The payroll processing firm ADP said today that private sector jobs jumped by 497,000 in June, far higher than the Dow Jones consensus estimate predicted. The big gains were in leisure and hospitality, which added 232,000 new hires; construction with 97,000; and trade, transportation and utilities with 90,000. Annual pay rose at a rate of 6.4%. Most of the jobs came from companies with fewer than 50 employees.
How do the GOP members of Congress crow about infrastructure projects they voted against with a straight face? Because it’s a win-win for them. Their constituents either never learn of the grotesque hypocrisy or don’t care.
It’s revolting, especially when you consider where the country would be without Biden and what the Democratic Congress accomplished in his first two years in office.
The Repugnants still sicken me with their lies and duplicity. If the country survives it will be no thanks to any of them at all. The two party system is a mockery and will be until such time we get a real replacement to their foul and disgusting "positions" on anything and everything. Even half the "Supreme" court should be jailed for their "ethics", or lack thereof. Our MSM is just a ruse on the news and doesn't tell the public anything they can't get on One America or Fox.
It seems to me it's about time for a centrist party. The extremists on both sides do not represent the opinions of most of America. Plenty of other countries with more than two major parties manage to elect leaders and form coalition governments.
One side has the vast majority of "extremists" trying to force their dystopian agendas on Americans too complacent to care all that much, and it's the fucking GOP. A "centrist" party won't fix this shit.
Oh, and that "plenty of other countries" with more than two parties who seem to make it work? 1) They're all parliamentary systems, which we decidedly are not, and won't become just by introducing a so-called "centrist" party (anybody actually believe that the No Labels poseurs are actually "centrist"? - if you do, you're an idiot AND a fool - or one of their operatives). And 2) those plenty of other countries are doing no better than we are in the US - with a few exceptions, they're doing worse.
What we NEED to do is to stop electing people who identify with the corrupt, hypocritical, lying neo-fascists in the GOP. What we NEED to do is to band together to do everything we can to help the GOP destroy themselves.
What we need to do is pay teachers more and revamp public education. That so many Americans as so willfully ignorant is disheartening. Read their posts. Maybe it is impossible. It is a nation filled with the spawn of the film Deliverance.
Demand Civics as mandatory across the nation as it once was. I've believed for a very long time that the move to abandon Civics education was one of the long term accomplishments of the extremists playing the long game - for much longer than most realize. Crafty freaks - I'll give them that; but in a Lex Luther sort of way.
D4N I agree that teaching civics, including the Constitution, is important to the education of our youth. However, I feel that the problem is much deeper.
Even for those who has mastered the constitutional aspects of ‘checks-and-balances,’ this provides scant solace in viewing the day-to-day of American politics.
Hedrick Smith’s THE POWER GAME: HOW WASHINGTON WORKS is the classic study of what goes on in Washington. It ain’t pretty.
Smith describes it as tribal fighting between the 40-yard lines with rare touchdowns. Rather, it’s a lot of vested interests exercising power for their own purposes.
This is not a “Mr. Smith Goes to Washington” scenario where the good guy triumphs over the bad. Rather, it is an incremental struggle in which, hopefully, the positive edges out the negative.
I have experienced such a foo foo dust fight in government, in corporate life, and in academe. As Churchill expressed it ‘Democracy is the worst form of government except for all the others.’
It’s easy to throw up one’s hands and say a plague on both your houses. It’s tougher to support those who steadfastly support incremental change for the good of our citizenry and our country.
Such is Bidenomics. Certainly not perfect, but, under the circumstances, pretty damned good. And worth fighting for.
“Crafty freaks” -- excellent, succinct description. Many of whom know (they must...) that their whole house is constructed of lies but do not care. If it means they “win,” that they defeat the powers that are trying to help the people they despise -- because of their skin color, because they believe their lives have been diminished b/c others have been helped by government policies & laws -- it’s always been about hate. And race, in my view. And resentments that go back generations.
I patrolled an area very much like that portrayed in Deliverance. We referred to it as “Banjo Land” and often noted that “the family tree has few branches and very deep roots”.
What we could do, should do, perhaps need to do in the very near future is to revise the tax code and get back some of that $33 trillion in debt that went to the big corps and ultra wealthy and plow that money back into the economy for jobs, schools, health care and more.
Republicans, during the Eisenhower era, were rational. Clearly, indisputably, now they are Fascists, white supremacists. This is why Timothy Egan's book, "A Fever in the Heartland" is so engrossing. Extremely well written and we're seeing a replay of the past, with the outcome today uncertain.
I agree about not needing a "centrist" party, and certainly No Labels claiming to be centrist is a joke. Using the terms "Republican" and "GOP" is no less a joke. The history of politics in this country speaks loudly to that. Those words refer to the party of Lincoln and Teddy Roosevelt. They lend credibility to a to a party that has absolutely no connection with the ideals of those presidents. Every time we refer to that party in this way we soften, if not legitimize, what they stand for.
"Naming" is a powerful thing. Reference HCR's comment regarding replacing the anti-abortion rhetoric "... 'national ban' with 'national consensus' or 'national standard'...." This kind of word play is commonplace in politics, particularly to make something bad look good. It works.
We need to be clear that the party that is trying to destroy our nation has no connection with the moniker they claim ownership of. The "MAGA" party (not the "MAGA Republicans") is a start, but it still is not accurate. They are, in truth, the Fascist Party. That is in no way a misrepresentation of their agenda. Naming this party as such in the media and in our communications with each other is a powerful reminder that we are allowing a political party that represents ideals the world once fought to defeat to again rear its ugly head.
NeoConfederate is pretty good. John Birch Society gets to it, as well, but most people probably never heard of them. They’ve learned to wear sheep’s clothing. That’s why they’re so good at camouflage language, like substituting “national consensus” for “ban”.
For the most part, the Dems are a centrist party....much to the chagrin of the progressives. I am proud to stand with Joe and Jill as they take us forward....many don’t realize how fortunate we are to have these fine people in the White House! VOTE BLUE.
Thank you John. I would add that in the United States today—-and for the foreseeable future—any third party is an ally of the forces that want to tear down democracy and the rule of law.
It can be argued that the US actually does operate by an extremely modified Westminster (parliamentary) system in that presidents are elected by the Electoral College (a de facto parliament) rather than by direct popular election.
Agreed, but could you tone it down a bit? We're all on the same side. As a foreigner, from parliamentary systems, it seemed to me that another party would at least dilute the GOP mass.
No. I won't tone it down. But I agree with you that most of us here at HCR's comments are on the same side (coming on three decades of fighting these battles I'm really good at IDing accounts that are pushing agendas that are decidedly NOT on "our" side)..
No, another party WON'T "dilute the GOP mess" - what it WILL do is pull votes from the Dems and make GOP victories more likely.
If we had ranked choice voting in all elections, we might finally get a good grasp on the two-party mess, but also if wishes were fishes, I'd be the not-so-little-mermaid. o_O
I doubt a so-called “moderate” party will draw many Republicans. I would not characterize my Republican family members as “extreme”. However, they vote straight Republican and buy or miss the misinformation and extreme rhetoric. They have come to see ALL Democrats and moderate Republicans as the enemy. Moderate and Democrat to them are the same thing, anyone who doesn’t vote straight Republican Party line.
Biden is no extremist. And Democrats have been pulled so far right to center that there is no extremist say “socialist” or “communist” wing or group that talks in extreme terms or policies. Labor unions are not “socialists” or “communists”. They are taxpayers and workers. Contrast that with Republicans and people who want all of the services of government but don’t want to pay for them or pay “taxes”.
Well said. And the extreme Republican group where i live, extreme in position, not in volume, are those who insist that God comes first, ahead of the Constitution, notwithstanding the First Amendment wording.
Not redressing a wrong is indistinguishable from acceptance.
David , appreciate every word. Isn't it weird that it is Trump, a Republican and his minions who approve of and admire dictators like Putin? The party has become occupied by bizaare beings.
"they vote straight Republican and buy or miss the misinformation and extreme rhetoric."
Yes, Fox Disinformation has infected the brains of those with little and no critical thinking capacity, which, is at least 73 million Americans.
I don't think we can fix this problem while simultaneously allowing Fox to continue to function as a far right disinformation campaign against Democracy and the rule of law.
David, you make a key point: "They have come to see ALL Democrats and moderate Republicans as the enemy." It is the genius of their success to get a simple message out there labeling anything they are against as "socialism", "communism," "woke", beginning with Demcrats. No thinking required on the part of their audience. As Dana said in a prior comment, "naming is a powerful thing." Magas have successfully taken this to an unimaginable extreme. Yes to calls for better education, including civics. Though, along with others here, I wonder if we can do that in time to save our republic.
"Red Thread" posted an excellent article from the NYTimes regarding the "vote straight R ticket" philosophy last night. It's buried down further in a separate thread. It is a very good explainer.
Not everyone here is on the 'same side' Anne-Louise. There are posers aplenty here and always have been. They are here gathering data and stirring things when they can. In our system, a third party would serve nothing except to dilute and divide, making consensus even more difficult - thus solving nothing in our current crisis. Thanks for being here and your input - I appreciate your input and sometimes agree with your points; just not this time. Cheers !
No, unfortunately, third parties here have caused much harm because they usually draw votes away from Ds and then Rs win. I will mention Ralph Nader and Jill not green Stein as two examples. Right now I am not interested in diluting the party of death's mess. They need to go the way of the dodo.
Tho I do not agree with your comments this time, Anne-Louise , I am always glad to read your comments as they are insightful. Living once again in the US, but spending most of my adult life in other countries has formed my very alert older self. Meaning: we have to work with what we have and historically, in the US, a third party does not really end up being very beneficial....to anyone.
Equivocation is the tell. Dickering with the language is the last resort for Republican-speak. It's nothing new. But when they start demanding that journalists stop using specific words and replacing them with more ambiguous ones, a siren should be heard. Should journalists concede to such demands, their commitment to truth is thereby corrupted.
Journalists are not in the business of making things look pretty. The purpose of the Fourth Estate is to ensure accountability, nothing more. Sometimes people ask me "why can't newspapers report pleasant things instead of everything that's negative? Why is the focus always about finding fault?"
The answer is simple:Their business is not about PR (public relations). The Fourth Estate exists to ensure accountability: that is the only goal. Their commitment is to seek what is true, and to debunk what is not true. If people want the gloss of PR they should look to tabloids and to disreputable media outlets like Fox News, which in this case is a very accurate tell. The word "fox" has only one connotation that I know of, and it's about cunning and trickery.
The Republicans are known to love Trump because he "tells it like it is." In this case, the proverbial "fox " is telling it's audience "I will eat you" and the audience, in its passive ignorance, is eager to be consumed.
You are correct, sir. First, Republicans must be defeated at every level of government. The most basic rule in successful politics is: "First, win." Then we can discuss how best to govern, educate, etc.
A "centrist" party is the last thing needed. That's because "centrist" is a misnomer: it's a lie parading as independent thinking. This "neutral" stance appeals to the false ideals of "equality and balance"' yet it's nothing more than a ruse to persuade the weak-minded to avoid taking a real stand.
In life, when it counts, true commitment is required-- with no prevarication-- especially when one party clearly intends to divide, conquer, and to replace honor with corruption. This is a simple matter of one thing or another; there is no
in-between.
Neutrality isn't honorable; it's a false ideal that alleviates responsibility for any bad outcome. How many people voted "independent" based on these selfish delusions? I would like to know their names, because where I used to be open and accepting, I'm now leery. skeptical, and cynical. Now I only want friends who understand what's at stake; I want friends who are willing to sacrifice themselves for the sake of our children's future.
2016 was my "grow up" moment. I don't have time now for ambivalence or indecision and I never will again.
Those "unbiased" people, by their naive belief that they're "above" partisanship, effectively threw the election to Donald Trump.
So whenever I hear people talk about "centrism" or "independent party", I candidly ask them:
wow...I guess I'll have to stick to my own statement, that everyone is entitled to their own opinion. Now those of us who hew towards the middle of the political spectrum are liars who are weak minded? Along the axis of Truth-Lies, I would certainly agree that treating both as equally valid positions is wrong-headed. On the axis of Liberal-Conservative, there is a moderate middle. We're still a LONG way from the general election in 2024 from a political perspective and the Orange Emperor isn't guaranteed to prevail, nor is his chief acolyte. One could well end up in prison and the other apparently has no curb appeal. There is a possibility, however slim, that we might actually be voting on political terms rather than truth versus "alternate facts". There is nothing theoretically impossible about a multi-party electorate associated with a bicameral legislature. We can still elect a single president and neither house would choose the individual holding the executive office. Each house would have to form a majority government, just as they do now, it'd be more nuanced than the simple majority we now respect, but governing coalitions might form a super-majority government under some circumstances. It would change a number of things about the rules and mechanics of legislative leadership in both houses, but that would happen if ANY of the current minor parties were to rise to parity with either D or R. I won't be fooled if Republican power brokers form a 3rd party and toss a sacrificial lamb into candidacy for president. Currently there is no viable candidate for a centrist party other than the relatively moderate politician who currently occupies the White House. Just don't discount the possibility that the most moderate opinions on either side of the isle might have more common cause with each other than they do with the extreme partisans on their side of the isle.
John, thank you for this excellent clarifying reply about the two party system and how third parties work in parliamentary systems. I agree wholeheartedly with your suggestion of what we need to do.
