This is not quite on topic, but this morning I saw a clip of Fareed Zakaria, who I normally respect, saying that President Biden had to come up with something really spectacular in his campaign, otherwise he would not win. So it’s just not good enough to work hard on issues that are good for Americans??? What is it that people want? A sh…
This is not quite on topic, but this morning I saw a clip of Fareed Zakaria, who I normally respect, saying that President Biden had to come up with something really spectacular in his campaign, otherwise he would not win. So it’s just not good enough to work hard on issues that are good for Americans??? What is it that people want? A shining knight on a white horse? Yes, people like JFK and Obama were young, handsome and inspirational. But the real work often did not get done. The promises did not necessarily get fulfilled.
Annie Weeks, maybe he could have talked about how CNN should be 24/7 calling out the insanity and cruelty of the R Party, sounding the warning that they are planning on destroying our democracy if returned to power and how they are planning on cheating every which way possible (unwarranted voter roll purges, goons with guns intimidating voters and election workers, etc.) to win.
In Florida, Republicans did us a favor by enacting the six week abortion ban, putting abortion (and marijuana) on the ballot. 80% of all women oppose. 30 electoral votes. They turned us from a red to a purple state verging blue. Perhaps a million unregistered folks trend heavily Democratic. Register Democrats, save the world.
Yes, Daniel, the Florida American Taliban in all of its Fascist religious misogynistic Talibanic way is running roughshod over the rights of Floridians and in particular females. The dividing line in this state and in this country is now as stark as it was during the time when Fort Sumter was fired on. Only now, the "cancer" has metastasized and is spread throughout the nation without geographic limits.
Classic Greek medicine requires catharsis, purgation. Trump won the state by 3.2% in 2020. If we flip 4% we win. IMHO there may be enough disgruntled Republicans to do it, but just in case, most of the unregistered, and the more than 3 million "no party" are women, trending at 80%.
A similar phenomenon is happening in North Carolina, because the Republican governor candidate is an antisemite who says women should not vote. 16 electoral votes. Trump won North Carolina by 1.34% in 2020. In one day at the FT6 Summit, 11,000 new North Carolina Democrats were registered.
The NPAs (No Party Affiliation) voters in Florida are close in number to the Democrats and a little farther behind the Republican registered voters, but not by much. Hope does spring eternal, hope that the abortion issue and the degradation of females by the MAGA/KKK Republicans will result in a swell of voters to oust them from power. I've said it already but I think that it is worth repeating: This is the most important election in the history of the world if democracy is to survive. If democracy fails here, it will begin to crumble around the world. Trump would pull us out of NATO and then the crumbling will begin.
Richard, the woman who helps us in the garden was here yesterday and we always have a beverage after she is done. We got to talking about the primary here in Oregon and she had gotten a ballot with only judges on it....these are non-partisan races and most of them are incumbents who do not have a challenger in the primary. She wondered why....well, in Oregon, a person has to be registered either D or R to vote in the other races. In 2016 I remember telling her that sometimes we have to vote for someone who is, horrors, a mainstream or corporate D. I was pointing out why we needed to vote for HRC just for the Supreme Court. I just hope she doesn't decide to waste her general election vote in some kind of fruitless protest. She is also gay, so she has experienced bias which would only become worse with death star unleashing even more hatred.
"Trump won the state by 3.2% in 2020. If we flip 4% we win."
Just wanted to point out that with a 3.2 percent margin we only have to flip less than 2% from R to D to win. We could also do it by enrolling new D voters equal to the 3.2% margin, or any combination of the two.
An optimistic message this morning, brought to you by math.
Don't forget Louisiana where now children whom have experienced rape or incest must suffer through the resulting pregnancy without hope of an abortion. Who makes these Draconian laws? Republicans, that's who. Can Louisiana be pulled kicking and screaming from the Trump camp? In this mess virtually anything is possible.
Michael, this is truly disgusting and of course, once those fetuses are actually living babies, well....no help then. And if a woman is pregnant and needs emergency medical intervention, no help there either. No legislator should be interfering in medical decisions. And all woman should be aware of this R plan for a national pregnancy registry, purporting of course, as some kind of help, when it would really be a tracking device. So insidious.
Does "representative" dodie whats-her-name think the child victims of rape are guilty of something, and that the innocence of the cells now growing into the child of a rapist somehow "trump" (pardon me) the innocence of the child suffering the aftereffects of having been raped - including the minute-by-minute horror of actually being forced to carry to term the fetus caused by rape? What planet does this horrible woman live on?
I like this strategy in Florida and North Carolina that involves increasing numbers of registered Democrats and educating all about the GOP’s war against women, people of color and immigrants. We have to tap into every demographic-unregistered and undecided voters. Also, raising awareness of GOP allies, especially from Trump.
I like that saying, "Register Democrats, save the world." Truth! In Germany one of the political party's, I think Social Democrats has a sign up that translated says, "Voting saves lives!"
