Wa Po columnist Eugene Robinson says being underestimated is Biden's superpower. I think that's spot on. For fifty years he's dealt with the grinding reality of how to rack up incremental progress in a tangled system. He is brilliant at it and much more than that - he is a deeply, passionately moral person. He's brought us back from the …
Wa Po columnist Eugene Robinson says being underestimated is Biden's superpower. I think that's spot on. For fifty years he's dealt with the grinding reality of how to rack up incremental progress in a tangled system. He is brilliant at it and much more than that - he is a deeply, passionately moral person. He's brought us back from the abyss, and knows he's the wall between us/US and fascism.
I am deeply grateful and five million percent behind him and VP Harris.
I can't help sometimes but think of our nation as a classroom. When the children are calm and well managed, everyone learns, everyone is heard, everyone contributes, and everyone benefits. Our previous "teacher," an authoritarian, never learned the power of positive reinforcement generously dosed with a warm sense of humor. 4 more years of our current "teacher" just might get us where we need to be.
He's been so much better than I ever dreamed he would be. When I voted for him (I'd previously been a Bernie gal and then Liz Warren supporter), I figured I was voting for peaceful competence at the very least instead of self-aggrandizing, gaslighting, chaotic drama, but I'm happy to say he was so much more than simply competent.
Am I concerned about his age? Of course! Pretending that isn't a thing would be dumb, but even in his early 80s, he's going to be something far better than the nightmare the no-idea, greedy, Lying Dinosaur party would give. us.
Excellent positive summary of Biden. I agree, mostly.
One area I would say Biden whiffed was his championship of Republican nominated Clarence Thomas for the Supreme Court in the face of a black woman's observations of sexual harassment and Thomas spending his days reading Playboy and Penthouse on the job.
Biden might have listened a bit better, and been less dismissive, to/of a black woman in that case. A little more due diligence on Biden's part might have saved us from a purchased nutcase on the Supreme Court.
Which, is a real and serious problem for America. An avoidable problem that we did not avoid.
100%. I was furious with Biden for at least a decade after the Thomas hearings. Do I think he'd do the same today? Not a chance. He was wrong. I'm sure he knows he was wrong. The whole male lineup was wrong. Patriarchy won and the country lost.
Let’s put this in context. So now we have 2 Supreme Court judges where women were brave enough to speak their truth of the abusive treatment they received from our Supreme Court judges. The handwriting was on the wall when these men were confirmed. Women’s rights were negated. We are still fighting for our rights. One would have hoped we had moved beyond this but no. I loved Kamala’s question to frat boy Are you aware of any laws governing men’s body?
We still have a court full of men who have power over our reproductive rights. There is a big difference between how Biden treats women and how Trump treats women.
I will be thrilled to see Biden re elected even though he is not perfect. I did not support him last time but I believe he is just what we needed. His knowledge, experience and ability to work with people is amazing. He handled the state of the union message brilliantly. He changed the direction this country was headed for. He was able to ge much done because of his ability to work with people.
The compassion is so radiant. It is deeply incomprehensible and frightening to me that given these polar opposite individuals: the black hole narcissism of Trump and Biden's compassion, that 75 million people could even think there was a choice.
Your comment needs to be in bold and larger font, Alexandra.
Even after all these years, it is hard to accept the fact that so many people don't see Trump for the pure evil spawn that his parents cooked up and propped up, by marinating him in their family's toxic stew of emotional and mental sickness, to become a malignant narcissist.
I believe America will fight and dig itself out of this dark period in our history. And there will probably be enough books, articles and graduate theses to fill a library dedicated to explaining how a nightmare like Trump was able to infect enough of this country to cause this much emotional trauma and existential danger.
I guess people are blind and taken to narcissistic personality disorders. They drink the koolaid. Biden has a soul and compassion which is unavailable to his running mate.
Last Christmastime, Biden put in a guest appearance on Jason Bateman's podcast, Smartless. I enjoyed it so much. Biden has great empathy, a good sense of humor and a genuine love for his job.
I am currently reading a book called God: An Anatomy. It is focused on ancient SW Asia (she doesn't use the near east because she regards that as colonial). I am in the middle of the chapters addressing genitals and the patriarchy behind that and how it found its way into Judaism and Christianity. As I read, I think about where we are today. I am not sure we have made much progress in this regard.
I think you will enjoy it. Part of her idea is that the concept of God has had a body from early times and is not some bodiless transcendental being. She cites a lot of other cultures of the time and quotes the Bible to make her points. She starts with feet and among other things discusses taking off shoes to enter sacred areas and the washing of them. A lot of what she cites is explicit, so probably would be banned today. I do wonder if some of our Bible thumpers have any idea of what is in it.
I hope Biden re-introduced his cabinet, staff and close working relationships with voters very soon. Show Americans GE is truly a team player and respects all people. This would be awesome.
“The whole male lineup was wrong. “ Nailed it. I remember that hearing and how viscerally upset I was and continued to be. And it continues with the continued subjugation of women.
Agree. A real leader owns a mistake and move toward not being naive or politically correct. Can't change past, but learn and do more diligence and make perhaps the less popular better choice, the morally right one.
That mistake, the mistake about the "tough on crime" bill and the Willow drilling project approval all make me angry. Very angry.
