Today, twenty more House Republicans, including House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, the top Republican in the House, and Greg Pence, Vice President Mike Pence’s older brother, signed onto the lawsuit filed by the Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton asking the Supreme Court first to take up the lawsuit, and then to throw out the presidential electors for Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, Georgia, and Michigan.
Response from Randy Rainbow to one of Trump’s rage tweets: Biden has been won this election so many times he is now the 67th president of the United States. 😂😂
Can the Republican Party redeem themselves and become, once again, the party of Lincoln? I seriously doubt it. The underpinnings of the modern Republican Party are riddled with dry rot. There's nothing substantial left to rebuild on.
Follow the money, and the money for the Republican Party is coming from trump's perennial election campaign, in turn fueling the Congressional and state government turncoats who are supporting these seditious attacks on our democratic process decreed in the U.S. Constitution. The reasonable Lincoln Project Republicans have a big hurdle to overcome with this money factor, whether it be to reclaim the party or to split and become a third party.
The Lincoln Project types would also have to de-Nazify the Gingrichian ideologues, which is a long term process.
Get a Fairness Doctrine that includes social media and get rid of Citizens United dark money channels, and maybe we have a chance.
Based on an interview Steve Schmidt gave 2 days ago on Christian Amanpour, I rather think a 3rd party is going to be the direction the Lincoln Project will move toward. TLP are vehemently anti-fascist, anti-neo Nazi. During that interview Schmidt was adamant that the only way to dig out the rot that's overtaken the Republican Party is to build a strong coalition against Trump and Trumpism, (the rot has existed long before Trump took office, Trump was the catalyst). That means everyone, Democrats, like minded Independents, et al. have to stand up and fight alongside TLP and other anti-Trump Republicans or they will continue to use the US and her people as their doormat.
It's also important to pay attention to former Republican insiders who cut their teeth within the party and have left the party. They understand the party dynamics, they know the party psychology, and they know what offensive tactics to use against the party. It's not just "The Lincoln Project Types" who have to resist and de-Nazify the Republican Party, it's ALL of us. Democratic Party infighting and mudslinging will undermine a forceful, united effort to build a strong, vocal, effective resistance against Trump Republicans. All of our future depend on it.
We may have policy differences with TLP but now is not the time to decide they need to root out the Republican evil on their own. It's early days yet. Decent people of all political persuasions need to stand together against the Republican Party until ALL the rot is gone.
I've put a reminder on my phone to tell me to watch the Washington State electors cast their votes on Monday. This weekend, there are protestors in downtown Olympia from both sides of this struggle - one person has already been shot (I don't have any more details).
In 2016, 4 electors chose to go against state law and not cast their votes for Hillary Clinton. They were each fined $1,000 and were replaced with alternates. Washington State law orders that our electors cast their votes with the national popular vote, regardless of state results.
Two U.S. Representatives from WA signed onto the Paxton/T**** seditious, spurious amicus brief to SCOTUS and even though Biden won the popular vote and our 12 electors were selected by the Democratic Party, even though the suit was thrown out, who knows what kind of chaos is about to erupt???
In agreement with you. TLP has been a clear voice about what is happening to the Republican Party. I listen to their podcasts, watch their ads, and am grateful for their stance. Steve Schmidt has been a clear voice for several years. Battleground with David Plouffe is a favorite info vehicle. ❤️🤍💙
I'll be careful supporting the Lincoln Project. They are still republicans at core. They said nothing about Dear Amy in the Supreme Court. They have their own agenda.
It’s often a very good idea to contemplate and sort out and understand what the motivations are, or might be, behind the actions of not only individuals, but groups as well. At this moment in time, I believe Lincoln Project founders and those who participate in their very important discussions via podcasts or live interviews have at the forefront of their agenda, country over party. They did discuss SCOTUS, maybe not in-depth, but did. https://open.spotify.com/episode/6ErcVbC1m0zyydPEylI4ty?si=27K7MZ31SyKu2SfFpaya0w
I understand that. We need two parties, integrity (to the extent possible), true conServatism and a choice. Let’s not beatify the Dems, who have their own issues to resolve, though.
Integrity! What a concept, right? Power corrupts, it takes money to make money, and there is plenty of dirt to be found among Democrats. I’m not too thrilled of late with California Gov. Newsom’s self-serving business-promoting hypocrisy and milking PPP loans. So we keep eyes wide open and call out bad behavior.
I agree. I have supported them for awhile, and listen to all their podcasts and have joined their town halls. Even listen to Rick Wilson on The NEw Abnormal
I'm an outlier on this one. Although I applaud the TLP's takedown of Republicans in the fight to expose them, I believe members of the TLP are trained in political marketing. As such, they can use their takedown tactics viciously on any target. Beware.
Perhaps, but right now there is more than policy debate at risk. And, as yet, the takedown of the fascist arm of the Republican party is far from over. The choice right now us this, fight fire with fire or roll over and let Trump Republicans, on all levels, take over the country.
Well, non-trumplicans need to fight a lot harder. I say we support
TLP to save our democracy. If they stay middle of the road and pro-democracy, I say we unite. (of course, I am an Independent and am not interested and not pro-party at all costs. When a party goes awry, particularly a seditious party = trumplicans it is time to stake a line in the new territory we need to fight for. I think these middle of the road repubs at TLP have proven they are not idiots and have stood up to their party, perhaps late but maybe just in time. And they know how to fight and are putting their money where their mouths are. The dems have felt like wet noodles thrown against the wall while the titanic is sinking. I am backing those who know how to fight -- it is the only life raft I see in a rather large ocean of grift and death today.
Excellent statement. Well said. I believe they had a part to play that was very important: they have contacts in the party, they knew how to speak “Republican” to those who needed to hear an anti-trump message and they knew the best way to counterprogram.
You are not alone. LP is made up of people who until very recently were getting Nixon/Reagan/Bushes elected (and Newt and and and). They don't oppose the policies, merely Trump's delivery. Sure, Trump is a cancer on the party and country but just removing him will not bring things back to normal. The republican congressional response to Obama was not normal. I side-eye the Lincoln Project a lot, but it is fascinating to see a group using Republican tactics to go after Republicans. Sorta like when the two biggest bullies at your school get into a fight and you're like, oh, no please. someone stop them. eventually. and again...I am honestly riveted by what happens to LP and all the republicans who voted for Biden after the election. I have no idea.
I'm going to play historian here and give you all a necessary political education. On June 22, 1941, upon being informed of the Nazi invasion of the USSR, Churchill immediately cabled Stalin with an offer of unconditional alliance against Hitler. He confirmed it immediately after by ordering that 100 aircraft on their way to the UK from the USA under Lend-Lease be diverted to Murmansk. An aide reminded him that he had been among those most active in trying to suppress the Bolshevik Revolution, and while in government in the early 1920s had participated in a plan to assassinate Stalin. How could he forget 20 years of his own history and do this? He replied, "If Hitler were to invade Hell, I should at least have a good word for the devil."
Like Churchill, we can go back to arguing policies after we take care of insuring the system that allows the policy arguments with no one risking prison is fixed. The only question we need ask is: do you favor a constitutional democratic republic? And the only necessary answer is "yes."
The other side aren't the only ones who need to deal with their tribalism in this struggle. Get off FB and stop drinking the poisoned Ginseng Tea.
? why the snark? I didn't suggest I wasn't in favor of LP. As a liberal D, I am not simply their target audience. I wish them well in what they are doing, appreciated their work on Nov., but let's be clear who they are. Politics is the art of the possible. It's good for us to work with them now. And as I said, I am fascinated by what will become of them when Trump is defeated. I take it as a promising sign that they are on the ground in GA working to defeat Purdue of Loeffler. So discouraging to have unpleasantness here.
I will add this: everything above is true and I bet most of us would disagree on policy. However, we couldn’t worry about what color to paint the living room while the house was on fire. T hey cared more for democracy than for the party and saw what was coming at us.
A functioning democracy needs to be structured on a loyal opposition—in our case, loyalty by both Democrats and Republicans to the U.S. Constitution.
The Republican Party has become a seditious opposition with:
1) co-opting a false narrative that the Democrats are disloyal “socialists,”
2) challenging the rule of law, that no one is above the law,
3) all the actions to undermine the democratic process through voter suppression, and
4) promotion of disinformation to grow chaos among the masses in service of international oligarchy power in line with a Kremlin program of “active measures.”
I don’t think you are an outlier. Blind faith and belief in racist propaganda is exactly the problem. You’re reminding us to stay vigilant with critical thinking skills.
Did you see Steve's "open letter" to AOC requesting unity under a common goal? Assuring her that LP does want to listen, and they have high regard for her. I am paraphrasing, but it is interesting nonetheless.
If Schmidt’s intention was to support class issues, I found his referring to AOC as a “waitress” to be diminishing. And why only her? There are a number of other progressive members of Congress.
AOC makes a big deal of having been a waitress and how people in jobs like that are looked down on. So that was an attempt at saying no, that's not what they think.
As far as asking her to make a connection, she might be "one of many" but she's a "leading" one of many.
Despite your reference to lack of sleep, this is very well said, Daria. I completely agree. I have not seen that interview with Steve Schmidt but will look for it. I have been off twitter for a while (over a month) and have not been seeing TLP updates otherwise but was following closely for quite some time prior to that and watching TLP podcasts regularly. I am encouraged to hear that they may become the “new” third party that this country will need to survive trumpism.
Thanks, Karen. I've backed away from Facebook and need to do the same with Twitter as well. Too is a force to be reckoned with. I'm glad they don't stand with Trump.
