Two days after an election in which the Republican Party attacked the Democrats for inflation, today’s consumer price index data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics showed that inflation is slowing more quickly than expected. It rose just 0.4% in October, making the rate over the past twelve months also come in lower than expected at 7.7%.
Listening to President Biden during his press conference today; I felt reassured in his confidence and his relaxed voice. I could hear the factual-ness of the work he and the Dems have done to make life better for all of us, lowering drug costs esp for insulin, working with our NATO allies. Not pretense, nor pomp or boasting. Just factual information. I feel like I haven’t heard that kind of level headed talk in a long time. And there was also something in his voice that was calmer. Calmness backed up by the success of his administrations hard work, and also the fact evidenced by the Dems election victories, that so many Americans recognize it.
You are so right Margaret. About a year ago I was speaking to a fervent Trump supporter and I made the comment to him that Trump tortured me for four years and he just laughed and told me I was a stupid girl and he wanted me to give one example of how I felt tortured. I told him that it would take me for as long as Trump has been in our political system to answer his question but the torture I was really referring to was the constant daily barrage of insanity that that man created to where I thought I my head would explode or I would run down the road naked and screaming, having gone crazy. So, yes, a calm, soothing voice, and a steady hand feels so good. 
I would have been right behind you, his voice and his idiocy were hard to miss. You would have had to be plugged into Fox 24-7 to have missed what others saw, heard, and cringed over. He should have been trashed over the Obama birthplace nonsense.
What about the tape of him talking about his ability to get away with sexually abusing woman! Being so proud he could shoot someone and there would be no consequences. We got to sit and watch how our Republican government supported his coup d’etat. As far as I am concerned these legislators and judges who supported him to overthrow our democracy should be held accountable. We were living in a nightmare watching so many people drink the koolaid.
Yes they did! Seems to me that The Constitution says they should never be allowed to hold office again. So i don't really get why they're still there now. Or why they're allowed to run in these midterms.
White men in America can do whatever they want, whenever they want, however they want. (I know you guys get tired of hearing this).
Now, many white men don't take advantage of the above fact and are honorable.
But, those that choose to walk down that line of immunity against any crime or bad behavior? There have been, historically, and are today, NO consequences.
Please, if you get a chance, read the new 1619 Book Project. That will provide more information on how the door to both immoral and illegal behavior has been wide open for white men in America since its inception.
I agree wholeheartedly! It is agonizing to see so many MOCs who were involved in and supporting insurrection still in office.
Wheels onf justice turn slowly against the rich and powerful, but they do - at least sometimes! - turn. I still have hopes that the DOJ will get to the MOCs who were complicit, as well as DJT, Stone and Bannon.
Susan--there are millions of kool-aid drinkers. In NC, where I live, Ted Budd, a seditionist congress weasel, won election to the Senate. The person who represents my congressional district also voted to overturn the election. The egregious gerrymandering in NC make it hard to make progress for the regular people who can't come up with $400 to fix their car if it breaks down. I know what that's like. Ted Budd comes from a wealthy family. Protecting his wealth is his big concern. The Republican legislature is another depressing story for another day.
I hope Ms Beasley isn't going to just fade into the woodwork now. She's got six years to stay on top of Budd, hammering him every time he votes in a way that is detrimental to his supporters as well as his opponents.
Yes. While I am relieved at many of the election results around the country, I still have no representation in my home state. I am incredulous that Ted Budd won and that Cheri Beasley lost to him. Of course she's a black woman; no matter her top notch credentials.
The very smart and courageous Democrat Deirdre DeJear lost her bid to become Iowa's next governor, and given all the dog whistles deployed by the state GOP I can't help but think it is in no small part because she is a black woman.
JennSH (and all my NC sisters and brethren) and all those interested in "liberty and justice for all",
North Carolina (sadly) has been a source of too-much-crazy.
A "short" list:
Cosmic Pizza shooter,
Capitol building threatening bomber,
Mark Meadows,
Steven Miller via Duke,
the T family connections with Lara,
the 1898 Wilmington Massacre and Coup,
and now the "Extreme" Court pending cases in
the UNC and Harvard admissions factors and
the Moore vs Harper case threatening to take away election integrity.
However, the largest category of registered voters are "Unaffiliated," followed by Democrats, then Republicans, the Libertarians, then Green Party, then etc.
And we still have our own Governor Roy Cooper in spite of a gerrymandered NCGA and the flip in the state supreme court make-up.
At some point, the fact that North Carolina has been attractive for business locations due to the "reasonableness" of the balance in leadership
as opposed to the surrounding former Confederate states
whose draconian and dystopian bans on reproductive freedoms
has resulted in our state being virtually the only "safe" state for women to seek full options, making North Carolina the magnet from outside Handmaids' Tale impositions.
A political party cannot survive by oppressing the majority of the population.
Add: physically mocking a reporter who has a disability; urging supporters at a rally to attack the press; and dozens of other disturbing actions, not to mention thousands of lies.
His behaviour during the debates. Prowling round Hillary Clinton while she spoke, looking down on her with curled lip. And when the debate ended, she jumped down off the stage to mingle with laughing, joyous people, and what did he do? Hovered at the rear of the stage for a few uncertain moments, then disappeared out the back.
Trump has been dumped by Fox News, Wall Street Journal and the NY Post as of yesterday. Below is a link to the WSJ article that declares him the biggest loser. Virus free google drive pdf link.
The answer is DeSantis for FOX. He is on a lot in lieu of trump. The media is already brushing aside what a Fascist he is. Everywhere you look even in the liberal media it's DeSantis. This is great news. Narcissists don't lose. They destroy first. trump will take his cult with him and cleave the Party. And I'll bet he does know some dirt on DeSantis. (and half of the Republicans like Lindsay Graham who are clearly terrified of trump.)
This is as much air as I'm giving it. I have been taking a couple days off from politics to quietly celebrate the fact that in 2020 and in 2022 Democracy has prevailed. Battered like crazy but still standing. This is what I said in the NYT yesterday in response to an op ed by Frank Bruni about who the Democrats should run for President.
Barbara
USANov. 10
Too soon Frank. How about stopping for one minute.
I am pausing to thank President Biden for his rallying cry exhorting Americans to protect Democracy. I am pausing to thank former President Obama for his energetic work on the election circuit these Midterms. I am pausing to silently thank all the candidates for Democracy who weathered a super tough political environment to run for Office. I am pausing for a moment to sit outside on an unusually warm weather November day and give thanks to the strength and persistence of the American voter who will fight for Democracy.
Awesome! And the right answer. However, I took the bait and wrote that it is time to give white males a break from the job. How about Stacey Abrams? Later, I read an article that noted her savvy sense of politics, her wisdom re: international affairs and her all around good heart. (Same article noted her tepid campaign in Georgia, but she was up against Kemp's refusal to follow Grump's request to misstate the election results. That won respect from many Georgians.)
Barbara, thank you. Your gratitude wakes me up and brings me to tears. Might you run for something? I live in NY so I can’t vote for you but I can donate!!! 🗳🗳🗳
Jeri, I know folks that listen to that crap 'all day and all night'. Amazes me that it doesn't seem to cross their minds that they might just be subjecting themselves to conditioning. So twisted.. Of course they think I'm twisted. *edit - Biased is the word I should've used; they consider me biased. As long as I'm biased and convinced by facts in evidence, I'm ok with that, as our dear doctor is.
Every single day was a new horror revealed. We never had a chance to recover; it was an on-going assault. And we’re still learning about other nefarious actions committed. Biden was so necessary.
The majority of the people that live in Indiana are plugged into Fox 24-7. They believe every word that comes from Fox. We lost super good candidates because of those people. They pushed the Straight Republican button and walked out of the polling centers! I watched it happen....
I grew up in Indiana and this does not surprise me at all. In many ways it has the mentality of a southern state. Here in Oregon we wait. The clerk in Clackamus county has now said they were work today and all weekend to count the remaining votes. Since it is Veteran's Day, other counties are treating it as a three day weekend and won't start counting again until Monday. So we wait. Dracula Dragon hasn't conceded yet either to Kotek who already has given her first speech. One of the interesting things she is going to do is visit parts of Oregon which voted for Dracula first when she becomes governor.
I hope the folks who want to "secede" from Oregon & join Idaho(?) will listen to their new governor. Saw a picture of the map showing the areas in red - which seems appropo, doesnt it?
Dracula Dragon finally conceded today, but in the usual lack of grace the Rs seem to have. Tina is saying she will make a real effort to start out, not in the Willamette Valley, but in the more rural parts of the state including some of those counties who want to be part of Idaho. Dracula Drazen did not say a word about working together or anything about bettering Oregon for everyone. She just thanked her voters and basically encouraged them to continue the usual R dreck.
I totally agree. I think a lot of us are suffering from a form of PTSD from the insanity and constant turmoil from our Trump time. Even now, when I hear his whiny voice, I recoil.
I would like clarification on the 2018 vote counting in Florida that Trump now claims he stopped in order to award DeSantis and Rick Scott their respective seats. I, too, agree this needs a thorough investigation. It could be another "pot meet kettle" moment.
Rich, white, self-absorbed white supremacist males have been the foundation of our country and set it up so they control it and cannot fail. That is the giant shadow that we are up against now. That our country has become the diversity that our Constitution was supposed to be paving the way for must be really ticking them off. The seditious party does not want the caste system to change. They will do anything to keep their control.
We are their products because they cannot make money and stay in power without us and a few hostile foreign entities. It is time for real Americans to fight in ways the corporatocracy has never experienced. tfg and elon are feeling some pinching right now. Time to expand that to all who are against our democracy and show them the power of a huge diverse country. NOW. Keep your boots on, friends, we still have a lot of mucking out to do!
A toddler with the nuclear codes. Thank god the military leaders protected us from him. May he never have a peaceful day for the rest of his miserable life....
“So, yes, a calm, soothing voice, and a steady hand feels so good” . . . and that, along with experience, bipartisanship (in the unlikely event that the GQP should be so inclined), understanding of the importance of our NATO allies/climate/labor/healthcare/public education/ middle class worries/his quoting his father who’s only ask was for a wage fair enough that he would have a little (economic) breathing to raise his family . . . is why this 💙 and so many others support Joe Biden!
Margaret, I hope that you don't mind my connecting to you. We received a message from dear Allen Hingston who is on his way to Canada with his wife, Tanya and dog Lucky from Ukraine. He went back to bring his wife and dog to safety. Here is his greeting:
'We are on our way. Last few days were insane. Lucky is doing so good on the bus and is well behaved with strangers. We'll be in Warsaw in the morning. You can tell people on LFAA and TAFM. I didn't have time to blog.'
Fern, thank you for this. I was just glancing at a post-it note on my computer on which I list my special intention prayers. I was going to search for a post from you and inquire as to whether you had an update. I hope that when Allen can, he will send a long message to us all.
Thank you for this. I am always happy to hear from Allen and that he is in the process of bringing his wife and dog to safety. I look forward to hearing from him again and wish him and his family a safe journey.
Exactly. We owe this man a great debt of gratitude for taking such great care of himself -- he has kept his body and mind sharp in service to his country and himself -- and for taking care of us as a loving leader using decades upon decades of wisdom, personal pain and experience as a father, widower, husband, citizen, attorney, and human. He leads with his heart and his mind. Is measured in his responses. Is supported by a woman who is as much about service as he is! I loved watching Dr. Jill Biden watch her husband, our President, during the press conference. I took a call and didn’t hear all of it. But it seemed to go on for a long time, an hour? And it looked as though he did not skip an beat, question after question after question.
We are truly blessed to have this leader who can and will deliver for Native and African Americans, all BIPOC peoples, because he believes in Democracy. I am reminded of NTY journalist and author of the wonderful 1619 book, Nikole Hannah Jones and her opening essay in the 1619 series that ran in the NYT in remembrance of when the first kidnapped and enslaved Africans landed on these shores. She writes, in her Pulitzer winning essay, about her father, a veteran, flying the Stars and Stripes high above her home as she was growing up, and how even though she didn’t like it, she grew to understand that Black people hold dear the idea of freedom and the hope of this nation’s promise, perhaps more than any other people, because the dream of a real democracy is best loved and fought for by people who have known what it is like not to be free. I may have mangled this interpretation horribly and apologize for it, but you get the idea. And I truly believe Biden embodies the idea. And the Black leaders in SC who invigorated his campaign with a win in that primary that swung the energy of the rest of the campaign for him to be the candidate, believe he “gets it” as no other servant leader has before. I am grateful for someone who talks about saving “the soul of America” because we have come so close to losing it.
Thanks for being here, all of you/us and most of all, you, Heather Cox Richardson, for bringing history to life. The traumas and triumphs, the big lessons learned about “How the South won the Civil War” (read that book if you haven’t yet!) and how we’re dancing on the edge of a plutocratic dictatorship led by fanatical White Nationalists and backed by dark money. Thanks for the grounding in truth, the connection among ourselves and our past, and the empowerment that your clear and illuminating reporting and analysis bring. ❤️
The 1619 book is a life changing book, for me anyway. No doubt about it. It has been an incredibly difficult book to read (almost done).
" And I truly believe Biden embodies the idea. And the Black leaders in SC who invigorated his campaign with a win in that primary that swung the energy of the rest of the campaign for him to be the candidate, believe he “gets it” as no other servant leader has before. I am grateful for someone who talks about saving “the soul of America” because we have come so close to losing it."
I think, based on the evidence, that Biden DOES embody the idea of representational goverment. It is really just too, too, too bad that Biden let Clarence Thomas through the gate though. The Federalist Society's first pick ever, and, the woman who knew who he was?
The poor woman was totally trashed by the process Biden managed for a successful nomination by Thomas. Biden, in that case, was just too nice or too something to see the truth in front of him.
Well said/written, Carey. Thank you. Heather and people like you in this/her/our community here have helped keep us all sane and, as Dan Rather says, Steady.
Thank you Mim! Community. We heal in community and I am deeply grateful for this one. IMAGINE if one day Heather put together a retreat or a cruise or a conference and some we could all meet each other!?! Wouldn’t that be fun! I’ve never seen any mention of that, but I will venture to say I’d love to help plan it if we could find someone to help finance it!
What a great way to start the 2024 election season, yes?
Carey, it would indeed be nice to have a meet-up. Or maybe there could be regional ones. I could not attend since, because of health reasons, I no longer travel or even go anywhere in the neighborhood. Meanwhile, I too am grateful for this community.
Yes, Margaret... I agree with you. Our foundation is sound and we’ve passed many of the tests. There’s a lot of good and important work ahead and by all indications we are on track to getting much of it accomplished in the years ahead. The shroud of Republican chicanery is being slowly and steadily lifted. More American voters realize that the democrats have the right ideas and they’re voting for candidates who will work diligently to make them a reality. It’s never going to be everything we want and need but if enough gets done we’ll see the divisions that have immobilized so many vital and necessary initiatives continue to melt away. We are the United States... we the people, can do anything we set our minds and spirits to achieving, as Joe Biden likes to say. Forward...
Great observation, Margaret, at the same time I watched President Biden’s alert and slightly bemused calm I realized Trump’s strident denials made him just another lip flapping windbag.
In negotiations a great refrain is what goes around comes around. Sooner or later the victim has a chance to become victorious.
With calming inflation and open sensible policy the decent predictable form of Governance by Biden and the Democrats could bridge the chasm that divides us.
I agree with what you've said about Biden. But that is exactly what he's done since the day he took office. A very competent president that quietly went about doing his job. There hasn't been a president in recent memory that has faced the serious challenges he has and given the voters a clear choice on decency and integrity. Thankfully his message reached enough voters to repel the assault on our democracy.
Thanks for this comment, Phil. I agree about our brilliant President. After such a heartening election, it concerns me to see the continuing rant here about the former. We owe it to Dr. Richardson and one another to let it go, move on, absorbing all the good news of late, strategizing about fortifying our democracy in positive ways.
Work to do going forward. This is Leigh McGowan, Politics Girl, podcast with Thom Hartmann posted on day of election. Done so to emphasize work to be done going forward supporting Democracy and the issues that we know were on the ballot Tuesday. Regardless of outcomes. Which, in looking at the outcomes as they roll out, gives Democracy a leg up and hand up in moving forward effectively with efficacy.
I marvel that he has remained as steadfast as he has during these last two years. For all that he's not a good speaker, and is prone to gaffes, if the results of this election have buoyed us, just imagine what kind of weight has been removed from his shoulders. Too many, on both sides of the aisle, have concentrated on his demeanor rather than his many accomplishments.
Who knew that the "red wave" was going to be a bloodbath of tRump going after all the other potential (and much more viable) POTUS candidates?
Now he's calling Youngkin "YOUNG KIN" and saying that sounds Chinese. Can't anyone close to him help him realize how incredibly juvenile that sounds? Desperate that sounds?
Thank you, Heather/Dr. Richardson, for all the work you continue to do. Your letters have kept me sane (and have kept so many of us going). Happy Veterans Day!
The big surprise for me this election was how red Miami-Dade and the whole of Florida has become. However, saying De Santis is the rising star of the Republican Party is quite premature. I doubt that De Santis will do well outside of Florida and on the national stage. I'm also waiting a few days to see if the Republicans who are calling DT the Biggest Loser will actually say out loud that DT has to go for the Republican Party to survive and for the small cracks in the GOP becoming a rip cord tearing the GOP in two. I think I will find it rather amusing to watch since it will only strengthen the pro-democracy determination and direction of our country. We, the People, all of us this time!
Along with Texas, the voter “integrity” crap has stacked the deck. Beto didn’t have a chance after that. He had incredible support, but the propaganda was insurmountable, sort of like another country I can think of.
He had amazing, loyal and sincerely dedicated support for good reason ... and in any other state... would've easily won by landslide. Texas is like living in a different country.
When Val Demings can be outvoted by Marco Rubio by 17% you know there is something Rotten in Florida. My bet is De Santis’ Election Gestapo on top of gerrymandering fixed that!
And I suspect the r party goes a step beyond. Too many Dems in State-wide races are up 5+% on the Fri before Election end up -12% when the Count comes out.
Ohio is the same. The gerrymandering here has resulted in overwhelming victories for Republicans at all levels. The only bright spot here is Tim Ryan, who lost the popular vote but stood up for democracy by making sure his concession speech highlighted that he was following the rule of law - if you don’t get the votes you don’t win the election.
Tim Ryan's loss was one if my biggest disappointments in this election. He's such a fighter for working people! And now, Ohio (and the rest of the nation) are stuck with Vance in the Senate! For 6 years! D@mn!
I saw a meme on FB and Twitter that asked: "Does Ohio realize it's on the NORTH side of the Mason-Dixon line??" One does wonder. Indiana is kind of a similar situation, Midwestern states that seem to have an identity crisis.
you got it!!! Ohio has been handicapped by gerrymandered districts for many years. Short of another overwhelming ballot measure which would include the requirement of a totally outside independent expert commission to propose the "Fair Districts"
Yes, and that is why we need to take on - NOW - yet another statewide ballot initiative to demand that an outside, neutral panel of experts be the Redistricting Commission for Ohio - not the overwhelmingly Republican group whose "plan" was rejected 5 times by the Ohio Supreme Court - and yet, in the end, this illegal plan was what gave us the results of this election - years after 70% of Ohio voters voted for Fair Districts.