I cannot believe folks are trying to both side a slide towards fascism, that’s coming from the GOP. to pretend that people who are fighting for their civil rights, for their human rights, against transmisia, homophobia, anti-Blackness, misogyny, the separation of church and state and so on are equivalent somehow to rightwing extremists is delusional beyond measure in my book: https://lithub.com/fascism-is-not-an-idea-to-be-debated-its-a-set-of-actions-to-fight/
It seems to me that the current version of the Democratic Party IS the center. A solid moderate voice against the dangerous nonsense of a party that has embraced far out and absolutely false "alternative facts". And lie upon lie.
Most Americans would support women's rights, healthcare for all, and a more level playing field in education. Most Americans want the media to tell the truth. Most Americans want the law to apply to everyone - even bozos on the Supreme Court.
Most Americans agree with "centrist" Democrats that the Climate Crisis is a monstrous problem and that gun laws need to be strengthened.
You already have your centrist party. It's led by Joe Biden. The extremity of the right is out of a dystopian movie. The "extreme" elements of the left want to return our nation from an oligarchy where elections are bought to a REAL democracy where voting is safe and easy - where voting is PROMOTED - not restricted.
Stop with the both sides crap. The left is the real and future normality.
Oh, I forgot. The left thinks we should defend democracy abroad. Sounds like the good old center to me. The right wants to cozy up to murderers like Putin. Help me out, here. Give me a "centrist" idea that isn't already a platform of the Democratic Party.
Yes, the GOP has abdicated its role in representing center-right voters. Many of the issues you raise fall along a different axis than right-left. Truth-lie axis has changed the definition of the two party system.
Bill, you took the words out of my mouth. I blame the media for a huge part of this problem. All the media (not just Fox) perpetuates this myth that the United States is divided, because their single goal is more readers, and controversy drives readership. If they printed facts they would be judged as "left-leaning" when in fact their reporting would be accurate..
Bill, I am especially grateful for your comment, which, in my view, is fundamental to the arguments we must make were the purported bi-partisan, so-called centrist “No Labels” Party to run a candidate in 24.
Sorry but I don’t buy the notion that 50 years of Supreme Court protection of a each women’s (including a 9yr old girl) personal choice to decide on her own reproductive health is not a “centrist” position! Women from every political persuasion deservedly are terrified of the enactment of a nationwide abortion ban! Let’s defeat it on a nonpartisan basis and let’s do so decisively!
You'll get no argument from me on that one...that 9 yr old didn't get a choice in the most important sense of all. I don't see women's autonomy as a partisan issue, although only one party supports it. I see it as a universal right. In fact, if 70% of the public support women's autonomy, then it is, by definition a bi-partisan issue.
Just Sayin', It is sadly a necessary right....freedom to choose because she maybe did not have the choice before....and she is left alone under either circumstance. It is just one of those harsh realities.....
Who are the "extremists" on the Democratic side in Congress that are creating anything remotely like the damage the Republicans are deliberately fomenting? There are no Democratic "extremists" on the Supreme Court, but at least 5 on what has become the far right.
Thank you, Ann W, for expressing what I have been thinking while reading today's dialogue. I am one of many progressive Dems to the left of moderates, and I react strongly to those who compare us with MAGA extremists. Seems convenient for centrists to categorize us in this way. But there is simply no parallel. Period!
The current extremists of the MAGA right need to have their big "come to Jesus" moment like progressives got in the huge McGovern defeat back when I was just coming of age.
Right now it's too easy to keep deluding themselves that they aren't extreme.
At the moment the Dems are united against a chaotic, anti-democratic GOP, but, as a big tent party, they often have trouble staying on message because of strife between moderates and progressives. Extremists on both ends of the spectrum tend to reject compromise. I don’t want to be a part of brinksmanship politics on either side of the isle. I’d rather straddle the isle, personally.
@Just Sayin’, Contrary to your view, I would note in late Spring 2020, after Joe Biden had become the Party’s presumptive Presidential nominee, he and Bernie Sanders created 6 policy task forces which, according to Sanders, “had some of the most knowledgeable people in the country coming together” to deal with education, climate change, healthcare, the economy, criminal justice, and immigration reform. Sanders noted that there had been serious discussions with serious people engaged in an honest effort to arrive at compromises that Sanders had said, if implemented, would improve life “for tens and tens of millions of working people.”
Sanders is a unique example of a very progressive politician who can work with moderates on many issues where interests align. In that regard he is a pragmatist.
Until we have ranked choice voting, additional parties make matters worse by removing their voters from the contest that counts. That’s why far right money is funding the No Labels party.
Outright eliminating the Electoral College would require a constitutional amendment. A much lower bar is the National Popular Vote Compact, which would have the same effect and requires only the participation of enough state legislatures to create a majority of Electoral College votes.
But already several states have ratified a “kill the Electoral College ?referendum. It’s been so long since I learned about it that the details are hazy, but it’s a way around modifying the Constitution.
To me, who has always been a lefty, Biden is trying to please everyone as best he can. I think he is very successful at doing that. In any other functioning democracy Biden would be a centrist, maybe even center right. The MAGA Republicans, which is all that there are now, don't belong in a democracy. They don't belle in elections. They don't believe in serving 85% of the electorate. They want to keep the Trumpian kleptocracy going. They call everything reasonable socialism/communism.
Exactly so. Compare Biden’s policies to the 1956 Republican platform. The thing to keep in mind is that the parties kinda switched hats following the “Southern Strategy” embarked on by Nixon.
Even Barry Goldwater counseled against joining up with the evangelical religious movement. Todays MAGAts have done that.
I agree, we need three parties. What we don't need are extremists. We need a Liberal/Progressive, a Moderate/Centrist, and a Fiscal Conservative. The extremists, be they anarchists, authoritarians, fascists, oligarchists, racists, white supremacists can rage from the fringes
I would rather see ranked choice voting with the potential elimination of a party system. It would potentially expand the field and give voter’s more choices to choose a candidate who aligns with their views.
We already have a centrist party - it is the Biden wing of the Democratic Party. The Republican Party, with very few exceptions, constitutes the extreme far right party.
We have a centrist party, it’s called the Democrats. 90% of Democratic politicians would be right at home in any European, center-right, Christian Democrat party.
one guy's opinion...a third party in a two party system is pretty dissonant; you have to shift the frame of reference to imagine a system with 3+ viable parties.
In a binary world, you might be right; trouble is, our world isn’t binary. It’s not a zero sum game when barely half the electorate participates. Not undisciplined by half, just more agile than many…
Please let me inquire as to what you would consider to be a centrist party? Would you include support for women to make their own choice of an abortion with advice of her doctor before viability? Would you include support by the new “centrist party” of strong and effective legislation to ban assault weapons, restrict youth purchase of any weapon, and no nonsense background checks? How about ultra fast funding with a special tax on the uber-wealthy to fight climate change immediately and to regulate corporate poisoning of our atmosphere? All of that is “centrist” as well as “progressive” because it is common sense, isn’t it?
My comment was aimed more at the concept that the current status of political parties in the US leaves a large gap in representation of the unaligned voter, at least 25% of the electorate that does not identify with a current major political party, rather than specific policy positions. Some of the non-aligned, like me, simply are not enamored of the concept of party politics. Many, I suspect, feel alienated from what they currently observe in the party politics sphere.
However, an "unaligned or middle of the road party" has to stand for something, right? What I'm suggesting is that while you are "unaligned," which I respect, you have to have a "position" on abortion rights, gun safety and control, and climate change legislation, etc. so that while you don't choose to "align" or register as a Democrat, do you support the Republican position on these issues? I respectfully suggest that nonalligned voters have to choose or just not vote?
Indeed; my views don't always fit, but I do my best to choose amongst the political options available to me. I like politicians who can "get to yes" via negotiation across a variety of interests. The current president has that capacity. Some simply want to win at whatever cost.
That is not entirely true! Unless you have no access to two cable news channels, both of which are quite reliable, supplemented by WAPO, The New York Times, and Slate, Politico, and some others, including Substack. I haven’t bothered with ABC or CBS since I became “addicted” to MSNBC and its lawyers, ex-judges, and practicing physicians during the pandemic. That cable channel, in spite of its horrendous ads, got me through the pandemic (quite literally - couldn’t leave home before vaccinations) and by now has presented directly such important political moments as Cassidy Hutchins’s testimony, the attack on the Capitol, enough of DT so that I feel I really know him, etc. I have given up on any “both sides” news as there isn’t anything but horror on one side. If America survives, it will be because those amazing people who work three jobs, with no benefits and no vacations, manage somehow to get informed and get out and vote Bidenomics. I can only hope that they may see some light and go toward it, that unions will again flourish to protect workers, that the ultra rich will have to pay appropriate taxes, and that the draft, that great leveler, will be reinstated in a form that brings everyone together. Slava Ukraina!
Michael, Quoting an astute subscriber from another Substack, I wish both to note appreciation for your comment and also to extend it.
This subscriber writes, “[A]s good as it is statistically, President Biden cannot, must not, run on his record alone. He must go nose-to-nose with Trump and not back down. He must choose his language to simultaneously appeal to the listener with its simple clarity and also insert burrs under Trump’s skin, because when Trump (a mere illusion of strength) loses it, he loses all.”
I don't even want to think about where our nation would be without Biden and what the Democratic Congress accomplished in his first two years in office. We all might be doing the Heil TUMP salute when we went out into public. That is a scary thought.
If President Biden succeeds in this model, he would:
1. Reduce Inequality
2. Spur equitable economic growth
3.Increase manufacturing
4. Stimulate innovation
And today, Dr. HCR reported that as per the ADP (job creation is multifaceted and is a combination of the above factors). This is a a great milestone for the American community and I think this is the magic of Bidenomics or what I called Bottom-up, middle-out approach that replaced "the trickle-down economics" that have been preferred in almost across the world. By passing the Inflation Reduction Act, President Biden tame high inflation that is often associated with the trickle-down economics when consumption is high.
The bottom-up approach has been successfully implemented in China, albeit in combination with the trickle-down economic model. However, the bottom-up model has taken the center stage with the informal economic institutions being reorganised.
This comes at a time when Africa is grappling with the burgeoning high number of graduates, but a few jobs for them. As per the Statistica average unemployment rate among females in Africa is 9%, while that of males is 7.4% as of 2022, but there is variation in countries with Nigeria leading by 33%. These are the consequences of trickle-down economics.
But, I hope Africa will soon adopt BIDENOMICS (though some countries have started).
Edwin, I would love to see the beautiful people of Africa rise to the greatness they are capable of and not have their country used up by others.
They want education and health care for themselves and their families. They want stability. Mothers want food to feed their little children and protection against diseases. They want an education for their children to give them a good...more stable future.... AND JOBS WITH DECENT SALARIES!
I am thankful for many groups who serve in Africa....it is a difficult place to see longterm improvements. Too many take advantage and want to use people instead of teaching and encouraging individuals to be independent.
Africa is a huge continent....situations are not the same everywhere.
I am so grateful to have people like you in this community. True, the African continent should rise up to the occasion and realize that it is no longer normal as usual. Tough situations require abnormal solutions. Continent has the highest number of young people aged 18 to 35 more than any other continent. When they get decent jobs, they will have better health, better housing, better standards of living, and better future.
In my newsletter, I have a section dubbed THE STARTUP ASSISTANT where I can help businesses from America or Europe get access to highly talented young Africans through remote jobs.
Biden is going to be able to make some great campaign commercials out of these stories. I can see them..."Graham said Biden's policies are a train wreck for South Carolina..." "Under Biden South Carolina has added XX Billion in investments and 100,000 new good paying jobs...Now Sen Graham says that's the kind of train wreck we need" Vote Biden...for bigger, better train wrecks.
For every infrastructure project there should be a large sign posted stating something like…
This project is the result of President Biden’s Infrastructure Bill that your Congressperson, insert name here, voted against (or for if they voted for it). The message needs to be made.
How can they crow about it with a straight face? Because apparently their constituents don't pay attention. Why else would they keep voting these representatives into office???
Yes... show what the respective incumbent congressman or Senator said about the infrastructure/ Inflation Reduction Act Before and After the legislation was enacted.
A very powerful and clear marketing messaging strategy. Repeat, Repeat and Repeat everywhere across the country until Election Day. This approach should get more votes for Democrats who are actually getting the hard work done for all of us.
Nope. Not since Eisenhower. After him, a deluge of criminality, venality, and bad government has been the provenance of the GOP. They have descended into a hell of their own making.
True, It's not for nothing they underfund and undermine education, And yet most of the MAGAs in my acquaintance have college degrees. Not all education is created equal.
And most people don't seem to know much about Trump's real claim to fame; his fortune:
No matter how much education, human nature doesn't change and people still believe in God and conspiracy theories, are still racist and misogynist, and are victimized by grifters.
Education changes lives, although only part of it occurs in classrooms. I can still recall struggling to read "See spot run, Run spot run". Now reading and writing feels like a "natural" attribute. I even had to learn to walk. I am learning every day. I think that authoritarians induce PTSD in their children early on in order to assert control, and that gets writ large in societies. I have seen some reject a total "MAGA" upbringing after maintaining it through their early teen years (this the MAGA push to control education) who eventually rejected it utterly; but it's based on mental malware that traps one in a vicious cycle, so it's not so easy to break free.
They get away with it because those who vote for them are at best misinformed but more likely totally taken in by the years of lies the 'Fairness Doctrine' has permitted. This is another aspect of the Achilles heel of democracy, this time the First Amendment.