I think it's true that many Republican women who may have been okay with a 15-week limit consider the 6-week limit extreme. While they may vote in favor of the ballot initiative, there's no guarantee they will break with their party on candididates.
The 3.5 million NPAs will decide the presidential race. It's too bad that Terrie Rizzo, Manny Diaz, and Nikki Fried are so determined to keep NPAs from voting in the Democratic primaries. Research conducted by Unite America reveals that 58% of independents say they would be more likely to vote for a party's candidates if they were allowed to vote in the parimary. https://docsend.com/view/kz8jkfxixy727fds
As Florida has closed primaries, the first party to recognize this will have a distinct advantage moving forward.
Terrie Rizzo shut down local executive committees that were passing resolutions to do just that. The state would surely try to stop them, but the SCOTUS has ruled. https://supreme.justia.com/cases/federal/us/479/208/
I wish Professor Richardson would spend a little time reading Cass Suntein. The argument that Biden spends a lot of money doesn't help win votes.
"In The Cost-Benefit Revolution, Cass Sunstein argues our major disagreements really involve facts, not values. It follows that government policy should not be based on public opinion, intuitions, or pressure from interest groups, but on numbers—meaning careful consideration of costs and benefits".
Why can't we get the verified performance out of Biden like we got from Obama before he had to fire Suntein because of guys like Frank O'Donnell, of the group Clean Air Watch. who said "Sunstein has been a blot on the landscape."?
Yea, Biden's EPA Press Office says Biden's vehicle regulations will have "$100 billion of annual net benefits to society, including $13 billion of annual public health benefits due to improved air quality, and $62 billion in reduced annual fuel costs, and maintenance and repair costs for drivers." What's the error estimates on the annual $100b net benefit. Suntein was a lot more convincing in 2015..
We know Trump's Tax Cut had much less cost-benefit than was sold to us. I would appreciate a little help from Prof. Richardson on how good are Biden's predictions, and who are the primary beneficiaries..
It's true that "the argument that Biden spends a lot of money doesn't help win votes," but the rest of it doesn't follow. Government *policy* can be based on facts and values at the same time, but if it isn't sold to voters in a way that resonates emotionally, it's not likely to produce many votes, especially among those who were leaning in the opposite direction.
Doesn't have to be that way. Sunstein was able to persuade Republicans as well as Democrats with the facts. But, that got him fired because it's the activists that influence voters.
Essentially, the problem is two-fold: 1) MAGA folks only tune in to Fox, OAAN, Newsmax, Alex Jones, et al., and 2) they can't see that democracy is better for their lives than a white Christian autocracy because they're ignorant about what life under a dictatorship will be like. That's the result of not being taught the facts and how to analyze the facts. It would be nice if all of them got plugged into Melanie Trecek-King's website: https://thinkingispower.com/ And, with all due respect to Prof. Trecek-King, whom I absolutely admire, it is action and not just thinking that makes the difference.
Yes! And speaker Johnson’s going to NYC court to “support” Trump this morning is beyond words. The “groupies of Putin” are beyond our reach unless we reach out to make our country more livable (get corporations under control) quickly.
Virginia Witmer,, I hadn't heard that the devil in the blue suit is going to NYC to do a dog and pony show. Geez! Of course, he is, I should've expected it. The wolf in sheep's clothing couldn"t miss an opportunity to manipulate the masses.
Virginia Witmer, yes, he and his twist religion to serve their egos rather than the truth. I am having a real hard time finding the values of Jesus in his/their words and actions.
I think we should all call Hakeem Jeffries office and let him know that the House Democrats should no longer save Johnson from being ousted by MTG in retaliation for the Speaker’s little stunt today in showing up to 45’s trail and giving a press conference to savage the witnesses on Trumps behalf. Johnson should have been working in DC to bring that border bill to a vote. I just sent my thoughts to his office at https://democraticleader.house.gov
Welcome to the new CNN. After less than stellar ratings the CNN owners decided to chase after a portion of the MAGA market. What you are seeing are broadcasters selling their souls.
Anne, what a good point! “No body’s getting a pony. Your choice is between an old, steady draft horse or a squealing pig who will eat you out of house and home (and turn your house into a stinking mud wallow!” author unknown
From my experience, Zakaria is a balanced commentator who does not speak lightly on issues of great import. He was discussing poll numbers from 2020 and January of this year, which can certainly change, but he was sounding a warning, one we all need to take note of. His report may be difficult to hear, but nothing I heard was obviously false or biased.
From other reading I have done, it seems clear that the GOP is aggressively assembling as many people as possible, focusing on the swing states – volunteers, attorneys, paid staff – to challenge votes, rile the MAGA-friendly with misinformation, and essentially overwhelm Democrats.
We need to match or better them, smother their number, person to person. For my part, I am taking a leave from work this fall to engage in the effort – work on the campaign and serve as an election inspector on election day. I am quite sure many in this space are doing the same.
