Today felt like a breather between the real, final end of the Trump presidency and the ramping up of the Biden years. The Senate acquitted Trump of incitement of insurrection on Saturday. In response, the former president issued a statement reiterating all his lies in the months since the election. Then, last Tuesday, he lambasted Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell for blaming him for the insurrection. McConnell, clearly the winner in this exchange, didn’t even bother to answer.
Once Biden moves his agenda through Congress, the “Republican problem” will resolve itself. To do this, Democrats must use every legal tool they have. Trying to negotiate with the other side – at least most of them – is like trying to reason with a screaming child who has a load in their diaper. Change the diaper!
The only thing sustaining the current Radical Republican party is the mass of voters who followed Donald down his rabbit hole. When those folks are working, living without the fear of unemployment and crushing, unrelenting debt, when they realize Biden is not Karl Marx in Ray Bans - they will stop threatening their neighbors with violence over lawn signs and they just might vote in their own best interest. Some will temper their public expressions of racism - few will admit they were duped, but they (like Sasse and Romney) will eventually dump Trump by the side of the road like an empty bag of Happy Meals.
The die-hards who had long awaited a Trump-like beast, will run Don Jr. or some other child of the porn, but they will fail. Those who are not already in prison or awaiting trial, will go back into their bunkers, soothe themselves inhaling the fumes of gun oil in darkened rooms, and break the odd law or neck to convince themselves they are real men. But even they will eventually have hip replacements and get to know a cardiologist – or not – and die off like last summer’s tomatoes.
The trick here is to do the People’s business. The party that does that, will prevail and in the process, still the unrest among those members of the MAGA nation who believe their economic grievances have not been addressed and do not want to burn down the Capitol every time they lose an election.
And here is the challenge: All of this must be done while addressing our greatest national shortcoming – our refusal to deal honestly and fairly with the historical reality of slavery in America and the entrenched systemic racism that prevents us from being a healthy, functioning Democracy. The wounds inflicted by slavery and its legacy, and the inability of whites to confront our ignorance and complacency runs so deep, that it will require monumental effort to even begin the process. But begin, we must.
I’m old enough to remember liberal Republicans and conservative Democrats. When a bill passed, it had the support of all the liberals and none of the conservatives. They were bipartisan. No one complained.
Today, all the liberals are in one party, all the conservatives in the other. If a bill passes today with the support of all the liberals and none of the conservatives, it’s partisan and people complain.
Bipartisanship should be abandoned as a metric of good or bad legislation. Laws are only partisan because the parties have divided into pure factions. That’s the parties’ problem, but Americans don’t care. They just want their real problems addressed.
When Republicans hold power they act with zero regard for what Democrats want and never apologize for it. Biden or Schumer or Pelosi cannot bend the Republican's will which puts their party before their jobs to represent the people.
The only way forward I can see is to barrel right over them. Once Americans see the positive results we should see a slow turn around in the states and Republicans will shed the skin of the "Don't Tread On Me" serpent and return to good faith bargaining.
I'm compelled to quote Steppenwolf, "Fire all of your guns at once...." legislatively speaking of course. Republicans always perceive kindness as a weakness and exploit it, they only respect power. Time to use your power or lose it (like we've done too many times).
This dilemma of rebuilding Congress's power or enacting a Democratic agenda is not a dilemma at all. It is a choice. Sure, we can restore some of the powers Congress exercised before Trump. But we can count on the GOP to use every obstructive means available to them to thwart a democratic agenda, *especially* any legislation that threatens the GOP's electoral advantage in the states, the Senate and the Electoral College. This includes any legislation that would strengthen voting rights, limit partisan gerrymandering, reform campaign finance, or grant statehood to DC.
It's naive to hope we can convince 10 Senate Republicans to join us in these reforms and overcome the body's supermajority requirement. And in the absence of federal action, states with Republican governors and legislatures will fill the vacuum. Is this a price we're willing to pay to redress an abstract notion about the proper balance of power between the executive and the legislative branches?