Yes, thank-you! I have been exceedingly frustrated with the main stream news for not putting DeSantis's win in context: Little Ronnie DESIGNED Florida's redistricting map specifically to gain 5 House seats and look like a hero to both the Florida Republicans and the RNC.
In contrast look at what happened in Michigan where they have put in place an independent commission to draw the district maps. The Ds won back the state legislature for the first time in forty years! No more gerrymandering!
Right you are Mary. HRC *edit (duh, HCR - sorry doc) sorta' knocked me sideways when she cited that pig Fuentes blowing off at the mouth as though he just invented a plan that's been executed masterfully by gop leadership for at least a decade and a half - just to my knowledge. I tried to warn the DNC ages ago. I have to suppose they thought me to be some sort of crackpot. Opinions vary though.
D4N ... that Fuentes part jumped out to me, too. Poor pigs don't deserve to have their name connected with his, tho. Sweet, intelligent animals they are..
They are not always sweet. Don’t get between a big sow and her babies or a massive hog and its food, or with a slip in slop, you, too, could be dinner!
But not for statewide races. Even more than in the past, retirees from the NE and Midwest have flocked there for lower taxes and cheaper homes. And the Hispanic vote continues to shift in increasing numbers to the GOP. On top of all this, from what I read the Republican Party has more money, is better organized, and has sharper strategists.
Many hispanics emigrated from failed socialist states.
Legal hispanics do not appreciate those who do not have to earn citizenship to enjoy benefits.
Hispanics are hard workers.
Hispanic are not stupid.
Same goes for the Venezuelans who were rejected at Martha's Vineyard. They know who the real racists are. The ones who are always talking about it out of guilt.
They were not ‘rejected at Martha’s Vineyard’! Quite the opposite—despite there being no facilities on the island people came pouring out to cook for them and give them warm clothes and find places for them to sleep and explain (in Spanish) what had happened (they didn’t even know!) and what was going to be done to help them. It was in fact a beautiful response. Where do you get your news?
Dead on. Cuban-Americans became Republicans when they got off the boat. The beauty of public education is that the next generations are melded. Every immigrant can be seduced by the power of voting into the arms of authoritarians. Especially when they tend to create businesses,, join the SBA and are told immediately the oldest Big lie- that big government wants what they have,
Not wise to assume immigrants are fools. They are similar to those leaving New York and California for Red states. They have seen the destructive power of socialism/communism/dictatorship.
The legal asylum seekers tricked into being flown to Martha’s Vineyard were not “rejected” by the residents there. There were warmly welcomed, give food and shelter, and provided with better accommodations on the mainland.
I was on a debrief call yesterday with The States Project (you may remember seeing some of us on here recommending Tending To Democracy as a way to contribute to democracy—many people gave). Their success in Michigan we already know about. Likewise in PA and NH though as we know the final counts are not yet in. Check out their website—more information will be coming as election results are parsed.
Exactly!!!....And Big money poured into the DeSantis election too...He had 4-5 X the ads on TV as the Dems...and so many Lies in them as did other Repub. candidates....
A topic which only seems to come up after an election.
So we're all on the same page, the constitution allows States to decide the manner in which they select their representatives. This includes the ability to change district boundaries. Each state differs in method, but in most cases the party in power at the time has some advantage in the redistricting process.
Here is a link to a discussion of Article 1 of the Constitution.
Yes, I am impressed with this commission. I hope other States are able to use it to to away with the state legislators political power to redistricting as they or the governor sees fit. Was it 2 Rs, 2Ds, and 4 Is ?
"Of the 13 commissioners, four affiliate with the Democratic Party, four affiliate with the Republican Party, and five do not affiliate with either major political party.
The biggest move that DeSantis made was to gerrymander FL districts so extremely, it gave the impression of a true red wave. It really only represents the length he wil go to look successful. Somehow that translates to a better statewide turnout for him. Another state that turned redder was Ohio, where Republicans like Mile DeWine and JD Vance won their races handily in a state where districts are so gerrymandered, their state SC declared them illegal, yet no one would offer better maps.
That lack of competition must really lead to apathy among the minority party in such states.
Speaking of the Ohio 2021-2022 map gerrymander, this was an excellent broadcast outlining what happened, This American Life, recent episode. Worth a listen, as you hear the R majority defy and stonewall the Ohio Supreme Court and the independent mapmaking commission, and now, Ohioans have the R result to live with for 10 years or more. Shame.
My daughter who lives in Columbus told me the story., but I will definitely listen to this. In PA, we had the same thing, but the state SC remedied the lawsuit by requesting map suggestions from all complainants and chose one they judged to be fair. That process may be challenged in the SCOTUS next year.
I listened to your episode of This American Life, and it was heartbreaking. I worked with a redistricting group, Fair Districts PA, and it was easy to see that no politician would ever vote against his own interest. Constitutional attorney, Marc Elias, and other interest groups sued the state of PA over their historically unfair district maps, and unlike the OH SC, the PA SC asked for other options. This option may be taken away from the state courts by SCOTUS as they hear these cases. So the fact that PA legislature may turn blue right now may actually save us before the door closes for good.
That race was a heartbreaker. Tim Ryan is such a decent human. He and his wife understand the connection between toxic childhood stress and its brain-damaging impacts on the structure and development of the infant and child’s rapidly growing brain -- better than most folks because she’s a teacher and witnessed it daily in the classroom. He spoke about it in the 2020 primaries. He is a good human and leader and I am sick that so much dark money dumped in Ohio bought the senate seat for the traitorous, cruel, and sell-out Vance. He of all people, having written a book that referenced the science of Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs, which is now most commonly and correctly referred to as PACEs science, as the profound impact of positive childhood experiences (PCEs), can help buffer the brain against the impact of adversity. [Greater adversity = greater likelihood of all manner of health problems and life challenges and even premature death in adulthood.]) Though the science is clear about the indelible effect of the first two months of an infant’s life and the vital importance of secure attachment, something our nation’s policies -- with no paid family leave, a non-living wage, insecure housing, inequitable healthcare, education, and opportunity fueled by structural racism and historic oppression, IGNORE. Learn more at pacesconnection.com in our robust and free Resources Center.
Wow. I got on a roll! The point was/is I hope Tim Ryan won’t let this being out-bid for the senate seat keep him from staying on track to share the wisdom, experience and passion he and his wife have to make things better for ALL people. Vance is a toadie sell-out who could have done great things for the millions of children such as he, who grew up in horrific trauma. But he turned tail and is perpetuating the trauma of inequity, classism, racism, elitism via a spew of BS that is made all the more vile because he knows what it’s like to be poor and almost out of options.
Sorry, but it is not true that "yet no one would offer better maps" - after 4 times the maps proposed by the Republican dominated redistricting commission, charged 6 years ago with creating "Fair Districts" by a vote of 70+% of voters - were thrown out by the Supreme Court of Ohio, they hired outside masters to create the Fair Maps - and the Republicans refused to wait another 90 minutes for the work of the independent mapmakers to be completed.
Michigan won the Democratic trifecta by establishing an INDEPENDENT redistricting commission which no longer allows legislators to gerrymander, because, as my Republican Senator gleefully told me in 2011 "We just redistricted this state so those Democrats will NEVER win again!"
Michigan’s redistricting effort bore fruit. But damn was it a hard fight. It know Dems made out well. But redistricting was NOT to secure a cheating Dem win. It secured an honest Dem win. If the R’s would not have gone all in on election-deniers, anti-women, pro-rape candidates, they would have had more wins. It was a leveled playing field. Now we need rank-choice-voting!
You are aware you’re posting on social media. You are defined by what you write. No one reads your resume or asks you to lunch to “get to know you better”. Your posts mostly sound like sour grapes. I’m not accusing you of being a Republican, but no platform other than “owning the libs” or impeach, revenge and stolen elections aren’t what the country wants or needs apparently. No redistricting, no gerrymandering all elections are general. That puts an end to all of your concerns. Republicans make stuff up as they go along. It’s all good unless we lose? Blocking Obama’s nomination to SCOTUS prime example of holding government hostage when it’s in their best interests.
District must be adjusted as cultural boundaries change. Census data is the main driver of the change.i'm not sure if there can be a strict formula for doing this. It's as much an art as a science.
The whole gerrymandering thing (which started in MA, by the way), as well as other ways of gaming any system, are simply forms of corruption. When corruption is systematized, it tends to stifle innovation, compassion, and efficiency, leading to poor outcomes for both those in and out of power. This country became great because we found ways to manage corruption and so liberate the tremendous creative energy of ALL the people. Places with corrupt, one party systems, such as in parts of the American south-east, remain economic back-waters (and tax revenue takers rather than producers).
First, we need a way of managing the corruption that the redistricting process in most states is rife with. Then we can get into the weeds of just how redistricting is to be done, such as making each district reflect as far as possible the population of the entire state it is in.
?? Gerrymandering operates to keep one party dominant in each congressional district. How would that have any effect on the Electoral College? What gerrymandering affects is the House of Representatives, the only truly democratic arm of the federal government (the Senate is anti-democratic, the President is not elected by popular vote, membership in the Supreme Court is by nomination and Senate confirmation).
What I am trying to say is that it SHOULDN’T be OK either way. Plain and simple….or sadly maybe not, given the political machinations that abound. Guess I am a Pollyanna wishing for fair rules & treatment regardless of your position/stance/party affiliation….same ground rules should apply for all. I have heard of Dem gerrymandering in my state (CA) some many years ago and was sorely and seriously disappointed and pissed. So. Not. OK.
Yes, Dems gerrymander when they can, and as long as there is no reform to the system and Republicans are getting away with it, then I wish Democrats would do the same thing. It's one thing to declare yourself "nobler than thou" and not allow yourself to indulge in such *clutch pearls* nefarious doings, BUT the whole time you're on your "high horse", your opponent is taking over. Witness the debacle in New York, a state where registered Democrats almost outnumber Republicans 2-to-1.
I live in a state (Georgia) gerrymandered to death. Safe to say, the state is almost split 50/50 between Dems and Reps when statewide races are held, with slight swings in either direction depending on the race. A look at a red/blue map of GA counties shows about as strong a divide between urban/rural as you'll see anywhere...vast swaths of red and islands of blue in our cities. How the hell are Democrats in this state EVER to get decent representation when Republicans now control an overwhelming number of gerrymandered districts, not to mention the state legislature and all the top government positions?? The metro area of Atlanta, with 6.95 million people spread across 32 counties is this huge blue blob of humanity. How does one apportion districts in the state when there is far more land area covered by these rural districts. The only way to do this is construct districts so that they can include areas of the cities that are almost overwhelmingly blue. Thing is, Republicans do this--I call it "giving lip-service" to the idea of fair proportional representation--but they ALWAYS see to it that districts are drawn in such a way as to take in enough of the neighboring rural area to keep themselves in the majority. Democrats try and fight it, but with Republicans controlling everything here, including the courts, it never can get anywhere. I just wish--and it IS just starting to happen--Democrats would start throwing their weight around more. We need more independent re-districting boards. Demographics have shifted radically in GA in the past 20 years, but our representational system is a mess. Democrats NEED to engage in more gerrymandering here to at least see that there is a better balance of representation. "Turn-about is fair play" and I think we should give back to Republicans exactly the same type of gerrymandering they've been inflicting on us. Yes, I know "2 wrongs don't make a right", but until the system is reformed and made more fair, I say Democrats should gerrymander, and more, every chance they get. Otherwise we're going to end up in a position where we cannot do anything about it because they've engineered themselves into positions of power we can't contest.
Mostly agree with you. PA suffers from gerrymandering by Republicans. The district maps have been drawn again and again, then ordered by PA SCOTUS to re-draw for too heavily favoring Republicans. Which they cry about until they get a map handed to them.
While we wait for important election results, this is no time for idle hands. As Jessica Craven notes on her "Chop Wood, Carry Water:"
Keep Curing Ballots!
It’s so, so important. I am hearing about statehouse races that are down to a difference of two votes. THIS IS CRITICAL! We can win elections this way. Please sign up for a shift.
But important query Ellie: on the googledoc here Marc Elias includes this note:"** In Nevada... [t]here are 7,155 ballots that need to be cured before 5:00 pm PST on Monday, Nov. 14." I'm confused. Nevada state law says ballotmust be cured within "5 business days of the election"--which make the deadline Tuesday at 5pm, not Monday. I'm signed up on Mobilize for ballot curing Tuesday 2-4 (ET).
I checked with some ballot cure organizers and they said the deadline is definitely Monday. They were surprised by and couldn't explain the contradiction with state law. I found the law online last night, as of Jan 18 2022: "Nev. Rev. Stat. 293.325 Local election officials shall notify voters of missing or mismatched signatures. Voters have until the seventh day after the election to resolve the issue." But the organizers were quite certain: deadline is Monday at 5pm.
I don’t know the answer. I hope you’re right. In the meantime, I’m grateful for today’s work holiday giving extra time to help cure ballots. Great way to honor veterans!
This eerie as heck video with "God's voice" saying "God Made a Fighter" (DeSantis of course) over and over and over, does not bode well for the future. It used to be random people would see the next chosen one in a dream. Now? The chosen one sees himself and then makes a twitter video for his wife to upload. No doubt, directly inspired by "God".
For example, if I made a video that God himself was sponsoring me, say, visit Texas to run for governor, I am betting that would bring a smile to yours and everyone's face.
De Santis won over Crist by on oddly wide margin, don’t you think? Some should look closely at the voting machines in that state. Remember the statistician he fired and harassed because she wouldn’t adjust the results of prior elections for him?
Well, at least the election denial-ism of Democrats is reality based and not simply a product of hate and BS. That you would use this false-parity argument is interesting, and tells me a lot about your thinking.
You didn't miss anything. I was referencing all the videos from the 2020 election showing misconduct by election officials, and mules running around dropping ballots in unsecured drop boxes.
Speaking of this is not hate speech or conspiracy theory. Obtusely pretending none of it happened is somewhat hateful in my opinion.
“Democrat whipping boy?” I think Liz Cheney and Adam Kinzinger would beg to differ....45 has brought all the criticism on him self. He is a liar, a cheat and a treasonous tyrant. Forget old. He is a danger, clear and present, either in his corporeal form or another’s, like DeSanctimonious. 45 could drop dead tomorrow and his minions would have some other horror to foist on us. DeSank is also a danger and must be carefully watched by those of us who treasure our system and our people. We The People.
I just hope he keeps on putting his foot in his mouth all the way to solitary.
“Considering what we now know about Trump’s approach to election results, a claim to having rigged the 2018 Florida election was one heck of a statement. Josh Marshall at Talking Points Memo noted that even though Trump ‘is a pathological liar… this requires some explanation, if only a clear and definitive confirmation that this did not happen.’”
Rowshan, I hope they put him in general population. Let him wake up to the reality of life in prison. People are put there for a reason. Sometimes wrongfully, but in 45’s case, completely just.
Rowshan, we hope 45 is as miserable af. Couldn’t wish it on a worse guy…..I did prison work during law school, in the LA County Jail in 1977-80 on an ACLU lawsuit for decent treatment of prisoners. It was the largest holding facility in the country at that time. Leonard Peltier was one man we visited regularly. Some of the gang guys would scare the bloody bejesus out of 45….I’d love to be a fly on THAT wall…..
I have a very hard time grasping how, at that age, one would campaign for office and choose to do such an intense job. Even at a much younger age, I only desire to work on creative projects, share creative inspiration with others, walk in the forest and practice music. I hope that's what I'll be doing at 89.
Yes, like the wonderful Carters….thank goodness they are living on and on and doing such important things. Unlike Chuck the F***, who just wants to defeat democracy in his dotage. OMG.
Rodman has a lock on N. Korea, so it's down to Russia, China or the UK. He has golf courses in all three if I'm not mistaken, so he can live rent free in their heads for a while.
The UK ? 🤬No, no a thousand times no! Our current political dunderheads are quite enough to be getting on with. If Nancy Pelosi retires she can come. I bet she likes a proper cup of tea.
The love letters during 45’s bromance with the North Korean Dictator must have been some discussion of setting up a golf course in N.Korea. Right, i forgot, the people there are starving….guess no place to grow even a golf course. OMG.
TFG probably wouldn’t mind being ambassador to Russia. Or Saudi Arabia or any gulf state where he could profit from new hotel and golf course deals (CF the new LIV golf league, lotsa money to chase there).
Jeri, we agree on a lot of stuff, but I have to agree with Gandalf here. There's some rot in the core of the Democratic Party that can't be denied. And sanctimonious posturing by the OLD Democratic Establishment just makes it harder to bear. I agree on the superdeligate part, and with the fact that Dems also use gerrymandering to their advantage. Both practices must stop in order for the Democratic Party to claim any high moral ground, regardless of the degree.
I'm perfectly willing to settle for the good. Superdelegates are disenfranchisement. There was a time when certain persons only counted for 3/5 of a vote. In the Democrat party, the time is now.
Uhhhh... The super-delegates have been curtailed, pretty sharply. Tell you what... I'll give you the super delegates if you agree to have primaries nationwide and eliminate the caucuses.
May Dems never forget the evil he has wrought. But then I never thought that Hitler would be a draw for any thinking human, ever again. But along comes chump.
You really should reconsider invoking Hitler inappropriately. It's an insult to the families who lost loved ones to his murderous regime. You have lost no one.
GandalfGrey - You may not like name calling or the invoking of Hitler. I on the other hand see what you are doing in these comments today and I would like to suggest that your trolling techniques go along very well with your switch to the other party. I too was a Bernie supporter and felt cheated. The difference is that I've moved on because the cost of staying back in 2016 and 2020 primaries has more cost to my soul and the overall cause, than I desire to bare. Please state you opinions rather than attack individual statements. You'll find this forum much more welcoming if you do. People might actually take your statements as digest them rather than take them and toss them away. Understanding that may not be your objective, and that your true objective is more sinister than that. If that is the case then I wish you well and I will choose to simply scroll past your repeated drivel. -saw-
We lost a million of our fellow citizens to Covid, too many because of tfg's lies about Covid and refusal to do what was needed. Of course we would still have list many, but his wilful neglect and lying cost many many deaths.
That's why I hope that either tfg or DeSantis becomes the Repug candidate for president. Neither have a chance to win the country any more. And then I hope it's a death knell for the Repugs.
I do prefer a single party system when the alternative is one that advocates a theocratic autocracy. I would actually like to see a parliamentary system or at least several major parties that require coalitions and compromise. Only two parties, as we see, periodically become so polarized that there's a danger of tearing the country apart. But, since I'm not in charge, I'd prefer a dominant Democratic Party for the time being, over this situation that keeps us having to fight the same fights for civil rights repeatedly. There's so much more that could be done on such things as climate change, poverty, racism, war, international relations etc, if we didn't have to constantly pour resources into fighting to prevent us from sliding backwards.
Cathy I agree with you. I don't think DeSantis can withstand National scrutiny. He looks like quite the bully in his own backyard and has become the media's latest darling. trump will destroy him.
Republicans never let facts get in the way of a belief. They're a faith-based party, faith in whatever bullshit their fearless leader tells them the truth is.