I watched The Social Dilemma on Netflix recently. While I already knew much of what they discussed, they provided detail and more information that I was not aware of. Needless to say, I am horrified. Anyone who has not watched it most definitely should. I remain on Facebook because in many cases that is my only contact with old/ distant friends and family. But I have dropped my usage to a few minutes one day a week. Twitter I really miss but have not been on at all in over a month. I have mixed feelings about all this because I worry about missing “news” but then I remind myself that I am being manipulated and commodified. I don’t think either platform has been responsible about disinformation, whether they “officially” stand with trump or not. But at least twitter has flagged/blocked some of his posts and banned some people. That’s much more than Facebook has done.
Being off Facebook has been difficult. I've not been able to participate in things like Heather's live calls, follow local goings on here in Merida, keep up with family, friends, etc., in the US. Twitter can be just as insidious, I've found, ( though I do love telling Donald he's a useless jerk even if he never actually reads the tweet).
This might be a good time to admit though I do have a Twitter account and have visited it from time to time, I still have no idea how it works. So I log in and read some tweets that are in front of me but then am at a loss as to what to do, so I leave! As for FB, my "friends" are people that I knew before FB. I subscribe to View From My Window, Pets of the Pandemic, and of course listen to Heather's chats. I don't know enough about how FB works maybe to realize how bad it is. I never see anything on my page from 45.
Another Republicans-unhappy-with-T****-group to watch is Defending Democracy Together: www.defendingdemocracytogether.org. They sponsored the Republican Voters Against T**** videos that you may have seen on YouTube: rvat.org.
When a person is securely anchored intellectually and morally, then “rambling” is still on point. We see the same with, for example, reader R Dolley’s recent heartfelt “rant” and when Heather apologizes for being sleep deprived and therefore “loopy” for a video talk that of course is her usual brilliantly clear!
Thanks, Pam. Besides the trump angst, here in Mexico today is the feast day of Our Lady of Guadalupe, the fireworks and bottle rockets started at midnight. There sounds to be more than usual. Maybe because of social distancing?
Wealthy gentlepersonly Greenwich Republicans in 2016: “a vision of politics that forgives cruelty as the price of profit. In the long battle between the self and service, we have, for the moment, settled firmly on the self...we stopped worrying about ‘the moral issue here.’”
Pardon me while I vomit over "gentlepersonly Greenwich Republicans". I was a nanny in one of those Greenwich households for a few months in the mid-70's. I am so not surprised all those rich white people learned to love T****.
Thank you Daria for starting this thread and your other comments; Ellie also and others. Rebuilding while digging out the rot is the project going forward. The Republican party does not exist as we once saw it; it is now Trump. Hope for TLP as catalyst. They are Republicans, but of a different stripe (one hopes to see more of what they are going to be). It will also require what I would call a "religious conversion' on the part of millions who have recently converted to the "religion of Trumpism" (yes, you can call it a "religion" on just about all counts---it is a belief system that orders the world, guides life, answers major questions, etc..... It even has rituals (rallies), chants (you know what they are) and all the rest. ) Note last night that David Brooks on PBS evoked elements of "religiosity" in talking about Trumpism. Brooks and Shield are a necessary Friday ritual---with HCR everyday!
G, thanks. I think you're spot on about the "religious" aspect of trumpism. What is still shocking to me is how quickly people fell in line. it is going to take so much longer to repair the damage.
Daria, thanks for getting this particular thread started. About the quickness of "falling in line" : Think of the wave of revivals that swept Kentucky and elsewhere in the early 19th century and New England earlier---this was a remarkable creation of a shared ideology in a frontier community/society in formation. Same for the wave of revivals by Charles Finney (pres. of Oberlin College where I spent 40 years on the faculty). People convert quickly, especially in highly orchestrated mass gatherings (which is what the Kentucky revivals were). Some literature worth reading there. Right now the Democrats have no messaging, no focus, no power to convert anyone. The GOP has mastered the art of messaging (someone has a post today quoting Rove on creating their own reality---he was very spot on about what they were doing---and are still doing. Newt did the same thing---it is "all" rhetoric; and rhetoric moves crowds and individuals. End of the rant, so to speak. Thanks for all your comments.
The “quickness of ‘falling in line’” is something to consider. There is something about myth (the racist assertion of blatantly false “facts”) combined with the quest for money and luxurious lifestyle, combined with the far reaching speed and amplification of social media. They are exploiting “the American Dream” to a toxic end, getting people to choose glittery money over principles of democracy and values of decency.
Comes back to our needing a Fairness Doctrine inclusive of social media ASAP!
“The internet of 2020 is ruled by the ‘attention economy’. People’s attention is commodified in a way that never happened before.” "Now more than ever, the urgent matters that face us need a cool head."
I re-read the article from Harpers Magazine this morning. I think it came from someone on this forum. The Silenced Majority by Rana Dasgupta. It's just as scary, thought provoking as the first read. The thought that a few are steering us back to the 18th century is depressing. And the power & control of Big Data by a few from Silicon Valley.....
Dasgupta’s “The Silenced Majority” is a critical read on the global context and threats to democracy. Dedicate at least an hour to absorb this. We cannot put our heads in the sand.
But, our government is now set up for two parties. Upstart / new parties never last long and soon re-incorporate into the old. It will be interesting to see if the Lincoln Project can wrest away control. So far...no.
Yes, I understand that. My comment was in response to HCR's last sentence in this letter: "They could reject the ideology of the Confederacy and reclaim the Party of Lincoln."
Four years ago I circled November 3, 2020 in red. That would be the day I could vote to defeat Donald Trump. As it turned out, I deposited my mail-in ballot in an official drop box on October 3. I then waiting anxiously for election day and all ballots to be counted. Living in a state that doesn’t permit mail-in ballots to be processed until the in-person polls closed, I realized that the results of the election would not be known for several days. I, along with millions of other Americans, waited on pins and needles to learn if America would continue its slide into oligarchy or begin to claw its way back to democracy. Then on November 7, Pennsylvania was called for Biden and I began to celebrate democracy’s return. That is until the baseless, evidence-free law suits and challenges began.
Since then a slow motion tennis match has been playing out in my head. On November 7, the score was Advantage Biden, with match point scheduled for December 14 in the Electoral College. But somehow, the Trump team could not accept the clarity of the election results and forced play to continue. They would file a lawsuit and the score would shift to Deuce; the suit would be laughed out of court and the score would revert to Advantage Biden. This farcical play reached its nadir when Texas’ AG filed suit in the Supreme Court. With Alito’s and Thomas’ statement yesterday, the stands (again) at Advantage Biden and Match Point is still scheduled for Monday.
As a Biden supporter I should be happy about what should happen on Monday. But these are not normal times. I remain anxiously optimistic that Biden will be inaugurated on January 20. But I fear the shenanigans that Trump and his minions will pull between now and then.
Under ‘normal’ circumstances, an incoming administration faces daunting challenges - nuclear threats in North Korea and Iran, military tension between China and India, growing disparity of wealth domestically, increased racial tension, etc., etc. Layer on the incompetently managed pandemic and the obstructionist approach to the transition by Trump and Biden will have more that his handful of issues to contend with.
I pray that he and his team are up to the challenges they face and that at the end of his term America will find itself well on the path towards democracy and that oligarchy will be rightly discredited and placed in the trash bin of history.
No person shall be a Senator or Representative in Congress, or elector of President and Vice President, or hold any office, civil or military, under the United States, or under any State, who, having previously taken an oath, as a member of Congress, or as an officer of the United States, or as a member of any State legislature, or as an executive or judicial officer of any State, to support the Constitution of the United States, shall have engaged in insurrection or rebellion against the same, or given aid or comfort to the enemies thereof. But Congress may by a vote of two-thirds of each House, remove such disability.
Are these Trump-Republicans getting close to giving up their seats in our United States, or their own state governments?
I lay claim to Kevin McCarthy. I have been fussing over the wording of a written letter of evisceration. Your suggestion is much better, and despite the fact of covid being so mismanaged here we have 0% ICU capacity, I will safely follow your suggestion. His office is less than a mile from.my home.
Which is precisely why Tom's suggestion is the better choice. I have an unfortunate character defect that raises it's head when I devolve to this level of rage.
I have no idea. Probably not. I live in NC, in a red part of a red state. But, if you don't buy a lottery ticket you can't complain if you don't win, right? ;) As for whether I will, sure.
I feel so good that my U.S. Congressional Representative, a Texas Republican, did NOT sign on the the Paxton suit. Neither did Senator Cornyn of Texas who was a judge in an earlier life. I sent them both thank you notes. Even so, my philosophy for the 2020 election was "Re-elect No One". Yes, there were a couple of exceptions to that rule. But, if they can't work together they don't belong in the government.
Good for you and your state! And great you sent a thank you note! My Michigan rep is an import from Louisiana strategically place by the GOP 4 years ago, who, despite his medaled military career, had no problem with sedition this week. I want the book thrown at him and every other congressional traitor.
I hope Biden’s AG will be able to investigate what is going on with some members of Congress, especially those who went to Moscow in July. I think we have to remember foreign influence and some degree of blackmail is taking place that needs to be stopped. I also would love to see some transparency with members of Congress and their personal conflict of interest, especially those that result in personal profit.
Morning, all!! Morning, Dr. R!! A rose by any other name...will still carry the same ideologies today as it did yesterday. But if, as Dr. R reminds us, democracy demands we have a two-party system, what should that other party look like?