If we are serious about reviving democracy in this country, Democrats must eliminate the filibuster. True, we probably don't have 51 votes to do that today. Therefore, the task is to create the environment that gets us to 51 votes. The way to do that is to bring a series of popular bills to the Senate floor and spotlight Republicans blocking them. Perhaps in this way we can persuade Senators Manchin and Sinema to change their minds. If not, we should make GOP obstructionism a central issue in the 2022 Senate elections and aim to win the majority needed to
First, from shivering in Texas, an update. Thank you to all who expressed concern and good wishes for the welfare of so many suffering here in Texas due to no fault of their own but entirely self-inflicted by Texas politicians and misguided infrastructure managers. Many of us now have power restored but are dealing with dire water challenges and post freeze damages. The news carries the updates and I will not recount them here.
A short an anecdote on the difference between the response of Democrats and Republicans to this crisis. My own local Democratic party membership a week ago raised from our members over $5,000. In only a couple of hours for our local coalition for the homeless to temporarily expand shelter and food assistance programs for the duration of the coming crisis. They also organized an emergency volunteer response team and a help line for local residents needing assistance of all kinds. In the last week this effort has responded to hundreds of calls of all kinds. The local Republicans released a statement of support for our governor and blaming the crisis on wind and solar farms going offline all at once - not true. Senator Ted Cruz decided the appropriate response was to take himself and his family to the Ritz Carlton in Cancun. And former Texas Governor and U.S. Secretary of Energy, Rick Perry, released a statement that said Texans would support more than three days of power outages to keep federal regulations out of Texas energy. A quick informal check of my Texas neighbors without power and water shows Perry should have checked with more Texans before releasing that statement as most felt he was not speaking for them. Local organized support from Republicans for any needing assistance? Thoughts and prayers, but little else. They did say they were interested in helping the NRA relocate their registration and headquarters to Texas. I guess they think the “R” in NRA makes them the National Relief Assistance.
The stark difference between the efforts and effectiveness of the Biden and Trump administrations and their priorities should be evident to all. Apparently Republicans think continuing to lie to the American public is a better strategy than actually doing anything to help people. I suppose we will see over time which approach voters respond to favorably.
I am impressed so far with watching the new administration focus on getting the balance right between a focus on both the urgent and the important. With the many crises they are facing that balance is not an easy one to achieve. We should all be thankful that we finally have competence and good intention restored to federal government. The last week’s experience of Texas and the rest of the nation should even further highlight what a difference competence and incompetence in government makes in the lives of citizens.
You said it sets a bad precedent for Democrats to pass bills up to 5 trillion "by partisan votes alone." The bad precedent seems to me accepting the mystification perpetrated by the idea that Democrats must not be "partisan" --and now even those like you who agree with their policies accept the label of "partisan" applied to any and all plans that Republicans disagree with. The notion that the minority must agree contradicts logically and inhibits practically the possibility of majority rule. In a parliamentary system it would be clear that majority rule means the ruling party can pass legislation because they represent a majority of the people. Why is it "partisan?" It seems rather that it is responsible to use the opportunity to enact what the majority voted for. Only in America does the party that represents the majority of people continually surrender to the minority party, even passing on the opportunity to get rid of the 60-40 rule because they would be called "partisan." Republicans are only ever partisan, and their strategy has always been to accuse the other of their own moves. Obama came to grief by falling for the epithet. Since you recently pointed out that the undoing of the New Deal has been their long term project even though it is popular, I'm surprised you would succumb to the language of "partisan." Abolish the term and substitute simple majority rule. That is what democracy demands, and what the people need and voted for. Support ending the filibuster and getting "For the People" passed as soon as possible so our votes aren't further suppressed.
I think this is the first time I’ve ever seen your update before I go to sleep - maybe this bodes well for your health and well being under the new administration? I hope so!!
Thanks again for your insight, Heather! As I was reading to beginning of your letter I was a bit concerned that you were going to end, or modify the frequency of, your nightly communications. But, thankfully, you are continuing to send your thoughts to the world 😊
I was struck by Rachel Maddow’s observation at the close of tonight’s show....I’m paraphrasing: We can design and land a mechanical explorer, like a feather, on Mars, but we can’t insure that people in Texas have clean water and heat. 🤔
Sending warm regards to all who are effected by the wintry temperatures.💗
I’m still very frustrated by this worrying about negotiating with republicans.