I say this not as a boast, but from a place of deep concern. I do not want to be away from my family or my work but I believe this is our 1933 moment and if we are not resolute in denying Trump a second term our country, and the world, will be endangered.
We can’t depend on the press to do our job for us. We must act in numbers impossible to ignore. We must, to borrow from the great Dylan Thomas, ‘’Rage, rage against the dying of the light.’’ Thomas was speaking of the light of life but our light is that cast by a free nation and our fight must reflect the urgency of the moment we face as that light is threatened with extinction.
Annie, give me someone who is in the trenches doing the job rather than someone on the stage extolling their accomplishments….I do get that we need to “get the word out”, but jeez, I feel the Biden/Harris admin would rather just do the the work rather than crow about it. One of my favorite poets wrote that poem that I have sent to various folks who “walk the talk”:
Unfortunately, when you need people to vote for you, you can’t just assume they’ll see what you’re doing. You have to tell and show them over and over.
Yeah, sad tho’ true…I found this SubStack “What did Biden do Today” and subscribed (the free version, as I am income limited)…appreciate that there are those out there paying attention and tooting the horn on this Admin’s accomplishments/actions: https://whatdidbidendotoday.substack.com/
Not really. We knew what the billionaires, dark money, and the elites they neutered would do if we'd experienced films like “The Florida Project” and “Winter’s Bone”; novels like Barbara Kingsolver’s “Demon Copperhead,” Walter Mosley’s “Always Outnumbered, Always Outgunned,” and many by Richard Russo and Stephen King; memoirs like Mary Karr’s “The Liars’ Club,” Jeannette Walls’ “The Glass Castle,” and Erin Gruwell’s “The Freedom Writers Diary,” and any number of hip hop Ari Melber will cite.
When you cut to the quick, it is beyond my comprehension that so many would support the likes of a trump. Do they completely lack a sense of future and how this garbage could turn on them as well?
Zakaria seems to be basing his analyses on poll numbers, which since at least 2016, have been unreliable, missing the Trump win in 2016, the blue wave in 2018, the Biden win in 2020, and predicting a 'Red wave" in 2022. My guess is that polls did not predict the pro-choice victory in Nebraska, or how the various special elections in 2023 and 2024 turned out.
I do understand polling science is complex and nuanced, but I can't help thinking it is also broken, either in its basic methodology, in how polling data is actually gathered, or both. No matter how good the annalist, if the data is faulty, the analysis will be too. I simply can't get too worked up by poling results anymore. I am much more focused on what happens when actual voters vote for actual candidates or issues. When Democrats start regularly losing state and federal elections, then I will be worried. Until then - to quote many members of this forum, "Register Democrats, save the world".
The Gaza Blitzkrieg has captured a good portion of the nation's attention, and statistics about improvements in infrastructure are not going to touch that. I think Biden should call for the creation of a multi-national peace-keeping force in Gaza.
Amen to the multi-national peace-keeping force in Gaza. And complete Gazan independence from Israel, the two-state solution. As long as the Israeli boot is on the neck of the Palestinian there will be those who rebel. That, like it or not, is human nature.
I do not admire Zakaria. He has no good reason to predict that Biden will lose unless they get their campaign going faster, smarter, etc. Has he not noticed how vigorously Biden/Harris are campaigning? How they are striking out at Dumpty? Trump is very likely to be convicted of 34 election interference felonies in New York within the next two weeks. The Democrats have FAR outraised the GOP. The RNC does not have funds for down ballot candidates and not enough for Trump. On Saturday, he held a rally on the Jersey Shore. It was reported that the crowd was 100,000 people. I knew that was bullshit immediately. Turns out the photograph of a huge crowd was from a Rod Stewart concert on the beach in Rio de Janiero in 1990!! The mainstream media bought the Trump LIE hook, line and sinker.
In an interesting twist, Trump's crowd size estimate was challenged by none other than Jesse Watters on the Fox News show, The Five. Watters estimated the crowd at closer to 30,000. Reported today by Newsweek.
The venue could hold no more than 40,000 people at the beach where it was held. I sent that correction out yesterday on Twitter to a writer of one of the reports.
The allure of charisma often overshadows genuine effort and practical achievements, reflecting humanity's desire for spectacle over substance. This trait has hindered us all throughout our history and in the age of AI may very well be our downfall.
What he may be referring to is that young people are focusing heavily on what is happing in the middle east, and they are disgusted with our government's reaction and saying that they refuse to vote for Biden.
Let’s talk about these ‘young people’. Several dozen marched out of Duke’s commencent ceremony because Jerry Seinfeld was being awarded an honorary degree. Seinfeld, whose sin apparently, is that he’s Jewish and an open supporter of Israel (but not their actions in Gaza) had his speech interrupted. Several dozen protestors walked out…out of a class of 7000.
At all these other campuses, the encampments amount to 200 or so, out of total enrollments in the tens of thousands. I don’t think this movement is that widespread, or has that kind of staying power that people seem to think it does.
