On ABC’s This Week this morning, Representative Steve Scalise (R-LA) refused to admit that Democrat Joe Biden had legitimately won the 2020 presidential election. It’s hard to overestimate how dangerous this lie is. It convinces supporters of the former president that they are actually protecting American democracy when they fight to overturn it. Jessica Watkins is one of 9 members of the right-wing paramilitary group the Oath Keepers indicted for their actions on January 6. Yesterday, her lawyer told the court that Watkins behaved as she did because she believed that then-President Donald Trump would use the military to overturn what he falsely insisted was the rigged election.
We need a new Voting Rights Act with teeth. One that bans gerrymandering, one that opens up the process of voting rather than restricting it. Voting should be easy, clear, transparent. We already know that if that becomes the norm the extremists following their Dear Leader would never survive. Remember: when Ossoff arranged debates with Perdue he failed to show because he knew he would look like an idiot.
Merrick Garland clearly has the right priorities. Implementing them while rebuilding and restoring faith in a decimated Department of Justice is daunting. Mitch McConnell may live to regret blocking Garland's nomination to the Supreme Court.
This morning’s review presents the Republican narrative (storyline, vision, argument, etc). It is important to be aware of their plan. We know the right wing narrative by now - the election was stolen, there were fraudulent votes counted, and only conservatives can stop this atrocity. In today’s review, the valuable news item are the names of the conservative Republican Senators of a vital Senate committee. But I’d like to bring to light a larger picture.
The more attention the media, liberals and Democrats give to the conservative story, the LESS attention we give to the counter narrative, or the liberal vision. This would be our position. We must know of the conservative plan, but not to the detriment of promoting our own vision and narrative. We simply cannot afford to give most of our focus on the conservative narrative, because that is depressing to us, and it creates a weak attempt to counter their efforts.
In this case, we cannot be on the defense regarding the 2020 election. We MUST he on the offensive in building a universal suffrage movement to provide ballot access to every citizen in the society, against this threat of voter suppression. Because, we are the defenders of our democracy.
I’m afraid I see a reoccurring pattern developing all over again. Have we been here before, where our focus lies almost solely on the despicable opponent? Our recent history provides a perfect review for my concern. Five years ago, liberals nominated the most highly qualified candidate to ever run for the Presidency in Sec Hillary Clinton. Most observers agreed this was the case. But the focus of the national media, which played into the local media, was the conservative case against her. Our internal division of “Berniecrats” and “progressives”, vs. Clinton, coupled with wild, untruthful assertions against Sec Clinton from Russia and conservatives, led to a totally depressed effort by liberals in our effort to win 2016.
I fault liberals as well as the media for this tragedy, because we were. The lack of a positive narrative about liberalism and Sec Clinton played perfectly into the hands of right-wing media - because the mainstream media simply parroted the talking points of conservatives, in its attempt to be a neutral arbiter of ’news.’
The attention liberalism plays today to the conservative narrative, in this very beginning stage of the Biden Administration, is going to establish an early national conversation for “46". Will the predominate American story-line become the conservative fable of the illegal victory of Joe Biden? Will liberalism EVER have a consensus on our vision of America? Will liberals come to realize the VITAL importance of developing a winning story-line, that is based on “liberty and justice for all,” and other possible mantras of liberalism.
Regarding this specific instance of Merrick Garland, is your news consumption highlighting his involvement in perhaps America’s most important trial, ever? Or is your news simply a rewording of what could be a Republican press release, even with a tinge of doubt? What exactly is the vision of liberalism? What values and direction of government and economy will this administration behold? Is your ’news’ simply a repetition of the right wing narrative, of the stolen election?
Initially, we may need to simply recognize that we do not have a narrative or direction (!) Exactly what is the society that liberals want to create? What is our goal?
Secondly, please be aware of how much attention you pay to worry and fear, or a concern with the conservative narrative. In your life, do you have an equal or greater emphasis on the possibility of a liberal society. Do you see a liberal narrative? And the answer will be “No.” Simply because we do not have that voice (narrative).