Wanting to work with the destroyers to rebuild something sound and secure is so very wrong.
For decades, republican politicians have all shown they are not performing their duty - if their constituents want something they should be working to get that done. There are so many things that the people want any yet neither party, but mostly republicans, don’t do it. It’s so frustrating!
And now, as we have seen, most are seditionists and traitors.
So, how, and more importantly, *why* does anyone even *consider* working with them?
They have destroyed the old way of doing things (long ago). They clearly don’t want to work in good faith and have a clear record of pretending and then destroying the program (see ACA).
They have destroyed so much and we MUST rebuild it before we can go back to they way things should be and only then, and only if they are truly working in good faith, should we negotiate with them.
Unfortunately, a majority of Republicans are more interested in simply staying in power than the work of equitably ameliorating the lives of their constituents. Republican power is over-represented as has been well documented. Therefore, ideally while the Democrats have a marginal upper hand, it is imperative to 1) abolish the filibuster, 2) abolish the Electoral College, 3) balance the Supreme Court, and 4) reconfigure the Senate so representation is more balanced, as in the House. For example, each 1,000,000 Americans would warrant one Senator. This would give Alaska one Senator, and California 40. The basic problem with our "democracy" is that it is not, and really never has been, representative of "we the people."
I am so glad that the American people saw the particular gifts that are Joe Biden’s in the general election. Many of my nieces and nephews were Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren supporters, and I could see their appeal. I could also see the polarizing affects they engendered. They are ahead of the country. Joe will get us closer to where we should be on sustaining the environment, just wages, immigration humanitarianism, closing the income gap, ensuring we have affordable health care, and vaccinating all of us against the coronavirus. Thank goodness.
Even as President Biden acts on multiple crises, his administration has managed to reduce the temperature and bring some levity to the Executive Branch. I enjoy The Oval Pawffice on Twitter. It is my sincere hope that the symbol of the last administration will be the implosion of the former Trump Casino in Atlantic City. Congratulations to the NASA Perseverance Rover and may the world realize for now there still is no Planet B. Here's to science and reality coming to the forefront over lies, conspiracies, division and outrage. Pull together for solutions instead of assigning blame or derogatory labels that trigger responses that prevent communication.
Commondreams.org provides conclusions of a recent economic study helpful to the discussion of student loan debt forgiveness. To wit: “A recent economic study reported in The 2021 Student Debt and Young America report, authored by JFI's Laura Beamer and Eduard Nilaj, begins by noting that young people are "overrun with student debt."
"This crisis is the culmination of waning government funding for higher education, wage stagnation, wealth inequality, and a misleading emphasis on obtaining high credentials—all leading to the financial gap between college prices and later earnings," they write.“ What value do educated citizens have for the survival if not the flourishing of our democracy? Oughtn’t that value be mirrored in our tax dollars going to higher education? What forces are at work to expand economic inequality? Maintain wage stagnation? Minimize workers’ compensation and advancement opportunities? Please check out this illuminating report to use as one tool to assess Biden’s approach. Then. Speak out.
Thanks again, Heather, for a concise --and early-- Letter.
You speak of 'the ramping up of the Biden years', a very charming phrase. I hope Mr Biden understand his years, if they are to be valuable, must hit the ground running, no time to negotiate with people we know are merely playing at collaboration in order to obstruct.
Passing big bills on a 'partisan' basis? Go right ahead and go as big as possible; after all, the 'partisan' bills will have fortuitous effects on the vast majority of Americans. If some Rs want to trot along and negotiate, as long as they don't slow down the process, fine, all are welcome, but keep the momentum going. Ultimately, the results will be all that matters and this country needs some results fast.
So glad, HCR, that you are able to take a breather. We all need one! I am pondering your question about student loan forgiveness and will respond tomorrow to that but I also think that the issues you raise here concerning a do-nothing Senate and a legitimate Executive that wants to advance humane legislation are very important. In this as in everything, I think that the Dems, whose diffidence has usually backfired, have to be loud and clear and not give up the megaphone, and then organize like crazy. Grassroots are the only way to change the creeping fascism happening in state government.