TC, I know you know a bit of my backstory. Several years ago, before TFG, I mentioned to my youngest sister that the Federal budget had only been balanced twice in our lifetime. Once under Eisenhower and again under Clinton. She said Clinton didn’t balance the budget, he cooked the books. That was the beginning of my revision of Republicans. They’ll make up a story before they’ll accept the truth if it doesn’t support their beliefs.
And the unhinged march along. Interesting that fascism as a “choice” is now on the table. I didn’t think the Ghastly Oligarchs Party would be quite so overt but dang they must be desperate.
Love Ghastly Oligarchs Party, which fits the Republican Party perfectly and is new to me. Congratulations for coining this phrase, which I will use from now on.
Wait! Let’s not relax yet. There’s a close race for the Senate. We can all help get out Democratic votes in the Georgia run-off between Raphael Warnock and his extreme and disreputable MAGA opponent, Herschel Walker. Vote Forward has started a letter writing campaign targeting over 130,000 infrequent Democratic voters in Georgia. Their program has been shown to increase turnout by about 2 - 4%. My wife and I contributed $100 more to the Warnock campaign and have already prepared 60 Vote Forward letters. Here’s their site:
Republicans have sold their toxic stew to many MAGA true believers. We need to continue organizing to save democracy.
Please do what you can to help Senator Warnock keep his seat. The Senate race is still neck and neck. (I’m a volunteer letter writer and am not otherwise connected to the Vote Forward organization.)
Activate America is about to launch their GA postcarding effort. E-mail AnnaMartin@activateamerica.vote to be added to their list so you’ll be the first to hear when this campaign launches.
The Center For Common Ground will be launching postcarding and phonebanking into GA in the next 24 hours. Sign up here so you hear about these efforts right away.
SURJ (Showing Up For Racial Justice) has several texting and phonebanking sessions already scheduled to help us win in GA. Sign up for one or more here.
Had never heard of the need for “curing” ballots. Curing means calling voters whose mail-in ballots are incomplete. Not only signed up to send postcards for Warnock but sent $$ to the Frisch campaign to help “cure” - will be critical to help both!! www.adamforcolorado.com. Send $$ if you can. Dumping Boebert would good for democracy.
Profoundly grateful to live in Minnesota where we flipped the State Senate back to blue and kept the House, Governor, Sec of State, Attorney General and my US. Rep Angie Craig. The down ballot results were even better - including county commissioners. Whoot!
What a fabulous list of resources, Ellie! I’ll share them with my Indivisible group. How can I share your comment to Facebook? I see that Jessica Craven has a blog on SubStack.
I've had success copying, repasting into Word, activating the links, and then putting on FB. (Yes, I'm old--I'm sure the teens in the family have a good shortcut.)
How did you activate the links? Sorry, but this stuff is exacting when you haven't succeeded before. I tried downloading in Word format and copying and pasting that. It doesn't work.
Go for it, Gary! When I copied Jessica Craven’s list, the live links did not come through. So I opened them from her Chop Wood Carry Water to copy into this post.
Is donating via "Act Blue" the only way to do it? I have not been pleased with my experiences with Act Blue, and am wondering if there is a more direct way to do it.
I also try to bypass ActBlue. Try. Yesterday I responded to a tweet of actor John Cryer’s double matching donations for Warnock by going directly to Warnock’s website. It’s ActBlue. In my efforts to minimize my ActBlue-ness, I failed to get a receipt or screenshot my donation to post for Cryer’s match. 😥 But I’m sure Cryer met his $10,000 cap, and Warnock got a bigger-than-normal chunk from me!
An ActBlue donation leads to an onslaught of aggressive solicitations, but nowadays I guess they all do. I'm not sure if they take a cut of the donation--I'd read once upon a time that it's more effective to donate directly to the candidate. But as we see with Warnock, "direct" = ActBlue!
Thanks for the explanation, Ellie. My donations overwhelmingly went through Act Blue. They ask for a tip which I thought and guessed was their cut, leaving the amount you donated 100% to the candidate.
Anyway, I just saw a while ago that Mark Kelly kept his Senate seat in AZ...Yippee!!
Vote Forward is a terrific organization. I wrote 150 letters leading up to the 2020 election, then wrote more for Raphael Warnock's run-off election. I'm still overseas but will be home next week and I plan to write letters for Warnock. We can't let him slip thru our fingers. I encourage everyone to write letters and if you can, contribute to his campaign.
Gary S--me, too! I first heard about VoteFwd from frequent poster, Ellie Kona (below) and got involved.
We all see how just a few votes can flip a seat. If we all write just a few letters, we can get Warnock in again.
If anyone reading this would like to help but don't have the resources, please still go online and check them out. They will send you stamps and/or letter kits.
I have to say how genuinely touched I was with the President Biden's words about the younger generations today, just as I was with everyone who responded to my comment about my perspective on this several days ago.
Seeing all those articles about how the youth were missing in action right up til Election Day made me want to rip my beard hairs out individually. (Apparently anyone under 30 is a green wee sapling unblemished with the ways of the world, instead of taxpayers, breadwinners, and braintrust.) Of COURSE we were showing up. Of COURSE it was going to be day of, or right before. Have ANY of you spoken with ANYONE young or young-ish in the last half-decade, at least? We spend our days drowning in papers and screens. Why fill out and *mail* something (a foreign concept, practically), when you could get out for once and make an experience out of it. We are all about the experience. I'll bring my earbuds with me and daydream to some chill tunes, or better yet chat someone up. Doing something early is what your parents TELL you you should do. No thanks.
I hope I'm not perceived as being bitter or having some equally dismissive attitude towards the olds. It really will take all of us together to right this ship, and I don't care if you're 11 or 111. But it has become so clear to me that there is a true gap in understanding between the younger population of citizens and everyone else. I don't mean to indicate it involves any ill will or lack of attempt to understand. Not at all! But the internet and age of technology overload has changed everything related to communication and perception of one's place in a global community for those raised in it from childhood, so starkly so that the only thing that can compare is perhaps literacy pre- and post-printing press (or telephone).
We have our share of lazy non-participants, sure. Every generation does. But we have an absolute surfeit of Olivia Juliannas and Jack Petroczs and Maxwell Frosts and That Kid That Won the School Board in Boise. And their peers are aware of them and like them and wish to emulate them and speak out too. CARING IS COOL NOW. And not caring is not. There is no admiration for slackers in a world on fire. Heck, my brother (22) only follows politics right before voting, but we had a full conversation about he and his friends' opinions on the shifts in CA housing policy toward local zoning and insisting on duplexes, because - I quote - "God forbid we can afford something instead of you having a lawn to guzzle more water... the NIMBYs are so over!" (He supported AG Rob Bonta for this reason chiefly, as did I.)
Of course we were showing up. To save ourselves. To save America from itself. And because the President actually made an effort. He heard what was important to us - climate, gun control, debt relief - and tried and succeeded to make progress. We're progressive but pragmatic. We see that. We appreciate that. We offer support in return.
Of course we showed up. And we will in even greater numbers next time.
Roughly 4 million Americans will turn 18 in any given year. The voting power of our nation’s youth is literally growing every day. And that fact gives me hope for our future. As an “old”, I am glad you post your thoughts and observations here in LFAA for me to learn from.
I have 2 sons now in their 20s and I can agree with you that for them voting by mail is an old-fashioned concept, just like paying a bill by writing a paper check and sending it the mail. They don’t even HAVE paper checks (or envelopes or stamps!) - why would they with the availability of online banking and ApplePay and Venmo? Even though I know my sons don’t rely on the mail to pay bills, I didn’t overtly make the connection with not wanting to vote by mail. That makes total sense to me now.
There is a very definite gap in how the generations communicate and do everyday things. Until recently, for me, ordering a pizza meant picking up the phone and calling the local pizza place - now there’s an app for that. And I have adapted and come to love the convenience of using all kinds of apps because a young person has alerted me to them and then been kind and patient enough to teach me how, why and when to use them. I’m sure my sons would prefer a voting app or at least an online option. And I’d have to agree that given a little instruction, I would prefer that too.
Please keep sharing your perspective here. Your insights are valuable and educational to this “old”.
Thank you for joining us! I’m one of those olds, but I’m on your team! I want a better world for my kids and grandkids and there’s so much to address and in many ways our government isn’t paying attention! One thing about us retired folks, those of us who are still able, now have the time to volunteer, reach out, serve on election boards, etc. It does, indeed, take all of us, doing what we can, where we can. Please comment more often.
You are needed, we are needed….we ALL are needed to put our shoulders to the wheel of the immense struggles that face us. I pay rapt attention, but try not to wallow (there is a life to live after all). You might find this concept interesting: https://hartmannreport.com/p/has-the-fourth-turning-begun As the (old) saying goes…”keep on keeping on”…. Thanks for your thoughts here, I appreciate them.
Wil, please check out the YouTuber "Beau of the Fifth Column". He posts a few short clips every day. A couple of days back, he hit upon exactly one thing you mention: that the traditional method of polling (cold calls to the phones) are missing huge swaths of the population.
Thanks for this comment, Will. You shed light where it needs to be shed. For those of us in a certain generation (I don't care which one, but basically from Gen X back) we tend to think we are still cutting edge. We aren't. Our worlds are different, and I (for one) appreciate your insight.
Just as an aside... I play in a tuba chamber group (7 euphoniums and 8 tubas) whose age range is from 82-25. Our program director (82) is worried that our youngest person (25 and a teacher) won't be able to figure out the access to the parking garage and stage door entrance to our performance hall. I assured her last night that he could utilize his phone to navigate (something that she never does, and two other (older) members of our group are unable to do even though they try). Until the past month, at age 64, I was the youngest member of the group. I am now solidly in the middle!
Funny, I choose to vote in person on Election Day (Tuesday) as well, and for similar reasons - the walk, the experience. Forty nine years since my first chance to vote, and it's still a fulfilling experience.
So now he needs to codify Roe ... among other campaign promises, federal marijuana comes to mind. I’m ready to breathe easier for a bit. I want to see any of the lawsuits pending against TFG bear fruit ie jail time. We need some serious perking up.
When can he codify Roe? That has to be done by the Legislature. Pelosi might get it through the House. McConnell will surely filibuster it in the Senate.
There wre, in September, 10 Republican senators willing to vote for the codification of Roe, giving them the 60-votes to defeat a filibuster and McConnell said he would not invoke one. Schumer put it off to after the mid-terms. We'll see if that holds now. With the way the voting went on the topic, it might just still be a deal that can be made.
Two days after the election and the glow of avoiding a "red wave" is wearing off. I realize that historically the party in the White House loses seats in Congress and, given Biden's poor ratings, the losses could have been much worse. Having said that, notwithstanding all of the Republican extremism and not offering any solutions or rational policy agenda, the fact that they picked up any seats at all is deeply depressing. The election may tell Republicans that they no longer need to bow to Trump, but they still intend to pursue the same policies and even some of the same tactics. It looks like we will have a Republican House that will do nothing but hold investigations on Hunter Biden and God knows what else; they will prevent Biden and Democrats from enacting any meaningful legislation to run on in 2024. And instead of Trump running in 2024, it will be DeSantis - whose tone may be slightly better than Trump, but his policies are indistinguishable. So, yes, I'm glad the predicted red wave did not happen. But what did happen is hardly heartening.
See, the glow I'm feeling is less one of disaster averted, and more of getting (almost) everything I wanted. I wanted us to at least be in a position to kill the filibuster - if not now then in '25 - and it looks likely I will get that. I wanted to break the legislative stranglehold the Repubs have on the swing states (and more liberal state trifectas) - and I got that. I wanted extremist election deniers to get a hard slapdown where feasible - and seems like I got that, too. More than anything, I just wanted numerical confirmation that as big a number of Americans as possible weren't vapid, fickle, and amoral... and I got that. I'm not feeling triumphant, but I AM heartened, thanks.
If the Repubs do gain the House this round (not a done deal), then it will be by a tiny margin, and the 218th vote will be not a Bible Belt true cultist but a business-minded type from a Biden-leaning district who just got the excrement scared out of them. Of course it will be a circus, just like Obama's last few years. Let 'em go for it and hang themselves. Hauling in Fauci to grill him on why he dared to save so many grandmas from the plague is not going to endear them to the public, especially when the split screen is Biden at the unveiling of that snazzy new chip factory. The Dens don't *need* any new policies. The ones they enacted are impressive enough to run on again, especially since their true benefit will only have sunk in for most people by then. Progress isn't linear; we just need to stay well positioned in the long game. We are, still.
It is now clear the public is determined to not only reject tfg himself, but his style and ideas as well. We must keep our guard up and not make assumptions, obviously, but I don't think nominating a Cheeto clone instead of the Cheeto himself will work out much better for them on the national stage. They need to total brand revamp. Of course they have always been awful from my perspective... I'm a liberal. But they will win again, because my "side" can't win all the time. And when that happens, I need to be able to grouse about it on the daily but still sleep at night. It is becoming increasingly clear most Americans of all reasonable stripes feel the same.
Have to agree, breathing is easier but no one (at least not many) have any illusions that republicans have learned a damn thing. I remember 2012, when republicans were advised to rethink their direction and priorities. Well, they did, and decided on embracing evil.
The red wave was not going to happen. But if it had, and for many states where this minority won, it was due to Republican gerrymandering. Michigan accomplished our Democratic Trifecta (Governor, House and Senate) through our CITIZEN effort to UN-gerrymander the deliberate 2011 Republican ploy to assure (as my senator gleefully exclaimed) "No Democrat will ever win again in this state!". Here's how every state can do it:
You captured my thoughts perfectly! The fact that so many Republicans were re-elected and a run off is required for Herschel Waker is really disturbing and disheartening to me.
"Biden told the attendees [of the DNC event] that Democrats 'beat the odds' in the midterms 'for one reason—this is not hyperbole—because of you…. I really mean it…. You believed in the system. You believed in the institutions. You fought like hell for it.'"
It was not the DNC, wholly owned subsidiary of corporate America, who fought like hell. It was people like us, who phone-banked our way through the year and gave our retirement nest-eggs to Justice Democrats and the Movement Voters Project and John Fetterman and wrote postcards and letters to GOTV till our hands cramped too badly to hold a glass of water, and canvassed and leafleted and dared to work at the polls, and watch them, despite the thugs with guns who watched us watch democracy take place. And it was the young people, to whom Biden broke his promises to clear their education debt and stop drilling in the oceans and the reservations and recreate free college--like they have in Tunisia, and once had in California. The DNC spent millions supporting people like Henry Cuellar, the abortion opponent who fought the right to unionize and worked with his fellow Blue Dogs to derail Build Back Better, or in 2020 Joe Manchin, who wants to see the beautiful green earth turn to a lump of sizzling coal in our children's lifetimes so he can buy another yacht. The DNC didn't go without sleep this year to save democracy. We did. And Biden has yet to thank us.
Exactly!!!! I just received an email with the heading ¨Not asking for money.¨ It was a questionnaire regarding President Biden and whether or not I thought yada yada yada. It ended with a plea to chip in . I continue to send these back letting them know that they are crap, and that it is those of us working daily, tirelessly who gave them the numbers. Not the DNC.
I used to read those “not asking for money “ emails with questionnaires and the surprise ask at the end. I have also gotten shaming texts, “why won’t you give etc”. But I have given including to out of state candidates. I liked the question once upon a time on our tax returns: do you want to give $1 to the presidential election? Those were the days. Before volunteering for postcards and stamps. And phone calls. And daily texts and emails asking for more and more. Our contributions are small compared to Big Money. Thanks to Citizens United: “This is perhaps the most troubling result of Citizens United: in a time of historic wealth inequality,” wrote Weiner, “the decision has helped reinforce the growing sense that our democracy primarily serves the interests of the wealthy few, and that democratic participation for the vast majority of citizens is of relatively little value.” https://www.brennancenter.org/our-work/research-reports/citizens-united-explained#.Y235urv-a80.link
I've given up on both the Democratic and Republican National Committees. The RNCC should be charged under the RICO statutes for their involvement and funding of criminal activities. The DNCC severed any relationship with me when they funded Republican candidates with my donations! That action may have been clever and cute but it doesn't fit my personal ethics.
I meant to point out that the DNC spent its money in *primaries* as well as general election campaigns, fighting Democratic challengers who tried to dislodge tools like Cuellar and Manchin. That's not "believing [our country's] institutions."
The rules have been for a long time that the DNC defends incumbents. Since the incumbents finance the DNC, it would be surprising were it otherwise. This goes back that I am aware of to when I first got involved supporting JFK. If the DNC went around financing insurgents, party unity would be hard to maintain. It's tradition that since insurgents are operating outside the party organization, they finance themselves.
I agree. And I have no first hand knowledge of TX. Although IN is an anomaly of its own. When Bernie took the primary in 2016 I was happily shocked. And then the DNC played their wild card and I actually know people who went from Bernie to Trump... which still boggles my mind.
In the case of Cuellar, the DNC chose their habit over their principles. Rather than support a pro choice progressive, they chose a pro life moderate. I guess it’s ok to use Roe when it works for you. Damn the women and girls in your party.
Question: can you demonstrate that, in that conservative district, your pro-choice progressive would have won? We lost a seat in Oregon that was occupied by a conservative Democrat who was beaten in the primary by a pro-choice progressive who just got herself beaten bloody by the Republican because she didn't fit the district.
Those conservative Ds may be conservative, but the D counts toward who runs the show, and they both voted for Pelosi in all votes. Having that guy in Oregon re-elected would mean we only have to win 4 of the remaining 6 outstanding seats.
This argument that Democrats only "win" when they run a "real" Democrat is as much horseshit as the Republicans saying the only "real" Republican is a Trumper. The fact is that progressives do not win outside of major urban areas most of the time. And we have to expand out of those areas, so "purity tests" are a great way to lose. As the Rs have shown this week.
I donated to her campaign. I will never send the DNC another thin dime. I donate directly to the candidate. When Bernie was running, I signed up with a fair sized monthly donation. I included a letter that if he conceded his campaign to please refund some of my money. I didn’t care if he spent every penny but I didn’t want my money turned over to the DNC. Do you know, when he dropped out, he sent me a check.
I’m not in TX. But my oldest lives there. In our talks he felt Cisneros had as good a shot as Cuellar. I’m not sure how that area was gerrymandered, which would make a difference, but San Antonio is a mostly blue pocket, maybe purple.
Yeah, I'm not there either, but is San Antonio blue enough? Purple is a color that varies from dark (almost blue) to light (almost red). Over the rest of this decade, we have to be very transactional. We cannot make a district fit a candidate, it is always the other way around. The last time Democrats commanded any real majorities, the party was far more diverse ideologically than it is now. Ideological purity is a great way to make a "tidy fortune" - out of a "large fortune." That fact can be demonstrated everywhere. Yes, I wish my view of the world was shared by the majority, but it isn't; so I am fine if I can get "the maximum available," which varies.