But Biden has been a political leader for longer than most Americans have been alive. If that's what "we have on him", he is probably as close to a perfect person as we will ever get. There isn't a politician or President or preacher who doesn't have some sort of baggage. As bad as Thomas is, we should put things into perspective. Joe was not the only factor in Thomas being approved. Could Joe have made it different? Yes. But the times were different - wrong, but very different.
I am all in for Biden-Harris 2024. As I will continue to say, our problem will be appealing to Gen Y and Z. Biden will need to do seriously symbolic efforts on the Climate Change issue to rally them. And hammering away on women's rights needs to be a daily mantra.
I think VP Harris should embark on a series of ads that show the devastating toll abortion bans have on the health of women and families.
Book banning, the war on Disney....and just about everyone in the country has a relative or friend who is LBGTQ. These are huge issues that will resonate with younger generations.
Oy, there is so much to work with!
And everyday, we should be quoting Senator Medicare Fraud Scott on how he wants to "sunset" Social Security and Medicare.
Democrats have all we need to win. We are on the correct side of every issue - not just because we say we are. But because the vast majority of Americans stand with us on all of them. The GQP is imploding. If we lose this one, we deserve what we get.
Excellent observations! I want to see Biden present his cabinet to all of us next- who are they what are they responsible for, what have they been working on…if Biden continues on this address of community and working together we will win his re-election. Focus on accomplishments and staff and not the republicans who sadly have lost their way.
I'm with you up to the last assertion. We don't "deserve" what the Republican party is dishing out. We are in a very confusing era, having just almost survived a worldwide pandemic and inundated with social media that appeals to the lowest common denominator. Our weaknesses, which include a fragmented system of education, make us vulnerable to exploitation. And corporate forces are gathering to buy a candidate that excludes the ugliness that Trump represents while consolidating the toxic winner-take-all econoomic system. It's not a slam dunk.
Immigration at the southern border is a real problem that the Republicans will take advantage of as much as possible. Biden assigned it to Harris, but I haven't heard or seen much of what has been accomplished, if anything. I think the Dems (Biden and Harris in particular) should own up to this problem by admitting the results have been uneven at best, that it's a tough problem, and that Congress needs to pass a comprehensive immigration package to address it. Saying that "we're working on it night and day", or something to that effect, is on the level of "thoughts and prayers".
It's clearly one of the unaddressed issues of the administration, perhaps because there's so little support in Congress. Not even George W. Bush could get enough support, and as long as the right keeps spinning tales of "replacement theory," I'm not sure it will be. But it was unfair to send Harris to Central America on her first big assignment, IMO.
If you are still "angry" about Willow you have allowed yourself to be sucked into one of those hysterical talking heads making an issue for the news media things that are so prevalent these days.
Willow is not a mistake, Willow is a good old fashioned compromise in the face of a no win situation. As a former Alaskan I am really impressed by what Biden managed to win in that game!
I respect your knowledgeable opinion. Call me a radical when it comes to the Climate Crisis. We could have stopped drilling years ago. We could have developed sustainable replacements for energy production. The oil companies could have been required to become "energy companies".
I hear what you are saying...politically. But the Earth cares little for politics.
The oiligarchs own Congress. I wanted Joe to just say NO MORE!
Could, would, should, are magical thinking. Joe came as close to saying no more as it is possible in the real world. We can't rail on the republicans for conspiracy thinking and then use the same lack of logic ourselves.
We need to work in the real world, not some imaginary dream world. We could not have stopped drilling when that would have left us dependent on OPEC. The Willow leases were purchased in the 1990s when electric cars were still a dream. You can't demand that the US pay it's bills through the debt limit and also demand the US back out of sales made in 1990s.
I really like the way you think. It is practical and thoughtful. I hear you from a realistic "what's the best we can do now with a tough situation" point of view.
But when our grandchildren look back, they are going to be furious with us for being so slow in acting on CO2 emissions. We knew that the Climate Crisis was a freight train coming right at us back when those leases were signed. It was wrong then and it is wrong now. With a strong commitment to alternative sources of energy and a national push to reduce energy consumption we could have been able to say "Get Lost" to the Saudis long ago. The money that goes into developing a well and all the safeguards and transportation costs could be applied to retrofitting buildings, developing new more efficient energy creators, rebuilding the grid to carry the newly generated power.
The real issue and the big creature in the room is this question. When it comes to a thing that is clearly provided for the benefit of people - all the people, every single one of us - why do we cede the control of that to a few Oligarchs? Electricity and fossil fuels should be in the public domain because they are only there for the public. They shouldn't be employed with the sole purpose of enriching the few - but that's what's happening.
Yup, I am rethinking the entire structure of our corrupt capitalist con the public system. I say this as a believer in free enterprise - I am a retired business person. There are lot's of ways a person could make a living by producing services or manufacturing and processing goods. But some things do not belong in the jaws of the profit machines. Things like utilities and energy. Like water. Like health care and education. Like prisons. Like Medicare (some day I'll rant about the "Advantage" scam).
But enough of beating up the past. It's time for President Biden and everyone with a concern for the devastation unfolding in every corner of the planet to make reducing emissions the number one mission - the top priority in every sector of everything we do. It's a matter of life or death.
And let's get practical again. The most important thing to do right now is to be sure we oust as many MAGA maniacs as possible at every level of governance. Then and only then will we have our hands on the wheel and steer this nation back to science and hopefully...survival.