Our first goal, I would suggest, is to recognize that we do not have a goal. To beat back conservatism is NOT a goal. But this will be VERY valuable for us to recognize, in order to be on the offensive in 2022. We simply cannot repeat the failures of the Clinton and Obama regimes in their first midterms, when conservatism made tremendous strides. Now, this frightening thought may well be enough for liberals to begin to strategize, soon.
I was raised in the 1940s and 1950s by those that survived the concentration camps of the Holocaust speaking of the countless relatives that did not. Among others, Math professor Izaak Wirszup and his wife Pera, that lost 90 relatives each, and psychologist Bruno Bettelheim spoke of Auschwitz, Bergen Belson, and Dachau, and bought his way out early, with numbers inked into their arm skin, all spoke of Mussolini and Hitler, Eichmann and worse, of surviving fascism in Europe, then and after, of surviving Stalin and his gulag. These conversations punctuated my childhood, as did Diary of a Young Girl by Anne Frank, and the cotillion dances in Manhattan that launched WASPs into a world of numbing privilege, rendering their motherhoods all but useless in today’s world.. In On Tyranny, Twenty Lessons from the Twentieth Century, in Bloodlands, Europe Between Hitler and Stalin, in Our Malady: Lessons in Liberty from a Hospital Diary, Yale history professor Timothy Snyder, 51, the best and most prolific historian writing today, offers stark warnings and penetrates the loss and meaning of freedom as he comments on January 6th. We will soon hear about the trail... and the chilling fact pattern that led to two suicides and selfies taken as the capitol was invaded by white men trained in our military, now tacitly supported by the lies of Josh Hawley, Ted Cruz, Lindsey Graham, Donald Trump and his family, Bill Barr and scores of government types more interested in belonging to a cabal than principle.. or the Constitution. We will learn how close we came. AND perhaps we will learn of how deeply Blacks are feared by those whose ancestors enslaved them... as we contemplate the failed Reconstruction and consider what now we must do to put things right.. We must end the Civil War. This is not about a sugary coated history of platitudes. This is about the loss of everything that matters in this nation and pure unadulterated racism in the white that does nothing.
Thank you. The lengths the Republican party will go to to skew the electorate is mind boggling. If they can’t win over the majority of voters with appealing policies, they are quite happy to disenfranchise those voters who disagree with them. They are turning democracy on its head.
The Democratic machine must create media pieces drilling into Republicans’ minds how much Biden is doing for them, as he promised, and what Beto and AOC are doing to help Texans. Gaslighting is poison them. The antidote must be facts to win over their minds and real help to earn their appreciation. The Dems must take control of the narrative.
I should be very interested to see the questions asked by Ted Cruz (R-TX), Charles Grassley (R-IA), Lindsey Graham (R-SC), John Cornyn (R-TX), Mike Lee (R-UT), Josh Hawley (R-MO), Tom Cotton (R-AR), Thom Tillis (R-NC), and Marsha Blackburn (R-TN)
I watched Steve Scalise this morning and just shook my head. The GOP is grand no more. They have become more and more dangerous through the years, especially the last four. I can’t wait for M. Garland to be our AG. OUR AG. He’s going to be really busy.
So, Watkins' defense is that she's not guilty because she believed a man who, while President of the United States, made more than 30,000 false or misleading statements?
I watched Scalise today and felt a chill. How can they sleep at night while living the Big Lie? All very disheartening and disturbing. I am going to do my part in my community to bring hope.
Absolutely incomprehensible to me that there are still people out there spreading these horrible lies and trying to destroy our democracy, our country. The fight rages on.
My utter despise for the GOP deepens everyday. At every turn, they try to make every process into a hostage situation. I really feel if they push the Cuomo narrative, it will quickly become a very uncomfortable situation for them. You would think they would understand the value of "never ask a question you don't already know the answer to". Garland is the right choice and they know it.
The "big lie" has indeed been perpetuated by the GOP for decades, Trump just made it his mantra, daily.
I'm quite sure next week's speech by Trump is a primer for the next insurrection. The only question is, where will it be. My money is on the White House.
It is terribly sad and disheartening to have the big lie repeated that Trump won the election and see Republicans claim, with straight faces, that the election was stolen, all the while their own Republican election officials declare President Biden the winner. SAD!