True, but when the media focuses on "ALL THOSE PROTESTERS" *gasp*, the movement looks larger than it is. Not that the rest of us aren't for an end to the war, the bloodshed and hatred...but a principled end, with a two state solution and Netanyahu booted from office.
Isn't this a no-brainer? "Trickle-down" doesn't work with facts any better than it works with corporate profits. Connecting facts on the ground to legislation from on high isn't easy, and the "news" media, mainstream or otherwise, doesn't help much. Inspirational speeches travel better than facts on the ground.
We could also ask what "good for Americans" even means. Good for *which* Americans, and who counts as an "American" in the first place? We know what millions of USians hear when Trump says "You won't have a country anymore." They hear "You white people won't be a majority any more." Which is exactly what Trump means when he says it. Bridge repair and high-speed internet aren't going to change hearts and minds on that one.
I can’t watch CNN anymore. Yesterday with long stretches in the car I listened to MSNBC. All trump, all day. Talking heads talking conjecture. ALL DAY LONG. I was disgusted, and griped to my husband, “you’d think we don’t have a prez. Wonder what he’s up to today?” Cable news is no longer news. “What did Biden do today” is a great substack.
It’s not enough to be right. We have to win. And we are not winning. The polls have us significantly down five swing states. Democracy doesn’t work that well when you have ignorant, selfish uninformed people. so Biden has to do something that appeals to the independence and the moderate Republicans that don’t want to vote for Trump, but feel like everything is too expensive. They can’t afford the things that they want and life is not great for them. Despite the fact that everything is moving in the right direction and in the long term it’s going to benefit them they don’t see that. And nothing Biden says about all the good work that his administration is doing and investing in our future is going to change that. He hast to come up with a way to reach these people or it’s all for naught.
Is Fareed working with the Russian bots? Perhaps the Israeli bots are working on making the youth of America, who are most likely to vote for Biden too dissatisfied to vote so they stay home. Actually, Israel doesn't need Bots, Netanyahu just needs to keep on doing what he is doing, which I am convinced he is doing for his supporters and to get rid of Biden and not because he can actually win against Hamas. Biden needs to start getting youth to make ads that say, I don't agree with everything Biden does, but I am more unhappy with Trump because he is going to hurt everyone in the USA if he becomes president and won't be helping the people of Gaza. He is more likely to send more attack weapons to Israel while not sending aid to Gazans. If our mainstream press were on the job they would be reporting what every other country is doing in the situation with Israel and Hamas, and the Gazans, but they don't. People from outside the USA always remark on how the US press mostly only covers US news, just like in the USA my daughter did not get a lot of history of other countries, even though the USA has a relatively short history, so one could actually learn what happened in the world just as one could be teaching about the US before it became the US and the cultures that were and are here for centuries.
At the heart of the problem, I conclude, is that many, many Americans have cut their cable cord and do not subscribe to a newspaper of record such as the NYT. They are simply not informed of all the good that Biden has done. Also, is there another President in our history that from day #1 had to deal with the drum beat of the losing candidate not conceding the election?
Agreed. Not that the Times prints much that favours President Biden. Many folks also get their news from Bill Maher, or late night comedy shows. So important too that Americans are informed of news of the rest of the world. It can really put things in perspective. CNN has really fallen down on that job.
This is not quite on topic, but this morning I saw a clip of Fareed Zakaria, who I normally respect, saying that President Biden had to come up with something really spectacular in his campaign, otherwise he would not win. So it’s just not good enough to work hard on issues that are good for Americans??? What is it that people want? A shining knight on a white horse? Yes, people like JFK and Obama were young, handsome and inspirational. But the real work often did not get done. The promises did not necessarily get fulfilled.
Annie Weeks, maybe he could have talked about how CNN should be 24/7 calling out the insanity and cruelty of the R Party, sounding the warning that they are planning on destroying our democracy if returned to power and how they are planning on cheating every which way possible (unwarranted voter roll purges, goons with guns intimidating voters and election workers, etc.) to win.
CNN needs a dose of Hopium.
In Florida, Republicans did us a favor by enacting the six week abortion ban, putting abortion (and marijuana) on the ballot. 80% of all women oppose. 30 electoral votes. They turned us from a red to a purple state verging blue. Perhaps a million unregistered folks trend heavily Democratic. Register Democrats, save the world.
https://www.fieldteam6.org/
Yes, Daniel, the Florida American Taliban in all of its Fascist religious misogynistic Talibanic way is running roughshod over the rights of Floridians and in particular females. The dividing line in this state and in this country is now as stark as it was during the time when Fort Sumter was fired on. Only now, the "cancer" has metastasized and is spread throughout the nation without geographic limits.
Classic Greek medicine requires catharsis, purgation. Trump won the state by 3.2% in 2020. If we flip 4% we win. IMHO there may be enough disgruntled Republicans to do it, but just in case, most of the unregistered, and the more than 3 million "no party" are women, trending at 80%.
