And don’t forget to include other widely-read news outlets: Washington Post, The Guardian, LA Times. Maybe even the WallStreetJournal could be convinced to widen their view with Heather’s Letter.
I agree. This letter provides so much positive that we never hear from MSM. We are drowned out by negative reporting on everything Biden and the Democrats.
I firmly believe the reason Biden’s numbers dropped from Afghanistan is because he rescued ally’s, not just any ally, “terrorists” in the peoples minds because this is what the Republicans fed the public. My own Rep. Darrell Issa put out multiple negative tweets every day and did endless interviews. He still says Americans are left behind. Then he sneaks in the fear mongering ever so carefully because he has a big community of Afghan constituents. Some of them were ones “left behind”. They went in the Spring, ignoring all the warnings. Plus, as I replied many times to Issa, the U.S. doesn’t track people, they were free to go.
Jim, you are correct. As I've written here and on the Washington Post: If you want to get supporters, you need to go to the hollers and the hoods to listen to the people and do what they want. This is what the Rev. William Barber has been telling people for some time. And if the Democrats really want to gather power and remain so, they need to do this, rather than going to places like The Hamptons to raise money from wealthy Democratic elite supporters.
Yes, Chaplain Terry, but votes are more important. And if you listen to the those folks in the hollers and the hoods and actually do things from what you heard, you might actually receive small amounts of cash from those people in addition the votes you would need to win in the next election. If the Democrats don't, it's very likely they will lose both houses of Congress. They must get off their elite asses and get out there!
How about somebody start some cheap rags that openly cheer the Dems (and us !) to crowd out "The Mirror" and the "Sun" that stare at you as you wait for the food to go down the conveyer belt and you brainlessly absorb what you see? Be blatant in celebration! F' them if they can't take a joke.
Jim—I disagree. The “choir,” so to speak, is increasingly checking out because, despite some accomplishments, they understandably are discouraged by the degree of polarization and disfunction that, for example, blocks their own party, without Republican support, from passing voter protection legislation, even while GOP controlled state legislatures unilaterally pass bill after bill that restricts voting and nullifies votes.
I contend that those among us, who are becoming increasingly disheartened, need to hear from HCR. Even as our partners in this struggle call optimism into question, we all need fortification to remain hopeful, if for no other reason than to stay in the fight.
I agree. that matters and needs to happen. Still, let's not imagine that the words we read, and the forums we visit to comfort ourselves and maintain our strength are the same ones that will reach the people who aren't checked out from discouragement, but simply because they haven't checked in since last November.
Subscribers don't imagine that our roles on the forum of LFAA is to solely soothe our 'savage' breasts and minds as we're here to learn, share with one another, support social justice, economic fairness and Democracy. I'm a tad annoyed if being talked down to.
Thank you, Barbara. Subscribers on the forum expressed appreciation for this Letter and some were sharing it with people they know as well as posting it on Facebook/Meta. My question to Jim is why do you remain in this choir? Is to preach a different sort of sermon? That's okay, Jim has a before him the choir that HCR built.
In early 2016 when I expressed fear that Trump could win, someone tried to persuade me that it could not happen because our country was not that angry. Since its become clear that many are that angry and others were clever enough to harness the anger to gain support and win votes where they mattered. The Republican leaders, using disinformation, are conducting a very well orchestrated campaign of anger and fear — much of it is nonsensical, but it worked — it is working.
Democrats have been countering that campaign with uncoordinated expressions of outrage among their loyal and often disparate constituents. Editorials in MSM function as internal communications. The Party’s policies are sound; the messaging and execution are not.
Instead of talking just to one another, Democrats need a means to reach outsiders via their favored media and in their own voices. Messages about Biden’s accomplishments need to reach patrons of right wing media in voices that resonate to that audience. The challenge is to impact the narrative from within not from outside. Foreign actors found a way to control such conversations, why can’t the Democrats do the same but with facts and truth?
Nonetheless, every American needs to read this Letter. Bravo and thank you Heather Cox Richardson.