Thanks for reading, if you did. I have had a lot of coffee.
There is not a single one among us who hasn’t made a mistake that we deeply regret, that we now see as truly wrong. Judge ye not less ye be judged. Our leaders are never going to be perfect. We can expect that they be honest, committed to the principles of our constitution, and fervent in their defense of our people and perseverance in raising everyone up. Biden has worked for the American people for decades. He will not stop. He deserves all of our votes.
What! I remembered Biden was horrible to Anita Hill only BUT didn't remember he voted not to confirm Thomas. This is important information for all. Thank you
I was a little surprised when I went back and looked at the historical context, even though I remember both the Thomas hearings and the hearings around Bork's nomination in 1987. What I hadn't realized was how lopsided (almost unanimous) most previous confirmations had been. It really was a turning point. Confirmation hearings since have been much closer, and ever more acrimonious as we get close to the present.
Mike S. True. It is a mistake that is still costing us dearly. However, it is very clear that Biden has learned and changed. He listens better now, and though I can think of several people he still ought to fire from his current administration, his choices have mostly been good ones.
That was more than 30 years ago. The Senate Judiciary Committee of the time was all male and all white. The vote to confirm Thomas was close: 52-48. 46 Democrats voted against confirmation. Sen. Joe Biden (D-DE) was one of them. Could it be that you're overestimating Biden's potential at the time to single-handedly change the outcome?
Virginia Witmer is right: "it was a different America and a different Biden." I'm not sure some commenters here understand just how different it was. Thurgood Marshall, a hero of the civil rights movement and the first African American SCOTUS justice *ever*, announced his retirement in 1991. (He had been in poor health for some time, and according to some reports he felt isolated after his ally, Justice William Brennan, retired in 1990.)
The pressure was on to appoint another Black jurist to replace him -- it was unofficially considered "the Black seat". IMO Bush I's appointment of Thomas was politically brilliant, because white liberals and moderates of the time were uneasy about opposing *any* Black candidate for that seat. In those days, most SCOTUS nominees were confirmed by landslide votes, if not unanimously. The conspicuous exception was the nomination of the right-wing Robert Bork, who was actually *rejected* by the Senate in 1987 after the Senate Judiciary Committee reported his nomination unfavorably. This, I believe, is the ONLY time a SCOTUS nominee has been rejected.
So add it all up: The pressure to appoint a Black person to Thurgood Marshall's seat. White liberal uneasiness with opposing a Black nominee, any Black nominee. White liberal *male* ignorance of the whole issue of sexual harassment. (The hearings became a watershed for this particular issue, prompting many, many women to run for office at all levels in 1992.) The lasting bitterness over the rejection of Bork, coming as it did at a time when SCOTUS nominees were generally confirmed by huge margins. Given all that, it's pretty amazing that the vote to confirm Thomas was so close: 52–48.
The one thing I hold against him and every male sitting on that committee. If they wanted a black justice, they could have found a better candidate and not some creep.
How about coming up with a list of alternatives? Keep in mind that although the Democrats held the Senate, the president (who makes the appointments) was a Republican, George H. W. Bush. Also keep in mind that owing to good ol' racism the lower courts were not nearly as well stocked with people of color and women as they are today. So who should President Bush have appointed?
I don't think he championed Clarence Thomas. He is the one that had them introduce this evidence into the hearings when he was asked to by all the women. They had to go back and then have longer hearings. It was obvious to every woman I know watching the hearings that Clarence Thomas was bad news. No surprises there. Now, we see how big a deal it can be. If we can get Dems to control Congress and The White House, we can impeach the sucker! There are a few more who can either be impeached or sanctioned. We can at least set some conditions for the service of the Supreme Court Justices.
I agree 100%. I was unable to vote for Biden during primaries because of his leadership role in questioning and dismissing Anita Hill and making it possible for Thomas to get on Supreme Court. I’ve never heard an apology from him.
Thanks, Pam! I also think Biden will keep under the radar because he understands completely what someone else here quoted re: the Republicans: ‘Never interfere with an enemy while he’s in the process of destroying himself.’ (First attributed to Napoleon, kind of - Woodrow Wilson had his own version: "Never murder a man who is committing suicide.")
Jen, I have to hope it. But as some Republican political analyst said (paraphrasing): "Trump will never, NEVER let DeSantis become President. He would five million times rather Joe Biden be reelected." Trump will destroy the party before letting it abandon him. They are ****ed, and they know it.
My fear is that somehow Nikki Haley could get the Republican nomination. The whole party needs to collapse before someone semi-decent rises to the top.
MaryPat, I'm old enough to have seen that literally anything can happen in a presidential race, we'd be fools to think we can know what's coming! But Haley is VERY unlikely. Too many GOP "leaders" would have to grow a spine and force Trump out. And they're too terrified of him. He's a monster and he's their monster.
Yuh.., I agree Alexandra, fact is, we're ALL part of "the problem" , but I see Joe Biden, as a real part of the solution. So far his administration has worked on things that count without bloviating. The threat posed by communism is lost on virtually everyone. And that wagon of horse manure is being dutifully positioned by the fool-factor within the Republican party. People like MTgreene (like empty greene, MTheaded) and Bodirt wading in it. One needs to wear a mask when dealing with that bunch.