A similar phenomenon is happening in North Carolina, because the Republican governor candidate is an antisemite who says women should not vote. 16 electoral votes. Trump won North Carolina by 1.34% in 2020. In one day at the FT6 Summit, 11,000 new North Carolina Democrats were registered.
The NPAs (No Party Affiliation) voters in Florida are close in number to the Democrats and a little farther behind the Republican registered voters, but not by much. Hope does spring eternal, hope that the abortion issue and the degradation of females by the MAGA/KKK Republicans will result in a swell of voters to oust them from power. I've said it already but I think that it is worth repeating: This is the most important election in the history of the world if democracy is to survive. If democracy fails here, it will begin to crumble around the world. Trump would pull us out of NATO and then the crumbling will begin.
Richard, the woman who helps us in the garden was here yesterday and we always have a beverage after she is done. We got to talking about the primary here in Oregon and she had gotten a ballot with only judges on it....these are non-partisan races and most of them are incumbents who do not have a challenger in the primary. She wondered why....well, in Oregon, a person has to be registered either D or R to vote in the other races. In 2016 I remember telling her that sometimes we have to vote for someone who is, horrors, a mainstream or corporate D. I was pointing out why we needed to vote for HRC just for the Supreme Court. I just hope she doesn't decide to waste her general election vote in some kind of fruitless protest. She is also gay, so she has experienced bias which would only become worse with death star unleashing even more hatred.
"Trump won the state by 3.2% in 2020. If we flip 4% we win."
Just wanted to point out that with a 3.2 percent margin we only have to flip less than 2% from R to D to win. We could also do it by enrolling new D voters equal to the 3.2% margin, or any combination of the two.
An optimistic message this morning, brought to you by math.
Even better - YAY!!! Grew up in Florida - and LEFT! But still keep an eye on things. Best news so far!!! Thank you!
Don't forget Louisiana where now children whom have experienced rape or incest must suffer through the resulting pregnancy without hope of an abortion. Who makes these Draconian laws? Republicans, that's who. Can Louisiana be pulled kicking and screaming from the Trump camp? In this mess virtually anything is possible.
Michael, this is truly disgusting and of course, once those fetuses are actually living babies, well....no help then. And if a woman is pregnant and needs emergency medical intervention, no help there either. No legislator should be interfering in medical decisions. And all woman should be aware of this R plan for a national pregnancy registry, purporting of course, as some kind of help, when it would really be a tracking device. So insidious.
I'm so disgusted with these people!
Does "representative" dodie whats-her-name think the child victims of rape are guilty of something, and that the innocence of the cells now growing into the child of a rapist somehow "trump" (pardon me) the innocence of the child suffering the aftereffects of having been raped - including the minute-by-minute horror of actually being forced to carry to term the fetus caused by rape? What planet does this horrible woman live on?
Voting Democrat Saves Lives! If anyone makes this statement into a T-Shirt I would buy some.
I like this strategy in Florida and North Carolina that involves increasing numbers of registered Democrats and educating all about the GOP’s war against women, people of color and immigrants. We have to tap into every demographic-unregistered and undecided voters. Also, raising awareness of GOP allies, especially from Trump.
Thanks for this important info, Danny!!! I'm FROM Florida - and WELCOME any good news about it.
I like that saying, "Register Democrats, save the world." Truth! In Germany one of the political party's, I think Social Democrats has a sign up that translated says, "Voting saves lives!"
I think it's true that many Republican women who may have been okay with a 15-week limit consider the 6-week limit extreme. While they may vote in favor of the ballot initiative, there's no guarantee they will break with their party on candididates.
The 3.5 million NPAs will decide the presidential race. It's too bad that Terrie Rizzo, Manny Diaz, and Nikki Fried are so determined to keep NPAs from voting in the Democratic primaries. Research conducted by Unite America reveals that 58% of independents say they would be more likely to vote for a party's candidates if they were allowed to vote in the parimary. https://docsend.com/view/kz8jkfxixy727fds
As Florida has closed primaries, the first party to recognize this will have a distinct advantage moving forward.
Terrie Rizzo shut down local executive committees that were passing resolutions to do just that. The state would surely try to stop them, but the SCOTUS has ruled. https://supreme.justia.com/cases/federal/us/479/208/
I wish Professor Richardson would spend a little time reading Cass Suntein. The argument that Biden spends a lot of money doesn't help win votes.
"In The Cost-Benefit Revolution, Cass Sunstein argues our major disagreements really involve facts, not values. It follows that government policy should not be based on public opinion, intuitions, or pressure from interest groups, but on numbers—meaning careful consideration of costs and benefits".
https://mitpress.mit.edu › the-cost-...