Today I received an email from Senator Mark Warner (D-VA). Here is an excerpt:
"I am eager to work with the incoming Biden-Harris Administration to get the virus under control, provide comprehensive relief to struggling Americans, and ensure a successful and equitable distribution of the COVID-19 vaccine. The good news is that I’m not waiting for January 20th to take action. Over Thanksgiving, I teamed up with a bipartisan group of colleagues to put forward a bipartisan framework to provide emergency COVID-19 relief...As negotiations continue, I remain hopeful that Congress will get behind our effort before the holiday so that it can help get Americans through the winter months and serve as a bridge to the incoming Administration."
And then he goes on to ask for my -- !!! -- input for what issues he needs to focus on in the coming year. Color me optimistic, but this sure feels like democracy to me!
What a concept! Asking constituents for their input. Meantime, TN congressional officials ride the trump train, over the cliff if necessary. I must say, though, last evening Lamar Alexander (R) was on Meet the Press wondering what the point of this lawsuit was and he opined it didn’t seem very Republican to him. Now he speaks out. He’s retiring at the end of the month and will be replaced by a man whose advertising always included Trump’s name.
👍🏻Thank you got this message. I will be donating today and writing postcards. Yesterday, I listened to Jon Ossoff interviewed on Stay Tuned with Preet. He was impressive. Also, created my vision board for a GA ✌🏻 victory. ❤️🤍💙
The Republican Party has faced this potential schism before for different reasons; the External Tarrif battles of the period between the Civil War and the 1914-18 catastrophy. The tarrif shield essentially protected the weathy industrialists of both North and South, greasing the wheels of their monopolistic exploitation of the American people and the people's often meagre purchasing power. They faced it too in the attempts of T. Roosevelte and W. Taft to seriously dent the control exercised by "Morganic" Trusts on the American economy. It has always been the same battle; money against the people. The Republican Party only ever represented the world of Free Labour once...and only once...under the Presidency of Lincoln and in war. It never really got to the first stage of implementing it as doing so meant effectively splitting the party. There has ever since been this fundamental conflict in the Republican party ....People versus Money. Money has mostly won out and paid for the support of the Party leaders. Time for the supporters of the People to step out and effectively split from the corrupt Money Leaders. Hail the Lincoln Project....may they become the true descendants of the party that Lincoln brought to power. BUT that will not make the Money Republicans go away nor will they permit the split to happen peacefully. It is going to be WAR inside the Republican Party.
The Democrats need to get their messaging under control. Whomever came up with “Defund The Police” was truly a Marketing idiot. That silly and misleading slogan cost the Dems many down ballot races. insert face palm emoji here.
I was watching MSNBC Saturday night and they were discussing a leaked meeting between Biden & organization leaders who are demanding major changes in our police. Biden apparently told them the same thing and that he wasn’t going to defund them, but would retrain them.
Personally, I think we do need police, but certainly not criminals & hate groups with badges and authority. However, I hope that “retraining” includes investigations of all members into their affiliations and their removal if any are part of any bias groups. I hope they’re held accountable to all laws they’re supposed to uphold. I hope they break up the power the police over politicians. Lastly, I hope the break down the wall of silence - silence over illegal police acts is to be complicit in the crime.
Defund The Police was from the Black Lives Matter folks. Not idiots in my opinion. Wish they had chosen another name but then, I’m white. I should not have any say so.
It’s already happening and was inevitable when the powers that be toppled Bernie in South Carolina. But, Biden’s appointments have been somewhat encouraging. ❤️🤍💙
The Democratic voters of South Carolina “toppled” Sanders. He got his butt kicked in most of the midwest, too, often in counties he won handily in 2016. When you continue to insist Bernie was the victim of some nefarious conspiracy (a theory Bernie rejects) you just sound like the bitter end Trumpers.
When I'm asked what Party I belong to I reply I'm a Synergist. The whole is greater than the sum of the parts. The more perspectives we have, the more we value differences, the better solutions we can come up for the well-being of all.
I sure like the idea that the Lincoln Party replaces the Trump Party. Splitting the Republican Party will give the Biden administration a fighting chance at reinstating and growing democracy to be truly for everyone.
The Lincoln Project people are the heirs of the "Radical Republicans" of the 1860s who were deserted by the rest of their Party which ran off to join the Democrats in emasculating Reconstruction.
Well said, Stuart. Amen! Southern Planters and Northern Industrialists---the plague of the country and the people (Add neoliberal financiers and rentiers and you have the present millstones dragging down this country. Their only vision is dollar signs, gotten by hook or crook. (Sorry to be so negative; there are signs of renewal in the air, but it is going to be a struggle.)
I find it extremely interesting Haether's suggestion that the speed of flow and universality of access to information....of all sorts....helps limit the ability of the "confederate" republicans to achieve their ends of directly controlling the country in an autocratic, oligarchic fashion. Effectively, the media of all sorts are the messengers and not the message (with apologies to Marshal McLuhan) and Trump has been at great pains to "filter" and taint the messages that these different channels can carry....Fake News insults to non-compicit media....and to control the message that gets to the "mudsills" without regard for reality and for his own benefit.
The inability of the Trump Orcdom to silence the media who were saying the "The Emporer has no clothes" has stopped him imposing unilaterally and universally his "story". Competing stories have effectively undermined Trump's ability to transform the political environment permanently and destroyed his momentum. He got a long way along the road (74million votes), but in the election that he figured that he had effectively "rigged" by his lies and deceit that was not enough and the competing facts won the day.
The prevalence of the competing story in the "fake news" media didn't allow the Trump Orcdom to fully control the image that they projected. Their organizational incompetence, ideological blindness and uncaring attitude were clear to see...if you cared to look and were able to understand. The assumption that it won't happen again or even go further this time depends on that assumption that people will understand where their true interests lies, will listen and will act upon them when they are warned by the "fake news" media of impending danger. Some will, some won't!
The first lesson from this is that the "fake news" media telling facts, interpretations and opinions that are unhelpful to the Trump Orcdom are a danger that they cannot permit to continue...the next time around. Free press and free opinion need to be eliminated if the Trumpites are to succeed. No competing messages can be permitted. This is standard "revolutionary" strategy and makes taking over the key media a key military objective in any coup d'étât. It has rarely been necessary in a "democratic" revolution. In a democratic eruption, journalists are often in the lead tank and broadcasters are sitting right behind them (Hommage to Ed Morrow). The second lesson is that people have to understand the message, and see its implications for their lives. If they have little or no education and are not helped to think for themselves then they let other people think for them with often disastrous results for themselves and everyone else...fund it and organize it better. The third lesson that I would like to draw is that the variety of messages and opinions put out for all reasons is essential; censureship is rarely good for anyone and certainly not for the people eager to see what messages are out there before making up their mind. No private or public interest should be allowed to dominate the messages that are passed on; organizations such as the Sinclair media empire must be broken up and locally inspired news coverage supported. Finally, one comes back to the Fairness Doctrine as access to the "messaging system" and its different channels imposes obligations as well as offering rights. We don't ask people to necessarily tell every side of every story, but if they were obliged to distinguish clearly between what is fact and what is opinion it would help. If they are reporting hearsay, then make them say so and if they are reporting rumour do likewise. Maintaining that freedom of access is one of the key requirements of a democratic system. Maintaining its multiplicity and its freedom is essential to our lives.
When a person has to choose between unlikable evidence and an emotionally appealing narrative, the latter has a big advantage. Democracy needs help on both scores: a new Fairness Doctrine to get evidence more airtime, and lessons to all from the people who understand messaging, starting with The Lincoln Project and AOC.
Having been inspired by a fellow read to finally watch “The Social Dilemma,” we all need to pay more attention to the fact that truth is boring, and sensationalism is believed at a ratio of 6 times more. Yes, new Fairness Doctrine.
"When a person has to choose between unlikable evidence and an emotionally appealing narrative, the latter has a big advantage." - WOW, well said!! (I think the social psychologists call it confirmation bias, but your formulation is perfect!!
Thanks for bringing this up. The FCC and communications and anti-trust law in general will have to catch up to our present reality--multi-public squares. We operate out of the old radio/tv broadcasting base that "the public" owns the airwaves and that we have identifiable and limited gatekeepers (reverence to Cronkite) and journalistic sources. The current discussions around the Facebooks and Twitters of the world are bringing into relief the boundaries between messaging systems based on journalism and those which see themselves primarily as constructing a kind of digital Hyde Park Speakers' Corner where censorship is loose and heckling part of the shtick. But these 21st century corporate " big soap boxes" have shifted our public consciousness to the point that information has blurred into entertainment, heckling has become anonymous, cruel & defamatory, local journalism is gasping for life, and we have created societal wide pavlovian attention spans. Media literacy has become a full time endeavor of monitoring multiple moving targets and learning how to do it as we go along!
I totally agree that driving into the trumpian wake we will have to be vigilant about protecting a freedom of "press" (a better term for today??maybe "journalism"?) and opinion. But " do the research" became a battle cry of Trump supporters. By that they meant go to the various media resources canonized by their leader. The diverging stories are competing "realities" in our society. This time the bedrock of fact held but there is terrific erosion going on and I am wondering if the "public" has the will and even the wherewithall to keep watch on their multiple public squares?
"As God is my witness, I'll never trust this Republican Party again." ~ Scarlett O'Hara, 2020
What I view to be a treasonous gambit by 126 Republicans has fully exposed the dark under-belly of the Republican (RIP) body politic. The remaining Republican Congress is complicit via its silence. In January, they will raise their hands and lie to the country as they take this solemn oath, i.e., the promise that Americans who voted for them expect/expected them to keep:
“I, XXX, do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; that I take this obligation freely, without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion; and that I will well and faithfully discharge the duties of the office on which I am about to enter. So help me God.”
