stupid. They can disapprove all they want but they're not going to sit on the couch and not vote so some republican can make things 100 times worse. What heartens me about this young generation is that it's gone beyond talk and protesting. The two Justins embody the perfect anti-old-white-men antidote. I place all of my hope in their actions and the inspiration that they spread....
Ellen, I think that we have to listen to one another. It isn't just young ones as you have indicated that know how crucial it is to drastically reduce the use of fossil fuels ASAP -- beginning how long ago?!
Ellen's point, however, is pertinent for all ages, not just Gen Zers, namely, not voting could mean a win for tog (the other guy).
Biden is gradually transitioning away from fossils but needs to assure that we in the US aren't dependant on foreign oil imports to supply our present demand. I'm not happy about Willow either, but the demand/need for oil is real right now. We've got to move away from fossils gradually.
And so their anger at one (significant) Biden climate decision means they would stay home and let TRUMP continue to claim that wind power is dangerous? That climate change is “fake news?” Would they really punish Biden at the expense of all the climate actions he has taken - and which TRUMP would immediately repudiate and undo? What are they thinking?
Marge, I think that you are getting too far ahead about what 'they' will do. It is much too early to know what the youth vote will do and to punish them for what they haven't done but express their justified disapproval of Biden's approval of the Willow Project.
I think the polling process is largely flawed. Cell phones and the web have changed things, much like climate change is affecting weather.
It's a crap shoot now, but I think Biden is probably doing much better than he seems to be.
Besides, I don't think he particularly gives a rat's patootie. This is his last hurrah. I think he's doing it because he feels it's his duty to do it, and he really IS going to do it for the good of us all.
‘And unlike Republicans eager for their party’s nomination, he (Biden) appears to revel in highlighting the people around him rather than hogging the spotlight, while he touts the work the government has done for ordinary Americans.’ (Letter)
In exemplifying American Democracy, President Biden is working toward restoring the American consensus. The contrast with Trump could not be greater. That fella may have trumpeted Big Lies in his crib, but we need not go that far back:
1. “Why doesn’t he show his birth certificate? There’s something on that birth certificate that he doesn’t like.” __Donald J. Trump
- March 23, 2011, on “The View”
2. “He’s spent millions of dollars trying to get away from this issue. Millions of dollars in legal fees trying to get away from this issue. And I’ll tell you what, I brought it up, just routinely, and all of a sudden a lot facts are emerging and I’m starting to wonder myself whether or not he was born in this country.” __Donald J. Trump
- March 28, 2011, on Fox News
Trump has marched on with MAGA dragging the Republican Party into the mud shouting “STOP THE STEAL,” “STOP THE STEAL”. Conservative media blows their horns. Tucker will not disappear and there will be more Tuckers before we mop the place up.
Can our common goals for the health of nation, equality, the rule of law and standards of decency be restored? That is the soul of the nation that Biden and most Americans are working toward.
Democracy is not a spectator sport, it's a participatory event. If we don't participate in it, it ceases to be a democracy.
Biden, like George H.W. Bush before him, is the face of the Establishment. The man is just plain evil. As I've said before, if Trump is Godzilla, then Biden is Dracula.
Davison Budhoo, in his resignation letter from the International Monetary Fund, refers to countries that have been broken and then converted into bastions of IMF orthodoxy.
Did something of the same happen to Bernie? And/or, did Biden's embrace of much of Bernie's platform after stealing the nomination lead Bernie to calculate that half-a-loaf was better than publicizing his heart condition during the general election campaign?
I cannot immediately bring to mind anything significant that modern Republicans are either for or against that is not demonstrably, empirically, fake, from the promises of Reaganomics to the claims of massive voter fraud (unless you count GOP gerrymandering) that no one can prove. "More wealth for the wealthiest and 'austerity' for everyone else" is not such a popular sales pitch, so they must wrap it in a web of lies. And what a tangled web it has become.
"... a web of lies" floating on a "sea of mendacity"; may it sink to the bottom soon.
I'll drink to that. 🥂
It will. They are cutting a hole in the bottom to let the water out.
Very well said. Contrary to "woke" the republicans remain asleep and Biden's message is a wake-up call. The RNC's fake cartoon response video perfectly expresses their desperation. But guess what--gen Z, our youth--is my prayer answered. They are truly woke, understanding the danger the other side is posing to their future, and are mobilizing. They are our hope.
Hooray for the three Tennesseans and the publicity they’ve received, including their White House visit. And an extra shout out to the former teacher who joined with the Justins.
In the mean time the young in polling approve of Biden at a whopping 31%. Go figure.
That’s because they tend to be more progressive the the “standard” Democrat. They do not believe the policies of the Democratic Party go far enough in dealing with social issues. Quoting my young nephew here. The fact that Sanders put his support behind Biden is big. But so much focus goes to independents. They need to listen more to GenZ and the progressives. It’s their future that’s at stake.