The "Fairness Doctrine" per se was guidance to mass media to provide "equal time" for opposing voices, but it was not the media's fence sitting "both-siderism" of today's media. NYT and WaPo went after Nixon, but ate from Reagan's hand. The "Fairness Doctrine" would have scuttled hate radio.
The deeper Republican folk dig their hole the harder they will have in the next elections. Supreme Court is in the red zone and 2024 will give us great satisfaction if the Dems will act. The hurt so many will endure over the next months is a price we pay for the future.
Thank you, Heather. If it weren’t for you, I would never know all the wonderful things President Biden has accomplished. The media never emphasizes Joe Biden’s accomplishments. Instead, they focus on inane things like poll numbers or how he left his interview with Nicole Wallace, or how he tripped, or his age. You’d think they want TFG to win. They gave us this nightmare in 2016 and seem intent on doing it again.
Heather, how do we get your voice heard more? Why don’t I read you in the papers or consistently see you on TV? I share your Substack posts but fear this isn’t enough.
The MSM suppresses news that tend to favor our Democratic process. They are told to do this i could guess by corporate interests. Big money rules here in the United States. They do not give a damn about the middle and lower classes and don't want us to have anything.
I remember that, Milton Friedman was an arrogant a' hole. I will never forget what Reagan did to the air traffic controllers too.... he shamelessly fired them all for going on strike. His decision triggered the corporate war against labor unions. I was a member of the United Steelworkers union for 35 years and was a union officer for 15 of those years as our local's accountant. Reagan started this demise of labor unions when he was President. (Dictator) for eight long years. What a huge mistake his 2 terms were. It makes me sick when i hear some people say he was a great President, He was great alright, Great for nothing is what he was.
Yes, i actually pushed my immediate family to get out and vote for Mr, Warnock and donated to him too. Our House of Representative member is not good, though. His name is Drew Ferguson and he is a MAGA nut and i actually had words with him through emails. Even now, i get emails from him and I DON'T reply to him, he is just another Fascist GQP creep. I delete his emails. He is not quite as bad as that Marjorie Traitor Goon, but he goes along with that sorry MAGA crap on everything. Our district borders Marjorie Traitor Goon's district. I have 4 grown children and 3 of them are dedicated Democrats, and all of my grown grandchildren are also Democrats. My youngest son is the one that votes Fascist GQP, he is the only one that i can't get through to. His wife, however is a Democratic voter, but she tells him she votes Fascist GQP. I don't dare tell him i know that...it would cause trouble between them if i did. Our other Senator is also a Democrat, his name is Jon Ossoff. He is a good Senator too. And yes, the very stupid R choice was bad.
“They gave us this nightmare in 2016 and seem intent on doing it again.”
So true, Ginni! It was maddening back in 2016 to watch the media doing news coverage pirouettes to equalize the two presidential candidates (trump and Clinton) as if their credentials and integrity were comparable. Whenever a new trump scandal was unveiled, the media would report it and almost concurrently rehash the “Hillary’s emails” bit. I do not applaud any type of news censorship, especially if it is fact-based, but I found it almost poetic justice when some of the same acrobatic networks saw their journalists banned by tfg from his press conferences for challenging his lies and hyperbolic statements. I often wonder if the major non-Fox networks are willing to risk that fate again for the sake of revenue-generating viewership: after all, bad news does elicit more attention…
Hard to know where to start…an impregnated nine year old who can’t get an abortion…the massive lying about the Biden economics that really are helping red states…first, denounced by rep red states electeds AND THEN when they make it through Congress claimed as credit by these very same turkeys…
The whole present Republican deal is so very scummy….so profoundly two faced….
I really have trouble understanding how any one who is relatively decent, sort of informed, even slightly educated can support/vote these guys…
(Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost told the Fox News Channel there was “not a damn scintilla of evidence”)
There are so many reasons why this guy should be out of a job. Attorney General; a critical, entrusted position which is supposed there to uphold equal protection under law and facts over hear-say.
You are right..I totally understated the hideousness of it….and I wasn’t kidding I really really do not know how any decent person can support these people.
It is puzzling because some I know who swallow Trump hook, line, and sinker seem quite decent in many other respects, and one I know who seemed quite admirable became a hostile flaming MAGA, driving old friends and relatives away. It's like something compulsive takes over the brain.
I am with both Joan and JL here. I see guys I worked with, went through some very “exciting” times with, and depended on them as they depended on me to confront lots of the things that cops do and see who have bought into the propaganda hook, line, sinker, olé, reel, and boat. As an aside, a now medically retired sergeant (a Christian who practices his faith and is politically very conservative) and his wife went to a drag queen fundraiser for some advocacy group they support. Sarge got up at one point to use the bathroom, and his wife posted video of his unwitting participation in a skit on Facebook (it was hilarious, Sarge carried it off and played along) and about half the remarks were along the lines of vomit emoticons (🤢🤮) or “why didn’t you take ‘her’ down”.
His wife then posted something that called these people out, telling them that it was a fun, comedic event and they should keep their hatred off her page. Sadly, all of them were guys I’d worked with.
Joan, I feel the same way. My experience with MAGA voters (unfortunately extensive) I thought were "relatively decent, somewhat or more than somewhat educated) is that a huge number of them are bombarded with disinformation from their churches. They are on church email loops, they get it from their Sunday services, they were/are in the same Facebook groups or have the same kinds of friends who were bombarded by utter lies throughout tfg's candidacy and presidency. It was impenetrable and I've stopped trying. (And then of course there are the dinosaurs- racist, misogynist and homophobic. But you asked about the "relatively decent"!)
There is hope in statistics that say the churchgoing population is declining pretty rapidly. But it won't be soon enough, especially for people like that nine year old. It's so horrifying.
That's a great analysis, Red Thread, thanks for posting! "One part Battle for the Future of Civilization and one part booze cruise." If I could see past my fury at tfg and anyone whoever remotely supported him, I would admire the sheer showmanship.
I also thought this was spot on: "The MAGA movement is heavily clustered in the South, and Southerners see themselves as the nicest people in America. It feels false to them to be called “mean” or “cruel.”"
tfg harnessed the psychopathy of the Confederate South, which we never dealt with as a country after the Civil War.
And the creepy power of sociopathy to spread, as it certainly does in extremist movements, right, left, and theocratic. I think it all boils down to narcissism over the top. Republicans, once the champions of the Union, have been pandering to wannabee Confederates ever since the formerly Jekyll/Hyde Democratic Party cut loose the George Wallace wing but supporting and enforcing Civil Rights. in the interim, dog whistles morphed into fog horns.
The “decent” people that we all wonder about..just what is it that they “believe” Trump can do for them? What are they hearing from church pulpits? What does he represent to them?
I find it hard to believe that anyone who supports a liar, cheater, racist con man like Trump is “decent”. What about Trump is decent?
From everything I’ve seen, studied and heard, the appeal of MAGA is that Trump can save white supremacy and patriarchy for them. He’s their “savior”.
Racism is often hidden and unspoken but what else is it-surely not just tax cuts or small government. Americans have a problem when it comes to facing the reality that the original lie about “race” has always and is still driving our American way of life.
Race is a made up concept that was intended to keep people divided. It’s worked for more than 200 years and it’s still working.
Even the census acknowledges that race classifications are “not based on biology, genetics or anthropology” so what is the basis for “race” ? Politics and economics?
There’s been a lot of panic for at least the last 20 years about how our country’s demographics are changing. The message is “White” people will be “dominated” by “people of color.” Having a president with dark skin was the last straw.
Why so much focus on skin color? We’re all Americans aren’t we-and we’re all human beings. The 70 million who continue to fight civil wars and civil rights (including SCOTUS) will be our downfall.
Someone please help me understand what other reasons these folks have for supporting Trump and all of his minions. We can say their ignorant or their Christian faith is driving them but I think it’s all about “conserving” privilege and control.
Gina, of course, most of the tfg support is exactly that. I can say that the tfg supporters I know and that I used to think would be able to see through this horse**** got pounded by their churches, their families, their FB friends — that all alternatives to tfg were somehow more evil.
They think of themselves as "nice" people. But I've never trusted "nice" people. I prefer people who aren't afraid to call out bullies and criminals and stand up to them.
You can always gather a following by telling people that their problematic prejudices where the right idea all along. "You are the Master Race" and all that.
Gina, spot-on comment. I remember being at a conference in San Francisco back in the 80’s (CASFAA—CA Assoc Of Financial Aid Administrators….I know, sounds kinda boring, but wasn’t!) & the keynote speaker shared the “long view” statistics of how CA’s demographics (and the USA’s as well) were going to change in the coming years and see a shift to a larger and larger immigrant (predominately from So America) & non-white population. I vividly remember being curious & that what he said made sense, and not at all alarmed & felt a kind of anticipation of our country evolving into a more diverse one. What I didn’t anticipate, naive of me I know, is the unfolding fear and vitriol coming from some as this has manifest over the ensuing years. My Univ is in an area with a per capita (in CA) large indigenous population and indeed has a great academic program that reaches far beyond the campus: https://nasp.humboldt.edu/ [an aside: IMHO the Gov’t needs to stand by the treaty agreements made nation-to-nation with Native Americans across the country.] I truly don’t know why folks get their panties all in a knot over race/culture/religion & the my-way-or-the-highway sort of thinking. It is so limiting! IMHO we should instead be working on how all of us can sustainably live & co-exist w/ fellow species & eco-systems on our planet. We are all, literally, in the same boat!
Red Thread, I read NYT article and it is descriptive (anger fear coexisting with joy) but not causal explanatory. Fromm examining the rise of Nazism I think better explains it.
"All of the people who support an authoritarian power structure are equally authoritarian as well. Someone who uses this strategy reconnects themselves to the world through what Fromm calls a type of sadomasochism. Two words there—sadism and masochism: sadism being the desire to control others, to dominate exploit or steal from others; masochism being the desire to submit to some power and be controlled or dominated. The authoritarian is sadistic in the sense that they want to support an authoritarian setup so that other people and groups will be controlled. But they are masochistic in the sense that they themselves want to submit to that authority as part of the process.
Both of these are a direct sacrifice of their freedom and individuality. See, as a sadist, you cannot exist unless if you have somebody else to control. You’re no longer capable of being an individual at that point. And as a masochist, same thing, you cannot exist unless if there’s somebody out there to control or dominate you. But consider this. Freud said and Fromm agreed that you never really see sadism in a person without some type of masochism attached to it, and vice versa. He says Hitler may have been an extreme example of somebody who was sadistic, but he was always masochistic towards his position within history and the ideas of fate and chance.
People with this authoritarian mindset will often escape from freedom by looking around them and finding out where the power structures lie. They’re very good at searching out and finding where there’s a concentration of power. Then masochistically they submit and insinuate themselves into that power structure. They become one small part of this power structure—something they see as bigger than themselves, something that’s compensating for their weaknesses as a scared individual—and then they’ll use their position as a foot soldier of that authoritarian to then take out their sadistic tendencies on other people in the name of this thing that they’ve submitted to.
The point is this: in this state, they are no longer individuals. They are no longer free. They have retreated back towards the womb, back to a set of social conditions that can tell them how to live, what to think, who the enemy is. And they spend their days limiting the freedom of others, creating chains for people."
"What constitutes the bulwark of our own liberty and independence? It is not our frowning battlements, our bristling sea coasts, the guns of our war steamers, or the strength our gallant and disciplined army? These are not our reliance against a resumption of tyranny in our fair land. All of those may be turned against our liberties, without making us weaker or stronger for the struggle. Our reliance is in the love of liberty which God has planted in our bosoms. Our defense is in the preservation of the spirit which prizes liberty as the heritage of all men, in all lands, everywhere. Destroy this spirit, and you have planted the seeds of despotism around your own doors. Familiarize yourselves with the chains of bondage and you are preparing your own limbs to wear them. Accustomed to trample on the rights of those around you, you have lost the genius of your own independence, and become the fit subjects of the first cunning tyrant who rises." - Lincoln.
Of course, there really is no such thing as independence. Physically,most of us live lives dependent on technology to keep us safe and healthy, doing everything in our power to maintain that dependence. Intellectually, we all need a philosophical home adopted by many others (often called 'culture') and recoil in scorn or horror at those who don't conform to these ideas. Spiritually, most of us have forgotten just how dependent we really are on a connection to the meaning, strength, and serenity that all life depends on. We are not alone. We are never truly independent. This is a reality. The ability to think we are is one of the true luxuries of our age.
There is a meaningful use for the word "independence" and I think Lincoln amply demonstrated that he understood the independence in the context of interdependence and vice versa:
"The legitimate object of government, is to do for a community of people, whatever they need to have done, but can not do, at all, or can not, so well do, for themselves -- in their separate, and individual capacities."
Compare that to the Gospel of Reagan.
Liberty too is meaningful only in the context of our interactions with others. I don't have "liberty" to murder or rape because that destroys a unalienable right of others. Impunity for some and oppression for others is tyranny. Our ostensible aim is Liberty and Justice for ALL (emphasis added).
We are never "independent" of nature either, except in a limited sense. Human beings have stood on the moon, but it took redirection of of a whole lot of energy to accomplish it, and at this point at least, it is an exceedingly dangerous pass time. Entropy always laps powerfully at our enterprises. When we know some of nature's rules, we can use the wind to sail against the wind, but nature is always "boss".
Thank you for this explanation about why people behave this way. In American skin color, religion, gender and sexual orientation are the levers these people use to gain and maintain power. If they win, we all lose!