"Deep dish" .....whoaa, now THERE! Alexandra, you have given the 'free-world' a new undefined usage.., bbboink! Innovative, to say the least Alexandra. So good. But, allow me to have some input here.. howz dis: In the beginning there was Chicago Style - Deep Dish. Then came New York style. With the most noticeable difference being one having a thin-crust (NY) while Chicago was 'thicker' hence, "deep dish" evolved. Well now, in light of your use of "deep dish" perhaps we need a version for the dim state of Georgia, call it SHALLOW dish - Meaning, without crust, uncooked middle, dough without body ( a cow-pie, like full of ---T), sans recognizable topping (crazy, mindless). Whewww, I'm out of breath. Shallow Dish, GA style. Style..?...crap is more like it. Yes //s//:))
Hey Mad Russian! I do like making up words, but you're really parsing it there! Because it's Georgia I was probably thinking more like casserole than pizza. You know, a gloppy church picnic casserole kind of thing.
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.
This was kind of a fascinating read. Not sure that the writer is qualified to diagnose personality disorders but nonetheless it seems on point in places and especially when I think of EMusk. Maybe there’s some threads of truths worth a read? I especially like the paragraph about blocking. 😁
“And it makes so much sense that dark personalities with high levels of narcissism, psychopathy, Machiavellianism, and sadism (known as “the dark tetrad”) in real life are the darkest of dark trolls online as well, because darkness hunts everywhere. Now you understand much of the psychology of the worst trolls and their motives behind wasting so much time trolling. To them, it is not wasting time at all. It is their nature, and being mostly anonymous online, and thus mostly unaccountable, just makes it so much easier for them to spread their disordered darkness online and off.“
Thanks for posting, Christy! I write psychological crime thrillers and have been studying these traits and interviewing psychiatric and law enforcement experts about it for years. The assessment seems spot on to me, and I'd also add - when you look at the younger generation of psychopaths (like Luka Magnotta, the killer profiled in "Don't **** with Cats") they seem horribly to be combining both internet trolling and real life trawling for victims.
The Establishment has more than one face, and what is wheeled out for public consumption is not at all what the Demublican/Republicrat leadership and their overlords are really up to. My suspicion is that Biden was elevated to the Presidency after making the back-room promise to be ready to "go all the way" in a nuclear confrontation with Russia.
I've reported Mr. "Schmeekle" (sure it is not 'Schmeckle') to the content moderation department. Two (2) duplicative posts are what? Discussions with Substack Inc have been quite brisk on the subject of Platform contractual duties to "Readers". FYI, a mixture of 3 different SCOTUS cases raise Platform responsibility to 3rd Parties. Regulation is slow.
I have had Lengthy discussions with Substack Inc including venue matters at JAMS, the Platform's chosen dispute resolution forum. Substack Inc & JAMS are very close by -- all within blocks of my old law firm in SF. Neighbors.
Actually, I am a real person. I do my best to make honest assessments, because I'm not on anybody's payroll. I am not a Republican or a Trump supporter. I think that, at this point in history, questions of foreign policy, including the ongoing global process of de-dollarization, are of much more consequence than Biden's embrace of Bernie's domestic agenda.
Goes all the way back to Columbia Journalism Review article regarding Substack Inc's tangles with prior contractually defined 'Authors'. I obtained a form Substack Inc contract from ex-Authors.
Long story needs Rules of the Road if Platforms do not enforce their own contracts or observe centuries old tort duties owed to forseeable 3rd Parties.
All of this & more going on off stage. Trying to protect this extremely valuable HCR platform & Community.
I responded to two different people. That way, each has the opportunity to respond, because each gets an email notification. Perhaps neither of them scans through all the various posts and replies like you seem to have done.
Wa Po columnist Eugene Robinson says being underestimated is Biden's superpower. I think that's spot on. For fifty years he's dealt with the grinding reality of how to rack up incremental progress in a tangled system. He is brilliant at it and much more than that - he is a deeply, passionately moral person. He's brought us back from the abyss, and knows he's the wall between us/US and fascism.
I am deeply grateful and five million percent behind him and VP Harris.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2023/04/13/biden-polling-belies-strength/
I can't help sometimes but think of our nation as a classroom. When the children are calm and well managed, everyone learns, everyone is heard, everyone contributes, and everyone benefits. Our previous "teacher," an authoritarian, never learned the power of positive reinforcement generously dosed with a warm sense of humor. 4 more years of our current "teacher" just might get us where we need to be.
Especially if he has both the House and Senate!
He's been so much better than I ever dreamed he would be. When I voted for him (I'd previously been a Bernie gal and then Liz Warren supporter), I figured I was voting for peaceful competence at the very least instead of self-aggrandizing, gaslighting, chaotic drama, but I'm happy to say he was so much more than simply competent.
Am I concerned about his age? Of course! Pretending that isn't a thing would be dumb, but even in his early 80s, he's going to be something far better than the nightmare the no-idea, greedy, Lying Dinosaur party would give. us.
Spoken like a teacher! :)
My thought, too!
I love that metaphor!! May it be so!!
As a former teacher I agree with you 1000%.
Alexandra,
Excellent positive summary of Biden. I agree, mostly.
One area I would say Biden whiffed was his championship of Republican nominated Clarence Thomas for the Supreme Court in the face of a black woman's observations of sexual harassment and Thomas spending his days reading Playboy and Penthouse on the job.