Jeff, agreed, Biden is a complicit politician who frankly lied his way into the presidency--with the indispensable help of Jim Clyburn. But imho Chris Hedges doesn't analyze, he rants. He was understandably traumatized by the censorship of the NYT (a paper I've always referred to as Pravda), but has not recovered. He's lost the power to think but not his eloquence. There is no such thing, conceptually, as "the Democrats," unless you can honestly see a party that fields such varied politicians as AOC and Joe Manchin, Maxine Waters and Nancy Pelosi (from the same state even!), Bill Clinton and Bernie Sanders, Maura Healey and Ralph Northam as somehow representing a single ideology and shouldering equal blame for the failure of democracy! He doesn't even get analytical enough to attack the DNC rather than "the Democrats"--and even if he had, he'd have to explain why a Black, Muslim freedom fighter like Keith Ellison was willing to run for its leadership only 5 years ago.
Thank Gaia it went as well as it did. I’m still gobsmacked that So many Republicans were elected. I mean, really, all they want to do is steal, cheat, hate on women, immigrants, POC, wreck the planet, let the infrastructure collapse and rot and amaze non-Americans with their incompetence, disrespect and lack of dignity.
What’s not to like, hahaha. Shocking to me too. Wish I had said that. You left out kill SS and Medicare. Not ONE redeeming feature. Dems not perfect by any stretch, but they have some humanity.
Well, yes. But if you are FOR all of those things to happen and FOR all of those attitudes, then supporting them with your vote would come quite naturally, now would it not?
That, or it's one of his alternate reality lies. Either way, I should think Ronnie should want to refute it, both to prove that he won legitimately and didn't need drump "help". If drump is indeed telling the truth in his inimitable fashion of shooting feet with inadvertent confessions, then that should also be investigated, should it not?
We’re not forgetting Senator Rick Scott (R-FL) are we? Remember his 11-point plan to ‘Rescue America?’ How is this ambitious Florida senator doing since the midterm election results have been coming in?
‘In February, Scott unveiled a proposal to curb excessive government spending should Republicans take back the majority in Congress after the midterm elections. His 11-point plan called for sunsetting all federal legislation after five years.'
‘Scott’s blueprint also called for “Congress to issue a report every year telling the public what they plan to do when Social Security and Medicare go bankrupt.”
'At a rally in Syracuse, N.Y., last week, President Biden said Republicans were demanding cuts to the programs.'
“They’re so determined to cut Social Security and Medicare, they’re willing to take down the economy over it,” Biden said. “There is nothing, nothing that will create more chaos or do more damage to the American economy than that happening, if it were to happen.”
'House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) distanced himself from any plans to cut back the social programs.'
'Scott told CNN’s Dana Bash on “State of the Union” (this past Sunday before the midterm elections) that he is “going to fight like hell” to preserve the social programs.'
‘Data for Progress, a left-leaning organization, released a poll in August that found 65 percent of likely American voters were “very concerned” about the government reducing Social Security benefits.’
‘THE BIDEN ADMINISTRATION RECENTLY INCREASED SOCIAL SECURITY PAYCHECKS by 8.7 percent to adjust for inflation and BOOST the PAY of about 70 million Americans starting next year.'
‘National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC) Chairman Rick Scott (Fla.) in a race to serve as Senate majority leader.’
‘Scott stoked speculation about his leadership ambitions on Sunday, when he refused to rule out challenging McConnell, who says he has the votes to win.’
‘He would have been virtually certain to lose. But Scott’s challenge was not so much aimed at unseating the longtime Senate Republican leader as it was channeling the anger of grassroots conservatives, and the former president, who were peeved at McConnell’s criticism of the “candidate quality” of this year’s roster of Senate GOP candidates.’
‘The idea was that those supposed mediocrities would romp to victory, credit Scott for his steadfast support and shame McConnell for his lack of faith — while also starting to loosen the 80-year-old’s grip on his leadership post. But only one of those candidates — Ohio’s J.D. Vance — won his race outright. Arizona’s Blake Masters appears likely to lose, Georgia’s Herschel Walker is in a runoff, and Pennsylvania’s Mehmet Oz and New Hampshire’s Donald Bolduc were defeated.’
Looks like senator Rick Scotts star and fallen a bit, don’t you think?
Lifelong Floridian here. We also called him Pink Slip Rick, as in give him a pink slip and get rid of him. When he was first elected, he immediately set out to sell Florida state parklands to developers. He required state welfare recipients to get drug tested at his own drug-testing facilities. No joke. He was incredibly unpopular but had so much money (from his Medicare-fraud days as CEO of Columbia HCA hospital systems that he ran into the ground) that he self-funded two term purchases of the governor’s mansion and then his Senate seat. If Trump was able to use the FBI to influence Scott’s and DeSanctimonious’s seat-of-the-pants wins in 2018, I want to hear more. I loathe Trump but I do like his new nickname for the governor, by the way.
Susan, you are woman after my own heart! 💜 I love DeSatan’s newest nickname. I will continue to use it. Your info should be blasted loud and wide, like through Lincoln Project as a bouncy, clever ad. Write to them. Seriously. He is a monster for all the reasons you list and others we can’t even imagine. I lived on Singer Island, Riviera Beach for six years. I bought my modest condo for its proximity to the beach, a ten minute walk, with a “right of way” past a Marriott luxury hotel on the beach. Well, all the Repugnants in my community were livid when their candidate and Governor (he wasn’t senator yet….) slimed a deal with all the corporate vampires to BAN anyone, other than their guests, access to the beaches in front of their luxury hotels. Just imagine, you have to drive .5 miles to a public beach where Black people go. As well as lots of other people. OMG, you would think they were going all to die on the spot of heart attacks. He was a vile creep in my book. Still is…..
JD Vance was 'gifted' his voters by gop mapmakers in a state that it's Supreme Court ruled as unconstitutional. Then Federal judges appointed by the orange grim creeper ruled that Ohioans must vote by those rigged maps anyway, even though there was more than ample time to find Constitutionally sound solutions. Vance did not win; he was crowned.
Hey Gail... I was on a roll ~ did you have to pop my balloon ? (lol) You're right from the absolute numbers standpoint, absolutely. (btw; I've wondered if Fla/Va means 'from Fla to Va' or the other way around.. strictly just curious. thx)
J.D. Vance's victory on Wednesday to represent Ohio in the US Senate comes with a number of stories. Growing up in the city of Middletown, Ohio, a family history of poverty, low-paying, physical jobs, his grandparents' alcoholism and abuse, and his unstable mother's history of drug addictions; he was 'saved' by his maternal grandmother (Mamaw) and went on to serve our nation in the Iraq War as a Marine, received his law degree from Yale Law School, became a successful investor in Silicon Valley and wrote the bestselling book, Hillbilly Elegy.
How do you beat that fairytale, D4N -- from rags to riches, an American Dream?
Hillbilly Elegy is an insult to every Appalachian Mamaw and Papaw I worked with in West Virginia. The best, most giving people. J.D.'s victory is as much a lie as his book. So deeply sad and disturbing.
Fern, You parrot the published talking points and narrative that everyone knows. I agree, taken at face value a compelling story. Another portion of his story is just what I told; he was crowned by the only powers that be in Ohio, the gop mapmakers and story polishers. He's the newest, bright shiny thing; a somewhat celebrity that our masters here seem to like. What he does in the senate, if he survives, is something that's yet to be told. I do hope he's not the reliable gop leadership vote that craters something you care about.
You have got to be right, D4N, as you came by to repeat your point, which I am not alone in knowing as well as you do. Could you have neglected to read or, perhaps, did not comprehend my first sentence, ' J.D. Vance's victory on Wednesday to represent Ohio in the US Senate comes with a number of stories.' I then proceeded to give one of them. In proclaiming your superiority, as though I denied your point, you were impelled to insult me. You are such an absolutist, am I to understand that many voters in Ohio were not impressed with Vance's accomplishments given the difficulties he faced? Can you hear my beak clicking, and my growling, typical of the sounds parrots make. Drop by any time, D2N. I have retained some of my collegiate fencing skills. Salud.
Oh Fern, I didn't intend to insult you.. you have my sincere apology. I enjoy your shares ! I do have a sarcastic sense of humor; perhaps that carries through in my writing; a thing I'll be somewhat mindful of. I am an absolutist where electoral fairness is concerned. I neither deny nor apologize for that. Obviously the winning number of 'statewide' voters were indeed impressed, hence the result. As I also said, his story in the senate has not been written yet, and I do sincerely hope that he is not the reliable gop vote that craters something you care about. Perhaps fencing scholarships ? If you're making coffee I like, I'd love to stop. Thanks for the invite.
I am glad you returned for another round, D4N. I think that you are both easy on yourself and charming. You were insulting without justification, careless in your reading of my comment, which did not dispute your points, and you were imperious. Withal, I think we could enjoy one another's company. In your eagerness to be on top, however, the openness to learn from one another is closed off. Why would you want to mock or deride a fellow subscriber who was offering an additional story? The only matching that I suggest is that we both, perhaps, place a high value on the truth and fairness. As for respect I think that is the quality worth addressing.
That ugly, lying bastard needs to fade away. Unreal that the Dems rarely mentioned him and his plan to screw the old folks. It was the winning issue among most MAGAts, I would surmise. Never forget him or Steven Miller, their ugly arses are always busy, planning destruction and spinning to the nth degree
Fern, yes, Scott’s star has fallen: the repubs may not call themselves “trumpers” but they are. He’s done just what he wanted. His name and image forever in politics. Like his brands and towers and lies. Scott’s plan for “Sunsetting” America.
Scott’s blueprint also called for “Congress to issue a report every year telling the public what they plan to do when Social Security and Medicare go bankrupt.” Shudder to think of our country with repubs in the White House.
If I have to hear about Ron DeSantis running for president for the next two years, I don't think I can stomach it. It's like another incarnation of the orange head. All this attention to him and not nearly the attention to Gretchen Whitmer who had such a major victory in her state, but hey, she's "just" a woman.
Our Governor Gretchen Whitmer earned her voter support, walking or cross country skiing through every county, city and village with local folks, listening to our concerns ("It's the damn roads") for 2 years before the election, after a superb career in our legislature and senate. Then she delivered! In the meantime, We The People, were able to end gerrymanderring by putting the independent redistricting commission on the ballot! Do it in your state!
Ron and Greg know how to grab the headlines of hate. Seems to work in Tx and Fl. Maybe because their voter “integrity” laws stacked the deck to make it so. Hope other states take a lesson from Michigan
Spot-on Professor. On Gen Z voters & the 18 to 29 year olds, please note the illuminating hard data published by the 'CIRCLE' folks at Tufts. Many thanks to FERN McBride who linked to the CIRCLE report in yesterday 's LFAA. As I posted yesterday, Gen Z are all genders, have color, smarts, are mobile, tech savy & colorful. Good job all.
Listening to President Biden during his press conference today; I felt reassured in his confidence and his relaxed voice. I could hear the factual-ness of the work he and the Dems have done to make life better for all of us, lowering drug costs esp for insulin, working with our NATO allies. Not pretense, nor pomp or boasting. Just factual information. I feel like I haven’t heard that kind of level headed talk in a long time. And there was also something in his voice that was calmer. Calmness backed up by the success of his administrations hard work, and also the fact evidenced by the Dems election victories, that so many Americans recognize it.
You are so right Margaret. About a year ago I was speaking to a fervent Trump supporter and I made the comment to him that Trump tortured me for four years and he just laughed and told me I was a stupid girl and he wanted me to give one example of how I felt tortured. I told him that it would take me for as long as Trump has been in our political system to answer his question but the torture I was really referring to was the constant daily barrage of insanity that that man created to where I thought I my head would explode or I would run down the road naked and screaming, having gone crazy. So, yes, a calm, soothing voice, and a steady hand feels so good. 
Cara, I felt similarly when Trump was in office. It was so overwhelming. I'm very glad for Biden's presidency.
I would have been right behind you, his voice and his idiocy were hard to miss. You would have had to be plugged into Fox 24-7 to have missed what others saw, heard, and cringed over. He should have been trashed over the Obama birthplace nonsense.
What about the tape of him talking about his ability to get away with sexually abusing woman! Being so proud he could shoot someone and there would be no consequences. We got to sit and watch how our Republican government supported his coup d’etat. As far as I am concerned these legislators and judges who supported him to overthrow our democracy should be held accountable. We were living in a nightmare watching so many people drink the koolaid.
Yes they did! Seems to me that The Constitution says they should never be allowed to hold office again. So i don't really get why they're still there now. Or why they're allowed to run in these midterms.
Suz-an,
"I don't get why they're still there now".
White men in America can do whatever they want, whenever they want, however they want. (I know you guys get tired of hearing this).
Now, many white men don't take advantage of the above fact and are honorable.
But, those that choose to walk down that line of immunity against any crime or bad behavior? There have been, historically, and are today, NO consequences.
Please, if you get a chance, read the new 1619 Book Project. That will provide more information on how the door to both immoral and illegal behavior has been wide open for white men in America since its inception.
Suz-an. This is a book about our first black Supreme Court justice Thurgood Marshall. It’s a agonizing taste of the way things were here in the south.
“Devil in the Grove: Thurgood Marshall, the Groveland Boys, and the Dawn of a New America”
by Gilbert King
I agree wholeheartedly! It is agonizing to see so many MOCs who were involved in and supporting insurrection still in office.
Wheels onf justice turn slowly against the rich and powerful, but they do - at least sometimes! - turn. I still have hopes that the DOJ will get to the MOCs who were complicit, as well as DJT, Stone and Bannon.
"I still have hopes that the DOJ will get to the MOCs who were complicit, as well as DJT, Stone and Bannon."
Is there any doubt? What's a Department of Justice for?
Susan--there are millions of kool-aid drinkers. In NC, where I live, Ted Budd, a seditionist congress weasel, won election to the Senate. The person who represents my congressional district also voted to overturn the election. The egregious gerrymandering in NC make it hard to make progress for the regular people who can't come up with $400 to fix their car if it breaks down. I know what that's like. Ted Budd comes from a wealthy family. Protecting his wealth is his big concern. The Republican legislature is another depressing story for another day.
I hope Ms Beasley isn't going to just fade into the woodwork now. She's got six years to stay on top of Budd, hammering him every time he votes in a way that is detrimental to his supporters as well as his opponents.
Yes. While I am relieved at many of the election results around the country, I still have no representation in my home state. I am incredulous that Ted Budd won and that Cheri Beasley lost to him. Of course she's a black woman; no matter her top notch credentials.
The very smart and courageous Democrat Deirdre DeJear lost her bid to become Iowa's next governor, and given all the dog whistles deployed by the state GOP I can't help but think it is in no small part because she is a black woman.
JennSH (and all my NC sisters and brethren) and all those interested in "liberty and justice for all",
North Carolina (sadly) has been a source of too-much-crazy.
A "short" list:
Cosmic Pizza shooter,
Capitol building threatening bomber,
Mark Meadows,
Steven Miller via Duke,
the T family connections with Lara,
the 1898 Wilmington Massacre and Coup,
and now the "Extreme" Court pending cases in
the UNC and Harvard admissions factors and
the Moore vs Harper case threatening to take away election integrity.
However, the largest category of registered voters are "Unaffiliated," followed by Democrats, then Republicans, the Libertarians, then Green Party, then etc.
And we still have our own Governor Roy Cooper in spite of a gerrymandered NCGA and the flip in the state supreme court make-up.
At some point, the fact that North Carolina has been attractive for business locations due to the "reasonableness" of the balance in leadership
as opposed to the surrounding former Confederate states
whose draconian and dystopian bans on reproductive freedoms
has resulted in our state being virtually the only "safe" state for women to seek full options, making North Carolina the magnet from outside Handmaids' Tale impositions.
A political party cannot survive by oppressing the majority of the population.
😓😓😓
Add: physically mocking a reporter who has a disability; urging supporters at a rally to attack the press; and dozens of other disturbing actions, not to mention thousands of lies.
His behaviour during the debates. Prowling round Hillary Clinton while she spoke, looking down on her with curled lip. And when the debate ended, she jumped down off the stage to mingle with laughing, joyous people, and what did he do? Hovered at the rear of the stage for a few uncertain moments, then disappeared out the back.
Jeri,
Trump has been dumped by Fox News, Wall Street Journal and the NY Post as of yesterday. Below is a link to the WSJ article that declares him the biggest loser. Virus free google drive pdf link.
https://drive.google.com/file/d/19mMEaMAEvOOAq5HjsiG1OkBagyl5sK9B/view?usp=sharing
Question is: Who will be the newly annointed golden (white) boy of Rupert???
Because, once Rupert settles on whomever, then, 73 million other Americans will follow his fake blonde lead.
The answer is DeSantis for FOX. He is on a lot in lieu of trump. The media is already brushing aside what a Fascist he is. Everywhere you look even in the liberal media it's DeSantis. This is great news. Narcissists don't lose. They destroy first. trump will take his cult with him and cleave the Party. And I'll bet he does know some dirt on DeSantis. (and half of the Republicans like Lindsay Graham who are clearly terrified of trump.)
This is as much air as I'm giving it. I have been taking a couple days off from politics to quietly celebrate the fact that in 2020 and in 2022 Democracy has prevailed. Battered like crazy but still standing. This is what I said in the NYT yesterday in response to an op ed by Frank Bruni about who the Democrats should run for President.
Barbara
USANov. 10
Too soon Frank. How about stopping for one minute.
I am pausing to thank President Biden for his rallying cry exhorting Americans to protect Democracy. I am pausing to thank former President Obama for his energetic work on the election circuit these Midterms. I am pausing to silently thank all the candidates for Democracy who weathered a super tough political environment to run for Office. I am pausing for a moment to sit outside on an unusually warm weather November day and give thanks to the strength and persistence of the American voter who will fight for Democracy.
1873 Recommend Share
Barbara, thank you...words I will live by! “ Quietly pausing...” right after fighting for Warnock!
Great post Barbara. Pausing for a moment of thanks?
Always a good idea.
Awesome! And the right answer. However, I took the bait and wrote that it is time to give white males a break from the job. How about Stacey Abrams? Later, I read an article that noted her savvy sense of politics, her wisdom re: international affairs and her all around good heart. (Same article noted her tepid campaign in Georgia, but she was up against Kemp's refusal to follow Grump's request to misstate the election results. That won respect from many Georgians.)
Barbara, thank you. Your gratitude wakes me up and brings me to tears. Might you run for something? I live in NY so I can’t vote for you but I can donate!!! 🗳🗳🗳
Good one.
Jeri, I know folks that listen to that crap 'all day and all night'. Amazes me that it doesn't seem to cross their minds that they might just be subjecting themselves to conditioning. So twisted.. Of course they think I'm twisted. *edit - Biased is the word I should've used; they consider me biased. As long as I'm biased and convinced by facts in evidence, I'm ok with that, as our dear doctor is.
Every single day was a new horror revealed. We never had a chance to recover; it was an on-going assault. And we’re still learning about other nefarious actions committed. Biden was so necessary.
Oh there are sooo many folks "plugged into Fox 24/7". And they vote. That is the problem.
The majority of the people that live in Indiana are plugged into Fox 24-7. They believe every word that comes from Fox. We lost super good candidates because of those people. They pushed the Straight Republican button and walked out of the polling centers! I watched it happen....
I grew up in Indiana and this does not surprise me at all. In many ways it has the mentality of a southern state. Here in Oregon we wait. The clerk in Clackamus county has now said they were work today and all weekend to count the remaining votes. Since it is Veteran's Day, other counties are treating it as a three day weekend and won't start counting again until Monday. So we wait. Dracula Dragon hasn't conceded yet either to Kotek who already has given her first speech. One of the interesting things she is going to do is visit parts of Oregon which voted for Dracula first when she becomes governor.