Wow….I subscribe to the Times (online) but missed this article.
And I certainly missed the Trump ‘joy’…..those ‘rally’s’ didn’t strike me as an outside ‘viewer’ as joyful so much as just a ‘sharing prejudice/ bigotry’ opportunity…….and the hours plus Trump ‘rants’ that occurred at these rally’s ….seemed like an insult to normal folks ‘intelligence/patience et al.
Joy??? at a Trump rally? A wall of impassive faces, people large and small clutching flags and wearing MAGA hats, cheering on cue to punctuate the interminable rant. He prowls back and forth, pointing at supposed acquaintances, showing his big white dentures, clapping his hands.
Anne-Louise the boat parade people in the areas I live were quite the happy participants. Food, lots of drinks and camaraderie. It’s a party. In one of my small communities we did complain about a neighbor’s “F**k Joe Biden” flag on the basis of our kids, and he did take it off his boat, but was astounded someone would complain. The article is correct. These people are having fun and dousing that fun with reality doesn’t get through.
Great article! Thanks for the link. French’s focus on the joy of MAGA-belonging is important. I’m reading War Is a Force That Gives Us Meaning by Chris Hedges. I’ve been struck by his description of how the myths of war are particularly attractive to lost, soulless people at various times in history. It reminded me of the Trump “war” and leaves me utterly convinced that if TFG is elected again, he will surely lead us into the real thing.
“Well, that’s okay with me,” Biden said, “because we’re all Americans. Because my view is: Wherever the need is most, that’s the place we should be helping. And that’s what we’re doing. Because the way I look at it, the progress we’re making is good for all Americans, all of America.”
New word! I had to look it up. Funny, since I started the thread, and have been responding on this site for a long time...maybe I'll go read your site and see if I find some official credentials there...
Daniel, I never in my life would have thought that a president or former would say something like that so blatantly, in public. And that the very people who have all their lives pretended shock and outrage about "bad language" would be the ones to embrace and uplift him.
A couple of thoughts on that despicable meme; the hostile language is deplorable and expected as Trump realizes he DID LOSE ELECTION 2020 and his fear of being a loser in 2024 is escalating! I personally revel in that thought. He is increasingly rude, abhorrent, unacceptable, disrespectful and the more he fears losing or being convicted of crimes ongoing, the more his DISGUSTING mouth will not appeal even to the worst MAGATS. Am I dreaming here? Just let him speak in his outlandish despicable rhetoric; how many even close to the fence would vote for that hatred? Only the worst of humanity I would think.
My question, once again, has to do with messaging. Not the dog-whistle messaging by the GQP around abortion, substituting other language for their plans to ban abortion. What I'm wondering about is all of the Republican'ts who heaped scorn on various pieces of legislation that they are now praising for bringing jobs and money into their districts and their states. Do those profiting from these investments understand that this is the result of Democratic proposals, proposals that their elected officials fought against? Where is the messaging that it is the Dems who brought to fruition these projects? Are we letting these teachable moments evaporate as if these new industries just appeared on the scene? Who is making clear to voters the source of these good new jobs?
JL, how about an event modeled on the Academy Awards that would hand out brass " horse's ass" sculptures for the many varieties of GOP lying and other misbehavior. The categories of "distinction" might include (obviously) Biggest Lie of the year, a special career award for lifetime serial lying, and others for the many categories of sleaze, cowardice, racism, misogyny, perhaps even for the creepiest two-faced Harvard grad in Congress. I'm sure I have neglected a number of other worthy categories....
Mega donors alert: Can you see the giant billboard opportunities in those states: "Repub Sen Whomever" voted NO! in DC, but at home in (name state)conveniently claims victory when fed programs flow into and help (name state). Whom do YOU trust to represent you in DC for the future?"
Excellent piece this evening Dr. Richardson. It’s really nice to finally have a president back in the Oval Office that gives a damn about the common person, the country, and our way of life.
President Biden has done more in his first two years of office than any president in a very long time. The jobs he’s added, the legislation he’s passed. Everything. Yet, we have the likes of Lindsey Graham and these other ‘republicans’ that bad mouth President Biden, and every one of his accomplishments. They return to their states and take credit for all of it like they have been in Washington DC working for their constituents. In actuality they aren’t doing a damn thing but wasting taxpayer money:
I can’t wait for Special Prosecutor Jack Smith to get this investigation wrapped up and he, along with a bus load of Federal Marshals go into the House and Senate chambers and arrest everyone of them.
The climate issue has been getting serious for years. Scientist have been warning us if we didn’t do something quick this was going to happen. Guess what, folks. What the scientist have been warning us about is now happening. The sea level is riding faster than previously predicted. It’s becoming hotter, globally, a lot earlier in the season. Storms are stronger, causing greater damage and loss of life. Wildfires are more plentiful. And, it’s only going to get worse.
We have got to make changes. We have got to give President Biden the opportunity to get these legislations passed so hopefully he can get things started to curve this disaster before it overtakes us all, and makes the human race extinct on this planet.
If we don’t replace all of these Republicans in the states, counties, federal government, we will be losing everything. President Biden needs a ‘super majority’ in the House and Senate. And, President Biden needs to be re-elected!!!
I liked that sentence you wrote: ''I can't wait for Special Prosecutor Jack Smith to get this investigation wrapped up and he, along with bus load of Federal Marshals go into the House and Senate chambers and arrest everyone of them.'' I would love to see the look on Marjorie Traitor Goon's face when they led her out of there in hand and leg cuffs... that would be worth a lot to me.. I live very close to her district here in NW Georgia along with the crazy and dumb hicks up here that worship and adore TUMP.
I live in SW GA, and, it’s an embarrassment havjng the lines of MTG in the House of Representatives, representing GA! That district she’s from must be full of fools!
"and direct air capture, which pulls carbon dioxide out of the air—"
The most revolutionary technology to pull CO2 directly out of the air is one that has been in broad usage for untold millennia; it's called photosynthesis. The means to use it is simple; plant more cover crops, forests and urban trees. If we began to convert the asphalt jungles we call cities substantially back to tree-covered landscapes, we'd improve our world in two ways immediately; first, we'd accrue all the benefits of trees in mitigation of temperature as well as in air purification. Secondly, by reducing rain runoff from impervious surfaces. we'll mitigate against flooding as water finds ways to percolate into soil that has been sealed by asphalt and concrete by urban landscapes. No till agriculture can plant directly through a cover-crop. Directly working to increase biomass in soil (cover crops) can reduce fossil-fuel based fertilizer needs. We already have the technology. What we need is a revolution in thinking/acting about the gifts we were given by the Almighty to steward a healthier world, before we used our "wisdom" to screw it up on a global scale.
Heather, thank you again for shouting the Biden administration’s accomplishments from the rooftop! I’m still amazed that an ex-president that had record unemployment is still ranked ahead of Biden on the economy. I’m also surprised that so many women see no problem with the government requiring women to put their lives and health at risk to save a life while not being willing to require any man to donate bone marrow (which does not have anywhere the same mortality as pregnancy and childbirth) to save a life. When I discuss this issue, I purposely refer to saving a life to keep from going down the rabbit hole of when life begins.
"In August, though, antiabortion forces will use a special election to try to change the threshold for constitutional amendments, requiring 60% of voters rather than a majority."
We’re trying, Lynell! Red Wine and Blue are confident that even if we fail at the August election, we should have the votes to meet that 60% threshold. I hope they’re right.
And the whole August special election is just a ploy to try and change the rules for the November abortion-rights amendment. This after the legislature JUST LAST YEAR passed a bill to eliminate August special elections, because they were too expensive! The fact that so many more petition signatures were gathered says a lot. Fingers crossed.. Thanks for the postcards, Lynell!
Life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. Why don’t these obstructionists stop and look at what they have and live. We have a beautiful country. Thank you Professor again... as usual your words strengthen me every day. I still don’t understand many things though, but you help. Peace
It’s tragic that the US no longer has a reliable mass media source to impart the truth and facts on what our Federal Government & US President is actually doing to better the lives of all Americans.
All the mass media focuses on are negative sound bites not necessarily created by actual facts. This is a rabbit hole we are not going to be able to get out of. Misinformation just received a huge boost by our corrupt SCOTUS.
Shame on those who voted for the most hideous, corrupt, criminal cretin in the recent history of this country just because he presented as racist & separatist as them.
Haven’t been to a food pantry run by sanctimonious christians, have you. They’re so proud of themselves, never addressing the issue of why their charity is necessary.
Oh I’ve been to several of the sanctimonious ones. They always seem to be out of humble pie. All the decent ones in our area are secular (people doing good works without the secondary gain of an afterlife, how can it be?????) or run by liberal religious folk who aren’t there to be seen and pat themselves on the back.
I hope by “sanctimonious” you’re not tarring all Christian churches with that pejorative. Food banks and/or weekly free, hot dinners are part and parcel of most Episcopal churches across the country.
In my experience sanctimonious Episcopalians are rare. Of course in my area Episcopal Churches are also rare, meanwhile there are Baptist and Christian churches on every corner.
How do the GOP members of Congress crow about infrastructure projects they voted against with a straight face? Because it’s a win-win for them. Their constituents either never learn of the grotesque hypocrisy or don’t care.
It’s revolting, especially when you consider where the country would be without Biden and what the Democratic Congress accomplished in his first two years in office.
The Repugnants still sicken me with their lies and duplicity. If the country survives it will be no thanks to any of them at all. The two party system is a mockery and will be until such time we get a real replacement to their foul and disgusting "positions" on anything and everything. Even half the "Supreme" court should be jailed for their "ethics", or lack thereof. Our MSM is just a ruse on the news and doesn't tell the public anything they can't get on One America or Fox.
It seems to me it's about time for a centrist party. The extremists on both sides do not represent the opinions of most of America. Plenty of other countries with more than two major parties manage to elect leaders and form coalition governments.
Wrong, it is not time for a "centrist" party
One side has the vast majority of "extremists" trying to force their dystopian agendas on Americans too complacent to care all that much, and it's the fucking GOP. A "centrist" party won't fix this shit.
Oh, and that "plenty of other countries" with more than two parties who seem to make it work? 1) They're all parliamentary systems, which we decidedly are not, and won't become just by introducing a so-called "centrist" party (anybody actually believe that the No Labels poseurs are actually "centrist"? - if you do, you're an idiot AND a fool - or one of their operatives). And 2) those plenty of other countries are doing no better than we are in the US - with a few exceptions, they're doing worse.
What we NEED to do is to stop electing people who identify with the corrupt, hypocritical, lying neo-fascists in the GOP. What we NEED to do is to band together to do everything we can to help the GOP destroy themselves.
What we need to do is pay teachers more and revamp public education. That so many Americans as so willfully ignorant is disheartening. Read their posts. Maybe it is impossible. It is a nation filled with the spawn of the film Deliverance.
Demand Civics as mandatory across the nation as it once was. I've believed for a very long time that the move to abandon Civics education was one of the long term accomplishments of the extremists playing the long game - for much longer than most realize. Crafty freaks - I'll give them that; but in a Lex Luther sort of way.
D4N I agree that teaching civics, including the Constitution, is important to the education of our youth. However, I feel that the problem is much deeper.
Even for those who has mastered the constitutional aspects of ‘checks-and-balances,’ this provides scant solace in viewing the day-to-day of American politics.
Hedrick Smith’s THE POWER GAME: HOW WASHINGTON WORKS is the classic study of what goes on in Washington. It ain’t pretty.
Smith describes it as tribal fighting between the 40-yard lines with rare touchdowns. Rather, it’s a lot of vested interests exercising power for their own purposes.
This is not a “Mr. Smith Goes to Washington” scenario where the good guy triumphs over the bad. Rather, it is an incremental struggle in which, hopefully, the positive edges out the negative.
I have experienced such a foo foo dust fight in government, in corporate life, and in academe. As Churchill expressed it ‘Democracy is the worst form of government except for all the others.’
It’s easy to throw up one’s hands and say a plague on both your houses. It’s tougher to support those who steadfastly support incremental change for the good of our citizenry and our country.
Such is Bidenomics. Certainly not perfect, but, under the circumstances, pretty damned good. And worth fighting for.
“Crafty freaks” -- excellent, succinct description. Many of whom know (they must...) that their whole house is constructed of lies but do not care. If it means they “win,” that they defeat the powers that are trying to help the people they despise -- because of their skin color, because they believe their lives have been diminished b/c others have been helped by government policies & laws -- it’s always been about hate. And race, in my view. And resentments that go back generations.
Nancy MacLean's "Democracy in Chains" spells it all out. If I were a Civics teacher, it'd be required reading.
Civics wo legislative muzzle on free speech, inquiry and historical facts, opinions and perspectives.
Now I have Dueling Banjos stuck in my head!
I patrolled an area very much like that portrayed in Deliverance. We referred to it as “Banjo Land” and often noted that “the family tree has few branches and very deep roots”.
lol
Thanks for the sorely needed laugh!
Dave Devine. “Beware the Front Porch”
And of course the nearly toothless kid who played the banjo!
What we could do, should do, perhaps need to do in the very near future is to revise the tax code and get back some of that $33 trillion in debt that went to the big corps and ultra wealthy and plow that money back into the economy for jobs, schools, health care and more.
Republicans have waged war against public education since dirt was new.
Republicans, during the Eisenhower era, were rational. Clearly, indisputably, now they are Fascists, white supremacists. This is why Timothy Egan's book, "A Fever in the Heartland" is so engrossing. Extremely well written and we're seeing a replay of the past, with the outcome today uncertain.