Biden might have listened a bit better, and been less dismissive, to/of a black woman in that case. A little more due diligence on Biden's part might have saved us from a purchased nutcase on the Supreme Court.
Which, is a real and serious problem for America. An avoidable problem that we did not avoid.
100%. I was furious with Biden for at least a decade after the Thomas hearings. Do I think he'd do the same today? Not a chance. He was wrong. I'm sure he knows he was wrong. The whole male lineup was wrong. Patriarchy won and the country lost.
Let’s put this in context. So now we have 2 Supreme Court judges where women were brave enough to speak their truth of the abusive treatment they received from our Supreme Court judges. The handwriting was on the wall when these men were confirmed. Women’s rights were negated. We are still fighting for our rights. One would have hoped we had moved beyond this but no. I loved Kamala’s question to frat boy Are you aware of any laws governing men’s body?
We still have a court full of men who have power over our reproductive rights. There is a big difference between how Biden treats women and how Trump treats women.
I will be thrilled to see Biden re elected even though he is not perfect. I did not support him last time but I believe he is just what we needed. His knowledge, experience and ability to work with people is amazing. He handled the state of the union message brilliantly. He changed the direction this country was headed for. He was able to ge much done because of his ability to work with people.
Well said, Susan. You hit the salient points directly, and your last paragraph is a winner.
Thanks Ally.
And, Susan, because of his deep compassion for all people.
He also has a wonderful smile.
The compassion is so radiant. It is deeply incomprehensible and frightening to me that given these polar opposite individuals: the black hole narcissism of Trump and Biden's compassion, that 75 million people could even think there was a choice.
Your comment needs to be in bold and larger font, Alexandra.
Even after all these years, it is hard to accept the fact that so many people don't see Trump for the pure evil spawn that his parents cooked up and propped up, by marinating him in their family's toxic stew of emotional and mental sickness, to become a malignant narcissist.
I believe America will fight and dig itself out of this dark period in our history. And there will probably be enough books, articles and graduate theses to fill a library dedicated to explaining how a nightmare like Trump was able to infect enough of this country to cause this much emotional trauma and existential danger.
I guess people are blind and taken to narcissistic personality disorders. They drink the koolaid. Biden has a soul and compassion which is unavailable to his running mate.
Biden's "compassion"??
Last Christmastime, Biden put in a guest appearance on Jason Bateman's podcast, Smartless. I enjoyed it so much. Biden has great empathy, a good sense of humor and a genuine love for his job.
On the other hand, Trump rarely smiles.
RE: your last sentence, when he does, it’s diabolical.
I am currently reading a book called God: An Anatomy. It is focused on ancient SW Asia (she doesn't use the near east because she regards that as colonial). I am in the middle of the chapters addressing genitals and the patriarchy behind that and how it found its way into Judaism and Christianity. As I read, I think about where we are today. I am not sure we have made much progress in this regard.
Thanks for book suggestion! Will order!!
I think you will enjoy it. Part of her idea is that the concept of God has had a body from early times and is not some bodiless transcendental being. She cites a lot of other cultures of the time and quotes the Bible to make her points. She starts with feet and among other things discusses taking off shoes to enter sacred areas and the washing of them. A lot of what she cites is explicit, so probably would be banned today. I do wonder if some of our Bible thumpers have any idea of what is in it.
def will be reading, thanks for the hook-up.
Ordering Kindle version here in Mexico.
I hope Biden re-introduced his cabinet, staff and close working relationships with voters very soon. Show Americans GE is truly a team player and respects all people. This would be awesome.
“The whole male lineup was wrong. “ Nailed it. I remember that hearing and how viscerally upset I was and continued to be. And it continues with the continued subjugation of women.
Agree. A real leader owns a mistake and move toward not being naive or politically correct. Can't change past, but learn and do more diligence and make perhaps the less popular better choice, the morally right one.
That mistake, the mistake about the "tough on crime" bill and the Willow drilling project approval all make me angry. Very angry.
But Biden has been a political leader for longer than most Americans have been alive. If that's what "we have on him", he is probably as close to a perfect person as we will ever get. There isn't a politician or President or preacher who doesn't have some sort of baggage. As bad as Thomas is, we should put things into perspective. Joe was not the only factor in Thomas being approved. Could Joe have made it different? Yes. But the times were different - wrong, but very different.
I am all in for Biden-Harris 2024. As I will continue to say, our problem will be appealing to Gen Y and Z. Biden will need to do seriously symbolic efforts on the Climate Change issue to rally them. And hammering away on women's rights needs to be a daily mantra.
I think VP Harris should embark on a series of ads that show the devastating toll abortion bans have on the health of women and families.
Book banning, the war on Disney....and just about everyone in the country has a relative or friend who is LBGTQ. These are huge issues that will resonate with younger generations.
Oy, there is so much to work with!
And everyday, we should be quoting Senator Medicare Fraud Scott on how he wants to "sunset" Social Security and Medicare.
Democrats have all we need to win. We are on the correct side of every issue - not just because we say we are. But because the vast majority of Americans stand with us on all of them. The GQP is imploding. If we lose this one, we deserve what we get.
Excellent observations! I want to see Biden present his cabinet to all of us next- who are they what are they responsible for, what have they been working on…if Biden continues on this address of community and working together we will win his re-election. Focus on accomplishments and staff and not the republicans who sadly have lost their way.