We need a new Voting Rights Act with teeth. One that bans gerrymandering, one that opens up the process of voting rather than restricting it. Voting should be easy, clear, transparent. We already know that if that becomes the norm the extremists following their Dear Leader would never survive. Remember: when Ossoff arranged debates with Perdue he failed to show because he knew he would look like an idiot.
Those of us living in states with Republican Majority Legislatures cannot sit back quietly. The real Steal the Vote is in process.
Merrick Garland clearly has the right priorities. Implementing them while rebuilding and restoring faith in a decimated Department of Justice is daunting. Mitch McConnell may live to regret blocking Garland's nomination to the Supreme Court.
This morning’s review presents the Republican narrative (storyline, vision, argument, etc). It is important to be aware of their plan. We know the right wing narrative by now - the election was stolen, there were fraudulent votes counted, and only conservatives can stop this atrocity. In today’s review, the valuable news item are the names of the conservative Republican Senators of a vital Senate committee. But I’d like to bring to light a larger picture.
The more attention the media, liberals and Democrats give to the conservative story, the LESS attention we give to the counter narrative, or the liberal vision. This would be our position. We must know of the conservative plan, but not to the detriment of promoting our own vision and narrative. We simply cannot afford to give most of our focus on the conservative narrative, because that is depressing to us, and it creates a weak attempt to counter their efforts.
In this case, we cannot be on the defense regarding the 2020 election. We MUST he on the offensive in building a universal suffrage movement to provide ballot access to every citizen in the society, against this threat of voter suppression. Because, we are the defenders of our democracy.
I’m afraid I see a reoccurring pattern developing all over again. Have we been here before, where our focus lies almost solely on the despicable opponent? Our recent history provides a perfect review for my concern. Five years ago, liberals nominated the most highly qualified candidate to ever run for the Presidency in Sec Hillary Clinton. Most observers agreed this was the case. But the focus of the national media, which played into the local media, was the conservative case against her. Our internal division of “Berniecrats” and “progressives”, vs. Clinton, coupled with wild, untruthful assertions against Sec Clinton from Russia and conservatives, led to a totally depressed effort by liberals in our effort to win 2016.
I fault liberals as well as the media for this tragedy, because we were. The lack of a positive narrative about liberalism and Sec Clinton played perfectly into the hands of right-wing media - because the mainstream media simply parroted the talking points of conservatives, in its attempt to be a neutral arbiter of ’news.’
The attention liberalism plays today to the conservative narrative, in this very beginning stage of the Biden Administration, is going to establish an early national conversation for “46". Will the predominate American story-line become the conservative fable of the illegal victory of Joe Biden? Will liberalism EVER have a consensus on our vision of America? Will liberals come to realize the VITAL importance of developing a winning story-line, that is based on “liberty and justice for all,” and other possible mantras of liberalism.
Regarding this specific instance of Merrick Garland, is your news consumption highlighting his involvement in perhaps America’s most important trial, ever? Or is your news simply a rewording of what could be a Republican press release, even with a tinge of doubt? What exactly is the vision of liberalism? What values and direction of government and economy will this administration behold? Is your ’news’ simply a repetition of the right wing narrative, of the stolen election?
Initially, we may need to simply recognize that we do not have a narrative or direction (!) Exactly what is the society that liberals want to create? What is our goal?
Secondly, please be aware of how much attention you pay to worry and fear, or a concern with the conservative narrative. In your life, do you have an equal or greater emphasis on the possibility of a liberal society. Do you see a liberal narrative? And the answer will be “No.” Simply because we do not have that voice (narrative).
Our first goal, I would suggest, is to recognize that we do not have a goal. To beat back conservatism is NOT a goal. But this will be VERY valuable for us to recognize, in order to be on the offensive in 2022. We simply cannot repeat the failures of the Clinton and Obama regimes in their first midterms, when conservatism made tremendous strides. Now, this frightening thought may well be enough for liberals to begin to strategize, soon.