Once Biden moves his agenda through Congress, the “Republican problem” will resolve itself. To do this, Democrats must use every legal tool they have. Trying to negotiate with the other side – at least most of them – is like trying to reason with a screaming child who has a load in their diaper. Change the diaper!
The only thing sustaining the current Radical Republican party is the mass of voters who followed Donald down his rabbit hole. When those folks are working, living without the fear of unemployment and crushing, unrelenting debt, when they realize Biden is not Karl Marx in Ray Bans - they will stop threatening their neighbors with violence over lawn signs and they just might vote in their own best interest. Some will temper their public expressions of racism - few will admit they were duped, but they (like Sasse and Romney) will eventually dump Trump by the side of the road like an empty bag of Happy Meals.
The die-hards who had long awaited a Trump-like beast, will run Don Jr. or some other child of the porn, but they will fail. Those who are not already in prison or awaiting trial, will go back into their bunkers, soothe themselves inhaling the fumes of gun oil in darkened rooms, and break the odd law or neck to convince themselves they are real men. But even they will eventually have hip replacements and get to know a cardiologist – or not – and die off like last summer’s tomatoes.
The trick here is to do the People’s business. The party that does that, will prevail and in the process, still the unrest among those members of the MAGA nation who believe their economic grievances have not been addressed and do not want to burn down the Capitol every time they lose an election.
And here is the challenge: All of this must be done while addressing our greatest national shortcoming – our refusal to deal honestly and fairly with the historical reality of slavery in America and the entrenched systemic racism that prevents us from being a healthy, functioning Democracy. The wounds inflicted by slavery and its legacy, and the inability of whites to confront our ignorance and complacency runs so deep, that it will require monumental effort to even begin the process. But begin, we must.
I’m old enough to remember liberal Republicans and conservative Democrats. When a bill passed, it had the support of all the liberals and none of the conservatives. They were bipartisan. No one complained.
Today, all the liberals are in one party, all the conservatives in the other. If a bill passes today with the support of all the liberals and none of the conservatives, it’s partisan and people complain.
Bipartisanship should be abandoned as a metric of good or bad legislation. Laws are only partisan because the parties have divided into pure factions. That’s the parties’ problem, but Americans don’t care. They just want their real problems addressed.
When Republicans hold power they act with zero regard for what Democrats want and never apologize for it. Biden or Schumer or Pelosi cannot bend the Republican's will which puts their party before their jobs to represent the people.
The only way forward I can see is to barrel right over them. Once Americans see the positive results we should see a slow turn around in the states and Republicans will shed the skin of the "Don't Tread On Me" serpent and return to good faith bargaining.
I'm compelled to quote Steppenwolf, "Fire all of your guns at once...." legislatively speaking of course. Republicans always perceive kindness as a weakness and exploit it, they only respect power. Time to use your power or lose it (like we've done too many times).
This dilemma of rebuilding Congress's power or enacting a Democratic agenda is not a dilemma at all. It is a choice. Sure, we can restore some of the powers Congress exercised before Trump. But we can count on the GOP to use every obstructive means available to them to thwart a democratic agenda, *especially* any legislation that threatens the GOP's electoral advantage in the states, the Senate and the Electoral College. This includes any legislation that would strengthen voting rights, limit partisan gerrymandering, reform campaign finance, or grant statehood to DC.
It's naive to hope we can convince 10 Senate Republicans to join us in these reforms and overcome the body's supermajority requirement. And in the absence of federal action, states with Republican governors and legislatures will fill the vacuum. Is this a price we're willing to pay to redress an abstract notion about the proper balance of power between the executive and the legislative branches?
If we are serious about reviving democracy in this country, Democrats must eliminate the filibuster. True, we probably don't have 51 votes to do that today. Therefore, the task is to create the environment that gets us to 51 votes. The way to do that is to bring a series of popular bills to the Senate floor and spotlight Republicans blocking them. Perhaps in this way we can persuade Senators Manchin and Sinema to change their minds. If not, we should make GOP obstructionism a central issue in the 2022 Senate elections and aim to win the majority needed to
finally kill the filibuster.