Joan, that is a great, great strategy. How powerful that would be!
I second, great strategy! How do we get that action-message to POTUS realm?
I'm with you up to the last assertion. We don't "deserve" what the Republican party is dishing out. We are in a very confusing era, having just almost survived a worldwide pandemic and inundated with social media that appeals to the lowest common denominator. Our weaknesses, which include a fragmented system of education, make us vulnerable to exploitation. And corporate forces are gathering to buy a candidate that excludes the ugliness that Trump represents while consolidating the toxic winner-take-all econoomic system. It's not a slam dunk.
Immigration at the southern border is a real problem that the Republicans will take advantage of as much as possible. Biden assigned it to Harris, but I haven't heard or seen much of what has been accomplished, if anything. I think the Dems (Biden and Harris in particular) should own up to this problem by admitting the results have been uneven at best, that it's a tough problem, and that Congress needs to pass a comprehensive immigration package to address it. Saying that "we're working on it night and day", or something to that effect, is on the level of "thoughts and prayers".
It's clearly one of the unaddressed issues of the administration, perhaps because there's so little support in Congress. Not even George W. Bush could get enough support, and as long as the right keeps spinning tales of "replacement theory," I'm not sure it will be. But it was unfair to send Harris to Central America on her first big assignment, IMO.
If you are still "angry" about Willow you have allowed yourself to be sucked into one of those hysterical talking heads making an issue for the news media things that are so prevalent these days.
Willow is not a mistake, Willow is a good old fashioned compromise in the face of a no win situation. As a former Alaskan I am really impressed by what Biden managed to win in that game!
I respect your knowledgeable opinion. Call me a radical when it comes to the Climate Crisis. We could have stopped drilling years ago. We could have developed sustainable replacements for energy production. The oil companies could have been required to become "energy companies".
I hear what you are saying...politically. But the Earth cares little for politics.
The oiligarchs own Congress. I wanted Joe to just say NO MORE!
Could, would, should, are magical thinking. Joe came as close to saying no more as it is possible in the real world. We can't rail on the republicans for conspiracy thinking and then use the same lack of logic ourselves.
We need to work in the real world, not some imaginary dream world. We could not have stopped drilling when that would have left us dependent on OPEC. The Willow leases were purchased in the 1990s when electric cars were still a dream. You can't demand that the US pay it's bills through the debt limit and also demand the US back out of sales made in 1990s.
Mary Ellen,
I really like the way you think. It is practical and thoughtful. I hear you from a realistic "what's the best we can do now with a tough situation" point of view.
But when our grandchildren look back, they are going to be furious with us for being so slow in acting on CO2 emissions. We knew that the Climate Crisis was a freight train coming right at us back when those leases were signed. It was wrong then and it is wrong now. With a strong commitment to alternative sources of energy and a national push to reduce energy consumption we could have been able to say "Get Lost" to the Saudis long ago. The money that goes into developing a well and all the safeguards and transportation costs could be applied to retrofitting buildings, developing new more efficient energy creators, rebuilding the grid to carry the newly generated power.
The real issue and the big creature in the room is this question. When it comes to a thing that is clearly provided for the benefit of people - all the people, every single one of us - why do we cede the control of that to a few Oligarchs? Electricity and fossil fuels should be in the public domain because they are only there for the public. They shouldn't be employed with the sole purpose of enriching the few - but that's what's happening.
Yup, I am rethinking the entire structure of our corrupt capitalist con the public system. I say this as a believer in free enterprise - I am a retired business person. There are lot's of ways a person could make a living by producing services or manufacturing and processing goods. But some things do not belong in the jaws of the profit machines. Things like utilities and energy. Like water. Like health care and education. Like prisons. Like Medicare (some day I'll rant about the "Advantage" scam).
But enough of beating up the past. It's time for President Biden and everyone with a concern for the devastation unfolding in every corner of the planet to make reducing emissions the number one mission - the top priority in every sector of everything we do. It's a matter of life or death.
And let's get practical again. The most important thing to do right now is to be sure we oust as many MAGA maniacs as possible at every level of governance. Then and only then will we have our hands on the wheel and steer this nation back to science and hopefully...survival.
Thanks for reading, if you did. I have had a lot of coffee.
Still a long ways from drilling! A 2024 🌊🌊🌊 could empower some great things to happen!! 🌎
There is not a single one among us who hasn’t made a mistake that we deeply regret, that we now see as truly wrong. Judge ye not less ye be judged. Our leaders are never going to be perfect. We can expect that they be honest, committed to the principles of our constitution, and fervent in their defense of our people and perseverance in raising everyone up. Biden has worked for the American people for decades. He will not stop. He deserves all of our votes.
I believe Biden learned a lot from that mistake, don’t you?
Yes, he surely did, Meredith. Thankfully.
Well, he voted against confirming Thomas, so I think he did.
What! I remembered Biden was horrible to Anita Hill only BUT didn't remember he voted not to confirm Thomas. This is important information for all. Thank you
I was a little surprised when I went back and looked at the historical context, even though I remember both the Thomas hearings and the hearings around Bork's nomination in 1987. What I hadn't realized was how lopsided (almost unanimous) most previous confirmations had been. It really was a turning point. Confirmation hearings since have been much closer, and ever more acrimonious as we get close to the present.