It's important to note that one-third of the U.S. Congress will make the same promise in January. How many of them will be salivating about ways to break trust with the people in ways large and small once the obligatory swearing-in has been completed?
Several earlier comments promote my core belief that The Lincoln Project (TLP) seems the most viable pathway to forming a new, viable, trustworthy, re-named, conservative third party. We've been following them closely since their inception. I can't speak to each member's detailed creds. But I'm placing my battered trust in their combined leadership. They made it clear from the get-go that they're in this for the long haul, i.e., beyond the November 2020 election and its chaotic aftermath. Miracle workers? No. But well worth following closely, IMO.
As for the 126 legislators and their comrades in the Senate, we know who you are. We know your names. And you'd better believe we'll be working our posteriors off to defeat you in 2022. We keep our promises.
Would it be at all possible for a class action lawsuit to be filed against the representatives/senators, brought by constituents, to unseat them for sedition, and breaking their oath of office?
I've wondered about this, too, Cathy! I doubt it, though, since it appears those whom we the people elect to office can be dealt with only via their next re-election attempt. When it comes to Senators, that's a desperately long time, e.g., Mitch McConnell, Ted Cruz, et al. We're experiencing how inadequate that tiny window is as POTUS and his cohorts brazenly mock and unassemble our democracy.
The only thing keeping me from screaming into the void and running for the hills (figuratively) this morning is that I listened to a wonderful podcast interview of HCR and attorney Steven Harper by Bill Moyers last night. Trying to hang on to some shred of hope.
This podcast is excellent. I'm sending the link to friends to listen to it. I love Heather's first calling it like she sees it and then still being an optimist in summary. What did I get from it:
a) A possible answer to what the changes in the Defense Dept are about -- lease the Defense Dept's 5G network to a private company - a $50B deal somehow to the monetary benefit of the lame duck 2) The reason Republicans are looking at the "danger" of socialism so differently than the Democrats do 3) what the Trumpian Party wants is an oligarchic kleptocracy because they know they can't win especially if the Fairness Doctrine is reinstated 4) that this is demise of democracy or the optimism of its rebirth into a new era of equity for all.
Excellent points Cathy, especially #1: always follow the money. Fears are crucial motivators for the Trumpublicans, but they are different for different classes of them. Political types--office holders and various hangers-on--are fearful of losing their positions and perks. The plutocrats are fearful that "socialism" could threaten, even in minor ways, their enormous wealth and attendant privileges. And the lumpenproletariat rank and file are resentful of their losses of status and previous economic niches, and fearful that The Others could gain further advantages at their expense.
And as others have said, tremendous threats to shared understandings of social reality if people can be brought to doubt that there is truth and accept it all comes down to who has the power. At least for the foreseeable future I find myself closer to Harper's concerns than to HCR's optimism. Even she notes, this is going to be a long struggle.
Thank you. I agree this is a frightening and pivotal time. Still, it is good to hang on to some hope and optimism. It is wonderful to think what a better democracy would be like.
As always, thank you from Texas. I am grateful to you for helping us through this precarious time with your informative and eloquent writing. When “the news” broke yesterday evening, I felt myself exhale, really exhale for the first time in over a month. Cheers.
I’m afraid people will forget this traitorous episode by the time House elections come around again. My representative signed on too and I’ll not let him forget it.
I was frankly surprised to not see Devin Nunes' name among them. Seven NC congress idiots signed on, some of whom were no surprise, like Virginia Foxx. Mark Walker must really, really want Richard Burr's seat in the Senate, too have sold his Baptist preacher soul for it, by siding with this crew.
As I told a friend yesterday, "My daddy didn't go off to war in 1942 just so 70 odd years later a bunch of feckless, fascist wannabes could try to overthrow a duly elected government."
And it never would have occurred to him that many would be members of the opposition party of said government. He must be spinning in his grave.
Imagine what we could accomplish”for the people” if we were a country with the united goal of improving lives for all, instead of having to constantly protect our democracy from the demons who are hell bent on destroying it
What? Wait...”New Nevada State”, “New California State?” My chin is on the floor! So this is IT...solidifying the start of the New Civil War? As we binge watch The Man In the High Castle and try to bathe in the Christmas Spirit, our country falls into an abyss greater than the Grand Canyon.
With the wisdom of the Supreme Court decision, we’ve only won another battle but the war rages on. I can predict the Trump Republicans will now discount and delegitimize the Court, just as they did the other entities that tried to block them or shine a light on their corruption (FBI, media, elected officials, individual citizens, etc). And the blind followers will believe and financially support them, just as the Confederates donated to “the Cause”.
Heather, the Southern Democrats-aka Confederates, fought for a cause spelled out by Hammond and others to protect their economy and way of life.
What are the present Trump Republicans fighting for? Power? Greed? To do what? What’s their “Cause”. How will history explain the current Need to Secede?
The objective & ideal outcome according to Trump Republicans: Trump Republicans are fighting for absolute power and dominance over all by the (white) chosen few. Once the trumpian riff-raff have done the grunt work they'll be tossed aside as garbage. It's the New Hunger Games with pandemic thrown in for good measure.
I live in Eastern Wa where an idiot wants to band with parts of northern Idaho to create the state of Liberty. I'm trying to figure out what their revenue base will be since many protest the real estate rates & we're heavily agriculture.
This is all So incredible..We have become perilously close to ending up with a Dictator..supported by a Sizeable group of supporter's as well as in Congress..I will not feel this is Not the case ..until I see President Elect Joe Biden Actually in the White House along with his cabinet as he has picked..And, still those same supporter's/members of Congress etc..will most likely continue with their Same ideology regardless if Biden is in the White House or not..The Governor of my state ..(FL) is a Trump follower 100%..I do not feel safe here..And my state basically Republican..This is all such a mess...
I too live in FL. I feel under attack actually. When the powers that be ignore science, no actively suppress science and freedom of speech, it's an assault. When desantis' "plan" to control the pandemic is just to ignore it and just let everyone get sick, it's an assault on my age group. My plan is to stay healthy just to spite them! Well, other reasons too...
I’m in Florida as well, and my congressman, Gus Bilirakis, signed onto that ludicrous lawsuit. I sent a letter to Bilirakis yesterday and copied our two Senators. I also sent one to the paper. Have no real hope that it will change anything. Any stupid state that elected Rick Scott as Senator after he totally screwed things up as Governor is beyond help.
Response from Randy Rainbow to one of Trump’s rage tweets: Biden has been won this election so many times he is now the 67th president of the United States. 😂😂
🤣😂 Don't you love Randy Rainbow!
One of the most creative satirists to emerge from Trump Time. I love the way he has created more and more visually complex pieces.
Yes!
That's priceless 🤣🤣!
Can the Republican Party redeem themselves and become, once again, the party of Lincoln? I seriously doubt it. The underpinnings of the modern Republican Party are riddled with dry rot. There's nothing substantial left to rebuild on.
Follow the money, and the money for the Republican Party is coming from trump's perennial election campaign, in turn fueling the Congressional and state government turncoats who are supporting these seditious attacks on our democratic process decreed in the U.S. Constitution. The reasonable Lincoln Project Republicans have a big hurdle to overcome with this money factor, whether it be to reclaim the party or to split and become a third party.
The Lincoln Project types would also have to de-Nazify the Gingrichian ideologues, which is a long term process.
Get a Fairness Doctrine that includes social media and get rid of Citizens United dark money channels, and maybe we have a chance.
Based on an interview Steve Schmidt gave 2 days ago on Christian Amanpour, I rather think a 3rd party is going to be the direction the Lincoln Project will move toward. TLP are vehemently anti-fascist, anti-neo Nazi. During that interview Schmidt was adamant that the only way to dig out the rot that's overtaken the Republican Party is to build a strong coalition against Trump and Trumpism, (the rot has existed long before Trump took office, Trump was the catalyst). That means everyone, Democrats, like minded Independents, et al. have to stand up and fight alongside TLP and other anti-Trump Republicans or they will continue to use the US and her people as their doormat.
It's also important to pay attention to former Republican insiders who cut their teeth within the party and have left the party. They understand the party dynamics, they know the party psychology, and they know what offensive tactics to use against the party. It's not just "The Lincoln Project Types" who have to resist and de-Nazify the Republican Party, it's ALL of us. Democratic Party infighting and mudslinging will undermine a forceful, united effort to build a strong, vocal, effective resistance against Trump Republicans. All of our future depend on it.
We may have policy differences with TLP but now is not the time to decide they need to root out the Republican evil on their own. It's early days yet. Decent people of all political persuasions need to stand together against the Republican Party until ALL the rot is gone.
I'm rambling. I haven't slept much overnight.
Daria this is cogent and specific. Not rambling at all. We all share your insomnia!! And your sentiments! Last night I finally took a breath.
Thanks Linda, it has been one helluva long haul, has it not?
Indeed it has, Daria. And this community has been what has kept me sane. Thank you!
It ain't over yet, Daria. We must stay vigilant and engaged.
I've put a reminder on my phone to tell me to watch the Washington State electors cast their votes on Monday. This weekend, there are protestors in downtown Olympia from both sides of this struggle - one person has already been shot (I don't have any more details).
In 2016, 4 electors chose to go against state law and not cast their votes for Hillary Clinton. They were each fined $1,000 and were replaced with alternates. Washington State law orders that our electors cast their votes with the national popular vote, regardless of state results.