Galilee, you are spot on.
I agree about not needing a "centrist" party, and certainly No Labels claiming to be centrist is a joke. Using the terms "Republican" and "GOP" is no less a joke. The history of politics in this country speaks loudly to that. Those words refer to the party of Lincoln and Teddy Roosevelt. They lend credibility to a to a party that has absolutely no connection with the ideals of those presidents. Every time we refer to that party in this way we soften, if not legitimize, what they stand for.
"Naming" is a powerful thing. Reference HCR's comment regarding replacing the anti-abortion rhetoric "... 'national ban' with 'national consensus' or 'national standard'...." This kind of word play is commonplace in politics, particularly to make something bad look good. It works.
We need to be clear that the party that is trying to destroy our nation has no connection with the moniker they claim ownership of. The "MAGA" party (not the "MAGA Republicans") is a start, but it still is not accurate. They are, in truth, the Fascist Party. That is in no way a misrepresentation of their agenda. Naming this party as such in the media and in our communications with each other is a powerful reminder that we are allowing a political party that represents ideals the world once fought to defeat to again rear its ugly head.
Dana, perhaps we should use history as a guide and call them what they are, Fascists. Or more simply call them the NeoConfederate Party.
NeoConfederate is pretty good. John Birch Society gets to it, as well, but most people probably never heard of them. They’ve learned to wear sheep’s clothing. That’s why they’re so good at camouflage language, like substituting “national consensus” for “ban”.
taking a page from Rock and Roll history, the party formerly known as Republican?
For the most part, the Dems are a centrist party....much to the chagrin of the progressives. I am proud to stand with Joe and Jill as they take us forward....many don’t realize how fortunate we are to have these fine people in the White House! VOTE BLUE.
Spot on. I am a progressive, but I recoil when they fail to join in to support the agreed-upon party line.
Thank you John. I would add that in the United States today—-and for the foreseeable future—any third party is an ally of the forces that want to tear down democracy and the rule of law.
It can be argued that the US actually does operate by an extremely modified Westminster (parliamentary) system in that presidents are elected by the Electoral College (a de facto parliament) rather than by direct popular election.
Agreed, but could you tone it down a bit? We're all on the same side. As a foreigner, from parliamentary systems, it seemed to me that another party would at least dilute the GOP mass.
No. I won't tone it down. But I agree with you that most of us here at HCR's comments are on the same side (coming on three decades of fighting these battles I'm really good at IDing accounts that are pushing agendas that are decidedly NOT on "our" side)..
No, another party WON'T "dilute the GOP mess" - what it WILL do is pull votes from the Dems and make GOP victories more likely.
If we had ranked choice voting in all elections, we might finally get a good grasp on the two-party mess, but also if wishes were fishes, I'd be the not-so-little-mermaid. o_O
Sigh. Nothing would surprise me any more.
I doubt a so-called “moderate” party will draw many Republicans. I would not characterize my Republican family members as “extreme”. However, they vote straight Republican and buy or miss the misinformation and extreme rhetoric. They have come to see ALL Democrats and moderate Republicans as the enemy. Moderate and Democrat to them are the same thing, anyone who doesn’t vote straight Republican Party line.
Biden is no extremist. And Democrats have been pulled so far right to center that there is no extremist say “socialist” or “communist” wing or group that talks in extreme terms or policies. Labor unions are not “socialists” or “communists”. They are taxpayers and workers. Contrast that with Republicans and people who want all of the services of government but don’t want to pay for them or pay “taxes”.
Well said. And the extreme Republican group where i live, extreme in position, not in volume, are those who insist that God comes first, ahead of the Constitution, notwithstanding the First Amendment wording.
Not redressing a wrong is indistinguishable from acceptance.
David , appreciate every word. Isn't it weird that it is Trump, a Republican and his minions who approve of and admire dictators like Putin? The party has become occupied by bizaare beings.
"they vote straight Republican and buy or miss the misinformation and extreme rhetoric."
Yes, Fox Disinformation has infected the brains of those with little and no critical thinking capacity, which, is at least 73 million Americans.
I don't think we can fix this problem while simultaneously allowing Fox to continue to function as a far right disinformation campaign against Democracy and the rule of law.
David, you make a key point: "They have come to see ALL Democrats and moderate Republicans as the enemy." It is the genius of their success to get a simple message out there labeling anything they are against as "socialism", "communism," "woke", beginning with Demcrats. No thinking required on the part of their audience. As Dana said in a prior comment, "naming is a powerful thing." Magas have successfully taken this to an unimaginable extreme. Yes to calls for better education, including civics. Though, along with others here, I wonder if we can do that in time to save our republic.
"Red Thread" posted an excellent article from the NYTimes regarding the "vote straight R ticket" philosophy last night. It's buried down further in a separate thread. It is a very good explainer.
Well said! And you dared write “socialist.” I prefer “social democracy” which is my dream for America.
Not everyone here is on the 'same side' Anne-Louise. There are posers aplenty here and always have been. They are here gathering data and stirring things when they can. In our system, a third party would serve nothing except to dilute and divide, making consensus even more difficult - thus solving nothing in our current crisis. Thanks for being here and your input - I appreciate your input and sometimes agree with your points; just not this time. Cheers !
She retreats into a corner, fluffing up her feathers and pulling head in.
Don't think I haven't thought of that, and often regretted not having used a pseudo.
Thanks for your closing remark. Cheers!
We live in Spain where there are so many parties and factions. More parties is not the answer.
No, unfortunately, third parties here have caused much harm because they usually draw votes away from Ds and then Rs win. I will mention Ralph Nader and Jill not green Stein as two examples. Right now I am not interested in diluting the party of death's mess. They need to go the way of the dodo.
Tho I do not agree with your comments this time, Anne-Louise , I am always glad to read your comments as they are insightful. Living once again in the US, but spending most of my adult life in other countries has formed my very alert older self. Meaning: we have to work with what we have and historically, in the US, a third party does not really end up being very beneficial....to anyone.
Equivocation is the tell. Dickering with the language is the last resort for Republican-speak. It's nothing new. But when they start demanding that journalists stop using specific words and replacing them with more ambiguous ones, a siren should be heard. Should journalists concede to such demands, their commitment to truth is thereby corrupted.
Journalists are not in the business of making things look pretty. The purpose of the Fourth Estate is to ensure accountability, nothing more. Sometimes people ask me "why can't newspapers report pleasant things instead of everything that's negative? Why is the focus always about finding fault?"
The answer is simple:Their business is not about PR (public relations). The Fourth Estate exists to ensure accountability: that is the only goal. Their commitment is to seek what is true, and to debunk what is not true. If people want the gloss of PR they should look to tabloids and to disreputable media outlets like Fox News, which in this case is a very accurate tell. The word "fox" has only one connotation that I know of, and it's about cunning and trickery.
The Republicans are known to love Trump because he "tells it like it is." In this case, the proverbial "fox " is telling it's audience "I will eat you" and the audience, in its passive ignorance, is eager to be consumed.
Really terrific, Daphne! Cathartic. Thank you.
You are correct, sir. First, Republicans must be defeated at every level of government. The most basic rule in successful politics is: "First, win." Then we can discuss how best to govern, educate, etc.
A "centrist" party is the last thing needed. That's because "centrist" is a misnomer: it's a lie parading as independent thinking. This "neutral" stance appeals to the false ideals of "equality and balance"' yet it's nothing more than a ruse to persuade the weak-minded to avoid taking a real stand.
In life, when it counts, true commitment is required-- with no prevarication-- especially when one party clearly intends to divide, conquer, and to replace honor with corruption. This is a simple matter of one thing or another; there is no
in-between.
Neutrality isn't honorable; it's a false ideal that alleviates responsibility for any bad outcome. How many people voted "independent" based on these selfish delusions? I would like to know their names, because where I used to be open and accepting, I'm now leery. skeptical, and cynical. Now I only want friends who understand what's at stake; I want friends who are willing to sacrifice themselves for the sake of our children's future.
2016 was my "grow up" moment. I don't have time now for ambivalence or indecision and I never will again.
Those "unbiased" people, by their naive belief that they're "above" partisanship, effectively threw the election to Donald Trump.
So whenever I hear people talk about "centrism" or "independent party", I candidly ask them:
"So how does "voting your conscience" feel now?"
wow...I guess I'll have to stick to my own statement, that everyone is entitled to their own opinion. Now those of us who hew towards the middle of the political spectrum are liars who are weak minded? Along the axis of Truth-Lies, I would certainly agree that treating both as equally valid positions is wrong-headed. On the axis of Liberal-Conservative, there is a moderate middle. We're still a LONG way from the general election in 2024 from a political perspective and the Orange Emperor isn't guaranteed to prevail, nor is his chief acolyte. One could well end up in prison and the other apparently has no curb appeal. There is a possibility, however slim, that we might actually be voting on political terms rather than truth versus "alternate facts". There is nothing theoretically impossible about a multi-party electorate associated with a bicameral legislature. We can still elect a single president and neither house would choose the individual holding the executive office. Each house would have to form a majority government, just as they do now, it'd be more nuanced than the simple majority we now respect, but governing coalitions might form a super-majority government under some circumstances. It would change a number of things about the rules and mechanics of legislative leadership in both houses, but that would happen if ANY of the current minor parties were to rise to parity with either D or R. I won't be fooled if Republican power brokers form a 3rd party and toss a sacrificial lamb into candidacy for president. Currently there is no viable candidate for a centrist party other than the relatively moderate politician who currently occupies the White House. Just don't discount the possibility that the most moderate opinions on either side of the isle might have more common cause with each other than they do with the extreme partisans on their side of the isle.
John, thank you for this excellent clarifying reply about the two party system and how third parties work in parliamentary systems. I agree wholeheartedly with your suggestion of what we need to do.
I cannot believe folks are trying to both side a slide towards fascism, that’s coming from the GOP. to pretend that people who are fighting for their civil rights, for their human rights, against transmisia, homophobia, anti-Blackness, misogyny, the separation of church and state and so on are equivalent somehow to rightwing extremists is delusional beyond measure in my book: https://lithub.com/fascism-is-not-an-idea-to-be-debated-its-a-set-of-actions-to-fight/
THANK YOU, Mr. Kelly!!!!
Hey, cool it John. This is a respectable and friendly forum, let's keep it that way. Please control yourself. Thanks.
It seems to me that the current version of the Democratic Party IS the center. A solid moderate voice against the dangerous nonsense of a party that has embraced far out and absolutely false "alternative facts". And lie upon lie.
Most Americans would support women's rights, healthcare for all, and a more level playing field in education. Most Americans want the media to tell the truth. Most Americans want the law to apply to everyone - even bozos on the Supreme Court.
Most Americans agree with "centrist" Democrats that the Climate Crisis is a monstrous problem and that gun laws need to be strengthened.
You already have your centrist party. It's led by Joe Biden. The extremity of the right is out of a dystopian movie. The "extreme" elements of the left want to return our nation from an oligarchy where elections are bought to a REAL democracy where voting is safe and easy - where voting is PROMOTED - not restricted.
Stop with the both sides crap. The left is the real and future normality.
Oh, I forgot. The left thinks we should defend democracy abroad. Sounds like the good old center to me. The right wants to cozy up to murderers like Putin. Help me out, here. Give me a "centrist" idea that isn't already a platform of the Democratic Party.
"It seems to me that the current version of the Democratic Party IS the center."
Bingo.
Exactly correct Bill.
Yes, the GOP has abdicated its role in representing center-right voters. Many of the issues you raise fall along a different axis than right-left. Truth-lie axis has changed the definition of the two party system.
Bill, you took the words out of my mouth. I blame the media for a huge part of this problem. All the media (not just Fox) perpetuates this myth that the United States is divided, because their single goal is more readers, and controversy drives readership. If they printed facts they would be judged as "left-leaning" when in fact their reporting would be accurate..
Bill, I am especially grateful for your comment, which, in my view, is fundamental to the arguments we must make were the purported bi-partisan, so-called centrist “No Labels” Party to run a candidate in 24.
Sorry but I don’t buy the notion that 50 years of Supreme Court protection of a each women’s (including a 9yr old girl) personal choice to decide on her own reproductive health is not a “centrist” position! Women from every political persuasion deservedly are terrified of the enactment of a nationwide abortion ban! Let’s defeat it on a nonpartisan basis and let’s do so decisively!
You'll get no argument from me on that one...that 9 yr old didn't get a choice in the most important sense of all. I don't see women's autonomy as a partisan issue, although only one party supports it. I see it as a universal right. In fact, if 70% of the public support women's autonomy, then it is, by definition a bi-partisan issue.
Just Sayin', It is sadly a necessary right....freedom to choose because she maybe did not have the choice before....and she is left alone under either circumstance. It is just one of those harsh realities.....
Who are the "extremists" on the Democratic side in Congress that are creating anything remotely like the damage the Republicans are deliberately fomenting? There are no Democratic "extremists" on the Supreme Court, but at least 5 on what has become the far right.
Thank you, Ann W, for expressing what I have been thinking while reading today's dialogue. I am one of many progressive Dems to the left of moderates, and I react strongly to those who compare us with MAGA extremists. Seems convenient for centrists to categorize us in this way. But there is simply no parallel. Period!
The GOP abdication of truth has distorted the lens through which we would otherwise be able to distinguish center-left from far left.