The Cost-Benefit Revolution - MIT Press
I guess that the concept of "investment" does not include values. Better link.
https://direct.mit.edu/books/book/4108/The-Cost-Benefit-Revolution
I don't know this as a fact, but I bet that Sunstein, formerly of OMB, supports everything said about the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. https://obamawhitehouse.archives.gov/blog/2012/08/03/regulatory-reformer-leaves-his-mark
When legislation is proposed, it is "scored" by the Congressional Budget Office and must pass muster at OMB. If it is not economically feasible, it cannot become law. https://www.cbpp.org/research/policy-basics-introduction-to-the-federal-budget-process#:~:text=The%20cost%20of%20a%20tax,Congressional%20Budget%20Office%20(CBO).
It's not that "Biden" spent the money, WE did. Bipartisan.
Why can't we get the verified performance out of Biden like we got from Obama before he had to fire Suntein because of guys like Frank O'Donnell, of the group Clean Air Watch. who said "Sunstein has been a blot on the landscape."?
Yea, Biden's EPA Press Office says Biden's vehicle regulations will have "$100 billion of annual net benefits to society, including $13 billion of annual public health benefits due to improved air quality, and $62 billion in reduced annual fuel costs, and maintenance and repair costs for drivers." What's the error estimates on the annual $100b net benefit. Suntein was a lot more convincing in 2015..
We know Trump's Tax Cut had much less cost-benefit than was sold to us. I would appreciate a little help from Prof. Richardson on how good are Biden's predictions, and who are the primary beneficiaries..
I never worked at EPA but I heard environmental whistleblower cases and I bet everything was scored and after the fact, has been audited. https://www.epa.gov/compliance/epas-audit-policy
It's true that "the argument that Biden spends a lot of money doesn't help win votes," but the rest of it doesn't follow. Government *policy* can be based on facts and values at the same time, but if it isn't sold to voters in a way that resonates emotionally, it's not likely to produce many votes, especially among those who were leaning in the opposite direction.
Maybe we are all just too emotional, which is stopping us from serious consideration of the facts.
Doesn't have to be that way. Sunstein was able to persuade Republicans as well as Democrats with the facts. But, that got him fired because it's the activists that influence voters.
Essentially, the problem is two-fold: 1) MAGA folks only tune in to Fox, OAAN, Newsmax, Alex Jones, et al., and 2) they can't see that democracy is better for their lives than a white Christian autocracy because they're ignorant about what life under a dictatorship will be like. That's the result of not being taught the facts and how to analyze the facts. It would be nice if all of them got plugged into Melanie Trecek-King's website: https://thinkingispower.com/ And, with all due respect to Prof. Trecek-King, whom I absolutely admire, it is action and not just thinking that makes the difference.
Richard Sutherland, I'm not familiar with her. Thanks, I will check out the website.
She is interesting thanks.
Lemings
Absolutely agree!
Yes! And speaker Johnson’s going to NYC court to “support” Trump this morning is beyond words. The “groupies of Putin” are beyond our reach unless we reach out to make our country more livable (get corporations under control) quickly.
Virginia Witmer,, I hadn't heard that the devil in the blue suit is going to NYC to do a dog and pony show. Geez! Of course, he is, I should've expected it. The wolf in sheep's clothing couldn"t miss an opportunity to manipulate the masses.
Now we know that all the “Christianity” is a facade. Protecting a criminal is perfect for the putinistas.
Virginia Witmer, yes, he and his twist religion to serve their egos rather than the truth. I am having a real hard time finding the values of Jesus in his/their words and actions.
On an hilarious note, Tuberville went yesterday. Words fail.
I think we should all call Hakeem Jeffries office and let him know that the House Democrats should no longer save Johnson from being ousted by MTG in retaliation for the Speaker’s little stunt today in showing up to 45’s trail and giving a press conference to savage the witnesses on Trumps behalf. Johnson should have been working in DC to bring that border bill to a vote. I just sent my thoughts to his office at https://democraticleader.house.gov
YesTree. If whispers don't work one needs to try shouting. The silence of the lambs (cable news)is bewildering.
Welcome to the new CNN. After less than stellar ratings the CNN owners decided to chase after a portion of the MAGA market. What you are seeing are broadcasters selling their souls.
Barbara Mullen, very sad.
yes
Anne, what a good point! “No body’s getting a pony. Your choice is between an old, steady draft horse or a squealing pig who will eat you out of house and home (and turn your house into a stinking mud wallow!” author unknown
I saw it too Annie, and was troubled by it.
From my experience, Zakaria is a balanced commentator who does not speak lightly on issues of great import. He was discussing poll numbers from 2020 and January of this year, which can certainly change, but he was sounding a warning, one we all need to take note of. His report may be difficult to hear, but nothing I heard was obviously false or biased.
From other reading I have done, it seems clear that the GOP is aggressively assembling as many people as possible, focusing on the swing states – volunteers, attorneys, paid staff – to challenge votes, rile the MAGA-friendly with misinformation, and essentially overwhelm Democrats.
We need to match or better them, smother their number, person to person. For my part, I am taking a leave from work this fall to engage in the effort – work on the campaign and serve as an election inspector on election day. I am quite sure many in this space are doing the same.