Sorry, this reads like a press release from the DNC rather than a piece of objective reporting or even an Op-Ed that makes well reasoned arguments. To pick just one item as example, prior to the Afghanistan withdrawal Biden made numerous false statements. For example, downplaying the risk of a Taliban takeover (see July 8 WH Q&A) or saying that troops would remain until 100% of Americans were evacuated. And, on Syria, Trump WAS absolutely killed for the Syrian withdrawal - even by Republicans. https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/national-security/disaster-betrayal-mistake-republicans-slam-trump-s-syria-pull-out-n1063251
Boo! So you’d point out Biden’s accomplishments differently? How? Remember, readers here are recommending this letter as an op-ed piece. An op-ed piece!
I think you can still do that with some objectivity. (See for example the David Brooks piece 'Joe Biden is Succeeding" in NYT - although I think he's too optimistic.) I thought people read HCR to learn something - and this seems to be all about cheerleading. There are a thousand sources I can get cheerleading from - on both the left and right. BTW, in answer to the commenter below, I voted for Biden in 2020 and would do so again.
I think there are some of Heather’s pieces that certainly speak to this audience. This may be one of them. However, if you are writing a column regarding Biden’s accomplishments, I imagine it’s going to read very optimistically unless it’s balanced by decisions that either didn’t work or haven’t gone over well with both parties. I don’t even consider Republican criticism of Biden because, let’s face it, they’re out to skewer him any way they can. They are shameful, hateful hypocrites who don’t care about bipartisanship, the Constitution or democracy, or any American who they consider “left,” which is basically all Democrats. I understand there are some good Republicans, but unfortunately the overwhelming majority of them are cowards who follow Trump only because they don’t have the guts to stand up against his incessant intimidation. Biden has done a lot for the country already but he’s simply not given enough credit. The media seems far more interested in what jerks like Trump, Bobert, Greene, Gaetz, Godard, etc. ad infinitum, do and think. Hate seems to sell ad space and get more reads than decency and good stewardship of the country. I think Heather did a good job of compiling Biden’s efforts to be a good steward. For God sakes, look at the scale of hate he’s up against. Every time I see my brother-in-law, a nice guy but a Republican conspiracy theorist, he makes unnecessary wise cracks about Biden, from his age and supposed senility to his son Hunter’s involvement with whatever he’s supposedly involved with. I don’t reply for my wife’s sake, but I’d really just like to treat him like a bad child, which to me he is. Imagine being Biden and putting up with a whole country of these idiots. I know I’m digressing. Biden will only get his due when history examines his actions weighed against the hateful environment that stifles his presidency. Good for Heather to list them, even for an audience that is largely pro-Biden.
Yet you’re here with zero objectivity. It seems you’re looking for Biden to fail. Do you want HCR to preach doom and gloom? Is that the only acceptable form of writing you’re open to? There are no lies is what HCR said. Why do you insist on denigrating her? I don’t care who you voted for, it sounds like you’re the cheerleader for Trump here and only want to hear the Biden is failing. Maybe you should read what you wrote from the perspective of your audience.
If you don’t respect the honesty that HCR employs to write her newsletters and provide information why do you read them? After all it appears you are out here to criticize Biden and support the actions of Republicans. They could have stopped the slaughter of the Kurds, but they didn’t. They could have been proactive in the transition so the Biden Administration was prepared. Even today Ted Cruz is doing everything he can to keep posts from being filled and putting the security of the country at risk just so they can make Biden look bad. And you seem to have fallen for it hook, line and sinker.
Why not submit this piece as a letter to the Editor or Opinion Piece in the NYT? You have a wide following and we need to make it ever WIDER!
And don’t forget to include other widely-read news outlets: Washington Post, The Guardian, LA Times. Maybe even the WallStreetJournal could be convinced to widen their view with Heather’s Letter.
I agree. This letter provides so much positive that we never hear from MSM. We are drowned out by negative reporting on everything Biden and the Democrats.