The current extremists of the MAGA right need to have their big "come to Jesus" moment like progressives got in the huge McGovern defeat back when I was just coming of age.
Right now it's too easy to keep deluding themselves that they aren't extreme.
@Just Sayin’, We already have a centrist presidential candidate—Biden.
At the moment the Dems are united against a chaotic, anti-democratic GOP, but, as a big tent party, they often have trouble staying on message because of strife between moderates and progressives. Extremists on both ends of the spectrum tend to reject compromise. I don’t want to be a part of brinksmanship politics on either side of the isle. I’d rather straddle the isle, personally.
@Just Sayin’, Contrary to your view, I would note in late Spring 2020, after Joe Biden had become the Party’s presumptive Presidential nominee, he and Bernie Sanders created 6 policy task forces which, according to Sanders, “had some of the most knowledgeable people in the country coming together” to deal with education, climate change, healthcare, the economy, criminal justice, and immigration reform. Sanders noted that there had been serious discussions with serious people engaged in an honest effort to arrive at compromises that Sanders had said, if implemented, would improve life “for tens and tens of millions of working people.”
Sanders is a unique example of a very progressive politician who can work with moderates on many issues where interests align. In that regard he is a pragmatist.
Until we have ranked choice voting, additional parties make matters worse by removing their voters from the contest that counts. That’s why far right money is funding the No Labels party.
Joan, ranked choice voting and eliminate the Electoral College which has LONG outlived its original purpose in a horse & buggy country!
Outright eliminating the Electoral College would require a constitutional amendment. A much lower bar is the National Popular Vote Compact, which would have the same effect and requires only the participation of enough state legislatures to create a majority of Electoral College votes.
https://www.nationalpopularvote.com/written-explanation
But already several states have ratified a “kill the Electoral College ?referendum. It’s been so long since I learned about it that the details are hazy, but it’s a way around modifying the Constitution.
To me, who has always been a lefty, Biden is trying to please everyone as best he can. I think he is very successful at doing that. In any other functioning democracy Biden would be a centrist, maybe even center right. The MAGA Republicans, which is all that there are now, don't belong in a democracy. They don't belle in elections. They don't believe in serving 85% of the electorate. They want to keep the Trumpian kleptocracy going. They call everything reasonable socialism/communism.
Exactly so. Compare Biden’s policies to the 1956 Republican platform. The thing to keep in mind is that the parties kinda switched hats following the “Southern Strategy” embarked on by Nixon.
Even Barry Goldwater counseled against joining up with the evangelical religious movement. Todays MAGAts have done that.
Frankly, I'd rather split the Democratic Party in two and throw the other "party" in the trash heap of history.
I agree, we need three parties. What we don't need are extremists. We need a Liberal/Progressive, a Moderate/Centrist, and a Fiscal Conservative. The extremists, be they anarchists, authoritarians, fascists, oligarchists, racists, white supremacists can rage from the fringes
I would rather see ranked choice voting with the potential elimination of a party system. It would potentially expand the field and give voter’s more choices to choose a candidate who aligns with their views.
We already have a centrist party - it is the Biden wing of the Democratic Party. The Republican Party, with very few exceptions, constitutes the extreme far right party.
A “third party” in other countries? Most are in a parliamentary system of governing. And in many cases have a history of less not more stability.
We have a centrist party, it’s called the Democrats. 90% of Democratic politicians would be right at home in any European, center-right, Christian Democrat party.
No offense but the idea of a third party is ridiculous. It would steal more votes from the left and do the opposite of what you are trying to do.
one guy's opinion...a third party in a two party system is pretty dissonant; you have to shift the frame of reference to imagine a system with 3+ viable parties.
I agree but you have to be very careful about how to go about creating the third party. Maybe after the next Biden Admin.
"Just Sayin"-- what an apt term for an undisciplined mind.
What kind of game do you think we are playing.?
To equivocate, to never choose a side, is to luxuriate in a miasma of delusion.
To put it simply, this is war. Real war. And this one is about everything. EVERYTHING.
So get busy or get out of the way.
There is no more waiting.
In a binary world, you might be right; trouble is, our world isn’t binary. It’s not a zero sum game when barely half the electorate participates. Not undisciplined by half, just more agile than many…
Please let me inquire as to what you would consider to be a centrist party? Would you include support for women to make their own choice of an abortion with advice of her doctor before viability? Would you include support by the new “centrist party” of strong and effective legislation to ban assault weapons, restrict youth purchase of any weapon, and no nonsense background checks? How about ultra fast funding with a special tax on the uber-wealthy to fight climate change immediately and to regulate corporate poisoning of our atmosphere? All of that is “centrist” as well as “progressive” because it is common sense, isn’t it?
My comment was aimed more at the concept that the current status of political parties in the US leaves a large gap in representation of the unaligned voter, at least 25% of the electorate that does not identify with a current major political party, rather than specific policy positions. Some of the non-aligned, like me, simply are not enamored of the concept of party politics. Many, I suspect, feel alienated from what they currently observe in the party politics sphere.
However, an "unaligned or middle of the road party" has to stand for something, right? What I'm suggesting is that while you are "unaligned," which I respect, you have to have a "position" on abortion rights, gun safety and control, and climate change legislation, etc. so that while you don't choose to "align" or register as a Democrat, do you support the Republican position on these issues? I respectfully suggest that nonalligned voters have to choose or just not vote?
Indeed; my views don't always fit, but I do my best to choose amongst the political options available to me. I like politicians who can "get to yes" via negotiation across a variety of interests. The current president has that capacity. Some simply want to win at whatever cost.
That is not entirely true! Unless you have no access to two cable news channels, both of which are quite reliable, supplemented by WAPO, The New York Times, and Slate, Politico, and some others, including Substack. I haven’t bothered with ABC or CBS since I became “addicted” to MSNBC and its lawyers, ex-judges, and practicing physicians during the pandemic. That cable channel, in spite of its horrendous ads, got me through the pandemic (quite literally - couldn’t leave home before vaccinations) and by now has presented directly such important political moments as Cassidy Hutchins’s testimony, the attack on the Capitol, enough of DT so that I feel I really know him, etc. I have given up on any “both sides” news as there isn’t anything but horror on one side. If America survives, it will be because those amazing people who work three jobs, with no benefits and no vacations, manage somehow to get informed and get out and vote Bidenomics. I can only hope that they may see some light and go toward it, that unions will again flourish to protect workers, that the ultra rich will have to pay appropriate taxes, and that the draft, that great leveler, will be reinstated in a form that brings everyone together. Slava Ukraina!
Why DOES a country the size and prestige of the United States have only two viable political parties? Two is scarily close to one.
It's not like countries with more are any better at it. Israel, for example. England. Italy.
I'd prefer to think Finland, Iceland, other Scandanavian countries!
Michael, Quoting an astute subscriber from another Substack, I wish both to note appreciation for your comment and also to extend it.
This subscriber writes, “[A]s good as it is statistically, President Biden cannot, must not, run on his record alone. He must go nose-to-nose with Trump and not back down. He must choose his language to simultaneously appeal to the listener with its simple clarity and also insert burrs under Trump’s skin, because when Trump (a mere illusion of strength) loses it, he loses all.”
I don't even want to think about where our nation would be without Biden and what the Democratic Congress accomplished in his first two years in office. We all might be doing the Heil TUMP salute when we went out into public. That is a scary thought.
It's time to roll out my favorite comic one more time for your viewing pleasure!
https://www.gocomics.com/pearlsbeforeswine/2021/01/26#:~:text=Rat%20has%20it%20exactly%20correct.%20Except%20it%20works,Act%20of%202021%E2%80%9D%20or%20something%20even%20more%20pompous.
I think Bidenomics is working
Last week, I had said here that:
If President Biden succeeds in this model, he would:
1. Reduce Inequality
2. Spur equitable economic growth
3.Increase manufacturing
4. Stimulate innovation
And today, Dr. HCR reported that as per the ADP (job creation is multifaceted and is a combination of the above factors). This is a a great milestone for the American community and I think this is the magic of Bidenomics or what I called Bottom-up, middle-out approach that replaced "the trickle-down economics" that have been preferred in almost across the world. By passing the Inflation Reduction Act, President Biden tame high inflation that is often associated with the trickle-down economics when consumption is high.
The bottom-up approach has been successfully implemented in China, albeit in combination with the trickle-down economic model. However, the bottom-up model has taken the center stage with the informal economic institutions being reorganised.
This comes at a time when Africa is grappling with the burgeoning high number of graduates, but a few jobs for them. As per the Statistica average unemployment rate among females in Africa is 9%, while that of males is 7.4% as of 2022, but there is variation in countries with Nigeria leading by 33%. These are the consequences of trickle-down economics.
But, I hope Africa will soon adopt BIDENOMICS (though some countries have started).
Edwin, I would love to see the beautiful people of Africa rise to the greatness they are capable of and not have their country used up by others.
They want education and health care for themselves and their families. They want stability. Mothers want food to feed their little children and protection against diseases. They want an education for their children to give them a good...more stable future.... AND JOBS WITH DECENT SALARIES!
I am thankful for many groups who serve in Africa....it is a difficult place to see longterm improvements. Too many take advantage and want to use people instead of teaching and encouraging individuals to be independent.
Africa is a huge continent....situations are not the same everywhere.
I am so grateful to have people like you in this community. True, the African continent should rise up to the occasion and realize that it is no longer normal as usual. Tough situations require abnormal solutions. Continent has the highest number of young people aged 18 to 35 more than any other continent. When they get decent jobs, they will have better health, better housing, better standards of living, and better future.
In my newsletter, I have a section dubbed THE STARTUP ASSISTANT where I can help businesses from America or Europe get access to highly talented young Africans through remote jobs.
Biden is going to be able to make some great campaign commercials out of these stories. I can see them..."Graham said Biden's policies are a train wreck for South Carolina..." "Under Biden South Carolina has added XX Billion in investments and 100,000 new good paying jobs...Now Sen Graham says that's the kind of train wreck we need" Vote Biden...for bigger, better train wrecks.
It's not uncommon to see those with some degree of power crow about an accomplishment they actively opposed. I see it all the time.
The Republican Party has two mottos: Ignorant, and Proud of It! and Never Let the Truth Get in the Way of a Good Story
Said: isn't our new bridge great?
Not Said: (Biden built this bridge, which I voted AGAINST.)
Voter: I'm voting for the GOP, who gave us this great bridge!
Yup
For every infrastructure project there should be a large sign posted stating something like…
This project is the result of President Biden’s Infrastructure Bill that your Congressperson, insert name here, voted against (or for if they voted for it). The message needs to be made.
Absolutely agree! An excellent way to strengthen the message!
I like it!
How can they crow about it with a straight face? Because apparently their constituents don't pay attention. Why else would they keep voting these representatives into office???
Yes... show what the respective incumbent congressman or Senator said about the infrastructure/ Inflation Reduction Act Before and After the legislation was enacted.
A very powerful and clear marketing messaging strategy. Repeat, Repeat and Repeat everywhere across the country until Election Day. This approach should get more votes for Democrats who are actually getting the hard work done for all of us.
The REPUBLICAN'TS actually used to be a useful party (pre TV actor Reagan days) and accomplish useful bipartisan things but that's all gone
Nope. Not since Eisenhower. After him, a deluge of criminality, venality, and bad government has been the provenance of the GOP. They have descended into a hell of their own making.
Since their about-face on the Civil War and embrace of Big Lies as their entire platform.
This is what everyone needs to constantly put out there in every way possible.
Authoritarian political parties depend on low information voters to provide them with the illusion of legitimacy.
Most people really don't follow the news very much. It's how Trump got elected; they didn't know he's a pathological liar. A lot of them still don't.
True, It's not for nothing they underfund and undermine education, And yet most of the MAGAs in my acquaintance have college degrees. Not all education is created equal.
And most people don't seem to know much about Trump's real claim to fame; his fortune:
https://www.newsweek.com/robert-reich-what-i-told-trump-supporter-500656
https://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2016/05/donald-trump-2016-mob-organized-crime-213910/
No matter how much education, human nature doesn't change and people still believe in God and conspiracy theories, are still racist and misogynist, and are victimized by grifters.
Education changes lives, although only part of it occurs in classrooms. I can still recall struggling to read "See spot run, Run spot run". Now reading and writing feels like a "natural" attribute. I even had to learn to walk. I am learning every day. I think that authoritarians induce PTSD in their children early on in order to assert control, and that gets writ large in societies. I have seen some reject a total "MAGA" upbringing after maintaining it through their early teen years (this the MAGA push to control education) who eventually rejected it utterly; but it's based on mental malware that traps one in a vicious cycle, so it's not so easy to break free.
They get away with it because those who vote for them are at best misinformed but more likely totally taken in by the years of lies the 'Fairness Doctrine' has permitted. This is another aspect of the Achilles heel of democracy, this time the First Amendment.
The "Fairness Doctrine" per se was guidance to mass media to provide "equal time" for opposing voices, but it was not the media's fence sitting "both-siderism" of today's media. NYT and WaPo went after Nixon, but ate from Reagan's hand. The "Fairness Doctrine" would have scuttled hate radio.
The deeper Republican folk dig their hole the harder they will have in the next elections. Supreme Court is in the red zone and 2024 will give us great satisfaction if the Dems will act. The hurt so many will endure over the next months is a price we pay for the future.