Two U.S. Representatives from WA signed onto the Paxton/T**** seditious, spurious amicus brief to SCOTUS and even though Biden won the popular vote and our 12 electors were selected by the Democratic Party, even though the suit was thrown out, who knows what kind of chaos is about to erupt???
In agreement with you. TLP has been a clear voice about what is happening to the Republican Party. I listen to their podcasts, watch their ads, and am grateful for their stance. Steve Schmidt has been a clear voice for several years. Battleground with David Plouffe is a favorite info vehicle. ❤️🤍💙
I'll be careful supporting the Lincoln Project. They are still republicans at core. They said nothing about Dear Amy in the Supreme Court. They have their own agenda.
It’s often a very good idea to contemplate and sort out and understand what the motivations are, or might be, behind the actions of not only individuals, but groups as well. At this moment in time, I believe Lincoln Project founders and those who participate in their very important discussions via podcasts or live interviews have at the forefront of their agenda, country over party. They did discuss SCOTUS, maybe not in-depth, but did. https://open.spotify.com/episode/6ErcVbC1m0zyydPEylI4ty?si=27K7MZ31SyKu2SfFpaya0w
If that link didn’t come across correctly, it is a podcast from October 17.
I understand that. We need two parties, integrity (to the extent possible), true conServatism and a choice. Let’s not beatify the Dems, who have their own issues to resolve, though.
Integrity! What a concept, right? Power corrupts, it takes money to make money, and there is plenty of dirt to be found among Democrats. I’m not too thrilled of late with California Gov. Newsom’s self-serving business-promoting hypocrisy and milking PPP loans. So we keep eyes wide open and call out bad behavior.
I agree. I have supported them for awhile, and listen to all their podcasts and have joined their town halls. Even listen to Rick Wilson on The NEw Abnormal
I have done the same. The New Abnormal is one of my favorite Podcasts
I'm an outlier on this one. Although I applaud the TLP's takedown of Republicans in the fight to expose them, I believe members of the TLP are trained in political marketing. As such, they can use their takedown tactics viciously on any target. Beware.
Perhaps, but right now there is more than policy debate at risk. And, as yet, the takedown of the fascist arm of the Republican party is far from over. The choice right now us this, fight fire with fire or roll over and let Trump Republicans, on all levels, take over the country.
All I can say is choose your bedfellows carefully.
I'm not near as naive as you think I am 😉
Said from the perspective of a former moderate R, war and politics makes strange bedfellows on both sides.
Well, non-trumplicans need to fight a lot harder. I say we support
TLP to save our democracy. If they stay middle of the road and pro-democracy, I say we unite. (of course, I am an Independent and am not interested and not pro-party at all costs. When a party goes awry, particularly a seditious party = trumplicans it is time to stake a line in the new territory we need to fight for. I think these middle of the road repubs at TLP have proven they are not idiots and have stood up to their party, perhaps late but maybe just in time. And they know how to fight and are putting their money where their mouths are. The dems have felt like wet noodles thrown against the wall while the titanic is sinking. I am backing those who know how to fight -- it is the only life raft I see in a rather large ocean of grift and death today.
Excellent statement. Well said. I believe they had a part to play that was very important: they have contacts in the party, they knew how to speak “Republican” to those who needed to hear an anti-trump message and they knew the best way to counterprogram.
You are not alone. LP is made up of people who until very recently were getting Nixon/Reagan/Bushes elected (and Newt and and and). They don't oppose the policies, merely Trump's delivery. Sure, Trump is a cancer on the party and country but just removing him will not bring things back to normal. The republican congressional response to Obama was not normal. I side-eye the Lincoln Project a lot, but it is fascinating to see a group using Republican tactics to go after Republicans. Sorta like when the two biggest bullies at your school get into a fight and you're like, oh, no please. someone stop them. eventually. and again...I am honestly riveted by what happens to LP and all the republicans who voted for Biden after the election. I have no idea.
I'm going to play historian here and give you all a necessary political education. On June 22, 1941, upon being informed of the Nazi invasion of the USSR, Churchill immediately cabled Stalin with an offer of unconditional alliance against Hitler. He confirmed it immediately after by ordering that 100 aircraft on their way to the UK from the USA under Lend-Lease be diverted to Murmansk. An aide reminded him that he had been among those most active in trying to suppress the Bolshevik Revolution, and while in government in the early 1920s had participated in a plan to assassinate Stalin. How could he forget 20 years of his own history and do this? He replied, "If Hitler were to invade Hell, I should at least have a good word for the devil."
Like Churchill, we can go back to arguing policies after we take care of insuring the system that allows the policy arguments with no one risking prison is fixed. The only question we need ask is: do you favor a constitutional democratic republic? And the only necessary answer is "yes."
The other side aren't the only ones who need to deal with their tribalism in this struggle. Get off FB and stop drinking the poisoned Ginseng Tea.
? why the snark? I didn't suggest I wasn't in favor of LP. As a liberal D, I am not simply their target audience. I wish them well in what they are doing, appreciated their work on Nov., but let's be clear who they are. Politics is the art of the possible. It's good for us to work with them now. And as I said, I am fascinated by what will become of them when Trump is defeated. I take it as a promising sign that they are on the ground in GA working to defeat Purdue of Loeffler. So discouraging to have unpleasantness here.
I will add this: everything above is true and I bet most of us would disagree on policy. However, we couldn’t worry about what color to paint the living room while the house was on fire. T hey cared more for democracy than for the party and saw what was coming at us.
A functioning democracy needs to be structured on a loyal opposition—in our case, loyalty by both Democrats and Republicans to the U.S. Constitution.
The Republican Party has become a seditious opposition with:
1) co-opting a false narrative that the Democrats are disloyal “socialists,”
2) challenging the rule of law, that no one is above the law,
3) all the actions to undermine the democratic process through voter suppression, and
4) promotion of disinformation to grow chaos among the masses in service of international oligarchy power in line with a Kremlin program of “active measures.”
https://twitter.com/nprpolitics/status/1306680599529295873?s=21
I don’t think you are an outlier. Blind faith and belief in racist propaganda is exactly the problem. You’re reminding us to stay vigilant with critical thinking skills.
Did you see Steve's "open letter" to AOC requesting unity under a common goal? Assuring her that LP does want to listen, and they have high regard for her. I am paraphrasing, but it is interesting nonetheless.
Here's a link to the Steve Schmidt letter to AOC
https://twitter.com/natemax/status/1337637544146583555?s=20
If Schmidt’s intention was to support class issues, I found his referring to AOC as a “waitress” to be diminishing. And why only her? There are a number of other progressive members of Congress.
AOC makes a big deal of having been a waitress and how people in jobs like that are looked down on. So that was an attempt at saying no, that's not what they think.
As far as asking her to make a connection, she might be "one of many" but she's a "leading" one of many.
Read the entire thread.
Yes. I hope she responds.
This is exciting!
Despite your reference to lack of sleep, this is very well said, Daria. I completely agree. I have not seen that interview with Steve Schmidt but will look for it. I have been off twitter for a while (over a month) and have not been seeing TLP updates otherwise but was following closely for quite some time prior to that and watching TLP podcasts regularly. I am encouraged to hear that they may become the “new” third party that this country will need to survive trumpism.
Karen,
Here's the Schmidt interview on Amanpour & Co.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QjaygqD3m1I&feature=emb_rel_end&fbclid=IwAR1oNjIrOq7OeGkrUPxXAbtWkQRiNM7v6n6uKBSHOjNo2Kc1rFiTKBCVnRg
Thanks, Karen. I've backed away from Facebook and need to do the same with Twitter as well. Too is a force to be reckoned with. I'm glad they don't stand with Trump.
I watched The Social Dilemma on Netflix recently. While I already knew much of what they discussed, they provided detail and more information that I was not aware of. Needless to say, I am horrified. Anyone who has not watched it most definitely should. I remain on Facebook because in many cases that is my only contact with old/ distant friends and family. But I have dropped my usage to a few minutes one day a week. Twitter I really miss but have not been on at all in over a month. I have mixed feelings about all this because I worry about missing “news” but then I remind myself that I am being manipulated and commodified. I don’t think either platform has been responsible about disinformation, whether they “officially” stand with trump or not. But at least twitter has flagged/blocked some of his posts and banned some people. That’s much more than Facebook has done.
Being off Facebook has been difficult. I've not been able to participate in things like Heather's live calls, follow local goings on here in Merida, keep up with family, friends, etc., in the US. Twitter can be just as insidious, I've found, ( though I do love telling Donald he's a useless jerk even if he never actually reads the tweet).
This might be a good time to admit though I do have a Twitter account and have visited it from time to time, I still have no idea how it works. So I log in and read some tweets that are in front of me but then am at a loss as to what to do, so I leave! As for FB, my "friends" are people that I knew before FB. I subscribe to View From My Window, Pets of the Pandemic, and of course listen to Heather's chats. I don't know enough about how FB works maybe to realize how bad it is. I never see anything on my page from 45.
👍🏻
Another Republicans-unhappy-with-T****-group to watch is Defending Democracy Together: www.defendingdemocracytogether.org. They sponsored the Republican Voters Against T**** videos that you may have seen on YouTube: rvat.org.
I followed and am in agreement, Daria.
Wish I could ramble that smartly.
Mary Pat, you are kind.
When a person is securely anchored intellectually and morally, then “rambling” is still on point. We see the same with, for example, reader R Dolley’s recent heartfelt “rant” and when Heather apologizes for being sleep deprived and therefore “loopy” for a video talk that of course is her usual brilliantly clear!
I especially love when Heather claims loopiness. if I could be loopy like that I'd be thrilled!