Mike S. True. It is a mistake that is still costing us dearly. However, it is very clear that Biden has learned and changed. He listens better now, and though I can think of several people he still ought to fire from his current administration, his choices have mostly been good ones.
I back him 100%.
That was more than 30 years ago. The Senate Judiciary Committee of the time was all male and all white. The vote to confirm Thomas was close: 52-48. 46 Democrats voted against confirmation. Sen. Joe Biden (D-DE) was one of them. Could it be that you're overestimating Biden's potential at the time to single-handedly change the outcome?
Virginia Witmer is right: "it was a different America and a different Biden." I'm not sure some commenters here understand just how different it was. Thurgood Marshall, a hero of the civil rights movement and the first African American SCOTUS justice *ever*, announced his retirement in 1991. (He had been in poor health for some time, and according to some reports he felt isolated after his ally, Justice William Brennan, retired in 1990.)
The pressure was on to appoint another Black jurist to replace him -- it was unofficially considered "the Black seat". IMO Bush I's appointment of Thomas was politically brilliant, because white liberals and moderates of the time were uneasy about opposing *any* Black candidate for that seat. In those days, most SCOTUS nominees were confirmed by landslide votes, if not unanimously. The conspicuous exception was the nomination of the right-wing Robert Bork, who was actually *rejected* by the Senate in 1987 after the Senate Judiciary Committee reported his nomination unfavorably. This, I believe, is the ONLY time a SCOTUS nominee has been rejected.
So add it all up: The pressure to appoint a Black person to Thurgood Marshall's seat. White liberal uneasiness with opposing a Black nominee, any Black nominee. White liberal *male* ignorance of the whole issue of sexual harassment. (The hearings became a watershed for this particular issue, prompting many, many women to run for office at all levels in 1992.) The lasting bitterness over the rejection of Bork, coming as it did at a time when SCOTUS nominees were generally confirmed by huge margins. Given all that, it's pretty amazing that the vote to confirm Thomas was so close: 52–48.
It was a different America and a different Biden. Sadly Thomas hasn’t changed. All of US need to “grow up.”
The one thing I hold against him and every male sitting on that committee. If they wanted a black justice, they could have found a better candidate and not some creep.
How about coming up with a list of alternatives? Keep in mind that although the Democrats held the Senate, the president (who makes the appointments) was a Republican, George H. W. Bush. Also keep in mind that owing to good ol' racism the lower courts were not nearly as well stocked with people of color and women as they are today. So who should President Bush have appointed?
I don't think he championed Clarence Thomas. He is the one that had them introduce this evidence into the hearings when he was asked to by all the women. They had to go back and then have longer hearings. It was obvious to every woman I know watching the hearings that Clarence Thomas was bad news. No surprises there. Now, we see how big a deal it can be. If we can get Dems to control Congress and The White House, we can impeach the sucker! There are a few more who can either be impeached or sanctioned. We can at least set some conditions for the service of the Supreme Court Justices.
I agree 100%. I was unable to vote for Biden during primaries because of his leadership role in questioning and dismissing Anita Hill and making it possible for Thomas to get on Supreme Court. I’ve never heard an apology from him.
Thank-you.. very well said!
Thanks, Pam! I also think Biden will keep under the radar because he understands completely what someone else here quoted re: the Republicans: ‘Never interfere with an enemy while he’s in the process of destroying himself.’ (First attributed to Napoleon, kind of - Woodrow Wilson had his own version: "Never murder a man who is committing suicide.")
I so hope you are right that they are in the process of destroying themselves. I just hope they don’t take the rest of us down with them.
Jen, I have to hope it. But as some Republican political analyst said (paraphrasing): "Trump will never, NEVER let DeSantis become President. He would five million times rather Joe Biden be reelected." Trump will destroy the party before letting it abandon him. They are ****ed, and they know it.
Ah, the true narcissist. I had forgotten that.
I think I will need more popcorn.
My fear is that somehow Nikki Haley could get the Republican nomination. The whole party needs to collapse before someone semi-decent rises to the top.
MaryPat, I'm old enough to have seen that literally anything can happen in a presidential race, we'd be fools to think we can know what's coming! But Haley is VERY unlikely. Too many GOP "leaders" would have to grow a spine and force Trump out. And they're too terrified of him. He's a monster and he's their monster.
Reading these exchanges, I’ve learned much from you. Thanks for it!
Yuh.., I agree Alexandra, fact is, we're ALL part of "the problem" , but I see Joe Biden, as a real part of the solution. So far his administration has worked on things that count without bloviating. The threat posed by communism is lost on virtually everyone. And that wagon of horse manure is being dutifully positioned by the fool-factor within the Republican party. People like MTgreene (like empty greene, MTheaded) and Bodirt wading in it. One needs to wear a mask when dealing with that bunch.
Empty Greene - truer words. How crazy do people have to be not to recognize flat out, deep-dish crazy?
"Deep dish" .....whoaa, now THERE! Alexandra, you have given the 'free-world' a new undefined usage.., bbboink! Innovative, to say the least Alexandra. So good. But, allow me to have some input here.. howz dis: In the beginning there was Chicago Style - Deep Dish. Then came New York style. With the most noticeable difference being one having a thin-crust (NY) while Chicago was 'thicker' hence, "deep dish" evolved. Well now, in light of your use of "deep dish" perhaps we need a version for the dim state of Georgia, call it SHALLOW dish - Meaning, without crust, uncooked middle, dough without body ( a cow-pie, like full of ---T), sans recognizable topping (crazy, mindless). Whewww, I'm out of breath. Shallow Dish, GA style. Style..?...crap is more like it. Yes //s//:))
Hey Mad Russian! I do like making up words, but you're really parsing it there! Because it's Georgia I was probably thinking more like casserole than pizza. You know, a gloppy church picnic casserole kind of thing.