I hope the folks who want to "secede" from Oregon & join Idaho(?) will listen to their new governor. Saw a picture of the map showing the areas in red - which seems appropo, doesnt it?
Maybe new voices will help.
Dracula Dragon finally conceded today, but in the usual lack of grace the Rs seem to have. Tina is saying she will make a real effort to start out, not in the Willamette Valley, but in the more rural parts of the state including some of those counties who want to be part of Idaho. Dracula Drazen did not say a word about working together or anything about bettering Oregon for everyone. She just thanked her voters and basically encouraged them to continue the usual R dreck.
I totally agree. I think a lot of us are suffering from a form of PTSD from the insanity and constant turmoil from our Trump time. Even now, when I hear his whiny voice, I recoil.
1000% agree
Absolutely agree! Just hearing his voice makes me cringe and recall what his four years in office was like!
I've started skipping newspaper articles about him. Enough already!
He really does whine and I can't stand it either. I always mute him, but still there's his ugly face.
Then there are all those patients tortured by the rampant COVID epidemic he refused to prevent and encouraged to spread. Tortured and died.
This am Trump is accusing DeSantis of mishandling COVID crisis! Pot meet kettle.
I would like clarification on the 2018 vote counting in Florida that Trump now claims he stopped in order to award DeSantis and Rick Scott their respective seats. I, too, agree this needs a thorough investigation. It could be another "pot meet kettle" moment.
Yes. And I agree with Biden that a Trump-DeSantis match would be interesting.
I relish the idea of those two eating each other alive...refreshments, please!
Rich, white, self-absorbed white supremacist males have been the foundation of our country and set it up so they control it and cannot fail. That is the giant shadow that we are up against now. That our country has become the diversity that our Constitution was supposed to be paving the way for must be really ticking them off. The seditious party does not want the caste system to change. They will do anything to keep their control.
We are their products because they cannot make money and stay in power without us and a few hostile foreign entities. It is time for real Americans to fight in ways the corporatocracy has never experienced. tfg and elon are feeling some pinching right now. Time to expand that to all who are against our democracy and show them the power of a huge diverse country. NOW. Keep your boots on, friends, we still have a lot of mucking out to do!
The answer to his rude question is Chaos vs Competence. The man never showed competence just dramatic chaos constantly like a tantruming toddler.
A toddler with the nuclear codes. Thank god the military leaders protected us from him. May he never have a peaceful day for the rest of his miserable life....
“So, yes, a calm, soothing voice, and a steady hand feels so good” . . . and that, along with experience, bipartisanship (in the unlikely event that the GQP should be so inclined), understanding of the importance of our NATO allies/climate/labor/healthcare/public education/ middle class worries/his quoting his father who’s only ask was for a wage fair enough that he would have a little (economic) breathing to raise his family . . . is why this 💙 and so many others support Joe Biden!
Mature, diplomatic, caring...also!
Another description is decent - its been a while since we've been shown that!
Joe, is a good man!
I feel that way Cara, whenever I just hear Trump’s whiny voice. It’s a trigger for me!
Amen!
Margaret, I hope that you don't mind my connecting to you. We received a message from dear Allen Hingston who is on his way to Canada with his wife, Tanya and dog Lucky from Ukraine. He went back to bring his wife and dog to safety. Here is his greeting:
'We are on our way. Last few days were insane. Lucky is doing so good on the bus and is well behaved with strangers. We'll be in Warsaw in the morning. You can tell people on LFAA and TAFM. I didn't have time to blog.'
Fern, thank you for this. I was just glancing at a post-it note on my computer on which I list my special intention prayers. I was going to search for a post from you and inquire as to whether you had an update. I hope that when Allen can, he will send a long message to us all.
Me too, Miselle. Anything received from Allen that comes from Alberta, Canada, will be a treasured gift to be shared by us all.
Relief to see that Allen, Tanya and Lucy will be in Alberta... if you have to leave your home, Alberta will do it’s best to receive you.
Thanks for this status update..... I have often thought of them and hoped to hear they are safe.
Thank You for this wonderful news Fern!
Thank you for this wonderful news!😊❤️
Thank you for sharing this.
Thank you, Fern. I'm so glad that Allen and his family will finally be safe, and look forward to reading his insights in the near future.
Thank 4 this update....:) I am an Albertan & thrilled he'll be here! Safe travels Allen & fam!!!!
Thank you for this. I am always happy to hear from Allen and that he is in the process of bringing his wife and dog to safety. I look forward to hearing from him again and wish him and his family a safe journey.
Exactly. We owe this man a great debt of gratitude for taking such great care of himself -- he has kept his body and mind sharp in service to his country and himself -- and for taking care of us as a loving leader using decades upon decades of wisdom, personal pain and experience as a father, widower, husband, citizen, attorney, and human. He leads with his heart and his mind. Is measured in his responses. Is supported by a woman who is as much about service as he is! I loved watching Dr. Jill Biden watch her husband, our President, during the press conference. I took a call and didn’t hear all of it. But it seemed to go on for a long time, an hour? And it looked as though he did not skip an beat, question after question after question.
We are truly blessed to have this leader who can and will deliver for Native and African Americans, all BIPOC peoples, because he believes in Democracy. I am reminded of NTY journalist and author of the wonderful 1619 book, Nikole Hannah Jones and her opening essay in the 1619 series that ran in the NYT in remembrance of when the first kidnapped and enslaved Africans landed on these shores. She writes, in her Pulitzer winning essay, about her father, a veteran, flying the Stars and Stripes high above her home as she was growing up, and how even though she didn’t like it, she grew to understand that Black people hold dear the idea of freedom and the hope of this nation’s promise, perhaps more than any other people, because the dream of a real democracy is best loved and fought for by people who have known what it is like not to be free. I may have mangled this interpretation horribly and apologize for it, but you get the idea. And I truly believe Biden embodies the idea. And the Black leaders in SC who invigorated his campaign with a win in that primary that swung the energy of the rest of the campaign for him to be the candidate, believe he “gets it” as no other servant leader has before. I am grateful for someone who talks about saving “the soul of America” because we have come so close to losing it.
Thanks for being here, all of you/us and most of all, you, Heather Cox Richardson, for bringing history to life. The traumas and triumphs, the big lessons learned about “How the South won the Civil War” (read that book if you haven’t yet!) and how we’re dancing on the edge of a plutocratic dictatorship led by fanatical White Nationalists and backed by dark money. Thanks for the grounding in truth, the connection among ourselves and our past, and the empowerment that your clear and illuminating reporting and analysis bring. ❤️
Carey,
The 1619 book is a life changing book, for me anyway. No doubt about it. It has been an incredibly difficult book to read (almost done).
" And I truly believe Biden embodies the idea. And the Black leaders in SC who invigorated his campaign with a win in that primary that swung the energy of the rest of the campaign for him to be the candidate, believe he “gets it” as no other servant leader has before. I am grateful for someone who talks about saving “the soul of America” because we have come so close to losing it."
I think, based on the evidence, that Biden DOES embody the idea of representational goverment. It is really just too, too, too bad that Biden let Clarence Thomas through the gate though. The Federalist Society's first pick ever, and, the woman who knew who he was?
The poor woman was totally trashed by the process Biden managed for a successful nomination by Thomas. Biden, in that case, was just too nice or too something to see the truth in front of him.
Well said/written, Carey. Thank you. Heather and people like you in this/her/our community here have helped keep us all sane and, as Dan Rather says, Steady.
Thank you Mim! Community. We heal in community and I am deeply grateful for this one. IMAGINE if one day Heather put together a retreat or a cruise or a conference and some we could all meet each other!?! Wouldn’t that be fun! I’ve never seen any mention of that, but I will venture to say I’d love to help plan it if we could find someone to help finance it!
What a great way to start the 2024 election season, yes?
Peace!
Carey
Carey, it would indeed be nice to have a meet-up. Or maybe there could be regional ones. I could not attend since, because of health reasons, I no longer travel or even go anywhere in the neighborhood. Meanwhile, I too am grateful for this community.
LOVE. everything you say here. I so deeply agree!
Yes, Margaret... I agree with you. Our foundation is sound and we’ve passed many of the tests. There’s a lot of good and important work ahead and by all indications we are on track to getting much of it accomplished in the years ahead. The shroud of Republican chicanery is being slowly and steadily lifted. More American voters realize that the democrats have the right ideas and they’re voting for candidates who will work diligently to make them a reality. It’s never going to be everything we want and need but if enough gets done we’ll see the divisions that have immobilized so many vital and necessary initiatives continue to melt away. We are the United States... we the people, can do anything we set our minds and spirits to achieving, as Joe Biden likes to say. Forward...
We The People, All of Us This Time.
Great observation, Margaret, at the same time I watched President Biden’s alert and slightly bemused calm I realized Trump’s strident denials made him just another lip flapping windbag.
In negotiations a great refrain is what goes around comes around. Sooner or later the victim has a chance to become victorious.
With calming inflation and open sensible policy the decent predictable form of Governance by Biden and the Democrats could bridge the chasm that divides us.
Love every word you wrote.❤️ I love having a good and capable President. CHARACTER MATTERS!!
I agree with what you've said about Biden. But that is exactly what he's done since the day he took office. A very competent president that quietly went about doing his job. There hasn't been a president in recent memory that has faced the serious challenges he has and given the voters a clear choice on decency and integrity. Thankfully his message reached enough voters to repel the assault on our democracy.
Thanks for this comment, Phil. I agree about our brilliant President. After such a heartening election, it concerns me to see the continuing rant here about the former. We owe it to Dr. Richardson and one another to let it go, move on, absorbing all the good news of late, strategizing about fortifying our democracy in positive ways.
Work to do going forward. This is Leigh McGowan, Politics Girl, podcast with Thom Hartmann posted on day of election. Done so to emphasize work to be done going forward supporting Democracy and the issues that we know were on the ballot Tuesday. Regardless of outcomes. Which, in looking at the outcomes as they roll out, gives Democracy a leg up and hand up in moving forward effectively with efficacy.
Give a listen. Thom Hartmann is something.
https://youtu.be/Pz5unJjBNf4
Unita! 🗽
The Supreme Court is especially a focus in this podcast.
🗽
I marvel that he has remained as steadfast as he has during these last two years. For all that he's not a good speaker, and is prone to gaffes, if the results of this election have buoyed us, just imagine what kind of weight has been removed from his shoulders. Too many, on both sides of the aisle, have concentrated on his demeanor rather than his many accomplishments.
Who knew that the "red wave" was going to be a bloodbath of tRump going after all the other potential (and much more viable) POTUS candidates?
Now he's calling Youngkin "YOUNG KIN" and saying that sounds Chinese. Can't anyone close to him help him realize how incredibly juvenile that sounds? Desperate that sounds?
Thank you, Heather/Dr. Richardson, for all the work you continue to do. Your letters have kept me sane (and have kept so many of us going). Happy Veterans Day!
I second that emotion!
Third It!!
The big surprise for me this election was how red Miami-Dade and the whole of Florida has become. However, saying De Santis is the rising star of the Republican Party is quite premature. I doubt that De Santis will do well outside of Florida and on the national stage. I'm also waiting a few days to see if the Republicans who are calling DT the Biggest Loser will actually say out loud that DT has to go for the Republican Party to survive and for the small cracks in the GOP becoming a rip cord tearing the GOP in two. I think I will find it rather amusing to watch since it will only strengthen the pro-democracy determination and direction of our country. We, the People, all of us this time!
Florida hasn't become red--it has become gerrymandered.
Along with Texas, the voter “integrity” crap has stacked the deck. Beto didn’t have a chance after that. He had incredible support, but the propaganda was insurmountable, sort of like another country I can think of.
He had amazing, loyal and sincerely dedicated support for good reason ... and in any other state... would've easily won by landslide. Texas is like living in a different country.
Now So is Florida...
Truly a sad and angering situation. Gerrymandering destroys democracy by silencing our voices. 🤬
When Val Demings can be outvoted by Marco Rubio by 17% you know there is something Rotten in Florida. My bet is De Santis’ Election Gestapo on top of gerrymandering fixed that!
NC also.
And IN
And I suspect the r party goes a step beyond. Too many Dems in State-wide races are up 5+% on the Fri before Election end up -12% when the Count comes out.
WI, also.
Really? Say more.
Ohio is the same. The gerrymandering here has resulted in overwhelming victories for Republicans at all levels. The only bright spot here is Tim Ryan, who lost the popular vote but stood up for democracy by making sure his concession speech highlighted that he was following the rule of law - if you don’t get the votes you don’t win the election.
Tim Ryan's loss was one if my biggest disappointments in this election. He's such a fighter for working people! And now, Ohio (and the rest of the nation) are stuck with Vance in the Senate! For 6 years! D@mn!
I saw a meme on FB and Twitter that asked: "Does Ohio realize it's on the NORTH side of the Mason-Dixon line??" One does wonder. Indiana is kind of a similar situation, Midwestern states that seem to have an identity crisis.
yeah Bruce... i was thinking that, too.
If they didn't have gerrymandering there wouldn't be a Repug in Congress. Ever again.
zackly... it's why they do
you got it!!! Ohio has been handicapped by gerrymandered districts for many years. Short of another overwhelming ballot measure which would include the requirement of a totally outside independent expert commission to propose the "Fair Districts"
Yes, and that is why we need to take on - NOW - yet another statewide ballot initiative to demand that an outside, neutral panel of experts be the Redistricting Commission for Ohio - not the overwhelmingly Republican group whose "plan" was rejected 5 times by the Ohio Supreme Court - and yet, in the end, this illegal plan was what gave us the results of this election - years after 70% of Ohio voters voted for Fair Districts.
Yes, thank-you! I have been exceedingly frustrated with the main stream news for not putting DeSantis's win in context: Little Ronnie DESIGNED Florida's redistricting map specifically to gain 5 House seats and look like a hero to both the Florida Republicans and the RNC.
In contrast look at what happened in Michigan where they have put in place an independent commission to draw the district maps. The Ds won back the state legislature for the first time in forty years! No more gerrymandering!
Michigan was really the most successful overall, and has an amazing Gov.
But, all we hear about is DeSantis.
waaay impressive.... REAL America gets to VOTE!!!!
Exactly, TL…Yes, both sides do it but FL was purely DeSantis’s design.
https://www.propublica.org/article/ron-desantis-florida-redistricting-map-scheme
thanks for this link, Kathy... what a story... what a time of huge shifts and realignment we're living through
Yes, and many, many Florida voters disenfranchised.
Right you are Mary. HRC *edit (duh, HCR - sorry doc) sorta' knocked me sideways when she cited that pig Fuentes blowing off at the mouth as though he just invented a plan that's been executed masterfully by gop leadership for at least a decade and a half - just to my knowledge. I tried to warn the DNC ages ago. I have to suppose they thought me to be some sort of crackpot. Opinions vary though.
D4N ... that Fuentes part jumped out to me, too. Poor pigs don't deserve to have their name connected with his, tho. Sweet, intelligent animals they are..
They are not always sweet. Don’t get between a big sow and her babies or a massive hog and its food, or with a slip in slop, you, too, could be dinner!
No offense intended towards any sweet, intelligent animals; it just popped quick to mind. How about if I used foul, naugahyde gasbag ?
But not for statewide races. Even more than in the past, retirees from the NE and Midwest have flocked there for lower taxes and cheaper homes. And the Hispanic vote continues to shift in increasing numbers to the GOP. On top of all this, from what I read the Republican Party has more money, is better organized, and has sharper strategists.
How Hispanics can vote Republican is beyond me. White supremacy rules the repub fools. What are they thinking…
Hispanics tend to be Christian.
Many hispanics emigrated from failed socialist states.
Legal hispanics do not appreciate those who do not have to earn citizenship to enjoy benefits.
Hispanics are hard workers.
Hispanic are not stupid.
Same goes for the Venezuelans who were rejected at Martha's Vineyard. They know who the real racists are. The ones who are always talking about it out of guilt.
They were not ‘rejected at Martha’s Vineyard’! Quite the opposite—despite there being no facilities on the island people came pouring out to cook for them and give them warm clothes and find places for them to sleep and explain (in Spanish) what had happened (they didn’t even know!) and what was going to be done to help them. It was in fact a beautiful response. Where do you get your news?
Dead on. Cuban-Americans became Republicans when they got off the boat. The beauty of public education is that the next generations are melded. Every immigrant can be seduced by the power of voting into the arms of authoritarians. Especially when they tend to create businesses,, join the SBA and are told immediately the oldest Big lie- that big government wants what they have,
Not wise to assume immigrants are fools. They are similar to those leaving New York and California for Red states. They have seen the destructive power of socialism/communism/dictatorship.
The legal asylum seekers tricked into being flown to Martha’s Vineyard were not “rejected” by the residents there. There were warmly welcomed, give food and shelter, and provided with better accommodations on the mainland.
I'll bet the thousands per day cramped at the border wish someone would "trick" them.
That's a good one. LOL.
Thousands of empty b&b cottages, and they were sent to a military base.
The Venezuelans were unexpectly handed a leg up toward citizenship due to their 'kidnapping'. LOL
So do you suppose someone inadvertently created more Democrats?
Yes. The poor souls won the lottery.
If they understood our white supremacist, male caste system...I bet they would not vote for it.
Are you saying they are stupid? That's both incorrect and racist.
Truth! Their fear of Castro leads them to worse!
Really? Have you ever met a cuban immigrant?
Are we talking about Hispanic, Cuban, Vietnamese, Venezuelan, or other immigrants? There are differences.
I was on a debrief call yesterday with The States Project (you may remember seeing some of us on here recommending Tending To Democracy as a way to contribute to democracy—many people gave). Their success in Michigan we already know about. Likewise in PA and NH though as we know the final counts are not yet in. Check out their website—more information will be coming as election results are parsed.
"has more money, is better organized, and has sharper strategists" Yep.
Exactly!!!....And Big money poured into the DeSantis election too...He had 4-5 X the ads on TV as the Dems...and so many Lies in them as did other Repub. candidates....
Yes!
Agreed! It’s an illusion that it has “Turned Red.”
A topic which only seems to come up after an election.
So we're all on the same page, the constitution allows States to decide the manner in which they select their representatives. This includes the ability to change district boundaries. Each state differs in method, but in most cases the party in power at the time has some advantage in the redistricting process.
Here is a link to a discussion of Article 1 of the Constitution.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Article_One_of_the_United_States_Constitution
For historical perspective, the term Gerrymander came from one of the original founders named Elbridge Gerry. It's an interesting article.
https:///wiki/Elbridge_Gerry
Look to Michigan's model:
https://votersnotpoliticians.com/
Yes, I am impressed with this commission. I hope other States are able to use it to to away with the state legislators political power to redistricting as they or the governor sees fit. Was it 2 Rs, 2Ds, and 4 Is ?
so hopeful for this "Michigan Miracle". for Ohio before 2024
💙
"Of the 13 commissioners, four affiliate with the Democratic Party, four affiliate with the Republican Party, and five do not affiliate with either major political party.
https://www.michigan.gov › about
FAQ - State of Michigan
Full Law
http://www.legislature.mi.gov/(S(xpy2gk0zxmbqtrlhdidxkffx))/mileg.aspx?page=GetObject&objectname=mcl-Article-IV-6
thank you!! for the sources of this "miracle"
13 is my favorite number. Maybe when we enlarge the Supreme Court, we should make the same party affiliation stipulations!