I was raised in the 1940s and 1950s by those that survived the concentration camps of the Holocaust speaking of the countless relatives that did not. Among others, Math professor Izaak Wirszup and his wife Pera, that lost 90 relatives each, and psychologist Bruno Bettelheim spoke of Auschwitz, Bergen Belson, and Dachau, and bought his way out early, with numbers inked into their arm skin, all spoke of Mussolini and Hitler, Eichmann and worse, of surviving fascism in Europe, then and after, of surviving Stalin and his gulag. These conversations punctuated my childhood, as did Diary of a Young Girl by Anne Frank, and the cotillion dances in Manhattan that launched WASPs into a world of numbing privilege, rendering their motherhoods all but useless in today’s world.. In On Tyranny, Twenty Lessons from the Twentieth Century, in Bloodlands, Europe Between Hitler and Stalin, in Our Malady: Lessons in Liberty from a Hospital Diary, Yale history professor Timothy Snyder, 51, the best and most prolific historian writing today, offers stark warnings and penetrates the loss and meaning of freedom as he comments on January 6th. We will soon hear about the trail... and the chilling fact pattern that led to two suicides and selfies taken as the capitol was invaded by white men trained in our military, now tacitly supported by the lies of Josh Hawley, Ted Cruz, Lindsey Graham, Donald Trump and his family, Bill Barr and scores of government types more interested in belonging to a cabal than principle.. or the Constitution. We will learn how close we came. AND perhaps we will learn of how deeply Blacks are feared by those whose ancestors enslaved them... as we contemplate the failed Reconstruction and consider what now we must do to put things right.. We must end the Civil War. This is not about a sugary coated history of platitudes. This is about the loss of everything that matters in this nation and pure unadulterated racism in the white that does nothing.
Thank you. The lengths the Republican party will go to to skew the electorate is mind boggling. If they can’t win over the majority of voters with appealing policies, they are quite happy to disenfranchise those voters who disagree with them. They are turning democracy on its head.
I hope they are looking into just which "secret service agents" were talking to the insurrectionists
The Democratic machine must create media pieces drilling into Republicans’ minds how much Biden is doing for them, as he promised, and what Beto and AOC are doing to help Texans. Gaslighting is poison them. The antidote must be facts to win over their minds and real help to earn their appreciation. The Dems must take control of the narrative.
I checked the internet to see if the Senate Judiciary Committee meeting will be live streamed and found the following website:
https://www.judiciary.senate.gov/meetings/the-nomination-of-the-honorable-merrick-brian-garland-to-be-attorney-general-of-the-united-states-day-2
I should be very interested to see the questions asked by Ted Cruz (R-TX), Charles Grassley (R-IA), Lindsey Graham (R-SC), John Cornyn (R-TX), Mike Lee (R-UT), Josh Hawley (R-MO), Tom Cotton (R-AR), Thom Tillis (R-NC), and Marsha Blackburn (R-TN)
I watched Steve Scalise this morning and just shook my head. The GOP is grand no more. They have become more and more dangerous through the years, especially the last four. I can’t wait for M. Garland to be our AG. OUR AG. He’s going to be really busy.
So, Watkins' defense is that she's not guilty because she believed a man who, while President of the United States, made more than 30,000 false or misleading statements?
https://www.washingtonpost.com/graphics/politics/trump-claims-database/
I watched Scalise today and felt a chill. How can they sleep at night while living the Big Lie? All very disheartening and disturbing. I am going to do my part in my community to bring hope.
The crew of Republicans on the Senate Judiciary Committee are certainly notable in their self serving and anti-constitutional ways.
Absolutely incomprehensible to me that there are still people out there spreading these horrible lies and trying to destroy our democracy, our country. The fight rages on.
Thank you Heather.
My utter despise for the GOP deepens everyday. At every turn, they try to make every process into a hostage situation. I really feel if they push the Cuomo narrative, it will quickly become a very uncomfortable situation for them. You would think they would understand the value of "never ask a question you don't already know the answer to". Garland is the right choice and they know it.
The "big lie" has indeed been perpetuated by the GOP for decades, Trump just made it his mantra, daily.
I'm quite sure next week's speech by Trump is a primer for the next insurrection. The only question is, where will it be. My money is on the White House.
Be safe, be well.
Thank you Heather.
It is terribly sad and disheartening to have the big lie repeated that Trump won the election and see Republicans claim, with straight faces, that the election was stolen, all the while their own Republican election officials declare President Biden the winner. SAD!