You should look into Charlie Sykes, et al, from The Bulwark, created in 2015 after Trump became the Republican nominee.
Yes! Yes! Yes!! Your rambling is spot on!
Thanks for the rambling. Hope it will enable you to sleep.
Thanks, Pam. Besides the trump angst, here in Mexico today is the feast day of Our Lady of Guadalupe, the fireworks and bottle rockets started at midnight. There sounds to be more than usual. Maybe because of social distancing?
Trump was not the catalyst. He was recruited.
Wealthy gentlepersonly Greenwich Republicans in 2016: “a vision of politics that forgives cruelty as the price of profit. In the long battle between the self and service, we have, for the moment, settled firmly on the self...we stopped worrying about ‘the moral issue here.’”
https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2020/05/11/how-greenwich-republicans-learned-to-love-trump
Pardon me while I vomit over "gentlepersonly Greenwich Republicans". I was a nanny in one of those Greenwich households for a few months in the mid-70's. I am so not surprised all those rich white people learned to love T****.
YES! YES! YES!!!!
The Lincoln Project.
Your last paragraph says it all. Many thanks.
Agree with the last paragraph completely as well.
Good points.
Thank you Daria for starting this thread and your other comments; Ellie also and others. Rebuilding while digging out the rot is the project going forward. The Republican party does not exist as we once saw it; it is now Trump. Hope for TLP as catalyst. They are Republicans, but of a different stripe (one hopes to see more of what they are going to be). It will also require what I would call a "religious conversion' on the part of millions who have recently converted to the "religion of Trumpism" (yes, you can call it a "religion" on just about all counts---it is a belief system that orders the world, guides life, answers major questions, etc..... It even has rituals (rallies), chants (you know what they are) and all the rest. ) Note last night that David Brooks on PBS evoked elements of "religiosity" in talking about Trumpism. Brooks and Shield are a necessary Friday ritual---with HCR everyday!
G, thanks. I think you're spot on about the "religious" aspect of trumpism. What is still shocking to me is how quickly people fell in line. it is going to take so much longer to repair the damage.
Daria, thanks for getting this particular thread started. About the quickness of "falling in line" : Think of the wave of revivals that swept Kentucky and elsewhere in the early 19th century and New England earlier---this was a remarkable creation of a shared ideology in a frontier community/society in formation. Same for the wave of revivals by Charles Finney (pres. of Oberlin College where I spent 40 years on the faculty). People convert quickly, especially in highly orchestrated mass gatherings (which is what the Kentucky revivals were). Some literature worth reading there. Right now the Democrats have no messaging, no focus, no power to convert anyone. The GOP has mastered the art of messaging (someone has a post today quoting Rove on creating their own reality---he was very spot on about what they were doing---and are still doing. Newt did the same thing---it is "all" rhetoric; and rhetoric moves crowds and individuals. End of the rant, so to speak. Thanks for all your comments.
The “quickness of ‘falling in line’” is something to consider. There is something about myth (the racist assertion of blatantly false “facts”) combined with the quest for money and luxurious lifestyle, combined with the far reaching speed and amplification of social media. They are exploiting “the American Dream” to a toxic end, getting people to choose glittery money over principles of democracy and values of decency.
Comes back to our needing a Fairness Doctrine inclusive of social media ASAP!
On the attention economy:
“The internet of 2020 is ruled by the ‘attention economy’. People’s attention is commodified in a way that never happened before.” "Now more than ever, the urgent matters that face us need a cool head."
https://stevengambardella.medium.com/on-umair-haque-abdd762860b
I re-read the article from Harpers Magazine this morning. I think it came from someone on this forum. The Silenced Majority by Rana Dasgupta. It's just as scary, thought provoking as the first read. The thought that a few are steering us back to the 18th century is depressing. And the power & control of Big Data by a few from Silicon Valley.....
Dasgupta’s “The Silenced Majority” is a critical read on the global context and threats to democracy. Dedicate at least an hour to absorb this. We cannot put our heads in the sand.
https://harpers.org/archive/2020/12/the-silenced-majority/
BTW why I value having learned to use Twitter this year like HCR does to learn news and be able to retrieve and amplify it.
I’d have comb our posts over the past few weeks, but HCR reader Dan Thompson comes to mind.
But, our government is now set up for two parties. Upstart / new parties never last long and soon re-incorporate into the old. It will be interesting to see if the Lincoln Project can wrest away control. So far...no.
They haven't been the party of Lincoln for 80 or 90 years. Every political party eventually dies at the hand of the revolution that brought it about.
Yes, I understand that. My comment was in response to HCR's last sentence in this letter: "They could reject the ideology of the Confederacy and reclaim the Party of Lincoln."
Four years ago I circled November 3, 2020 in red. That would be the day I could vote to defeat Donald Trump. As it turned out, I deposited my mail-in ballot in an official drop box on October 3. I then waiting anxiously for election day and all ballots to be counted. Living in a state that doesn’t permit mail-in ballots to be processed until the in-person polls closed, I realized that the results of the election would not be known for several days. I, along with millions of other Americans, waited on pins and needles to learn if America would continue its slide into oligarchy or begin to claw its way back to democracy. Then on November 7, Pennsylvania was called for Biden and I began to celebrate democracy’s return. That is until the baseless, evidence-free law suits and challenges began.
Since then a slow motion tennis match has been playing out in my head. On November 7, the score was Advantage Biden, with match point scheduled for December 14 in the Electoral College. But somehow, the Trump team could not accept the clarity of the election results and forced play to continue. They would file a lawsuit and the score would shift to Deuce; the suit would be laughed out of court and the score would revert to Advantage Biden. This farcical play reached its nadir when Texas’ AG filed suit in the Supreme Court. With Alito’s and Thomas’ statement yesterday, the stands (again) at Advantage Biden and Match Point is still scheduled for Monday.
As a Biden supporter I should be happy about what should happen on Monday. But these are not normal times. I remain anxiously optimistic that Biden will be inaugurated on January 20. But I fear the shenanigans that Trump and his minions will pull between now and then.
Under ‘normal’ circumstances, an incoming administration faces daunting challenges - nuclear threats in North Korea and Iran, military tension between China and India, growing disparity of wealth domestically, increased racial tension, etc., etc. Layer on the incompetently managed pandemic and the obstructionist approach to the transition by Trump and Biden will have more that his handful of issues to contend with.
I pray that he and his team are up to the challenges they face and that at the end of his term America will find itself well on the path towards democracy and that oligarchy will be rightly discredited and placed in the trash bin of history.
Well stated...and in this case, I pray that LOVE 💗 (truth and justice) will prevail 😉
Section 3 of the 14th Amendment states:
No person shall be a Senator or Representative in Congress, or elector of President and Vice President, or hold any office, civil or military, under the United States, or under any State, who, having previously taken an oath, as a member of Congress, or as an officer of the United States, or as a member of any State legislature, or as an executive or judicial officer of any State, to support the Constitution of the United States, shall have engaged in insurrection or rebellion against the same, or given aid or comfort to the enemies thereof. But Congress may by a vote of two-thirds of each House, remove such disability.
Are these Trump-Republicans getting close to giving up their seats in our United States, or their own state governments?
Just wondering...
One Representative has asked Speaker Pelosi to have the House vote to unseat them all:
https://pascrell.house.gov/uploadedfiles/qualifications_letter_revised_version2.pdf?fbclid=IwAR3Wbz9bkfuexkkwuok5mwT08MOujvTs_XvnIXzJ5n50dlWnnnYbnobXCOo
"cleanse our government" - indeed. Bring on the bleach, the detergent, the oxy-clean, whatever it takes.......................
That's what Biden will literally have done in the White House before he and his staff move in.
It sure seems like this should be the case! How can/do “we the people” go about making this happen?
My own representative here in Michigan signed on to the Texas filing to SCOTUS, seeking to nullify my vote. I WANT HIM GONE!!
I’d suggest printing out the Federal statute on sedition and showing up to one of the representative’s local offices on Monday morning.
I lay claim to Kevin McCarthy. I have been fussing over the wording of a written letter of evisceration. Your suggestion is much better, and despite the fact of covid being so mismanaged here we have 0% ICU capacity, I will safely follow your suggestion. His office is less than a mile from.my home.
Let's not use the language of violence. That makes us no better than the people calling for violence on the other side. I do agree with you.
Which is precisely why Tom's suggestion is the better choice. I have an unfortunate character defect that raises it's head when I devolve to this level of rage.
Right there with you.
Is it still sedition when a large group of people do it?
If the Justice system gets their head out from up Trump’s butt, I hope it chooses to legally pursue charges of sedition by members of our government.
Write, email, and/or call their office and make your displeasure known. Encourage any like-minded friends to do so as well. Good luck!
Will you? Will it make any difference?
I have no idea. Probably not. I live in NC, in a red part of a red state. But, if you don't buy a lottery ticket you can't complain if you don't win, right? ;) As for whether I will, sure.
I will, but I doubt that it will do any good.....
I feel so good that my U.S. Congressional Representative, a Texas Republican, did NOT sign on the the Paxton suit. Neither did Senator Cornyn of Texas who was a judge in an earlier life. I sent them both thank you notes. Even so, my philosophy for the 2020 election was "Re-elect No One". Yes, there were a couple of exceptions to that rule. But, if they can't work together they don't belong in the government.
Good for you and your state! And great you sent a thank you note! My Michigan rep is an import from Louisiana strategically place by the GOP 4 years ago, who, despite his medaled military career, had no problem with sedition this week. I want the book thrown at him and every other congressional traitor.