Not to mention the election (intimidation) squad deployed by DeSantis.
Maybe both?
The biggest move that DeSantis made was to gerrymander FL districts so extremely, it gave the impression of a true red wave. It really only represents the length he wil go to look successful. Somehow that translates to a better statewide turnout for him. Another state that turned redder was Ohio, where Republicans like Mile DeWine and JD Vance won their races handily in a state where districts are so gerrymandered, their state SC declared them illegal, yet no one would offer better maps.
That lack of competition must really lead to apathy among the minority party in such states.
Speaking of the Ohio 2021-2022 map gerrymander, this was an excellent broadcast outlining what happened, This American Life, recent episode. Worth a listen, as you hear the R majority defy and stonewall the Ohio Supreme Court and the independent mapmaking commission, and now, Ohioans have the R result to live with for 10 years or more. Shame.
https://www.thisamericanlife.org/784/mapmaker
A transcript for those who prefer is here, but the audio version is really compelling and shocking:
https://www.thisamericanlife.org/784/transcript
Michigan's 2020 solution worked!
https://votersnotpoliticians.com/
My daughter who lives in Columbus told me the story., but I will definitely listen to this. In PA, we had the same thing, but the state SC remedied the lawsuit by requesting map suggestions from all complainants and chose one they judged to be fair. That process may be challenged in the SCOTUS next year.
I listened to your episode of This American Life, and it was heartbreaking. I worked with a redistricting group, Fair Districts PA, and it was easy to see that no politician would ever vote against his own interest. Constitutional attorney, Marc Elias, and other interest groups sued the state of PA over their historically unfair district maps, and unlike the OH SC, the PA SC asked for other options. This option may be taken away from the state courts by SCOTUS as they hear these cases. So the fact that PA legislature may turn blue right now may actually save us before the door closes for good.
yes, highly recommend listening to the audio.
It was horrifying to be watching it unfold - over and over. Thank you for posting these links to the "evidence".
so helpful to listen to this story
That race was a heartbreaker. Tim Ryan is such a decent human. He and his wife understand the connection between toxic childhood stress and its brain-damaging impacts on the structure and development of the infant and child’s rapidly growing brain -- better than most folks because she’s a teacher and witnessed it daily in the classroom. He spoke about it in the 2020 primaries. He is a good human and leader and I am sick that so much dark money dumped in Ohio bought the senate seat for the traitorous, cruel, and sell-out Vance. He of all people, having written a book that referenced the science of Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs, which is now most commonly and correctly referred to as PACEs science, as the profound impact of positive childhood experiences (PCEs), can help buffer the brain against the impact of adversity. [Greater adversity = greater likelihood of all manner of health problems and life challenges and even premature death in adulthood.]) Though the science is clear about the indelible effect of the first two months of an infant’s life and the vital importance of secure attachment, something our nation’s policies -- with no paid family leave, a non-living wage, insecure housing, inequitable healthcare, education, and opportunity fueled by structural racism and historic oppression, IGNORE. Learn more at pacesconnection.com in our robust and free Resources Center.
Wow. I got on a roll! The point was/is I hope Tim Ryan won’t let this being out-bid for the senate seat keep him from staying on track to share the wisdom, experience and passion he and his wife have to make things better for ALL people. Vance is a toadie sell-out who could have done great things for the millions of children such as he, who grew up in horrific trauma. But he turned tail and is perpetuating the trauma of inequity, classism, racism, elitism via a spew of BS that is made all the more vile because he knows what it’s like to be poor and almost out of options.
🤬
Vance sold his soul to Peter Thiel and Donald Trump, and he sold it cheap.
Excellent summary of this heartbreak!!!
Sorry, but it is not true that "yet no one would offer better maps" - after 4 times the maps proposed by the Republican dominated redistricting commission, charged 6 years ago with creating "Fair Districts" by a vote of 70+% of voters - were thrown out by the Supreme Court of Ohio, they hired outside masters to create the Fair Maps - and the Republicans refused to wait another 90 minutes for the work of the independent mapmakers to be completed.
That was the heartbreaker
Gerrymandering seems to be the excuse of the day. Surely you know that Democrats gerrymander, right?
Michigan won the Democratic trifecta by establishing an INDEPENDENT redistricting commission which no longer allows legislators to gerrymander, because, as my Republican Senator gleefully told me in 2011 "We just redistricted this state so those Democrats will NEVER win again!"
Check out "Voters Not Politicians". Do It!
https://votersnotpoliticians.com/
Michigan’s redistricting effort bore fruit. But damn was it a hard fight. It know Dems made out well. But redistricting was NOT to secure a cheating Dem win. It secured an honest Dem win. If the R’s would not have gone all in on election-deniers, anti-women, pro-rape candidates, they would have had more wins. It was a leveled playing field. Now we need rank-choice-voting!
Not even remotely equal, damn, you are a pissed ex-Dem
... And a 'what abouter'. Damn I dislike that.
Any other labels you wish to place on me? Can you define a man so easily?
I'm not one of your caged birds, but I do enjoy crapping on newspapers.
If I were a Democrat, I would be pissed. At least my vote in the primary counts for a whole vote now.
Be careful trying to apply simple labels to folks. No one is that easy to define.
You are aware you’re posting on social media. You are defined by what you write. No one reads your resume or asks you to lunch to “get to know you better”. Your posts mostly sound like sour grapes. I’m not accusing you of being a Republican, but no platform other than “owning the libs” or impeach, revenge and stolen elections aren’t what the country wants or needs apparently. No redistricting, no gerrymandering all elections are general. That puts an end to all of your concerns. Republicans make stuff up as they go along. It’s all good unless we lose? Blocking Obama’s nomination to SCOTUS prime example of holding government hostage when it’s in their best interests.
IMHO, it’s not OK, either way. No loaded dice should be allowed on the democratic game table.
District must be adjusted as cultural boundaries change. Census data is the main driver of the change.i'm not sure if there can be a strict formula for doing this. It's as much an art as a science.
Open to ideas.
The whole gerrymandering thing (which started in MA, by the way), as well as other ways of gaming any system, are simply forms of corruption. When corruption is systematized, it tends to stifle innovation, compassion, and efficiency, leading to poor outcomes for both those in and out of power. This country became great because we found ways to manage corruption and so liberate the tremendous creative energy of ALL the people. Places with corrupt, one party systems, such as in parts of the American south-east, remain economic back-waters (and tax revenue takers rather than producers).
First, we need a way of managing the corruption that the redistricting process in most states is rife with. Then we can get into the weeds of just how redistricting is to be done, such as making each district reflect as far as possible the population of the entire state it is in.
Look to Michigan!! We citizens voted in an independent commission model that works!
https://votersnotpoliticians.com/
How about a flat popular vote with no boundaries? Getting rid of the electoral college? We DO have the technology.
Michigan does it right:
https://votersnotpoliticians.com/
?? Gerrymandering operates to keep one party dominant in each congressional district. How would that have any effect on the Electoral College? What gerrymandering affects is the House of Representatives, the only truly democratic arm of the federal government (the Senate is anti-democratic, the President is not elected by popular vote, membership in the Supreme Court is by nomination and Senate confirmation).
It's not like Democrats never win the electoral college. Seems to work fairly well, as plannred by wiser men.
Michigan's Solution Worked! Our Commission reviews cendus data along with other parameters. Not perfect, but darn close.
https://votersnotpoliticians.com/
Who elects them?
Hahaha
Was it Art Linkletter who said "laughter is the best medicine"?
https://votersnotpoliticians.com/
No loaded dice? Whataboutism alert. Superdelegates are loaded dice.
What I am trying to say is that it SHOULDN’T be OK either way. Plain and simple….or sadly maybe not, given the political machinations that abound. Guess I am a Pollyanna wishing for fair rules & treatment regardless of your position/stance/party affiliation….same ground rules should apply for all. I have heard of Dem gerrymandering in my state (CA) some many years ago and was sorely and seriously disappointed and pissed. So. Not. OK.
Look to Michigan for tge answer,:
https://votersnotpoliticians.com/
WERE - you mean superdelegates were loaded dice.
Yes, Dems gerrymander when they can, and as long as there is no reform to the system and Republicans are getting away with it, then I wish Democrats would do the same thing. It's one thing to declare yourself "nobler than thou" and not allow yourself to indulge in such *clutch pearls* nefarious doings, BUT the whole time you're on your "high horse", your opponent is taking over. Witness the debacle in New York, a state where registered Democrats almost outnumber Republicans 2-to-1.
I live in a state (Georgia) gerrymandered to death. Safe to say, the state is almost split 50/50 between Dems and Reps when statewide races are held, with slight swings in either direction depending on the race. A look at a red/blue map of GA counties shows about as strong a divide between urban/rural as you'll see anywhere...vast swaths of red and islands of blue in our cities. How the hell are Democrats in this state EVER to get decent representation when Republicans now control an overwhelming number of gerrymandered districts, not to mention the state legislature and all the top government positions?? The metro area of Atlanta, with 6.95 million people spread across 32 counties is this huge blue blob of humanity. How does one apportion districts in the state when there is far more land area covered by these rural districts. The only way to do this is construct districts so that they can include areas of the cities that are almost overwhelmingly blue. Thing is, Republicans do this--I call it "giving lip-service" to the idea of fair proportional representation--but they ALWAYS see to it that districts are drawn in such a way as to take in enough of the neighboring rural area to keep themselves in the majority. Democrats try and fight it, but with Republicans controlling everything here, including the courts, it never can get anywhere. I just wish--and it IS just starting to happen--Democrats would start throwing their weight around more. We need more independent re-districting boards. Demographics have shifted radically in GA in the past 20 years, but our representational system is a mess. Democrats NEED to engage in more gerrymandering here to at least see that there is a better balance of representation. "Turn-about is fair play" and I think we should give back to Republicans exactly the same type of gerrymandering they've been inflicting on us. Yes, I know "2 wrongs don't make a right", but until the system is reformed and made more fair, I say Democrats should gerrymander, and more, every chance they get. Otherwise we're going to end up in a position where we cannot do anything about it because they've engineered themselves into positions of power we can't contest.
Mostly agree with you. PA suffers from gerrymandering by Republicans. The district maps have been drawn again and again, then ordered by PA SCOTUS to re-draw for too heavily favoring Republicans. Which they cry about until they get a map handed to them.
While we wait for important election results, this is no time for idle hands. As Jessica Craven notes on her "Chop Wood, Carry Water:"
Keep Curing Ballots!
It’s so, so important. I am hearing about statehouse races that are down to a difference of two votes. THIS IS CRITICAL! We can win elections this way. Please sign up for a shift.
Pick your state:
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1u8kRrtXlFLEyJ3o87XSMIjT4mjE1zv1uBy2VYiBmEho/edit
https://chopwoodcarrywaterdailyactions.substack.com/i/83763354/keep-curing-ballots
Yes, thank you Ellie! Deadline is Tuesday for both NV and AZ, so we have to get cracking!
But important query Ellie: on the googledoc here Marc Elias includes this note:"** In Nevada... [t]here are 7,155 ballots that need to be cured before 5:00 pm PST on Monday, Nov. 14." I'm confused. Nevada state law says ballotmust be cured within "5 business days of the election"--which make the deadline Tuesday at 5pm, not Monday. I'm signed up on Mobilize for ballot curing Tuesday 2-4 (ET).
I checked with some ballot cure organizers and they said the deadline is definitely Monday. They were surprised by and couldn't explain the contradiction with state law. I found the law online last night, as of Jan 18 2022: "Nev. Rev. Stat. 293.325 Local election officials shall notify voters of missing or mismatched signatures. Voters have until the seventh day after the election to resolve the issue." But the organizers were quite certain: deadline is Monday at 5pm.
I don’t know the answer. I hope you’re right. In the meantime, I’m grateful for today’s work holiday giving extra time to help cure ballots. Great way to honor veterans!
Thanks Ellie!!
Cathy,
This eerie as heck video with "God's voice" saying "God Made a Fighter" (DeSantis of course) over and over and over, does not bode well for the future. It used to be random people would see the next chosen one in a dream. Now? The chosen one sees himself and then makes a twitter video for his wife to upload. No doubt, directly inspired by "God".
https://twitter.com/CaseyDeSantis/status/1588539069243473924
pretty funny, actually...
It would be funny, definitely.
If DeSantis was not serious.
For example, if I made a video that God himself was sponsoring me, say, visit Texas to run for governor, I am betting that would bring a smile to yours and everyone's face.
Gotta be a joke right?
De Santis won over Crist by on oddly wide margin, don’t you think? Some should look closely at the voting machines in that state. Remember the statistician he fired and harassed because she wouldn’t adjust the results of prior elections for him?
Democrats cannot also be election deniers.
Well, at least the election denial-ism of Democrats is reality based and not simply a product of hate and BS. That you would use this false-parity argument is interesting, and tells me a lot about your thinking.
Video footage is not hate and BS. You cannot write everything off as conspiracy theory, hate and BS. You must prove it.
No false parity here, just a different perspective. I believe in putting myself in the other man's shoes. It gives clarity.
GandalfGrey Writes Ideas and Opinion - "Video footage is not hate and BS."
What video are you referring to? What did I miss?
You didn't miss anything. I was referencing all the videos from the 2020 election showing misconduct by election officials, and mules running around dropping ballots in unsecured drop boxes.
Speaking of this is not hate speech or conspiracy theory. Obtusely pretending none of it happened is somewhat hateful in my opinion.
Is it intentional?
https://youtu.be/I7wREOySaxU
Trump is just too old. He may broker an Ambassadorship out of it, but he is becoming old news, except as a Democrat whipping boy.
“Democrat whipping boy?” I think Liz Cheney and Adam Kinzinger would beg to differ....45 has brought all the criticism on him self. He is a liar, a cheat and a treasonous tyrant. Forget old. He is a danger, clear and present, either in his corporeal form or another’s, like DeSanctimonious. 45 could drop dead tomorrow and his minions would have some other horror to foist on us. DeSank is also a danger and must be carefully watched by those of us who treasure our system and our people. We The People.
I just hope he keeps on putting his foot in his mouth all the way to solitary.
“Considering what we now know about Trump’s approach to election results, a claim to having rigged the 2018 Florida election was one heck of a statement. Josh Marshall at Talking Points Memo noted that even though Trump ‘is a pathological liar… this requires some explanation, if only a clear and definitive confirmation that this did not happen.’”
Rowshan, I hope they put him in general population. Let him wake up to the reality of life in prison. People are put there for a reason. Sometimes wrongfully, but in 45’s case, completely just.
You’re probably right, Elisabeth! He’ll be better off in general. I was just thinking that he’d be miserable from a lack of attention in solitary. 😉
Rowshan, we hope 45 is as miserable af. Couldn’t wish it on a worse guy…..I did prison work during law school, in the LA County Jail in 1977-80 on an ACLU lawsuit for decent treatment of prisoners. It was the largest holding facility in the country at that time. Leonard Peltier was one man we visited regularly. Some of the gang guys would scare the bloody bejesus out of 45….I’d love to be a fly on THAT wall…..
100% on all points.
You just made my point.
Are facts foreign to you?
What facts? I see an emotional tantrum employing the title of a hollywood film. Fitting.
Spot on Elisabeth.
While I agree DT is too old, please note that Senator Grassley at age 89 has just been re-elected for a six year term!
That is sickening, even if that bastard were 35....
Agree!
Evidently, he was a bastard, even at 35. It's not DT's age, it is his lack of knowledge, experience or any other qualification for the job.
I have a very hard time grasping how, at that age, one would campaign for office and choose to do such an intense job. Even at a much younger age, I only desire to work on creative projects, share creative inspiration with others, walk in the forest and practice music. I hope that's what I'll be doing at 89.
I hope that at 89 I'll still be able to hoist a tuba around!
I hope at 89 I will know where I am
Meanness seems to live forever, that said, although age is an equalizer, it also is as individual as DNA will allow…
Yes, like the wonderful Carters….thank goodness they are living on and on and doing such important things. Unlike Chuck the F***, who just wants to defeat democracy in his dotage. OMG.
That was one of my biggest disappointments...I thought that Mike Franken could pull it off and trounce that old fossil. WTF is wrong with Iowa?
WTF indeed!
More evidence Joe Biden can use...
Ambassadorship for tfg??? Heaven forbid! He belongs in jail, like anybody else that has committed the crimes he has committed!
Really…i thought the same. He would ruin even more relationships than he has already.
Rodman has a lock on N. Korea, so it's down to Russia, China or the UK. He has golf courses in all three if I'm not mistaken, so he can live rent free in their heads for a while.
The UK ? 🤬No, no a thousand times no! Our current political dunderheads are quite enough to be getting on with. If Nancy Pelosi retires she can come. I bet she likes a proper cup of tea.
I just can't imagine Nancy drinking tea in the afternoon. Maybe Italy?
It seems to me she would be a discerning imbiber of beverages in any country. BTW a proper cuppa can be had 24/7 in the UK. 😺
The love letters during 45’s bromance with the North Korean Dictator must have been some discussion of setting up a golf course in N.Korea. Right, i forgot, the people there are starving….guess no place to grow even a golf course. OMG.
Biggest joke ever, of course, he wouldn’t accept that. Well, maybe if he could monetize it, or cause a war…
TFG probably wouldn’t mind being ambassador to Russia. Or Saudi Arabia or any gulf state where he could profit from new hotel and golf course deals (CF the new LIV golf league, lotsa money to chase there).
Copycat.
Democratic not Democrat, please
I was a Democrat for a long time.
When they stop using elite superdegates to select a nominee they can justify calling the party democratic.
Another purist, God I wish the world were as I would have it be…. The perfect is the enemy of the good, or would you have it the reverse…
Jeri, we agree on a lot of stuff, but I have to agree with Gandalf here. There's some rot in the core of the Democratic Party that can't be denied. And sanctimonious posturing by the OLD Democratic Establishment just makes it harder to bear. I agree on the superdeligate part, and with the fact that Dems also use gerrymandering to their advantage. Both practices must stop in order for the Democratic Party to claim any high moral ground, regardless of the degree.
Please don't diminish me with your labels.
I'm perfectly willing to settle for the good. Superdelegates are disenfranchisement. There was a time when certain persons only counted for 3/5 of a vote. In the Democrat party, the time is now.
You know this is true.
Uhhhh... The super-delegates have been curtailed, pretty sharply. Tell you what... I'll give you the super delegates if you agree to have primaries nationwide and eliminate the caucuses.
Great answer. How many states do superdelegates anymore.....do you know?
There's A-Holes everywhere. The trick is to decide which flavor of sh*t sandwich you're willing to eat.
May Dems never forget the evil he has wrought. But then I never thought that Hitler would be a draw for any thinking human, ever again. But along comes chump.
You really should reconsider invoking Hitler inappropriately. It's an insult to the families who lost loved ones to his murderous regime. You have lost no one.