I say this not as a boast, but from a place of deep concern. I do not want to be away from my family or my work but I believe this is our 1933 moment and if we are not resolute in denying Trump a second term our country, and the world, will be endangered.
We can’t depend on the press to do our job for us. We must act in numbers impossible to ignore. We must, to borrow from the great Dylan Thomas, ‘’Rage, rage against the dying of the light.’’ Thomas was speaking of the light of life but our light is that cast by a free nation and our fight must reflect the urgency of the moment we face as that light is threatened with extinction.
R Dooley (NY),
Thanks for the "PUSH"!!! We must not allow the light to die!!!
Thanks to so many determined people who are working hard, reaching out to help get people to the polls to vote ....to keep the light of freedom alive!
It is not just for us...it is for our children and for the hope of the world.
President Joe Biden knows how to work with people to get the job done.
We need to be behind this sentiment 💯. Thank you for reminding us all!
Annie, give me someone who is in the trenches doing the job rather than someone on the stage extolling their accomplishments….I do get that we need to “get the word out”, but jeez, I feel the Biden/Harris admin would rather just do the the work rather than crow about it. One of my favorite poets wrote that poem that I have sent to various folks who “walk the talk”:
Marge Piercy “To Be of Use” https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/57673/to-be-of-use
Unfortunately, when you need people to vote for you, you can’t just assume they’ll see what you’re doing. You have to tell and show them over and over.
Yeah, sad tho’ true…I found this SubStack “What did Biden do Today” and subscribed (the free version, as I am income limited)…appreciate that there are those out there paying attention and tooting the horn on this Admin’s accomplishments/actions: https://whatdidbidendotoday.substack.com/
Annie, you ask, "What is it that people want? A shining knight on a white horse?"
No, Annie. Tens of millions apparently want a diapered, smelly, orange-encrusted nightmare striding horseshit.
But why? It is mind-boggling.
Mind-boggling, Jade?
Not really. We knew what the billionaires, dark money, and the elites they neutered would do if we'd experienced films like “The Florida Project” and “Winter’s Bone”; novels like Barbara Kingsolver’s “Demon Copperhead,” Walter Mosley’s “Always Outnumbered, Always Outgunned,” and many by Richard Russo and Stephen King; memoirs like Mary Karr’s “The Liars’ Club,” Jeannette Walls’ “The Glass Castle,” and Erin Gruwell’s “The Freedom Writers Diary,” and any number of hip hop Ari Melber will cite.
When you cut to the quick, it is beyond my comprehension that so many would support the likes of a trump. Do they completely lack a sense of future and how this garbage could turn on them as well?
Good points, Annie.
Zakaria seems to be basing his analyses on poll numbers, which since at least 2016, have been unreliable, missing the Trump win in 2016, the blue wave in 2018, the Biden win in 2020, and predicting a 'Red wave" in 2022. My guess is that polls did not predict the pro-choice victory in Nebraska, or how the various special elections in 2023 and 2024 turned out.
I do understand polling science is complex and nuanced, but I can't help thinking it is also broken, either in its basic methodology, in how polling data is actually gathered, or both. No matter how good the annalist, if the data is faulty, the analysis will be too. I simply can't get too worked up by poling results anymore. I am much more focused on what happens when actual voters vote for actual candidates or issues. When Democrats start regularly losing state and federal elections, then I will be worried. Until then - to quote many members of this forum, "Register Democrats, save the world".
The Gaza Blitzkrieg has captured a good portion of the nation's attention, and statistics about improvements in infrastructure are not going to touch that. I think Biden should call for the creation of a multi-national peace-keeping force in Gaza.
Amen to the multi-national peace-keeping force in Gaza. And complete Gazan independence from Israel, the two-state solution. As long as the Israeli boot is on the neck of the Palestinian there will be those who rebel. That, like it or not, is human nature.
I admire him and was very shocked and disappointed by his statement.
We needpositive energy supporting Biden and what he has accomplished.
I do not admire Zakaria. He has no good reason to predict that Biden will lose unless they get their campaign going faster, smarter, etc. Has he not noticed how vigorously Biden/Harris are campaigning? How they are striking out at Dumpty? Trump is very likely to be convicted of 34 election interference felonies in New York within the next two weeks. The Democrats have FAR outraised the GOP. The RNC does not have funds for down ballot candidates and not enough for Trump. On Saturday, he held a rally on the Jersey Shore. It was reported that the crowd was 100,000 people. I knew that was bullshit immediately. Turns out the photograph of a huge crowd was from a Rod Stewart concert on the beach in Rio de Janiero in 1990!! The mainstream media bought the Trump LIE hook, line and sinker.
OMG, re the photo. Trump and the complicit Rs don't need a lot of money when the media is doing their PR for them.
In an interesting twist, Trump's crowd size estimate was challenged by none other than Jesse Watters on the Fox News show, The Five. Watters estimated the crowd at closer to 30,000. Reported today by Newsweek.