I hope Biden’s AG will be able to investigate what is going on with some members of Congress, especially those who went to Moscow in July. I think we have to remember foreign influence and some degree of blackmail is taking place that needs to be stopped. I also would love to see some transparency with members of Congress and their personal conflict of interest, especially those that result in personal profit.
but.... if we need 2/3 vote in each house to remove them ??
I think sedition might provide indictments...at least that is my dream.
Morning, all!! Morning, Dr. R!! A rose by any other name...will still carry the same ideologies today as it did yesterday. But if, as Dr. R reminds us, democracy demands we have a two-party system, what should that other party look like?
Today I received an email from Senator Mark Warner (D-VA). Here is an excerpt:
"I am eager to work with the incoming Biden-Harris Administration to get the virus under control, provide comprehensive relief to struggling Americans, and ensure a successful and equitable distribution of the COVID-19 vaccine. The good news is that I’m not waiting for January 20th to take action. Over Thanksgiving, I teamed up with a bipartisan group of colleagues to put forward a bipartisan framework to provide emergency COVID-19 relief...As negotiations continue, I remain hopeful that Congress will get behind our effort before the holiday so that it can help get Americans through the winter months and serve as a bridge to the incoming Administration."
And then he goes on to ask for my -- !!! -- input for what issues he needs to focus on in the coming year. Color me optimistic, but this sure feels like democracy to me!
What a concept! Asking constituents for their input. Meantime, TN congressional officials ride the trump train, over the cliff if necessary. I must say, though, last evening Lamar Alexander (R) was on Meet the Press wondering what the point of this lawsuit was and he opined it didn’t seem very Republican to him. Now he speaks out. He’s retiring at the end of the month and will be replaced by a man whose advertising always included Trump’s name.
It sounds so daunting. Too bad Lamar Alexander is retiring. He sounds like someone who doesn't mind crossing the aisle.
No credit given. First time he’s done it—on his way out the door.
AGAIN...We must win those Senate seats in GA...So Critical!!! Please Support candidates Wernock and Ossoff monetarily if you can!!!!..........
👍🏻Thank you got this message. I will be donating today and writing postcards. Yesterday, I listened to Jon Ossoff interviewed on Stay Tuned with Preet. He was impressive. Also, created my vision board for a GA ✌🏻 victory. ❤️🤍💙
sp..Warnock..
People can also sign up to do remote ballot cure calls for Georgia voters. Helps ensure that their ballots are counted. I’ve done several of these 2 hour shifts already. The voters I’ve spoken with are very appreciative. Here’s the sign up for dates and times: https://www.mobilize.us/dpgvoterprotection/event/362889/?referring_vol=4261352&rname=Bethany×lot=2550356&share_medium=sms_copy_link&share_context=sms_registration_with_transactional
The Republican Party has faced this potential schism before for different reasons; the External Tarrif battles of the period between the Civil War and the 1914-18 catastrophy. The tarrif shield essentially protected the weathy industrialists of both North and South, greasing the wheels of their monopolistic exploitation of the American people and the people's often meagre purchasing power. They faced it too in the attempts of T. Roosevelte and W. Taft to seriously dent the control exercised by "Morganic" Trusts on the American economy. It has always been the same battle; money against the people. The Republican Party only ever represented the world of Free Labour once...and only once...under the Presidency of Lincoln and in war. It never really got to the first stage of implementing it as doing so meant effectively splitting the party. There has ever since been this fundamental conflict in the Republican party ....People versus Money. Money has mostly won out and paid for the support of the Party leaders. Time for the supporters of the People to step out and effectively split from the corrupt Money Leaders. Hail the Lincoln Project....may they become the true descendants of the party that Lincoln brought to power. BUT that will not make the Money Republicans go away nor will they permit the split to happen peacefully. It is going to be WAR inside the Republican Party.
And, I predict battle inside the democratic party too.
The Democrats need to get their messaging under control. Whomever came up with “Defund The Police” was truly a Marketing idiot. That silly and misleading slogan cost the Dems many down ballot races. insert face palm emoji here.
I was watching MSNBC Saturday night and they were discussing a leaked meeting between Biden & organization leaders who are demanding major changes in our police. Biden apparently told them the same thing and that he wasn’t going to defund them, but would retrain them.
Personally, I think we do need police, but certainly not criminals & hate groups with badges and authority. However, I hope that “retraining” includes investigations of all members into their affiliations and their removal if any are part of any bias groups. I hope they’re held accountable to all laws they’re supposed to uphold. I hope they break up the power the police over politicians. Lastly, I hope the break down the wall of silence - silence over illegal police acts is to be complicit in the crime.
Defund The Police was from the Black Lives Matter folks. Not idiots in my opinion. Wish they had chosen another name but then, I’m white. I should not have any say so.
It’s already happening and was inevitable when the powers that be toppled Bernie in South Carolina. But, Biden’s appointments have been somewhat encouraging. ❤️🤍💙
The Democratic voters of South Carolina “toppled” Sanders. He got his butt kicked in most of the midwest, too, often in counties he won handily in 2016. When you continue to insist Bernie was the victim of some nefarious conspiracy (a theory Bernie rejects) you just sound like the bitter end Trumpers.
Interesting that South Carolina naming Senator Clyburn put Biden on top... Two elections in a row South Carolina chooses the Democratic candidate...
That's why the idea of a resurrection of the Whig Party with a base of disaffected Republicans AND Democrats is not impossible.
When I'm asked what Party I belong to I reply I'm a Synergist. The whole is greater than the sum of the parts. The more perspectives we have, the more we value differences, the better solutions we can come up for the well-being of all.
Indeed
I sure like the idea that the Lincoln Party replaces the Trump Party. Splitting the Republican Party will give the Biden administration a fighting chance at reinstating and growing democracy to be truly for everyone.
The Lincoln Project people are the heirs of the "Radical Republicans" of the 1860s who were deserted by the rest of their Party which ran off to join the Democrats in emasculating Reconstruction.
Well said, Stuart. Amen! Southern Planters and Northern Industrialists---the plague of the country and the people (Add neoliberal financiers and rentiers and you have the present millstones dragging down this country. Their only vision is dollar signs, gotten by hook or crook. (Sorry to be so negative; there are signs of renewal in the air, but it is going to be a struggle.)
I find it extremely interesting Haether's suggestion that the speed of flow and universality of access to information....of all sorts....helps limit the ability of the "confederate" republicans to achieve their ends of directly controlling the country in an autocratic, oligarchic fashion. Effectively, the media of all sorts are the messengers and not the message (with apologies to Marshal McLuhan) and Trump has been at great pains to "filter" and taint the messages that these different channels can carry....Fake News insults to non-compicit media....and to control the message that gets to the "mudsills" without regard for reality and for his own benefit.
The inability of the Trump Orcdom to silence the media who were saying the "The Emporer has no clothes" has stopped him imposing unilaterally and universally his "story". Competing stories have effectively undermined Trump's ability to transform the political environment permanently and destroyed his momentum. He got a long way along the road (74million votes), but in the election that he figured that he had effectively "rigged" by his lies and deceit that was not enough and the competing facts won the day.
The prevalence of the competing story in the "fake news" media didn't allow the Trump Orcdom to fully control the image that they projected. Their organizational incompetence, ideological blindness and uncaring attitude were clear to see...if you cared to look and were able to understand. The assumption that it won't happen again or even go further this time depends on that assumption that people will understand where their true interests lies, will listen and will act upon them when they are warned by the "fake news" media of impending danger. Some will, some won't!
The first lesson from this is that the "fake news" media telling facts, interpretations and opinions that are unhelpful to the Trump Orcdom are a danger that they cannot permit to continue...the next time around. Free press and free opinion need to be eliminated if the Trumpites are to succeed. No competing messages can be permitted. This is standard "revolutionary" strategy and makes taking over the key media a key military objective in any coup d'étât. It has rarely been necessary in a "democratic" revolution. In a democratic eruption, journalists are often in the lead tank and broadcasters are sitting right behind them (Hommage to Ed Morrow). The second lesson is that people have to understand the message, and see its implications for their lives. If they have little or no education and are not helped to think for themselves then they let other people think for them with often disastrous results for themselves and everyone else...fund it and organize it better. The third lesson that I would like to draw is that the variety of messages and opinions put out for all reasons is essential; censureship is rarely good for anyone and certainly not for the people eager to see what messages are out there before making up their mind. No private or public interest should be allowed to dominate the messages that are passed on; organizations such as the Sinclair media empire must be broken up and locally inspired news coverage supported. Finally, one comes back to the Fairness Doctrine as access to the "messaging system" and its different channels imposes obligations as well as offering rights. We don't ask people to necessarily tell every side of every story, but if they were obliged to distinguish clearly between what is fact and what is opinion it would help. If they are reporting hearsay, then make them say so and if they are reporting rumour do likewise. Maintaining that freedom of access is one of the key requirements of a democratic system. Maintaining its multiplicity and its freedom is essential to our lives.
When a person has to choose between unlikable evidence and an emotionally appealing narrative, the latter has a big advantage. Democracy needs help on both scores: a new Fairness Doctrine to get evidence more airtime, and lessons to all from the people who understand messaging, starting with The Lincoln Project and AOC.
Having been inspired by a fellow read to finally watch “The Social Dilemma,” we all need to pay more attention to the fact that truth is boring, and sensationalism is believed at a ratio of 6 times more. Yes, new Fairness Doctrine.
"When a person has to choose between unlikable evidence and an emotionally appealing narrative, the latter has a big advantage." - WOW, well said!! (I think the social psychologists call it confirmation bias, but your formulation is perfect!!