I firmly believe the reason Biden’s numbers dropped from Afghanistan is because he rescued ally’s, not just any ally, “terrorists” in the peoples minds because this is what the Republicans fed the public. My own Rep. Darrell Issa put out multiple negative tweets every day and did endless interviews. He still says Americans are left behind. Then he sneaks in the fear mongering ever so carefully because he has a big community of Afghan constituents. Some of them were ones “left behind”. They went in the Spring, ignoring all the warnings. Plus, as I replied many times to Issa, the U.S. doesn’t track people, they were free to go.
Yes, yes, yes! Even the Lincoln Project referred recently to Heather Cox Richardson's excellent newsletters.
Their ads are placed in all the right places on cable TV.
More preaching to the choir. The people we need to reach don't read those worthy publications.
How might we meet them where they are in a way they understand?
PS-- The first person to throw up their hands and say it's hopeless because of the Fox News bubble will get a Bronx cheer.
Jim, you are correct. As I've written here and on the Washington Post: If you want to get supporters, you need to go to the hollers and the hoods to listen to the people and do what they want. This is what the Rev. William Barber has been telling people for some time. And if the Democrats really want to gather power and remain so, they need to do this, rather than going to places like The Hamptons to raise money from wealthy Democratic elite supporters.
Well maybe they need to do both...the money still matters!
Yes, Chaplain Terry, but votes are more important. And if you listen to the those folks in the hollers and the hoods and actually do things from what you heard, you might actually receive small amounts of cash from those people in addition the votes you would need to win in the next election. If the Democrats don't, it's very likely they will lose both houses of Congress. They must get off their elite asses and get out there!
Yes, Democrats need to show up in rural areas and urban neighborhoods. Be there.
Agreed! Got to get to hometown newspapers. In the middle of America.
And how might we reach the people who don’t read newspapers?
How about somebody start some cheap rags that openly cheer the Dems (and us !) to crowd out "The Mirror" and the "Sun" that stare at you as you wait for the food to go down the conveyer belt and you brainlessly absorb what you see? Be blatant in celebration! F' them if they can't take a joke.
That is a great idea. And we could get it up and running quickly
Yellow journalism can change hue and flow another direction.
Jim, The Bronx is much better than that
Especially the Italian food on Arthur Avenue!
Jim—I disagree. The “choir,” so to speak, is increasingly checking out because, despite some accomplishments, they understandably are discouraged by the degree of polarization and disfunction that, for example, blocks their own party, without Republican support, from passing voter protection legislation, even while GOP controlled state legislatures unilaterally pass bill after bill that restricts voting and nullifies votes.
I contend that those among us, who are becoming increasingly disheartened, need to hear from HCR. Even as our partners in this struggle call optimism into question, we all need fortification to remain hopeful, if for no other reason than to stay in the fight.
I agree. that matters and needs to happen. Still, let's not imagine that the words we read, and the forums we visit to comfort ourselves and maintain our strength are the same ones that will reach the people who aren't checked out from discouragement, but simply because they haven't checked in since last November.
Subscribers don't imagine that our roles on the forum of LFAA is to solely soothe our 'savage' breasts and minds as we're here to learn, share with one another, support social justice, economic fairness and Democracy. I'm a tad annoyed if being talked down to.
Sorry for doing that. I don't want you as an enemy. We are both on the same side.
I wasn't approaching as an 'enemy' Ryan. Your tone sounded more like a lecture than a conversation.
100% concur
Thank you, Barbara. Subscribers on the forum expressed appreciation for this Letter and some were sharing it with people they know as well as posting it on Facebook/Meta. My question to Jim is why do you remain in this choir? Is to preach a different sort of sermon? That's okay, Jim has a before him the choir that HCR built.
I love this choir. But I don't mistake it for the congregation.
In early 2016 when I expressed fear that Trump could win, someone tried to persuade me that it could not happen because our country was not that angry. Since its become clear that many are that angry and others were clever enough to harness the anger to gain support and win votes where they mattered. The Republican leaders, using disinformation, are conducting a very well orchestrated campaign of anger and fear — much of it is nonsensical, but it worked — it is working.
Democrats have been countering that campaign with uncoordinated expressions of outrage among their loyal and often disparate constituents. Editorials in MSM function as internal communications. The Party’s policies are sound; the messaging and execution are not.