Thank you, Heather. If it weren’t for you, I would never know all the wonderful things President Biden has accomplished. The media never emphasizes Joe Biden’s accomplishments. Instead, they focus on inane things like poll numbers or how he left his interview with Nicole Wallace, or how he tripped, or his age. You’d think they want TFG to win. They gave us this nightmare in 2016 and seem intent on doing it again.
Heather, how do we get your voice heard more? Why don’t I read you in the papers or consistently see you on TV? I share your Substack posts but fear this isn’t enough.
I am sad and scared for our country.
The MSM suppresses news that tend to favor our Democratic process. They are told to do this i could guess by corporate interests. Big money rules here in the United States. They do not give a damn about the middle and lower classes and don't want us to have anything.
Nobel Prize winning economist and Reagan mentor Milton Friedman:
"The only corporate social responsibility a company has is to maximize its profits."
I believe there may be a special place prepared in Hell for Milty and his economic enablers.
Satan's right hand man.
And there you have it!
I remember that, Milton Friedman was an arrogant a' hole. I will never forget what Reagan did to the air traffic controllers too.... he shamelessly fired them all for going on strike. His decision triggered the corporate war against labor unions. I was a member of the United Steelworkers union for 35 years and was a union officer for 15 of those years as our local's accountant. Reagan started this demise of labor unions when he was President. (Dictator) for eight long years. What a huge mistake his 2 terms were. It makes me sick when i hear some people say he was a great President, He was great alright, Great for nothing is what he was.
John:are you my old friend in Virginia?
I live in Georgia. So is guess not. But i could be your new friend in Georgia if you would like to. I am open to any friends that are Democrats.
You guys did a great job with Warnock. Stupid R choice wasn't it?
Yes, i actually pushed my immediate family to get out and vote for Mr, Warnock and donated to him too. Our House of Representative member is not good, though. His name is Drew Ferguson and he is a MAGA nut and i actually had words with him through emails. Even now, i get emails from him and I DON'T reply to him, he is just another Fascist GQP creep. I delete his emails. He is not quite as bad as that Marjorie Traitor Goon, but he goes along with that sorry MAGA crap on everything. Our district borders Marjorie Traitor Goon's district. I have 4 grown children and 3 of them are dedicated Democrats, and all of my grown grandchildren are also Democrats. My youngest son is the one that votes Fascist GQP, he is the only one that i can't get through to. His wife, however is a Democratic voter, but she tells him she votes Fascist GQP. I don't dare tell him i know that...it would cause trouble between them if i did. Our other Senator is also a Democrat, his name is Jon Ossoff. He is a good Senator too. And yes, the very stupid R choice was bad.
Glad you are there! Thanks
...and Joe Biden is part of this.
Don't be scared, we are in the inevitable cycle of change as we must be. Sometimes things have to be broken a bit before they become stronger.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kintsugi
I am aware of this.
thank you. Seems some truths are universal. I will read more about Kintsugi
“They gave us this nightmare in 2016 and seem intent on doing it again.”
So true, Ginni! It was maddening back in 2016 to watch the media doing news coverage pirouettes to equalize the two presidential candidates (trump and Clinton) as if their credentials and integrity were comparable. Whenever a new trump scandal was unveiled, the media would report it and almost concurrently rehash the “Hillary’s emails” bit. I do not applaud any type of news censorship, especially if it is fact-based, but I found it almost poetic justice when some of the same acrobatic networks saw their journalists banned by tfg from his press conferences for challenging his lies and hyperbolic statements. I often wonder if the major non-Fox networks are willing to risk that fate again for the sake of revenue-generating viewership: after all, bad news does elicit more attention…
So true. But I know that the bad news bias has pushed away a lot of people from these very news sources.
Me included!
Even the ones that got banned are back at it. We. Never. Learn.
Who better to write the message that will crush the propaganda Big Lies spread to the T---- cult daily than HCR? We can't be doomed to repeat history.
Another informative piece. Vote for and support Democrats.
“over $500 billion in job-creating private sector investment “
Thank you President Biden.
Wait, wait. I thought job-creating involved tax big cuts for billionaires?
Thanks JL, I needed a good laugh.
Hard to know where to start…an impregnated nine year old who can’t get an abortion…the massive lying about the Biden economics that really are helping red states…first, denounced by rep red states electeds AND THEN when they make it through Congress claimed as credit by these very same turkeys…
The whole present Republican deal is so very scummy….so profoundly two faced….
I really have trouble understanding how any one who is relatively decent, sort of informed, even slightly educated can support/vote these guys…
Not just scummy, but absolutely corrupt.
(Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost told the Fox News Channel there was “not a damn scintilla of evidence”)
There are so many reasons why this guy should be out of a job. Attorney General; a critical, entrusted position which is supposed there to uphold equal protection under law and facts over hear-say.
You are right..I totally understated the hideousness of it….and I wasn’t kidding I really really do not know how any decent person can support these people.
It is puzzling because some I know who swallow Trump hook, line, and sinker seem quite decent in many other respects, and one I know who seemed quite admirable became a hostile flaming MAGA, driving old friends and relatives away. It's like something compulsive takes over the brain.
Kinda like this? Screamin’ Jay Hawkins https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=82cdnAUvsw8
I am with both Joan and JL here. I see guys I worked with, went through some very “exciting” times with, and depended on them as they depended on me to confront lots of the things that cops do and see who have bought into the propaganda hook, line, sinker, olé, reel, and boat. As an aside, a now medically retired sergeant (a Christian who practices his faith and is politically very conservative) and his wife went to a drag queen fundraiser for some advocacy group they support. Sarge got up at one point to use the bathroom, and his wife posted video of his unwitting participation in a skit on Facebook (it was hilarious, Sarge carried it off and played along) and about half the remarks were along the lines of vomit emoticons (🤢🤮) or “why didn’t you take ‘her’ down”.
His wife then posted something that called these people out, telling them that it was a fun, comedic event and they should keep their hatred off her page. Sadly, all of them were guys I’d worked with.
Joan, I feel the same way. My experience with MAGA voters (unfortunately extensive) I thought were "relatively decent, somewhat or more than somewhat educated) is that a huge number of them are bombarded with disinformation from their churches. They are on church email loops, they get it from their Sunday services, they were/are in the same Facebook groups or have the same kinds of friends who were bombarded by utter lies throughout tfg's candidacy and presidency. It was impenetrable and I've stopped trying. (And then of course there are the dinosaurs- racist, misogynist and homophobic. But you asked about the "relatively decent"!)
There is hope in statistics that say the churchgoing population is declining pretty rapidly. But it won't be soon enough, especially for people like that nine year old. It's so horrifying.
That's a great analysis, Red Thread, thanks for posting! "One part Battle for the Future of Civilization and one part booze cruise." If I could see past my fury at tfg and anyone whoever remotely supported him, I would admire the sheer showmanship.
I also thought this was spot on: "The MAGA movement is heavily clustered in the South, and Southerners see themselves as the nicest people in America. It feels false to them to be called “mean” or “cruel.”"
tfg harnessed the psychopathy of the Confederate South, which we never dealt with as a country after the Civil War.
And the creepy power of sociopathy to spread, as it certainly does in extremist movements, right, left, and theocratic. I think it all boils down to narcissism over the top. Republicans, once the champions of the Union, have been pandering to wannabee Confederates ever since the formerly Jekyll/Hyde Democratic Party cut loose the George Wallace wing but supporting and enforcing Civil Rights. in the interim, dog whistles morphed into fog horns.
The “decent” people that we all wonder about..just what is it that they “believe” Trump can do for them? What are they hearing from church pulpits? What does he represent to them?
I find it hard to believe that anyone who supports a liar, cheater, racist con man like Trump is “decent”. What about Trump is decent?
From everything I’ve seen, studied and heard, the appeal of MAGA is that Trump can save white supremacy and patriarchy for them. He’s their “savior”.
Racism is often hidden and unspoken but what else is it-surely not just tax cuts or small government. Americans have a problem when it comes to facing the reality that the original lie about “race” has always and is still driving our American way of life.
Race is a made up concept that was intended to keep people divided. It’s worked for more than 200 years and it’s still working.
Even the census acknowledges that race classifications are “not based on biology, genetics or anthropology” so what is the basis for “race” ? Politics and economics?
There’s been a lot of panic for at least the last 20 years about how our country’s demographics are changing. The message is “White” people will be “dominated” by “people of color.” Having a president with dark skin was the last straw.
Why so much focus on skin color? We’re all Americans aren’t we-and we’re all human beings. The 70 million who continue to fight civil wars and civil rights (including SCOTUS) will be our downfall.
Someone please help me understand what other reasons these folks have for supporting Trump and all of his minions. We can say their ignorant or their Christian faith is driving them but I think it’s all about “conserving” privilege and control.
Gina, of course, most of the tfg support is exactly that. I can say that the tfg supporters I know and that I used to think would be able to see through this horse**** got pounded by their churches, their families, their FB friends — that all alternatives to tfg were somehow more evil.
They think of themselves as "nice" people. But I've never trusted "nice" people. I prefer people who aren't afraid to call out bullies and criminals and stand up to them.
Nice and kind are not the same thing. Kindness in the face of injustice often means not being nice.
You can always gather a following by telling people that their problematic prejudices where the right idea all along. "You are the Master Race" and all that.
Gina, spot-on comment. I remember being at a conference in San Francisco back in the 80’s (CASFAA—CA Assoc Of Financial Aid Administrators….I know, sounds kinda boring, but wasn’t!) & the keynote speaker shared the “long view” statistics of how CA’s demographics (and the USA’s as well) were going to change in the coming years and see a shift to a larger and larger immigrant (predominately from So America) & non-white population. I vividly remember being curious & that what he said made sense, and not at all alarmed & felt a kind of anticipation of our country evolving into a more diverse one. What I didn’t anticipate, naive of me I know, is the unfolding fear and vitriol coming from some as this has manifest over the ensuing years. My Univ is in an area with a per capita (in CA) large indigenous population and indeed has a great academic program that reaches far beyond the campus: https://nasp.humboldt.edu/ [an aside: IMHO the Gov’t needs to stand by the treaty agreements made nation-to-nation with Native Americans across the country.] I truly don’t know why folks get their panties all in a knot over race/culture/religion & the my-way-or-the-highway sort of thinking. It is so limiting! IMHO we should instead be working on how all of us can sustainably live & co-exist w/ fellow species & eco-systems on our planet. We are all, literally, in the same boat!
Alexandra, yet another reason to depict the other party as the NeoConfederates.
JohnM, that's so on-target I will adopt it immediately.
We. Them. It doesn't matter if the world just had "the hottest day in 125,000 years." Because we're cooking ourselves to extinction.
Yeah, we’re bickering while the world burns. For such an intelligent species, we are pretty stupid!
Red Thread, I read NYT article and it is descriptive (anger fear coexisting with joy) but not causal explanatory. Fromm examining the rise of Nazism I think better explains it.
"All of the people who support an authoritarian power structure are equally authoritarian as well. Someone who uses this strategy reconnects themselves to the world through what Fromm calls a type of sadomasochism. Two words there—sadism and masochism: sadism being the desire to control others, to dominate exploit or steal from others; masochism being the desire to submit to some power and be controlled or dominated. The authoritarian is sadistic in the sense that they want to support an authoritarian setup so that other people and groups will be controlled. But they are masochistic in the sense that they themselves want to submit to that authority as part of the process.
Both of these are a direct sacrifice of their freedom and individuality. See, as a sadist, you cannot exist unless if you have somebody else to control. You’re no longer capable of being an individual at that point. And as a masochist, same thing, you cannot exist unless if there’s somebody out there to control or dominate you. But consider this. Freud said and Fromm agreed that you never really see sadism in a person without some type of masochism attached to it, and vice versa. He says Hitler may have been an extreme example of somebody who was sadistic, but he was always masochistic towards his position within history and the ideas of fate and chance.
People with this authoritarian mindset will often escape from freedom by looking around them and finding out where the power structures lie. They’re very good at searching out and finding where there’s a concentration of power. Then masochistically they submit and insinuate themselves into that power structure. They become one small part of this power structure—something they see as bigger than themselves, something that’s compensating for their weaknesses as a scared individual—and then they’ll use their position as a foot soldier of that authoritarian to then take out their sadistic tendencies on other people in the name of this thing that they’ve submitted to.
The point is this: in this state, they are no longer individuals. They are no longer free. They have retreated back towards the womb, back to a set of social conditions that can tell them how to live, what to think, who the enemy is. And they spend their days limiting the freedom of others, creating chains for people."
https://www.philosophizethis.org/transcript/episode-151-transcript?rq=sadomasochism%20
"What constitutes the bulwark of our own liberty and independence? It is not our frowning battlements, our bristling sea coasts, the guns of our war steamers, or the strength our gallant and disciplined army? These are not our reliance against a resumption of tyranny in our fair land. All of those may be turned against our liberties, without making us weaker or stronger for the struggle. Our reliance is in the love of liberty which God has planted in our bosoms. Our defense is in the preservation of the spirit which prizes liberty as the heritage of all men, in all lands, everywhere. Destroy this spirit, and you have planted the seeds of despotism around your own doors. Familiarize yourselves with the chains of bondage and you are preparing your own limbs to wear them. Accustomed to trample on the rights of those around you, you have lost the genius of your own independence, and become the fit subjects of the first cunning tyrant who rises." - Lincoln.
Totally thank you for this Lincoln quote….I’m still not sure WHY Trump voters are for Trump but think Lincoln’s ‘caution’ is totally prescient!
About the ‘bulwark’ of our liberty and independence!