Indeed!
Thanks for bringing this up. The FCC and communications and anti-trust law in general will have to catch up to our present reality--multi-public squares. We operate out of the old radio/tv broadcasting base that "the public" owns the airwaves and that we have identifiable and limited gatekeepers (reverence to Cronkite) and journalistic sources. The current discussions around the Facebooks and Twitters of the world are bringing into relief the boundaries between messaging systems based on journalism and those which see themselves primarily as constructing a kind of digital Hyde Park Speakers' Corner where censorship is loose and heckling part of the shtick. But these 21st century corporate " big soap boxes" have shifted our public consciousness to the point that information has blurred into entertainment, heckling has become anonymous, cruel & defamatory, local journalism is gasping for life, and we have created societal wide pavlovian attention spans. Media literacy has become a full time endeavor of monitoring multiple moving targets and learning how to do it as we go along!
I totally agree that driving into the trumpian wake we will have to be vigilant about protecting a freedom of "press" (a better term for today??maybe "journalism"?) and opinion. But " do the research" became a battle cry of Trump supporters. By that they meant go to the various media resources canonized by their leader. The diverging stories are competing "realities" in our society. This time the bedrock of fact held but there is terrific erosion going on and I am wondering if the "public" has the will and even the wherewithall to keep watch on their multiple public squares?
"As God is my witness, I'll never trust this Republican Party again." ~ Scarlett O'Hara, 2020
What I view to be a treasonous gambit by 126 Republicans has fully exposed the dark under-belly of the Republican (RIP) body politic. The remaining Republican Congress is complicit via its silence. In January, they will raise their hands and lie to the country as they take this solemn oath, i.e., the promise that Americans who voted for them expect/expected them to keep:
“I, XXX, do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; that I take this obligation freely, without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion; and that I will well and faithfully discharge the duties of the office on which I am about to enter. So help me God.”
It's important to note that one-third of the U.S. Congress will make the same promise in January. How many of them will be salivating about ways to break trust with the people in ways large and small once the obligatory swearing-in has been completed?
Several earlier comments promote my core belief that The Lincoln Project (TLP) seems the most viable pathway to forming a new, viable, trustworthy, re-named, conservative third party. We've been following them closely since their inception. I can't speak to each member's detailed creds. But I'm placing my battered trust in their combined leadership. They made it clear from the get-go that they're in this for the long haul, i.e., beyond the November 2020 election and its chaotic aftermath. Miracle workers? No. But well worth following closely, IMO.
As for the 126 legislators and their comrades in the Senate, we know who you are. We know your names. And you'd better believe we'll be working our posteriors off to defeat you in 2022. We keep our promises.
If you haven’t read Stuart Steven’s book “It was all a lie” about the Republican Party, you need to. It’s spot on.
Would it be at all possible for a class action lawsuit to be filed against the representatives/senators, brought by constituents, to unseat them for sedition, and breaking their oath of office?
As noted herein by reader Don Plummer, Rep. Pascrell has asked Speaker Pelosi to have the House vote to unseat these 126 seditious representatives:
https://pascrell.house.gov/uploadedfiles/qualifications_letter_revised_version2.pdf?fbclid=IwAR3Wbz9bkfuexkkwuok5mwT08MOujvTs_XvnIXzJ5n50dlWnnnYbnobXCOo
I've wondered about this, too, Cathy! I doubt it, though, since it appears those whom we the people elect to office can be dealt with only via their next re-election attempt. When it comes to Senators, that's a desperately long time, e.g., Mitch McConnell, Ted Cruz, et al. We're experiencing how inadequate that tiny window is as POTUS and his cohorts brazenly mock and unassemble our democracy.
The only thing keeping me from screaming into the void and running for the hills (figuratively) this morning is that I listened to a wonderful podcast interview of HCR and attorney Steven Harper by Bill Moyers last night. Trying to hang on to some shred of hope.
https://billmoyers.com/story/podcast-democracy-on-the-edge-cox-richardson/
I listened to it also! Wasn’t it great?
It's brilliant.
I sat & read the whole thing - it was a great conversation between 3 intelligent, mainly hopeful beings!
This podcast is excellent. I'm sending the link to friends to listen to it. I love Heather's first calling it like she sees it and then still being an optimist in summary. What did I get from it:
a) A possible answer to what the changes in the Defense Dept are about -- lease the Defense Dept's 5G network to a private company - a $50B deal somehow to the monetary benefit of the lame duck 2) The reason Republicans are looking at the "danger" of socialism so differently than the Democrats do 3) what the Trumpian Party wants is an oligarchic kleptocracy because they know they can't win especially if the Fairness Doctrine is reinstated 4) that this is demise of democracy or the optimism of its rebirth into a new era of equity for all.
Excellent points Cathy, especially #1: always follow the money. Fears are crucial motivators for the Trumpublicans, but they are different for different classes of them. Political types--office holders and various hangers-on--are fearful of losing their positions and perks. The plutocrats are fearful that "socialism" could threaten, even in minor ways, their enormous wealth and attendant privileges. And the lumpenproletariat rank and file are resentful of their losses of status and previous economic niches, and fearful that The Others could gain further advantages at their expense.
And as others have said, tremendous threats to shared understandings of social reality if people can be brought to doubt that there is truth and accept it all comes down to who has the power. At least for the foreseeable future I find myself closer to Harper's concerns than to HCR's optimism. Even she notes, this is going to be a long struggle.
Thank you. I agree this is a frightening and pivotal time. Still, it is good to hang on to some hope and optimism. It is wonderful to think what a better democracy would be like.
As always, thank you from Texas. I am grateful to you for helping us through this precarious time with your informative and eloquent writing. When “the news” broke yesterday evening, I felt myself exhale, really exhale for the first time in over a month. Cheers.
I’m in Texas too. The same! I could feel my blood pressure drop! These terrible politicians in Texas have to go! They’re taking years off my life.
I’m afraid people will forget this traitorous episode by the time House elections come around again. My representative signed on too and I’ll not let him forget it.
By making them all face Justice and pay consequences on the world stage, this will not be forgotten.
I like that the letter ends with the thought that Republicans can still reclaim the party of Lincoln.
... hear here!!
Ruth Marcus, Washington Post opinion writer, points out how shameless these seditious scumbags are. https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2020/12/11/these-republicans-may-not-be-capable-shame-you-should-know-who-they-are/
I was frankly surprised to not see Devin Nunes' name among them. Seven NC congress idiots signed on, some of whom were no surprise, like Virginia Foxx. Mark Walker must really, really want Richard Burr's seat in the Senate, too have sold his Baptist preacher soul for it, by siding with this crew.
As I told a friend yesterday, "My daddy didn't go off to war in 1942 just so 70 odd years later a bunch of feckless, fascist wannabes could try to overthrow a duly elected government."
And it never would have occurred to him that many would be members of the opposition party of said government. He must be spinning in his grave.
"to have", not 'too have'. Sheesh.
Imagine what we could accomplish”for the people” if we were a country with the united goal of improving lives for all, instead of having to constantly protect our democracy from the demons who are hell bent on destroying it
What? Wait...”New Nevada State”, “New California State?” My chin is on the floor! So this is IT...solidifying the start of the New Civil War? As we binge watch The Man In the High Castle and try to bathe in the Christmas Spirit, our country falls into an abyss greater than the Grand Canyon.
With the wisdom of the Supreme Court decision, we’ve only won another battle but the war rages on. I can predict the Trump Republicans will now discount and delegitimize the Court, just as they did the other entities that tried to block them or shine a light on their corruption (FBI, media, elected officials, individual citizens, etc). And the blind followers will believe and financially support them, just as the Confederates donated to “the Cause”.
Heather, the Southern Democrats-aka Confederates, fought for a cause spelled out by Hammond and others to protect their economy and way of life.
What are the present Trump Republicans fighting for? Power? Greed? To do what? What’s their “Cause”. How will history explain the current Need to Secede?
The objective & ideal outcome according to Trump Republicans: Trump Republicans are fighting for absolute power and dominance over all by the (white) chosen few. Once the trumpian riff-raff have done the grunt work they'll be tossed aside as garbage. It's the New Hunger Games with pandemic thrown in for good measure.
If it was lawyers that filed those “New” pleadings, they should be heavily sanctioned for trying to perpetrate a fraud on the Court.
I live in Eastern Wa where an idiot wants to band with parts of northern Idaho to create the state of Liberty. I'm trying to figure out what their revenue base will be since many protest the real estate rates & we're heavily agriculture.
This is all So incredible..We have become perilously close to ending up with a Dictator..supported by a Sizeable group of supporter's as well as in Congress..I will not feel this is Not the case ..until I see President Elect Joe Biden Actually in the White House along with his cabinet as he has picked..And, still those same supporter's/members of Congress etc..will most likely continue with their Same ideology regardless if Biden is in the White House or not..The Governor of my state ..(FL) is a Trump follower 100%..I do not feel safe here..And my state basically Republican..This is all such a mess...
I too live in FL. I feel under attack actually. When the powers that be ignore science, no actively suppress science and freedom of speech, it's an assault. When desantis' "plan" to control the pandemic is just to ignore it and just let everyone get sick, it's an assault on my age group. My plan is to stay healthy just to spite them! Well, other reasons too...
I’m in Florida as well, and my congressman, Gus Bilirakis, signed onto that ludicrous lawsuit. I sent a letter to Bilirakis yesterday and copied our two Senators. I also sent one to the paper. Have no real hope that it will change anything. Any stupid state that elected Rick Scott as Senator after he totally screwed things up as Governor is beyond help.