If the youth want to snatch “defeat from the jaws of victory”, it will not be the first time this happened for Dems. I respect their passion, but question their wisdom on this. We need long-game vision here. And we need to stand united.
'Passion' on the part of the youth and many of us knowledgeable 'young at heart' folks who believe that Biden made a big mistake in approving a great deal more use of fossil fuels with the Willow Project, MLRGRMI? What about the facts?
I don’t think my position disputes the fact that his decision on the Willow Project ranks right up there with allowing the Senate to bash Anita Hill and confirm Clarence Thomas. But my long-game vision is to not descend into intra-party fighting right now, when we need to model rigorous, healthy debate, and move forward to winning the Presidency, Senate AND House. That is critical to reining in the fossil fuel impacts going forward. With the House out of our control, deals will be made that really appall us. But the future with a gop President, and gop House, and gop Senate because youth and “young at heart” are angry about the Willow Project, seems to me cutting our noses off to spite our face.
Pressing Climate Change, Biden and so forth doesn't spell weakening the Democratic Party. Why does a serious disagreement lead to tragedy? It is impossible to imagine a stronger Climate Change position? Doesn't falling back describe how we have been addressing Climate Catastrophe since the mid 1980s? How we doing, MLRGRMI? Getting better or worse? What has it cost us? Is this 'your' long-game vision?
'Many Young Voters Bitter Over Biden’s Support of Willow Oil Drilling' (excerpts from NYTimes)
'The Willow project, authorized by the Biden administration last month, allowed ConocoPhillips to expand its drilling operations in the area.'
'In the past three weeks, President Biden’s administration has proposed regulations to speed the transition to electric vehicles, committed $1 billion to help poor countries fight climate change and prepared what could be the first limits on greenhouse gas emissions from power plants.'
'And yet, many young voters alarmed by climate change remain angry with Mr. Biden’s decision last month to approve Willow, an $8 billion oil drilling project on pristine federal land in Alaska. As the president prepares to announce his bid for re-election, it’s not at all clear that those voters who helped him win in 2020 because of his commitment to climate action will turn out again.'
'Alex Haraus, 25, said he and other young people felt betrayed by the Willow decision, after Mr. Biden had pledged as a candidate that he would end new oil drilling on public lands “period, period, period.”
'Mr. Haraus, whose videos on TikTok opposing the Willow project amassed hundreds of thousands of views, described his reaction as “mad and frustrated and disappointed.”
'About a dozen young climate activists interviewed said they were not assuaged by the other actions by the Biden administration, even if they significantly draw down greenhouse gas emissions that are dangerously heating the planet, Mr. Haraus said. What they want, he said, is for the president to rein in oil and gas companies, which enjoyed record profits last year.'
“I don’t think any of those things encourage people to forgive the Biden administration for projects like Willow,” said Mr. Haraus, who lives outside Chicago. “Young voters see our future getting thrown out the window. We need Biden to take on the industry, otherwise there’s not much for us to hope for.”
'Young voters overwhelmingly — about 62 percent — support phasing out fossil fuels entirely, said Alec Tyson, an associate director of research at Pew Research Center. There is broad support among registered voters of both parties for a transition to a future in which the United States is no longer pumping carbon emissions into the atmosphere, Mr. Tyson said. But most are not willing to break with fossil fuels altogether, he said.'
'From his earliest days in office, Mr. Biden has highlighted climate action as a top priority. Soon after moving into the White House, he re-entered the United States in the Paris Agreement and set an ambitious goal of cutting the country’s emissions roughly 50 percent below 2005 levels by the end of this decade.'
'He signed into law the Inflation Reduction Act, which provides $370 billion in incentives to expand wind, solar and other clean energy and electric vehicles. He has proposed rules to ensure that two-thirds of new cars and a quarter of new heavy trucks sold in the United States by 2032 are all-electric. Within weeks, he is expected to require that coal and gas plants, responsible for 25 percent of the country’s greenhouse gases, significantly cut their emissions.'
'Yet lawmakers and activists said they worried that regulatory moves would not capture the imagination of voters and that the Willow project would cast a long shadow.'
“The Biden administration is trying to reassure swing-state Democrats like Senator Manchin that despite the new power plant rule due later this week, natural gas will still play an important role in the clean energy transition,” said Paul Bledsoe, a former Clinton administration climate official who is now with the Progressive Policy Institute. “The timing is anything but accidental.”
'But Mr. Bowman said that Mr. Biden was sending a mixed message to young voters and that they were rejecting it.'
“Young people are plugged in and more informed than they have ever been about climate change,” he said. “Now they’re feeling stabbed in the back.” If Mr. Biden doesn’t reverse course, “young people stay home in 2024, that’s the consequences,” Mr. Bowman said.' (NYTimes) Sorry that gifting is not an option. This article appeared on 4/24/23.