GandalfGrey - You may not like name calling or the invoking of Hitler. I on the other hand see what you are doing in these comments today and I would like to suggest that your trolling techniques go along very well with your switch to the other party. I too was a Bernie supporter and felt cheated. The difference is that I've moved on because the cost of staying back in 2016 and 2020 primaries has more cost to my soul and the overall cause, than I desire to bare. Please state you opinions rather than attack individual statements. You'll find this forum much more welcoming if you do. People might actually take your statements as digest them rather than take them and toss them away. Understanding that may not be your objective, and that your true objective is more sinister than that. If that is the case then I wish you well and I will choose to simply scroll past your repeated drivel. -saw-
No thinking, moral human being would react to Bernie's losses by turning Republican.
You could turn independent. Many have.
This was no attack. It was sound advice. Such invocations are disrespectful.
That being said, you are certainly free to express yourself by any means you see fit.
We lost a million of our fellow citizens to Covid, too many because of tfg's lies about Covid and refusal to do what was needed. Of course we would still have list many, but his wilful neglect and lying cost many many deaths.
I'll bet you support continuing of gain of function research in metro areas.
I'll bet you think Pfizer is a heroic giant corporation who is the biggest sponsor of nightly news and members of Congress.
I'll bet you think all those Trump vaccines were free.
No. Also, this is completely irrelevant to my point.
Surely you have another page to troll.
Agree
I hope the Republicans tear their party apart. Their only concerns are personal wealth and power.
That's why I hope that either tfg or DeSantis becomes the Repug candidate for president. Neither have a chance to win the country any more. And then I hope it's a death knell for the Repugs.
So you prefer a single party system, as long as it's your party presumably.
Which Democrat Candidate can beat them?
I do prefer a single party system when the alternative is one that advocates a theocratic autocracy. I would actually like to see a parliamentary system or at least several major parties that require coalitions and compromise. Only two parties, as we see, periodically become so polarized that there's a danger of tearing the country apart. But, since I'm not in charge, I'd prefer a dominant Democratic Party for the time being, over this situation that keeps us having to fight the same fights for civil rights repeatedly. There's so much more that could be done on such things as climate change, poverty, racism, war, international relations etc, if we didn't have to constantly pour resources into fighting to prevent us from sliding backwards.
Cathy I agree with you. I don't think DeSantis can withstand National scrutiny. He looks like quite the bully in his own backyard and has become the media's latest darling. trump will destroy him.
Republicans never let facts get in the way of a belief. They're a faith-based party, faith in whatever bullshit their fearless leader tells them the truth is.
Soon their karma will run over their own dogma. Or one can hope.
Are Dad jokes allowed on this feed?
When they fit the bill, and in small doses. Besides, my Mom is the first person who told me that joke in the 60's.
Tell it TC
TC, I know you know a bit of my backstory. Several years ago, before TFG, I mentioned to my youngest sister that the Federal budget had only been balanced twice in our lifetime. Once under Eisenhower and again under Clinton. She said Clinton didn’t balance the budget, he cooked the books. That was the beginning of my revision of Republicans. They’ll make up a story before they’ll accept the truth if it doesn’t support their beliefs.
Yep.
And the unhinged march along. Interesting that fascism as a “choice” is now on the table. I didn’t think the Ghastly Oligarchs Party would be quite so overt but dang they must be desperate.
Love Ghastly Oligarchs Party, which fits the Republican Party perfectly and is new to me. Congratulations for coining this phrase, which I will use from now on.
I’ve been using “Greedy Old Plutocrats.” But, I really like your formulation.
Oooo Ken: good one!
LOVE "Ghastly Oligarchs Party"!
Beau (of the Fifth Column) said today they’ve set their sights on RAISING the voting age. This has the odor of desperation.
Raise the voting age but not the gun owning age
Right. And currently teens, unable to vote are paying taxes.
Wait! Let’s not relax yet. There’s a close race for the Senate. We can all help get out Democratic votes in the Georgia run-off between Raphael Warnock and his extreme and disreputable MAGA opponent, Herschel Walker. Vote Forward has started a letter writing campaign targeting over 130,000 infrequent Democratic voters in Georgia. Their program has been shown to increase turnout by about 2 - 4%. My wife and I contributed $100 more to the Warnock campaign and have already prepared 60 Vote Forward letters. Here’s their site:
https://votefwd.org/
Republicans have sold their toxic stew to many MAGA true believers. We need to continue organizing to save democracy.
Please do what you can to help Senator Warnock keep his seat. The Senate race is still neck and neck. (I’m a volunteer letter writer and am not otherwise connected to the Vote Forward organization.)
Additional ways to help Warnock, from Jessica Craven's "Chop Wood, Carry Water:"
Sign up with Indivisible to be on their GA runoff volunteer team. They’ll let you know in the next few days how you can help.
https://act.indivisible.org/signup/ga-runoff-vol-2022/?source=email20221110&utm_source=email&t=5&referring_akid=84468.113385.oIj2Nt
Working Families Party has text banking for the runoffs! Happening almost every day! Sign up here.
https://www.mobilize.us/ga-wfp/event/540617/?fbclid=IwAR0Hzj0jG7C2BOKStK0fQhDSyS3BM8YqeRll9adcyOiaqhMf_XpShMb1mX8
Activate America is about to launch their GA postcarding effort. E-mail AnnaMartin@activateamerica.vote to be added to their list so you’ll be the first to hear when this campaign launches.
The Center For Common Ground will be launching postcarding and phonebanking into GA in the next 24 hours. Sign up here so you hear about these efforts right away.
https://www.centerforcommonground.org/#cfcgcontainershow
SURJ (Showing Up For Racial Justice) has several texting and phonebanking sessions already scheduled to help us win in GA. Sign up for one or more here.
https://act.surj.org/a/ga-runoff?emci=237ae7e6-6a60-ed11-ade6-14cb6534a651&emdi=24c61d93-6c60-ed11-ade6-14cb6534a651&ceid=549472
Donate to Rev. Warnock’s campaign here.
https://warnockforgeorgia.com/
Out of state and want to go knock doors in GA? Sign up here and someone from Indivisible Ventura will reach out!
https://www.mobilize.us/gavotes/event/521492/
Postcards To Voters now has a writing campaign for Warnock in GA.
If you are an approved writer:
1. Text HELLO to (484) 275-2229 or
2. Message HELLO to Abby the Address Bot on their Slack channel here: https://bit.ly/SlackAbby or
3. Send an email to: Request@AbbyAddresses.org
Not yet approved and ready to join Postcards To Voters?
1. Text JOIN to (484) 275-2229 or
2. Send an email to: Join@TonyTheDemocrat.org
https://chopwoodcarrywaterdailyactions.substack.com/p/chop-wood-carry-water-1110-66a
You're the "bee's knees," Ellie! Much appreciated info for Warnock!
Thanks Ellie!! (Found all this on Twitter too.)
Had never heard of the need for “curing” ballots. Curing means calling voters whose mail-in ballots are incomplete. Not only signed up to send postcards for Warnock but sent $$ to the Frisch campaign to help “cure” - will be critical to help both!! www.adamforcolorado.com. Send $$ if you can. Dumping Boebert would good for democracy.
Profoundly grateful to live in Minnesota where we flipped the State Senate back to blue and kept the House, Governor, Sec of State, Attorney General and my US. Rep Angie Craig. The down ballot results were even better - including county commissioners. Whoot!
What a fabulous list of resources, Ellie! I’ll share them with my Indivisible group. How can I share your comment to Facebook? I see that Jessica Craven has a blog on SubStack.
Can't you just copy the list of resources and paste it in your FB feed?
Yes, but I want the links to work.
I've had success copying, repasting into Word, activating the links, and then putting on FB. (Yes, I'm old--I'm sure the teens in the family have a good shortcut.)
How did you activate the links? Sorry, but this stuff is exacting when you haven't succeeded before. I tried downloading in Word format and copying and pasting that. It doesn't work.
Go for it, Gary! When I copied Jessica Craven’s list, the live links did not come through. So I opened them from her Chop Wood Carry Water to copy into this post.
Can we just copy and paste to our SM accounts? Is this allowed?
I have signed up for 3 campaigns. You made this so easy Ellie.
Many thx!
Is donating via "Act Blue" the only way to do it? I have not been pleased with my experiences with Act Blue, and am wondering if there is a more direct way to do it.
I also try to bypass ActBlue. Try. Yesterday I responded to a tweet of actor John Cryer’s double matching donations for Warnock by going directly to Warnock’s website. It’s ActBlue. In my efforts to minimize my ActBlue-ness, I failed to get a receipt or screenshot my donation to post for Cryer’s match. 😥 But I’m sure Cryer met his $10,000 cap, and Warnock got a bigger-than-normal chunk from me!
Onward! 💙
So, Ellie and Ally, what is your issue with Act Blue, if I may ask.
I posted what I thought was not Act Blue but it is, so I will delete it so as not to confuse you!
An ActBlue donation leads to an onslaught of aggressive solicitations, but nowadays I guess they all do. I'm not sure if they take a cut of the donation--I'd read once upon a time that it's more effective to donate directly to the candidate. But as we see with Warnock, "direct" = ActBlue!
Thanks for the explanation, Ellie. My donations overwhelmingly went through Act Blue. They ask for a tip which I thought and guessed was their cut, leaving the amount you donated 100% to the candidate.
Anyway, I just saw a while ago that Mark Kelly kept his Senate seat in AZ...Yippee!!
Thank You Ellie!!!
Can we copy and paste to our SM accounts? Is this allowed?
When a document for activism is publicly shared, I don't see why it wouldn't be allowed.
Vote Forward is a terrific organization. I wrote 150 letters leading up to the 2020 election, then wrote more for Raphael Warnock's run-off election. I'm still overseas but will be home next week and I plan to write letters for Warnock. We can't let him slip thru our fingers. I encourage everyone to write letters and if you can, contribute to his campaign.
And of course the inimitable Robert Hubbell has how to help Warnock covered and more in his newsletter tonight:
https://roberthubbell.substack.com/p/democratic-action-items
Awesome wake up suggestion Gary ! Let's have at it.
Gary S--me, too! I first heard about VoteFwd from frequent poster, Ellie Kona (below) and got involved.
We all see how just a few votes can flip a seat. If we all write just a few letters, we can get Warnock in again.
If anyone reading this would like to help but don't have the resources, please still go online and check them out. They will send you stamps and/or letter kits.
I have to say how genuinely touched I was with the President Biden's words about the younger generations today, just as I was with everyone who responded to my comment about my perspective on this several days ago.
Seeing all those articles about how the youth were missing in action right up til Election Day made me want to rip my beard hairs out individually. (Apparently anyone under 30 is a green wee sapling unblemished with the ways of the world, instead of taxpayers, breadwinners, and braintrust.) Of COURSE we were showing up. Of COURSE it was going to be day of, or right before. Have ANY of you spoken with ANYONE young or young-ish in the last half-decade, at least? We spend our days drowning in papers and screens. Why fill out and *mail* something (a foreign concept, practically), when you could get out for once and make an experience out of it. We are all about the experience. I'll bring my earbuds with me and daydream to some chill tunes, or better yet chat someone up. Doing something early is what your parents TELL you you should do. No thanks.
I hope I'm not perceived as being bitter or having some equally dismissive attitude towards the olds. It really will take all of us together to right this ship, and I don't care if you're 11 or 111. But it has become so clear to me that there is a true gap in understanding between the younger population of citizens and everyone else. I don't mean to indicate it involves any ill will or lack of attempt to understand. Not at all! But the internet and age of technology overload has changed everything related to communication and perception of one's place in a global community for those raised in it from childhood, so starkly so that the only thing that can compare is perhaps literacy pre- and post-printing press (or telephone).
We have our share of lazy non-participants, sure. Every generation does. But we have an absolute surfeit of Olivia Juliannas and Jack Petroczs and Maxwell Frosts and That Kid That Won the School Board in Boise. And their peers are aware of them and like them and wish to emulate them and speak out too. CARING IS COOL NOW. And not caring is not. There is no admiration for slackers in a world on fire. Heck, my brother (22) only follows politics right before voting, but we had a full conversation about he and his friends' opinions on the shifts in CA housing policy toward local zoning and insisting on duplexes, because - I quote - "God forbid we can afford something instead of you having a lawn to guzzle more water... the NIMBYs are so over!" (He supported AG Rob Bonta for this reason chiefly, as did I.)
Of course we were showing up. To save ourselves. To save America from itself. And because the President actually made an effort. He heard what was important to us - climate, gun control, debt relief - and tried and succeeded to make progress. We're progressive but pragmatic. We see that. We appreciate that. We offer support in return.
Of course we showed up. And we will in even greater numbers next time.
Roughly 4 million Americans will turn 18 in any given year. The voting power of our nation’s youth is literally growing every day. And that fact gives me hope for our future. As an “old”, I am glad you post your thoughts and observations here in LFAA for me to learn from.
I have 2 sons now in their 20s and I can agree with you that for them voting by mail is an old-fashioned concept, just like paying a bill by writing a paper check and sending it the mail. They don’t even HAVE paper checks (or envelopes or stamps!) - why would they with the availability of online banking and ApplePay and Venmo? Even though I know my sons don’t rely on the mail to pay bills, I didn’t overtly make the connection with not wanting to vote by mail. That makes total sense to me now.
There is a very definite gap in how the generations communicate and do everyday things. Until recently, for me, ordering a pizza meant picking up the phone and calling the local pizza place - now there’s an app for that. And I have adapted and come to love the convenience of using all kinds of apps because a young person has alerted me to them and then been kind and patient enough to teach me how, why and when to use them. I’m sure my sons would prefer a voting app or at least an online option. And I’d have to agree that given a little instruction, I would prefer that too.
Please keep sharing your perspective here. Your insights are valuable and educational to this “old”.
It never occurred to me 4 million people turn 18 every year! Thx for that hope.
Thank you for joining us! I’m one of those olds, but I’m on your team! I want a better world for my kids and grandkids and there’s so much to address and in many ways our government isn’t paying attention! One thing about us retired folks, those of us who are still able, now have the time to volunteer, reach out, serve on election boards, etc. It does, indeed, take all of us, doing what we can, where we can. Please comment more often.
You are needed, we are needed….we ALL are needed to put our shoulders to the wheel of the immense struggles that face us. I pay rapt attention, but try not to wallow (there is a life to live after all). You might find this concept interesting: https://hartmannreport.com/p/has-the-fourth-turning-begun As the (old) saying goes…”keep on keeping on”…. Thanks for your thoughts here, I appreciate them.
Thank You Barbara! Fascinating and Hopeful! Shared.
I just want to say what a great addition you make to the discussion here. Thank you.
Wil, please check out the YouTuber "Beau of the Fifth Column". He posts a few short clips every day. A couple of days back, he hit upon exactly one thing you mention: that the traditional method of polling (cold calls to the phones) are missing huge swaths of the population.
Please run for something so I can vote for you!
Thanks for this comment, Will. You shed light where it needs to be shed. For those of us in a certain generation (I don't care which one, but basically from Gen X back) we tend to think we are still cutting edge. We aren't. Our worlds are different, and I (for one) appreciate your insight.
Just as an aside... I play in a tuba chamber group (7 euphoniums and 8 tubas) whose age range is from 82-25. Our program director (82) is worried that our youngest person (25 and a teacher) won't be able to figure out the access to the parking garage and stage door entrance to our performance hall. I assured her last night that he could utilize his phone to navigate (something that she never does, and two other (older) members of our group are unable to do even though they try). Until the past month, at age 64, I was the youngest member of the group. I am now solidly in the middle!
Funny, I choose to vote in person on Election Day (Tuesday) as well, and for similar reasons - the walk, the experience. Forty nine years since my first chance to vote, and it's still a fulfilling experience.
A Churchillian moment for Adam Schiff.
So now he needs to codify Roe ... among other campaign promises, federal marijuana comes to mind. I’m ready to breathe easier for a bit. I want to see any of the lawsuits pending against TFG bear fruit ie jail time. We need some serious perking up.
When can he codify Roe? That has to be done by the Legislature. Pelosi might get it through the House. McConnell will surely filibuster it in the Senate.
There wre, in September, 10 Republican senators willing to vote for the codification of Roe, giving them the 60-votes to defeat a filibuster and McConnell said he would not invoke one. Schumer put it off to after the mid-terms. We'll see if that holds now. With the way the voting went on the topic, it might just still be a deal that can be made.
I do remember hearing that. Perhaps there is some hope? And, it sounds like Schumer is a key player.
I think McConnell will quit if he doesn't get the gavel back. One more thing to be grateful for!
Oh puhlezzz let it be so.
Two days after the election and the glow of avoiding a "red wave" is wearing off. I realize that historically the party in the White House loses seats in Congress and, given Biden's poor ratings, the losses could have been much worse. Having said that, notwithstanding all of the Republican extremism and not offering any solutions or rational policy agenda, the fact that they picked up any seats at all is deeply depressing. The election may tell Republicans that they no longer need to bow to Trump, but they still intend to pursue the same policies and even some of the same tactics. It looks like we will have a Republican House that will do nothing but hold investigations on Hunter Biden and God knows what else; they will prevent Biden and Democrats from enacting any meaningful legislation to run on in 2024. And instead of Trump running in 2024, it will be DeSantis - whose tone may be slightly better than Trump, but his policies are indistinguishable. So, yes, I'm glad the predicted red wave did not happen. But what did happen is hardly heartening.
See, the glow I'm feeling is less one of disaster averted, and more of getting (almost) everything I wanted. I wanted us to at least be in a position to kill the filibuster - if not now then in '25 - and it looks likely I will get that. I wanted to break the legislative stranglehold the Repubs have on the swing states (and more liberal state trifectas) - and I got that. I wanted extremist election deniers to get a hard slapdown where feasible - and seems like I got that, too. More than anything, I just wanted numerical confirmation that as big a number of Americans as possible weren't vapid, fickle, and amoral... and I got that. I'm not feeling triumphant, but I AM heartened, thanks.
If the Repubs do gain the House this round (not a done deal), then it will be by a tiny margin, and the 218th vote will be not a Bible Belt true cultist but a business-minded type from a Biden-leaning district who just got the excrement scared out of them. Of course it will be a circus, just like Obama's last few years. Let 'em go for it and hang themselves. Hauling in Fauci to grill him on why he dared to save so many grandmas from the plague is not going to endear them to the public, especially when the split screen is Biden at the unveiling of that snazzy new chip factory. The Dens don't *need* any new policies. The ones they enacted are impressive enough to run on again, especially since their true benefit will only have sunk in for most people by then. Progress isn't linear; we just need to stay well positioned in the long game. We are, still.
It is now clear the public is determined to not only reject tfg himself, but his style and ideas as well. We must keep our guard up and not make assumptions, obviously, but I don't think nominating a Cheeto clone instead of the Cheeto himself will work out much better for them on the national stage. They need to total brand revamp. Of course they have always been awful from my perspective... I'm a liberal. But they will win again, because my "side" can't win all the time. And when that happens, I need to be able to grouse about it on the daily but still sleep at night. It is becoming increasingly clear most Americans of all reasonable stripes feel the same.
Thanks for this, Will. I am just hoping that we can continue on this path, and come up with better messaging for the next election in 2024.
Thank you for articulating what I could not!