Today, I offer several comments.
First, from shivering in Texas, an update. Thank you to all who expressed concern and good wishes for the welfare of so many suffering here in Texas due to no fault of their own but entirely self-inflicted by Texas politicians and misguided infrastructure managers. Many of us now have power restored but are dealing with dire water challenges and post freeze damages. The news carries the updates and I will not recount them here.
A short an anecdote on the difference between the response of Democrats and Republicans to this crisis. My own local Democratic party membership a week ago raised from our members over $5,000. In only a couple of hours for our local coalition for the homeless to temporarily expand shelter and food assistance programs for the duration of the coming crisis. They also organized an emergency volunteer response team and a help line for local residents needing assistance of all kinds. In the last week this effort has responded to hundreds of calls of all kinds. The local Republicans released a statement of support for our governor and blaming the crisis on wind and solar farms going offline all at once - not true. Senator Ted Cruz decided the appropriate response was to take himself and his family to the Ritz Carlton in Cancun. And former Texas Governor and U.S. Secretary of Energy, Rick Perry, released a statement that said Texans would support more than three days of power outages to keep federal regulations out of Texas energy. A quick informal check of my Texas neighbors without power and water shows Perry should have checked with more Texans before releasing that statement as most felt he was not speaking for them. Local organized support from Republicans for any needing assistance? Thoughts and prayers, but little else. They did say they were interested in helping the NRA relocate their registration and headquarters to Texas. I guess they think the “R” in NRA makes them the National Relief Assistance.
The stark difference between the efforts and effectiveness of the Biden and Trump administrations and their priorities should be evident to all. Apparently Republicans think continuing to lie to the American public is a better strategy than actually doing anything to help people. I suppose we will see over time which approach voters respond to favorably.
I am impressed so far with watching the new administration focus on getting the balance right between a focus on both the urgent and the important. With the many crises they are facing that balance is not an easy one to achieve. We should all be thankful that we finally have competence and good intention restored to federal government. The last week’s experience of Texas and the rest of the nation should even further highlight what a difference competence and incompetence in government makes in the lives of citizens.
You said it sets a bad precedent for Democrats to pass bills up to 5 trillion "by partisan votes alone." The bad precedent seems to me accepting the mystification perpetrated by the idea that Democrats must not be "partisan" --and now even those like you who agree with their policies accept the label of "partisan" applied to any and all plans that Republicans disagree with. The notion that the minority must agree contradicts logically and inhibits practically the possibility of majority rule. In a parliamentary system it would be clear that majority rule means the ruling party can pass legislation because they represent a majority of the people. Why is it "partisan?" It seems rather that it is responsible to use the opportunity to enact what the majority voted for. Only in America does the party that represents the majority of people continually surrender to the minority party, even passing on the opportunity to get rid of the 60-40 rule because they would be called "partisan." Republicans are only ever partisan, and their strategy has always been to accuse the other of their own moves. Obama came to grief by falling for the epithet. Since you recently pointed out that the undoing of the New Deal has been their long term project even though it is popular, I'm surprised you would succumb to the language of "partisan." Abolish the term and substitute simple majority rule. That is what democracy demands, and what the people need and voted for. Support ending the filibuster and getting "For the People" passed as soon as possible so our votes aren't further suppressed.
I think this is the first time I’ve ever seen your update before I go to sleep - maybe this bodes well for your health and well being under the new administration? I hope so!!
Thanks again for your insight, Heather! As I was reading to beginning of your letter I was a bit concerned that you were going to end, or modify the frequency of, your nightly communications. But, thankfully, you are continuing to send your thoughts to the world 😊
I was struck by Rachel Maddow’s observation at the close of tonight’s show....I’m paraphrasing: We can design and land a mechanical explorer, like a feather, on Mars, but we can’t insure that people in Texas have clean water and heat. 🤔
Sending warm regards to all who are effected by the wintry temperatures.💗
I’m still very frustrated by this worrying about negotiating with republicans.
Wanting to work with the destroyers to rebuild something sound and secure is so very wrong.