Doublethink
Of course, there really is no such thing as independence. Physically,most of us live lives dependent on technology to keep us safe and healthy, doing everything in our power to maintain that dependence. Intellectually, we all need a philosophical home adopted by many others (often called 'culture') and recoil in scorn or horror at those who don't conform to these ideas. Spiritually, most of us have forgotten just how dependent we really are on a connection to the meaning, strength, and serenity that all life depends on. We are not alone. We are never truly independent. This is a reality. The ability to think we are is one of the true luxuries of our age.
There is a meaningful use for the word "independence" and I think Lincoln amply demonstrated that he understood the independence in the context of interdependence and vice versa:
"The legitimate object of government, is to do for a community of people, whatever they need to have done, but can not do, at all, or can not, so well do, for themselves -- in their separate, and individual capacities."
Compare that to the Gospel of Reagan.
Liberty too is meaningful only in the context of our interactions with others. I don't have "liberty" to murder or rape because that destroys a unalienable right of others. Impunity for some and oppression for others is tyranny. Our ostensible aim is Liberty and Justice for ALL (emphasis added).
We are never "independent" of nature either, except in a limited sense. Human beings have stood on the moon, but it took redirection of of a whole lot of energy to accomplish it, and at this point at least, it is an exceedingly dangerous pass time. Entropy always laps powerfully at our enterprises. When we know some of nature's rules, we can use the wind to sail against the wind, but nature is always "boss".
Perhaps “illusion of our age”….reading your post I kept seeing the luxury is just an illusion.
Thanks, 100Panthers... One of the best posts I've ever read here.
Thank you for this explanation about why people behave this way. In American skin color, religion, gender and sexual orientation are the levers these people use to gain and maintain power. If they win, we all lose!
Wow….I subscribe to the Times (online) but missed this article.
And I certainly missed the Trump ‘joy’…..those ‘rally’s’ didn’t strike me as an outside ‘viewer’ as joyful so much as just a ‘sharing prejudice/ bigotry’ opportunity…….and the hours plus Trump ‘rants’ that occurred at these rally’s ….seemed like an insult to normal folks ‘intelligence/patience et al.
Joy??? at a Trump rally? A wall of impassive faces, people large and small clutching flags and wearing MAGA hats, cheering on cue to punctuate the interminable rant. He prowls back and forth, pointing at supposed acquaintances, showing his big white dentures, clapping his hands.
And saying every other sentence twice.
In our system,we elect too many aberrants.
Anne-Louise the boat parade people in the areas I live were quite the happy participants. Food, lots of drinks and camaraderie. It’s a party. In one of my small communities we did complain about a neighbor’s “F**k Joe Biden” flag on the basis of our kids, and he did take it off his boat, but was astounded someone would complain. The article is correct. These people are having fun and dousing that fun with reality doesn’t get through.
That attract far too many other cultists.
Great article! Thanks for the link. French’s focus on the joy of MAGA-belonging is important. I’m reading War Is a Force That Gives Us Meaning by Chris Hedges. I’ve been struck by his description of how the myths of war are particularly attractive to lost, soulless people at various times in history. It reminded me of the Trump “war” and leaves me utterly convinced that if TFG is elected again, he will surely lead us into the real thing.
Both Sides:
Biden:
“Well, that’s okay with me,” Biden said, “because we’re all Americans. Because my view is: Wherever the need is most, that’s the place we should be helping. And that’s what we’re doing. Because the way I look at it, the progress we’re making is good for all Americans, all of America.”
Trump: included a flag reading:
“F*CK BIDEN AND F*CK YOU FOR VOTING FOR HIM!”
Another opportunity to point out that with tRump and the MAGAts, every accusation is a confession
But if they want to accuse me of believing "Fuck tRump and fuck you for voting for him" - guilty as charged.
I'll never again speak to about a third of my family members, and after they die I'll spend money to travel just to piss on their graves.
John - "Every accusation is a confession" — perfect!
I can't take credit for it, but... yeah
pretty hostile, there...
Yes, but if you have experienced John’s frustration, you can understand it and empathize with him.
He is entitled to express his frustration.
Expressing my frustration here allows me to be a fairly decent human IRL. Just sayin'
the border between frustrated and hostile/abusive is one to identify and steer clear of, IMHO
Hey, thanks, internet rando. I'll take it under advisement
New word! I had to look it up. Funny, since I started the thread, and have been responding on this site for a long time...maybe I'll go read your site and see if I find some official credentials there...
That really does ay it all, JL.
Right? Despicable Don really has a way with words, doesn't he Alexandra?!?
Along with a way with cringe-worthy fake hair, fake tan, fake golf scores, not so fake sociopathy, etc....
Daniel, I never in my life would have thought that a president or former would say something like that so blatantly, in public. And that the very people who have all their lives pretended shock and outrage about "bad language" would be the ones to embrace and uplift him.
Being fake and execrable are the only authentic things about him.
Dou che
Pat, Phraseology!!!
Touché!
What hit me when I read that was that he posted it on a Sunday morning. Take that, all you Evangelicals. Nice language on the Sabbath.
A couple of thoughts on that despicable meme; the hostile language is deplorable and expected as Trump realizes he DID LOSE ELECTION 2020 and his fear of being a loser in 2024 is escalating! I personally revel in that thought. He is increasingly rude, abhorrent, unacceptable, disrespectful and the more he fears losing or being convicted of crimes ongoing, the more his DISGUSTING mouth will not appeal even to the worst MAGATS. Am I dreaming here? Just let him speak in his outlandish despicable rhetoric; how many even close to the fence would vote for that hatred? Only the worst of humanity I would think.
Still crazy......after all these years....with persistent shock at this bottom dwelling "fun".
My question, once again, has to do with messaging. Not the dog-whistle messaging by the GQP around abortion, substituting other language for their plans to ban abortion. What I'm wondering about is all of the Republican'ts who heaped scorn on various pieces of legislation that they are now praising for bringing jobs and money into their districts and their states. Do those profiting from these investments understand that this is the result of Democratic proposals, proposals that their elected officials fought against? Where is the messaging that it is the Dems who brought to fruition these projects? Are we letting these teachable moments evaporate as if these new industries just appeared on the scene? Who is making clear to voters the source of these good new jobs?
I would like to see a flurry of what they said then -what they say now advertising. Ads that pretty much speak for themselves.
JL, how about an event modeled on the Academy Awards that would hand out brass " horse's ass" sculptures for the many varieties of GOP lying and other misbehavior. The categories of "distinction" might include (obviously) Biggest Lie of the year, a special career award for lifetime serial lying, and others for the many categories of sleaze, cowardice, racism, misogyny, perhaps even for the creepiest two-faced Harvard grad in Congress. I'm sure I have neglected a number of other worthy categories....
Senator Proxmire used to do this. I wonder who might take up his awards?
Whatever penetrates. It seems to me that they more outrageous they get, they wield a certain Orwellian power; but they are also on thinner ice.
David, change your category of distinction to extinction and use an MC named Elmer Gantry, or Big Otry. Let’s put their words in their mouths.
Haha, David. I might actually turn on my tv for that event
Mega donors alert: Can you see the giant billboard opportunities in those states: "Repub Sen Whomever" voted NO! in DC, but at home in (name state)conveniently claims victory when fed programs flow into and help (name state). Whom do YOU trust to represent you in DC for the future?"
Excellent piece this evening Dr. Richardson. It’s really nice to finally have a president back in the Oval Office that gives a damn about the common person, the country, and our way of life.
President Biden has done more in his first two years of office than any president in a very long time. The jobs he’s added, the legislation he’s passed. Everything. Yet, we have the likes of Lindsey Graham and these other ‘republicans’ that bad mouth President Biden, and every one of his accomplishments. They return to their states and take credit for all of it like they have been in Washington DC working for their constituents. In actuality they aren’t doing a damn thing but wasting taxpayer money:
I can’t wait for Special Prosecutor Jack Smith to get this investigation wrapped up and he, along with a bus load of Federal Marshals go into the House and Senate chambers and arrest everyone of them.
The climate issue has been getting serious for years. Scientist have been warning us if we didn’t do something quick this was going to happen. Guess what, folks. What the scientist have been warning us about is now happening. The sea level is riding faster than previously predicted. It’s becoming hotter, globally, a lot earlier in the season. Storms are stronger, causing greater damage and loss of life. Wildfires are more plentiful. And, it’s only going to get worse.
We have got to make changes. We have got to give President Biden the opportunity to get these legislations passed so hopefully he can get things started to curve this disaster before it overtakes us all, and makes the human race extinct on this planet.
If we don’t replace all of these Republicans in the states, counties, federal government, we will be losing everything. President Biden needs a ‘super majority’ in the House and Senate. And, President Biden needs to be re-elected!!!
I liked that sentence you wrote: ''I can't wait for Special Prosecutor Jack Smith to get this investigation wrapped up and he, along with bus load of Federal Marshals go into the House and Senate chambers and arrest everyone of them.'' I would love to see the look on Marjorie Traitor Goon's face when they led her out of there in hand and leg cuffs... that would be worth a lot to me.. I live very close to her district here in NW Georgia along with the crazy and dumb hicks up here that worship and adore TUMP.
I live in SW GA, and, it’s an embarrassment havjng the lines of MTG in the House of Representatives, representing GA! That district she’s from must be full of fools!
"and direct air capture, which pulls carbon dioxide out of the air—"
The most revolutionary technology to pull CO2 directly out of the air is one that has been in broad usage for untold millennia; it's called photosynthesis. The means to use it is simple; plant more cover crops, forests and urban trees. If we began to convert the asphalt jungles we call cities substantially back to tree-covered landscapes, we'd improve our world in two ways immediately; first, we'd accrue all the benefits of trees in mitigation of temperature as well as in air purification. Secondly, by reducing rain runoff from impervious surfaces. we'll mitigate against flooding as water finds ways to percolate into soil that has been sealed by asphalt and concrete by urban landscapes. No till agriculture can plant directly through a cover-crop. Directly working to increase biomass in soil (cover crops) can reduce fossil-fuel based fertilizer needs. We already have the technology. What we need is a revolution in thinking/acting about the gifts we were given by the Almighty to steward a healthier world, before we used our "wisdom" to screw it up on a global scale.
I have seen concrete cities that are only livable because of the trees growing everywhere.
Among the endless shacks where the poorest of the poor live in southeast Asia, shrubs, plants, flowers growing in oildrums everywhere...
Heather, thank you again for shouting the Biden administration’s accomplishments from the rooftop! I’m still amazed that an ex-president that had record unemployment is still ranked ahead of Biden on the economy. I’m also surprised that so many women see no problem with the government requiring women to put their lives and health at risk to save a life while not being willing to require any man to donate bone marrow (which does not have anywhere the same mortality as pregnancy and childbirth) to save a life. When I discuss this issue, I purposely refer to saving a life to keep from going down the rabbit hole of when life begins.
And I see an "electoral" system that's taking the country down like a dive-bomber.
Theft of representation. The patently anti-democratic Electoral College, for one.
"In August, though, antiabortion forces will use a special election to try to change the threshold for constitutional amendments, requiring 60% of voters rather than a majority."
We'll see about that:
https://www.bluewavepostcards.org/signup-for-updates?
We’re trying, Lynell! Red Wine and Blue are confident that even if we fail at the August election, we should have the votes to meet that 60% threshold. I hope they’re right.
Oh, KR, so glad to hear this. In the meantime, I be postcarding for you!
And the whole August special election is just a ploy to try and change the rules for the November abortion-rights amendment. This after the legislature JUST LAST YEAR passed a bill to eliminate August special elections, because they were too expensive! The fact that so many more petition signatures were gathered says a lot. Fingers crossed.. Thanks for the postcards, Lynell!
Thanks, Kathleen...we see what they're trying to do and don't want to let them get away with it!
Life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. Why don’t these obstructionists stop and look at what they have and live. We have a beautiful country. Thank you Professor again... as usual your words strengthen me every day. I still don’t understand many things though, but you help. Peace
It’s tragic that the US no longer has a reliable mass media source to impart the truth and facts on what our Federal Government & US President is actually doing to better the lives of all Americans.
All the mass media focuses on are negative sound bites not necessarily created by actual facts. This is a rabbit hole we are not going to be able to get out of. Misinformation just received a huge boost by our corrupt SCOTUS.
Shame on those who voted for the most hideous, corrupt, criminal cretin in the recent history of this country just because he presented as racist & separatist as them.
The migration from red anti abortion states to blue states has already begun, based on people I know.
Heather!, WOW!!!! What a "work of heart" you have given us today.....and a mind full of information and ideas!!!! Thank you!
Most Democrats I know are vested in helping others. Most Republicans I know are only interested in helping themselves. 🤔 Checks out.
Haven’t been to a food pantry run by sanctimonious christians, have you. They’re so proud of themselves, never addressing the issue of why their charity is necessary.
Oh I’ve been to several of the sanctimonious ones. They always seem to be out of humble pie. All the decent ones in our area are secular (people doing good works without the secondary gain of an afterlife, how can it be?????) or run by liberal religious folk who aren’t there to be seen and pat themselves on the back.
I hope by “sanctimonious” you’re not tarring all Christian churches with that pejorative. Food banks and/or weekly free, hot dinners are part and parcel of most Episcopal churches across the country.
In my experience sanctimonious Episcopalians are rare. Of course in my area Episcopal Churches are also rare, meanwhile there are Baptist and Christian churches on every corner.
Exactly