Have to agree, breathing is easier but no one (at least not many) have any illusions that republicans have learned a damn thing. I remember 2012, when republicans were advised to rethink their direction and priorities. Well, they did, and decided on embracing evil.
The red wave was not going to happen. But if it had, and for many states where this minority won, it was due to Republican gerrymandering. Michigan accomplished our Democratic Trifecta (Governor, House and Senate) through our CITIZEN effort to UN-gerrymander the deliberate 2011 Republican ploy to assure (as my senator gleefully exclaimed) "No Democrat will ever win again in this state!". Here's how every state can do it:
https://votersnotpoliticians.com/
You captured my thoughts perfectly! The fact that so many Republicans were re-elected and a run off is required for Herschel Waker is really disturbing and disheartening to me.
"Biden told the attendees [of the DNC event] that Democrats 'beat the odds' in the midterms 'for one reason—this is not hyperbole—because of you…. I really mean it…. You believed in the system. You believed in the institutions. You fought like hell for it.'"
It was not the DNC, wholly owned subsidiary of corporate America, who fought like hell. It was people like us, who phone-banked our way through the year and gave our retirement nest-eggs to Justice Democrats and the Movement Voters Project and John Fetterman and wrote postcards and letters to GOTV till our hands cramped too badly to hold a glass of water, and canvassed and leafleted and dared to work at the polls, and watch them, despite the thugs with guns who watched us watch democracy take place. And it was the young people, to whom Biden broke his promises to clear their education debt and stop drilling in the oceans and the reservations and recreate free college--like they have in Tunisia, and once had in California. The DNC spent millions supporting people like Henry Cuellar, the abortion opponent who fought the right to unionize and worked with his fellow Blue Dogs to derail Build Back Better, or in 2020 Joe Manchin, who wants to see the beautiful green earth turn to a lump of sizzling coal in our children's lifetimes so he can buy another yacht. The DNC didn't go without sleep this year to save democracy. We did. And Biden has yet to thank us.
Exactly!!!! I just received an email with the heading ¨Not asking for money.¨ It was a questionnaire regarding President Biden and whether or not I thought yada yada yada. It ended with a plea to chip in . I continue to send these back letting them know that they are crap, and that it is those of us working daily, tirelessly who gave them the numbers. Not the DNC.
¨
I used to read those “not asking for money “ emails with questionnaires and the surprise ask at the end. I have also gotten shaming texts, “why won’t you give etc”. But I have given including to out of state candidates. I liked the question once upon a time on our tax returns: do you want to give $1 to the presidential election? Those were the days. Before volunteering for postcards and stamps. And phone calls. And daily texts and emails asking for more and more. Our contributions are small compared to Big Money. Thanks to Citizens United: “This is perhaps the most troubling result of Citizens United: in a time of historic wealth inequality,” wrote Weiner, “the decision has helped reinforce the growing sense that our democracy primarily serves the interests of the wealthy few, and that democratic participation for the vast majority of citizens is of relatively little value.” https://www.brennancenter.org/our-work/research-reports/citizens-united-explained#.Y235urv-a80.link
Taxpayer funded elections instead of bought by oligarchs. It has taken me many years to sign on to that, but would in a nanosecond
I remember that $1 question on our tax returns, Irenie!
These days, after ignoring the "why won't you give" question, I started answering: "Because I ran out of money!"
Great answer. The truth!
lol
Great comeback, and good morning, Lynell!!
I've given up on both the Democratic and Republican National Committees. The RNCC should be charged under the RICO statutes for their involvement and funding of criminal activities. The DNCC severed any relationship with me when they funded Republican candidates with my donations! That action may have been clever and cute but it doesn't fit my personal ethics.
Donate directly to the candidates, I do.
I meant to point out that the DNC spent its money in *primaries* as well as general election campaigns, fighting Democratic challengers who tried to dislodge tools like Cuellar and Manchin. That's not "believing [our country's] institutions."
The rules have been for a long time that the DNC defends incumbents. Since the incumbents finance the DNC, it would be surprising were it otherwise. This goes back that I am aware of to when I first got involved supporting JFK. If the DNC went around financing insurgents, party unity would be hard to maintain. It's tradition that since insurgents are operating outside the party organization, they finance themselves.
That is not a rule, it's a habit.
I agree. And I have no first hand knowledge of TX. Although IN is an anomaly of its own. When Bernie took the primary in 2016 I was happily shocked. And then the DNC played their wild card and I actually know people who went from Bernie to Trump... which still boggles my mind.
In the case of Cuellar, the DNC chose their habit over their principles. Rather than support a pro choice progressive, they chose a pro life moderate. I guess it’s ok to use Roe when it works for you. Damn the women and girls in your party.
Question: can you demonstrate that, in that conservative district, your pro-choice progressive would have won? We lost a seat in Oregon that was occupied by a conservative Democrat who was beaten in the primary by a pro-choice progressive who just got herself beaten bloody by the Republican because she didn't fit the district.
Those conservative Ds may be conservative, but the D counts toward who runs the show, and they both voted for Pelosi in all votes. Having that guy in Oregon re-elected would mean we only have to win 4 of the remaining 6 outstanding seats.
This argument that Democrats only "win" when they run a "real" Democrat is as much horseshit as the Republicans saying the only "real" Republican is a Trumper. The fact is that progressives do not win outside of major urban areas most of the time. And we have to expand out of those areas, so "purity tests" are a great way to lose. As the Rs have shown this week.
Cisneros and Cuellar were neck and neck.
I donated to her campaign. I will never send the DNC another thin dime. I donate directly to the candidate. When Bernie was running, I signed up with a fair sized monthly donation. I included a letter that if he conceded his campaign to please refund some of my money. I didn’t care if he spent every penny but I didn’t want my money turned over to the DNC. Do you know, when he dropped out, he sent me a check.
I’m not in TX. But my oldest lives there. In our talks he felt Cisneros had as good a shot as Cuellar. I’m not sure how that area was gerrymandered, which would make a difference, but San Antonio is a mostly blue pocket, maybe purple.
Yeah, I'm not there either, but is San Antonio blue enough? Purple is a color that varies from dark (almost blue) to light (almost red). Over the rest of this decade, we have to be very transactional. We cannot make a district fit a candidate, it is always the other way around. The last time Democrats commanded any real majorities, the party was far more diverse ideologically than it is now. Ideological purity is a great way to make a "tidy fortune" - out of a "large fortune." That fact can be demonstrated everywhere. Yes, I wish my view of the world was shared by the majority, but it isn't; so I am fine if I can get "the maximum available," which varies.
Too true, Mary!
Here is the best analysis I've read this year:
https://open.substack.com/pub/chrishedges/p/the-politicians-who-destroyed-our?r=dw1an&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web
Jeff, agreed, Biden is a complicit politician who frankly lied his way into the presidency--with the indispensable help of Jim Clyburn. But imho Chris Hedges doesn't analyze, he rants. He was understandably traumatized by the censorship of the NYT (a paper I've always referred to as Pravda), but has not recovered. He's lost the power to think but not his eloquence. There is no such thing, conceptually, as "the Democrats," unless you can honestly see a party that fields such varied politicians as AOC and Joe Manchin, Maxine Waters and Nancy Pelosi (from the same state even!), Bill Clinton and Bernie Sanders, Maura Healey and Ralph Northam as somehow representing a single ideology and shouldering equal blame for the failure of democracy! He doesn't even get analytical enough to attack the DNC rather than "the Democrats"--and even if he had, he'd have to explain why a Black, Muslim freedom fighter like Keith Ellison was willing to run for its leadership only 5 years ago.
Thank Gaia it went as well as it did. I’m still gobsmacked that So many Republicans were elected. I mean, really, all they want to do is steal, cheat, hate on women, immigrants, POC, wreck the planet, let the infrastructure collapse and rot and amaze non-Americans with their incompetence, disrespect and lack of dignity.
What’s not to like, hahaha. Shocking to me too. Wish I had said that. You left out kill SS and Medicare. Not ONE redeeming feature. Dems not perfect by any stretch, but they have some humanity.
Well, yes. But if you are FOR all of those things to happen and FOR all of those attitudes, then supporting them with your vote would come quite naturally, now would it not?
Haters gonna hate.
https://votersnotpoliticians.com/
Sounds to me like trump has mow admitted to “fixing” an election for Ron Desanctimonious!
Another charge pending! God, I hope so
That, or it's one of his alternate reality lies. Either way, I should think Ronnie should want to refute it, both to prove that he won legitimately and didn't need drump "help". If drump is indeed telling the truth in his inimitable fashion of shooting feet with inadvertent confessions, then that should also be investigated, should it not?
We’re not forgetting Senator Rick Scott (R-FL) are we? Remember his 11-point plan to ‘Rescue America?’ How is this ambitious Florida senator doing since the midterm election results have been coming in?
‘In February, Scott unveiled a proposal to curb excessive government spending should Republicans take back the majority in Congress after the midterm elections. His 11-point plan called for sunsetting all federal legislation after five years.'
‘Scott’s blueprint also called for “Congress to issue a report every year telling the public what they plan to do when Social Security and Medicare go bankrupt.”
'At a rally in Syracuse, N.Y., last week, President Biden said Republicans were demanding cuts to the programs.'
“They’re so determined to cut Social Security and Medicare, they’re willing to take down the economy over it,” Biden said. “There is nothing, nothing that will create more chaos or do more damage to the American economy than that happening, if it were to happen.”
'House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) distanced himself from any plans to cut back the social programs.'
'Scott told CNN’s Dana Bash on “State of the Union” (this past Sunday before the midterm elections) that he is “going to fight like hell” to preserve the social programs.'
‘Data for Progress, a left-leaning organization, released a poll in August that found 65 percent of likely American voters were “very concerned” about the government reducing Social Security benefits.’
‘THE BIDEN ADMINISTRATION RECENTLY INCREASED SOCIAL SECURITY PAYCHECKS by 8.7 percent to adjust for inflation and BOOST the PAY of about 70 million Americans starting next year.'
(TheHill) See link below.
https://thehill.com/homenews/senate/3712240-rick-scott-i-dont-know-one-republican-in-favor-of-slashing-retirees-benefits/
‘National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC) Chairman Rick Scott (Fla.) in a race to serve as Senate majority leader.’
‘Scott stoked speculation about his leadership ambitions on Sunday, when he refused to rule out challenging McConnell, who says he has the votes to win.’
‘He would have been virtually certain to lose. But Scott’s challenge was not so much aimed at unseating the longtime Senate Republican leader as it was channeling the anger of grassroots conservatives, and the former president, who were peeved at McConnell’s criticism of the “candidate quality” of this year’s roster of Senate GOP candidates.’
‘The idea was that those supposed mediocrities would romp to victory, credit Scott for his steadfast support and shame McConnell for his lack of faith — while also starting to loosen the 80-year-old’s grip on his leadership post. But only one of those candidates — Ohio’s J.D. Vance — won his race outright. Arizona’s Blake Masters appears likely to lose, Georgia’s Herschel Walker is in a runoff, and Pennsylvania’s Mehmet Oz and New Hampshire’s Donald Bolduc were defeated.’
Looks like senator Rick Scotts star and fallen a bit, don’t you think?
https://www.politico.com/news/magazine/2022/11/10/rick-scott-mcconnell-midterm-elections-martin-00066400
When I lived in Florida 2013-19 we called him Prick Scott. Just sayin’....
Lifelong Floridian here. We also called him Pink Slip Rick, as in give him a pink slip and get rid of him. When he was first elected, he immediately set out to sell Florida state parklands to developers. He required state welfare recipients to get drug tested at his own drug-testing facilities. No joke. He was incredibly unpopular but had so much money (from his Medicare-fraud days as CEO of Columbia HCA hospital systems that he ran into the ground) that he self-funded two term purchases of the governor’s mansion and then his Senate seat. If Trump was able to use the FBI to influence Scott’s and DeSanctimonious’s seat-of-the-pants wins in 2018, I want to hear more. I loathe Trump but I do like his new nickname for the governor, by the way.
Susan, you are woman after my own heart! 💜 I love DeSatan’s newest nickname. I will continue to use it. Your info should be blasted loud and wide, like through Lincoln Project as a bouncy, clever ad. Write to them. Seriously. He is a monster for all the reasons you list and others we can’t even imagine. I lived on Singer Island, Riviera Beach for six years. I bought my modest condo for its proximity to the beach, a ten minute walk, with a “right of way” past a Marriott luxury hotel on the beach. Well, all the Repugnants in my community were livid when their candidate and Governor (he wasn’t senator yet….) slimed a deal with all the corporate vampires to BAN anyone, other than their guests, access to the beaches in front of their luxury hotels. Just imagine, you have to drive .5 miles to a public beach where Black people go. As well as lots of other people. OMG, you would think they were going all to die on the spot of heart attacks. He was a vile creep in my book. Still is…..
Never forget
When people show you who they are, believe them.
JD Vance was 'gifted' his voters by gop mapmakers in a state that it's Supreme Court ruled as unconstitutional. Then Federal judges appointed by the orange grim creeper ruled that Ohioans must vote by those rigged maps anyway, even though there was more than ample time to find Constitutionally sound solutions. Vance did not win; he was crowned.
Gerrymandered districts don’t matter in a statewide race.
That’s right 👍
Hey Gail... I was on a roll ~ did you have to pop my balloon ? (lol) You're right from the absolute numbers standpoint, absolutely. (btw; I've wondered if Fla/Va means 'from Fla to Va' or the other way around.. strictly just curious. thx)
Born and raised in “Virginny”, and its connotations, now a resident of the Keys and NNK of VA. Pray for me. 🤣
I liked Va. a lot when I was there. Were you from a rural area or metro ? (NNK of VA ?)
NNK = Northern Neck, on the Chesapeake Bay, quite rural, for 20 years. Born and raised in Richmond.
J.D. Vance's victory on Wednesday to represent Ohio in the US Senate comes with a number of stories. Growing up in the city of Middletown, Ohio, a family history of poverty, low-paying, physical jobs, his grandparents' alcoholism and abuse, and his unstable mother's history of drug addictions; he was 'saved' by his maternal grandmother (Mamaw) and went on to serve our nation in the Iraq War as a Marine, received his law degree from Yale Law School, became a successful investor in Silicon Valley and wrote the bestselling book, Hillbilly Elegy.
How do you beat that fairytale, D4N -- from rags to riches, an American Dream?
Hillbilly Elegy is an insult to every Appalachian Mamaw and Papaw I worked with in West Virginia. The best, most giving people. J.D.'s victory is as much a lie as his book. So deeply sad and disturbing.
Fern, You parrot the published talking points and narrative that everyone knows. I agree, taken at face value a compelling story. Another portion of his story is just what I told; he was crowned by the only powers that be in Ohio, the gop mapmakers and story polishers. He's the newest, bright shiny thing; a somewhat celebrity that our masters here seem to like. What he does in the senate, if he survives, is something that's yet to be told. I do hope he's not the reliable gop leadership vote that craters something you care about.
You have got to be right, D4N, as you came by to repeat your point, which I am not alone in knowing as well as you do. Could you have neglected to read or, perhaps, did not comprehend my first sentence, ' J.D. Vance's victory on Wednesday to represent Ohio in the US Senate comes with a number of stories.' I then proceeded to give one of them. In proclaiming your superiority, as though I denied your point, you were impelled to insult me. You are such an absolutist, am I to understand that many voters in Ohio were not impressed with Vance's accomplishments given the difficulties he faced? Can you hear my beak clicking, and my growling, typical of the sounds parrots make. Drop by any time, D2N. I have retained some of my collegiate fencing skills. Salud.
Oh Fern, I didn't intend to insult you.. you have my sincere apology. I enjoy your shares ! I do have a sarcastic sense of humor; perhaps that carries through in my writing; a thing I'll be somewhat mindful of. I am an absolutist where electoral fairness is concerned. I neither deny nor apologize for that. Obviously the winning number of 'statewide' voters were indeed impressed, hence the result. As I also said, his story in the senate has not been written yet, and I do sincerely hope that he is not the reliable gop vote that craters something you care about. Perhaps fencing scholarships ? If you're making coffee I like, I'd love to stop. Thanks for the invite.
I am glad you returned for another round, D4N. I think that you are both easy on yourself and charming. You were insulting without justification, careless in your reading of my comment, which did not dispute your points, and you were imperious. Withal, I think we could enjoy one another's company. In your eagerness to be on top, however, the openness to learn from one another is closed off. Why would you want to mock or deride a fellow subscriber who was offering an additional story? The only matching that I suggest is that we both, perhaps, place a high value on the truth and fairness. As for respect I think that is the quality worth addressing.
That ugly, lying bastard needs to fade away. Unreal that the Dems rarely mentioned him and his plan to screw the old folks. It was the winning issue among most MAGAts, I would surmise. Never forget him or Steven Miller, their ugly arses are always busy, planning destruction and spinning to the nth degree
Neither should we forget Steve Bannon who is laser-focused on "de-contructing" the U.S. government.
Fern, yes, Scott’s star has fallen: the repubs may not call themselves “trumpers” but they are. He’s done just what he wanted. His name and image forever in politics. Like his brands and towers and lies. Scott’s plan for “Sunsetting” America.
Scott’s blueprint also called for “Congress to issue a report every year telling the public what they plan to do when Social Security and Medicare go bankrupt.” Shudder to think of our country with repubs in the White House.
You go Fern!
You go, too!
Whew.
If I have to hear about Ron DeSantis running for president for the next two years, I don't think I can stomach it. It's like another incarnation of the orange head. All this attention to him and not nearly the attention to Gretchen Whitmer who had such a major victory in her state, but hey, she's "just" a woman.
If DeSantis and TFG go head to head for the top Republican contest in 2024, that is a cage match I will relish to watch.
Will Ron levy a special tax on TFG’s Mar A Lago paradise? Pull his housing permit?
How much and how long will TFG piss on the Gov of his home state?
Will TFG move out of Florida to escape the Wrath of Ron? Where will TFG run to, surely he can’t go back to his tower in NY?
What ire will the Ron Don bring upon his friend turned nemesis?
The drama! The pathos! This will be a doozey of a 52-part mini series. Shakesperes, warm up you quills and ink pot.
Our Governor Gretchen Whitmer earned her voter support, walking or cross country skiing through every county, city and village with local folks, listening to our concerns ("It's the damn roads") for 2 years before the election, after a superb career in our legislature and senate. Then she delivered! In the meantime, We The People, were able to end gerrymanderring by putting the independent redistricting commission on the ballot! Do it in your state!
https://votersnotpoliticians.com/
Ron and Greg know how to grab the headlines of hate. Seems to work in Tx and Fl. Maybe because their voter “integrity” laws stacked the deck to make it so. Hope other states take a lesson from Michigan
https://votersnotpoliticians.com/
Not just her btw - the house and senate in Mi. flipped as well. How astounding was that for a wave.
The Trifecta! Un-Gerrymandered in Michigan exposes our true color, Blue!
https://votersnotpoliticians.com/
Spot-on Professor. On Gen Z voters & the 18 to 29 year olds, please note the illuminating hard data published by the 'CIRCLE' folks at Tufts. Many thanks to FERN McBride who linked to the CIRCLE report in yesterday 's LFAA. As I posted yesterday, Gen Z are all genders, have color, smarts, are mobile, tech savy & colorful. Good job all.