Instead of talking just to one another, Democrats need a means to reach outsiders via their favored media and in their own voices. Messages about Biden’s accomplishments need to reach patrons of right wing media in voices that resonate to that audience. The challenge is to impact the narrative from within not from outside. Foreign actors found a way to control such conversations, why can’t the Democrats do the same but with facts and truth?
Nonetheless, every American needs to read this Letter. Bravo and thank you Heather Cox Richardson.
You are absolutely right
That’s a great idea!
Yes! Great idea!
Totally agree! Spread this well-contextualized truth to combat disinformation, misinformation, partial information, and wrong information.
Sorry, this reads like a press release from the DNC rather than a piece of objective reporting or even an Op-Ed that makes well reasoned arguments. To pick just one item as example, prior to the Afghanistan withdrawal Biden made numerous false statements. For example, downplaying the risk of a Taliban takeover (see July 8 WH Q&A) or saying that troops would remain until 100% of Americans were evacuated. And, on Syria, Trump WAS absolutely killed for the Syrian withdrawal - even by Republicans. https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/national-security/disaster-betrayal-mistake-republicans-slam-trump-s-syria-pull-out-n1063251
Boo! So you’d point out Biden’s accomplishments differently? How? Remember, readers here are recommending this letter as an op-ed piece. An op-ed piece!
I think you can still do that with some objectivity. (See for example the David Brooks piece 'Joe Biden is Succeeding" in NYT - although I think he's too optimistic.) I thought people read HCR to learn something - and this seems to be all about cheerleading. There are a thousand sources I can get cheerleading from - on both the left and right. BTW, in answer to the commenter below, I voted for Biden in 2020 and would do so again.
I think there are some of Heather’s pieces that certainly speak to this audience. This may be one of them. However, if you are writing a column regarding Biden’s accomplishments, I imagine it’s going to read very optimistically unless it’s balanced by decisions that either didn’t work or haven’t gone over well with both parties. I don’t even consider Republican criticism of Biden because, let’s face it, they’re out to skewer him any way they can. They are shameful, hateful hypocrites who don’t care about bipartisanship, the Constitution or democracy, or any American who they consider “left,” which is basically all Democrats. I understand there are some good Republicans, but unfortunately the overwhelming majority of them are cowards who follow Trump only because they don’t have the guts to stand up against his incessant intimidation. Biden has done a lot for the country already but he’s simply not given enough credit. The media seems far more interested in what jerks like Trump, Bobert, Greene, Gaetz, Godard, etc. ad infinitum, do and think. Hate seems to sell ad space and get more reads than decency and good stewardship of the country. I think Heather did a good job of compiling Biden’s efforts to be a good steward. For God sakes, look at the scale of hate he’s up against. Every time I see my brother-in-law, a nice guy but a Republican conspiracy theorist, he makes unnecessary wise cracks about Biden, from his age and supposed senility to his son Hunter’s involvement with whatever he’s supposedly involved with. I don’t reply for my wife’s sake, but I’d really just like to treat him like a bad child, which to me he is. Imagine being Biden and putting up with a whole country of these idiots. I know I’m digressing. Biden will only get his due when history examines his actions weighed against the hateful environment that stifles his presidency. Good for Heather to list them, even for an audience that is largely pro-Biden.
Yet you’re here with zero objectivity. It seems you’re looking for Biden to fail. Do you want HCR to preach doom and gloom? Is that the only acceptable form of writing you’re open to? There are no lies is what HCR said. Why do you insist on denigrating her? I don’t care who you voted for, it sounds like you’re the cheerleader for Trump here and only want to hear the Biden is failing. Maybe you should read what you wrote from the perspective of your audience.
If you don’t respect the honesty that HCR employs to write her newsletters and provide information why do you read them? After all it appears you are out here to criticize Biden and support the actions of Republicans. They could have stopped the slaughter of the Kurds, but they didn’t. They could have been proactive in the transition so the Biden Administration was prepared. Even today Ted Cruz is doing everything he can to keep posts from being filled and putting the security of the country at risk just so they can make Biden look bad. And you seem to have fallen for it hook, line and sinker.