Yep, you are spot on!
Bravo Alexandra!!
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
If you can't see the difference, and it seems you can't, I can only be sorry for you. There's not much more to say.
This was kind of a fascinating read. Not sure that the writer is qualified to diagnose personality disorders but nonetheless it seems on point in places and especially when I think of EMusk. Maybe there’s some threads of truths worth a read? I especially like the paragraph about blocking. 😁
“And it makes so much sense that dark personalities with high levels of narcissism, psychopathy, Machiavellianism, and sadism (known as “the dark tetrad”) in real life are the darkest of dark trolls online as well, because darkness hunts everywhere. Now you understand much of the psychology of the worst trolls and their motives behind wasting so much time trolling. To them, it is not wasting time at all. It is their nature, and being mostly anonymous online, and thus mostly unaccountable, just makes it so much easier for them to spread their disordered darkness online and off.“
Thanks for posting, Christy! I write psychological crime thrillers and have been studying these traits and interviewing psychiatric and law enforcement experts about it for years. The assessment seems spot on to me, and I'd also add - when you look at the younger generation of psychopaths (like Luka Magnotta, the killer profiled in "Don't **** with Cats") they seem horribly to be combining both internet trolling and real life trawling for victims.
Wow! That’s 😎 Thank you!
The Establishment has more than one face, and what is wheeled out for public consumption is not at all what the Demublican/Republicrat leadership and their overlords are really up to. My suspicion is that Biden was elevated to the Presidency after making the back-room promise to be ready to "go all the way" in a nuclear confrontation with Russia.
Why do you feel the need to post this twice? Once is more than enough.
I've reported Mr. "Schmeekle" (sure it is not 'Schmeckle') to the content moderation department. Two (2) duplicative posts are what? Discussions with Substack Inc have been quite brisk on the subject of Platform contractual duties to "Readers". FYI, a mixture of 3 different SCOTUS cases raise Platform responsibility to 3rd Parties. Regulation is slow.
Every time he posts I think to myself "Dang, now where's the Raid Flying Insect Spray?". :D
...said the self-confessed misanthrope who doesn't want to know about American complicity in the most far-reaching genocide in history.
I have reported him too Bryan.
https://heathercoxrichardson.substack.com/p/april-25-2023/comment/15256431
As have I, multiple times, Bryan.
https://heathercoxrichardson.substack.com/p/april-25-2023/comment/15256431
This is what “Schmeeckle” is prone to do. “He” wants attention. “He” wants to provoke. Remember when LFAA was being stalked by Gandalf the Great?
I have had Lengthy discussions with Substack Inc including venue matters at JAMS, the Platform's chosen dispute resolution forum. Substack Inc & JAMS are very close by -- all within blocks of my old law firm in SF. Neighbors.
https://heathercoxrichardson.substack.com/p/april-25-2023/comment/15256431
Actually, I am a real person. I do my best to make honest assessments, because I'm not on anybody's payroll. I am not a Republican or a Trump supporter. I think that, at this point in history, questions of foreign policy, including the ongoing global process of de-dollarization, are of much more consequence than Biden's embrace of Bernie's domestic agenda.
My facebook page is here:
https://m.facebook.com/john.schmeeckle
WOW - “a real person” - not AI? And, yup, FACEBOOK - good backup, Sauron.
Mwa ha ha
"...and the joke's on you..."
https://youtu.be/qttI6oytqpw
Paul, Gandalf the Great? Sounds like quite a story!
Goes all the way back to Columbia Journalism Review article regarding Substack Inc's tangles with prior contractually defined 'Authors'. I obtained a form Substack Inc contract from ex-Authors.
Long story needs Rules of the Road if Platforms do not enforce their own contracts or observe centuries old tort duties owed to forseeable 3rd Parties.
All of this & more going on off stage. Trying to protect this extremely valuable HCR platform & Community.
Yeah, I think this is the same person - different “name.”
Right. I won't be feeding the troll.
Because that's what he does.
I responded to two different people. That way, each has the opportunity to respond, because each gets an email notification. Perhaps neither of them scans through all the various posts and replies like you seem to have done.
I find it hard to believe you are a real person who actually reads HCR's blog.
I am by training a historian:
https://twitter.com/john_schmeeckle/status/1497950349549879302
From out of left field, nonsense.
...said the I.M.F. Holocaust denier:
https://heathercoxrichardson.substack.com/p/january-15-2023/comment/11967315
When you see the name: Schmeeckle....Just scroll on. Do not comment: it's a waste of time.
Judy, I agree, no reason to feed the troll. However, I do typically report using the ellipses under its comments.
So do I....I recommended to him that he start his own substack.
I wonder how many other substacks he is infesting......
...said the paid Biden troll.
Five million percent, Alexandra? That's a lot. I'm in!
Lynell, yes, I feel strongly about it.
Lynell, yes, I feel strongly about it. :)