I'm not happy about Biden's support for the Willow project, either (though I'm far from a "young voter"!). But I think of that old expression about the perfect being the enemy of the good. Young people need to understand that declining to exercise their right to vote could easily result in a win for the other side, for the party that has fought tooth and nail against efforts to address (or even acknowledge) climate change. That would be far worse.
I totally agree with you. This is the first new drilling project I've heard this administration approve of (I wonder how much acreage is affected). Compare this with the previous crew that wanted to dismantle the EPA entirely. I too feel a sense of betrayal, but look at the choice. Gen Zers are not stupid. They can disapprove all they want but they're not going to sit on the couch and not vote so some republican can make things 100 times worse. What heartens me about this young generation is that it's gone beyond talk and protesting. The two Justins embody the perfect anti-old-white-men antidote. I place all of my hope in their actions and the inspiration that they spread....
Ellen, I think that we have to listen to one another. It isn't just young ones as you have indicated that know how crucial it is to drastically reduce the use of fossil fuels ASAP -- beginning how long ago?!
Ellen's point, however, is pertinent for all ages, not just Gen Zers, namely, not voting could mean a win for tog (the other guy).
Biden is gradually transitioning away from fossils but needs to assure that we in the US aren't dependant on foreign oil imports to supply our present demand. I'm not happy about Willow either, but the demand/need for oil is real right now. We've got to move away from fossils gradually.
And so their anger at one (significant) Biden climate decision means they would stay home and let TRUMP continue to claim that wind power is dangerous? That climate change is “fake news?” Would they really punish Biden at the expense of all the climate actions he has taken - and which TRUMP would immediately repudiate and undo? What are they thinking?
Marge, I think that you are getting too far ahead about what 'they' will do. It is much too early to know what the youth vote will do and to punish them for what they haven't done but express their justified disapproval of Biden's approval of the Willow Project.
Polls? What do polls have to do with anything at this point?
I think the polling process is largely flawed. Cell phones and the web have changed things, much like climate change is affecting weather.
It's a crap shoot now, but I think Biden is probably doing much better than he seems to be.
Besides, I don't think he particularly gives a rat's patootie. This is his last hurrah. I think he's doing it because he feels it's his duty to do it, and he really IS going to do it for the good of us all.
Link to data?
‘And unlike Republicans eager for their party’s nomination, he (Biden) appears to revel in highlighting the people around him rather than hogging the spotlight, while he touts the work the government has done for ordinary Americans.’ (Letter)
In exemplifying American Democracy, President Biden is working toward restoring the American consensus. The contrast with Trump could not be greater. That fella may have trumpeted Big Lies in his crib, but we need not go that far back:
1. “Why doesn’t he show his birth certificate? There’s something on that birth certificate that he doesn’t like.” __Donald J. Trump
- March 23, 2011, on “The View”
2. “He’s spent millions of dollars trying to get away from this issue. Millions of dollars in legal fees trying to get away from this issue. And I’ll tell you what, I brought it up, just routinely, and all of a sudden a lot facts are emerging and I’m starting to wonder myself whether or not he was born in this country.” __Donald J. Trump
- March 28, 2011, on Fox News
Trump has marched on with MAGA dragging the Republican Party into the mud shouting “STOP THE STEAL,” “STOP THE STEAL”. Conservative media blows their horns. Tucker will not disappear and there will be more Tuckers before we mop the place up.
Can our common goals for the health of nation, equality, the rule of law and standards of decency be restored? That is the soul of the nation that Biden and most Americans are working toward.
Democracy is not a spectator sport, it's a participatory event. If we don't participate in it, it ceases to be a democracy.
__Michael Moore
They embrace negativity the way that a bird " embraces " flight.
Republicans offer nothing that is not "that is not demonstrably, empirically, fake, "
A perfect sentence.
So much for the much-touted (especially by Democrats) Republican advantage in messaging, eh?
Biden, like George H.W. Bush before him, is the face of the Establishment. The man is just plain evil. As I've said before, if Trump is Godzilla, then Biden is Dracula.
https://heathercoxrichardson.substack.com/p/april-23-2023/comment/15153336
https://heathercoxrichardson.substack.com/p/april-20-2023/comment/15069537
Plop
Stinky Turd leaves another skidmark
John, looks like Bernie has again overpowered your “snit” of a few days ago.
Has Bernie been zombified?
Davison Budhoo, in his resignation letter from the International Monetary Fund, refers to countries that have been broken and then converted into bastions of IMF orthodoxy.
Did something of the same happen to Bernie? And/or, did Biden's embrace of much of Bernie's platform after stealing the nomination lead Bernie to calculate that half-a-loaf was better than publicizing his heart condition during the general election campaign?
Yawn.
...zzzzz
https://heathercoxrichardson.substack.com/p/january-15-2023/comment/11967315