The venue could hold no more than 40,000 people at the beach where it was held. I sent that correction out yesterday on Twitter to a writer of one of the reports.
Spot on....
The allure of charisma often overshadows genuine effort and practical achievements, reflecting humanity's desire for spectacle over substance. This trait has hindered us all throughout our history and in the age of AI may very well be our downfall.
What he may be referring to is that young people are focusing heavily on what is happing in the middle east, and they are disgusted with our government's reaction and saying that they refuse to vote for Biden.
Let’s talk about these ‘young people’. Several dozen marched out of Duke’s commencent ceremony because Jerry Seinfeld was being awarded an honorary degree. Seinfeld, whose sin apparently, is that he’s Jewish and an open supporter of Israel (but not their actions in Gaza) had his speech interrupted. Several dozen protestors walked out…out of a class of 7000.
At all these other campuses, the encampments amount to 200 or so, out of total enrollments in the tens of thousands. I don’t think this movement is that widespread, or has that kind of staying power that people seem to think it does.
True, but when the media focuses on "ALL THOSE PROTESTERS" *gasp*, the movement looks larger than it is. Not that the rest of us aren't for an end to the war, the bloodshed and hatred...but a principled end, with a two state solution and Netanyahu booted from office.
I hadn't heard about that incident, Marla. I'm gobsmacked. It stinks of antisemitism.
Isn't this a no-brainer? "Trickle-down" doesn't work with facts any better than it works with corporate profits. Connecting facts on the ground to legislation from on high isn't easy, and the "news" media, mainstream or otherwise, doesn't help much. Inspirational speeches travel better than facts on the ground.
We could also ask what "good for Americans" even means. Good for *which* Americans, and who counts as an "American" in the first place? We know what millions of USians hear when Trump says "You won't have a country anymore." They hear "You white people won't be a majority any more." Which is exactly what Trump means when he says it. Bridge repair and high-speed internet aren't going to change hearts and minds on that one.
I can't even watch Fareed Zakaria anymore.
I can’t watch CNN anymore. Yesterday with long stretches in the car I listened to MSNBC. All trump, all day. Talking heads talking conjecture. ALL DAY LONG. I was disgusted, and griped to my husband, “you’d think we don’t have a prez. Wonder what he’s up to today?” Cable news is no longer news. “What did Biden do today” is a great substack.
You’re so right! I’d subscribe to that substack.
https://whatdidbidendotoday.substack.com/
I love it!
It’s not enough to be right. We have to win. And we are not winning. The polls have us significantly down five swing states. Democracy doesn’t work that well when you have ignorant, selfish uninformed people. so Biden has to do something that appeals to the independence and the moderate Republicans that don’t want to vote for Trump, but feel like everything is too expensive. They can’t afford the things that they want and life is not great for them. Despite the fact that everything is moving in the right direction and in the long term it’s going to benefit them they don’t see that. And nothing Biden says about all the good work that his administration is doing and investing in our future is going to change that. He hast to come up with a way to reach these people or it’s all for naught.
Does Fareed Zakaria think that Biden should threaten Netanyahu with withholding all supports? That will never happen even though Netanyahu is clearly a friend of Trump's family, and not a natural ally of Biden, since Netanyahu is friends with Trump's son-in-law's criminal father. https://www.jpost.com/american-politics/when-netanyahu-slept-at-the-kushners-and-other-media-tales-of-trumps-jewish-confidantes-481486
Is Fareed working with the Russian bots? Perhaps the Israeli bots are working on making the youth of America, who are most likely to vote for Biden too dissatisfied to vote so they stay home. Actually, Israel doesn't need Bots, Netanyahu just needs to keep on doing what he is doing, which I am convinced he is doing for his supporters and to get rid of Biden and not because he can actually win against Hamas. Biden needs to start getting youth to make ads that say, I don't agree with everything Biden does, but I am more unhappy with Trump because he is going to hurt everyone in the USA if he becomes president and won't be helping the people of Gaza. He is more likely to send more attack weapons to Israel while not sending aid to Gazans. If our mainstream press were on the job they would be reporting what every other country is doing in the situation with Israel and Hamas, and the Gazans, but they don't. People from outside the USA always remark on how the US press mostly only covers US news, just like in the USA my daughter did not get a lot of history of other countries, even though the USA has a relatively short history, so one could actually learn what happened in the world just as one could be teaching about the US before it became the US and the cultures that were and are here for centuries.
At the heart of the problem, I conclude, is that many, many Americans have cut their cable cord and do not subscribe to a newspaper of record such as the NYT. They are simply not informed of all the good that Biden has done. Also, is there another President in our history that from day #1 had to deal with the drum beat of the losing candidate not conceding the election?
Agreed. Not that the Times prints much that favours President Biden. Many folks also get their news from Bill Maher, or late night comedy shows. So important too that Americans are informed of news of the rest of the world. It can really put things in perspective. CNN has really fallen down on that job.