For decades, republican politicians have all shown they are not performing their duty - if their constituents want something they should be working to get that done. There are so many things that the people want any yet neither party, but mostly republicans, don’t do it. It’s so frustrating!
And now, as we have seen, most are seditionists and traitors.
So, how, and more importantly, *why* does anyone even *consider* working with them?
They have destroyed the old way of doing things (long ago). They clearly don’t want to work in good faith and have a clear record of pretending and then destroying the program (see ACA).
They have destroyed so much and we MUST rebuild it before we can go back to they way things should be and only then, and only if they are truly working in good faith, should we negotiate with them.
Unfortunately, a majority of Republicans are more interested in simply staying in power than the work of equitably ameliorating the lives of their constituents. Republican power is over-represented as has been well documented. Therefore, ideally while the Democrats have a marginal upper hand, it is imperative to 1) abolish the filibuster, 2) abolish the Electoral College, 3) balance the Supreme Court, and 4) reconfigure the Senate so representation is more balanced, as in the House. For example, each 1,000,000 Americans would warrant one Senator. This would give Alaska one Senator, and California 40. The basic problem with our "democracy" is that it is not, and really never has been, representative of "we the people."
I am so glad that the American people saw the particular gifts that are Joe Biden’s in the general election. Many of my nieces and nephews were Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren supporters, and I could see their appeal. I could also see the polarizing affects they engendered. They are ahead of the country. Joe will get us closer to where we should be on sustaining the environment, just wages, immigration humanitarianism, closing the income gap, ensuring we have affordable health care, and vaccinating all of us against the coronavirus. Thank goodness.
Even as President Biden acts on multiple crises, his administration has managed to reduce the temperature and bring some levity to the Executive Branch. I enjoy The Oval Pawffice on Twitter. It is my sincere hope that the symbol of the last administration will be the implosion of the former Trump Casino in Atlantic City. Congratulations to the NASA Perseverance Rover and may the world realize for now there still is no Planet B. Here's to science and reality coming to the forefront over lies, conspiracies, division and outrage. Pull together for solutions instead of assigning blame or derogatory labels that trigger responses that prevent communication.
Commondreams.org provides conclusions of a recent economic study helpful to the discussion of student loan debt forgiveness. To wit: “A recent economic study reported in The 2021 Student Debt and Young America report, authored by JFI's Laura Beamer and Eduard Nilaj, begins by noting that young people are "overrun with student debt."
"This crisis is the culmination of waning government funding for higher education, wage stagnation, wealth inequality, and a misleading emphasis on obtaining high credentials—all leading to the financial gap between college prices and later earnings," they write.“ What value do educated citizens have for the survival if not the flourishing of our democracy? Oughtn’t that value be mirrored in our tax dollars going to higher education? What forces are at work to expand economic inequality? Maintain wage stagnation? Minimize workers’ compensation and advancement opportunities? Please check out this illuminating report to use as one tool to assess Biden’s approach. Then. Speak out.
Yay for your early night, Heather. As always, thank you from Texas.
Thanks again, Heather, for a concise --and early-- Letter.
You speak of 'the ramping up of the Biden years', a very charming phrase. I hope Mr Biden understand his years, if they are to be valuable, must hit the ground running, no time to negotiate with people we know are merely playing at collaboration in order to obstruct.
Passing big bills on a 'partisan' basis? Go right ahead and go as big as possible; after all, the 'partisan' bills will have fortuitous effects on the vast majority of Americans. If some Rs want to trot along and negotiate, as long as they don't slow down the process, fine, all are welcome, but keep the momentum going. Ultimately, the results will be all that matters and this country needs some results fast.
So glad, HCR, that you are able to take a breather. We all need one! I am pondering your question about student loan forgiveness and will respond tomorrow to that but I also think that the issues you raise here concerning a do-nothing Senate and a legitimate Executive that wants to advance humane legislation are very important. In this as in everything, I think that the Dems, whose diffidence has usually backfired, have to be loud and clear and not give up the megaphone, and then organize like crazy. Grassroots are the only way to change the creeping fascism happening in state government.