As a historian, I am bemused by instant analyses after a political (or football) event. The Democrats are ‘frantic and had a disastrous game plan’ because of what occurred in the Virginia or New Jersey (where polls had Governor Murphy comfortably ahead) elections. Were I to analyze election results in Southold NY (Congressman Lee Zeldin’s territory—his major distinction with Trump sycophant Jim Jordan is that Zeldin wears a jacket), I would find that the Democrats have scored a resounding victory by ousting a long-entrenched Republican government.
“White back lash”in Virginia, still studying the entrails of the NJ results, mass repudiation of President Biden—-blah, blah, blah. Of course, when election results are disappointing, there is an immediate blame game. However, this is a four-quarter ‘game,’ and an agile quarterback, as is President Biden, is capable of getting his team more focused before half time in 2022. The Democrat cat fight over the physical and social infrastructure bills was debilitating for all to see. Quarterback Biden seems capable of giving several recalcitrant Dems in Congress catnip to obtain some of the most significant legislation since LBJ’s Great Society.
Many Americans are distressed by the ups-and-downs of the pandemic (in which the Biden administration has performed admirably, after the previous quarterback was dismissed). The supply snafu, which is world wide, may impede Christmas shopping, but by mid-2022 consumers should again be happy, the economy should be growing robustly, and President Biden’s quarterbacking is likely to be applauded for his PROMISES MADE/RESULTS DELIVERED as contrasted to Republican cheap shots and policy-less braying.
Traditionally the party that’s in the White House loses Congressional seats in mid-term elections. However, this is not written in stone nor are these traditional times. I am not in a funk at the end of the first quarter. My team has a seasoned quarterback with a flexible playbook. I have a bag of popcorn and a beer in hand, as I await the second quarter.
"Boston elected its first woman and first person of color as mayor. Pittsburgh and Kansas City, Kan., each elected its first Black mayor. Cincinnati chose an Asian American mayor, and Dearborn, Mich.’s next mayor is going to be an Arab American Muslim.
Cheer up, people. We made it through another election."
Gail Collins NYT November 4, 2021
And on a further positive note. We had another free and fair election day in this Country.
Excellent, Barbara!! And, yes, I made the comment yesterday that I was pretty sure when we lost, there wouldn't be cries of voter/election fraud. So far, I've not heard any such.
I am a student of history & believe Democrats must pass both infrastructure bills to provide a growing social safety net for ALL Americans. This is what European countries did after WWII to combat fascism. I think they learned the lessons of post WWI. Today's fascists are the Republicans, read "How Fascism Works". Democratic Patriots must get active for the 2022 midterms, to save our democratic republic. Don't trust me, read "On Tyranny" by historian Timothy Snyder. History instructs.
Thanks for the book recommendations, Brian. I am very pleased to be introduced to the work by Jason Stanley, "How Fascism Works." Timothy Snyder is a Frequently Mentioned Author on this substack, as you may know. "On Tyranny" was chilling in 2017, and it is terrifying now.
Milton Mayer's "They Thought They Were Free" another good but scary read re how fascism can ooze into a society. I have to say that "Adventures of a Bystander," by Peter Drucker was a game changer for me. Started before turn of the century and all the way through the horror. Hard to believe that those same forces are still at work. And in our America, but oozing they are.
Try Friendly Fascism by Bertram Gross. He was writing before 1985 and before internet & cell phones. As cynical as I find this book, he was headed in the right direction of corporate rule.
Timothy Snyder has a substack. He has been presenting the 20 Lessons from Tyranny, along with some recent thoughts as well as addressing other subjects. The link is below.
Which substack is better, Robert Reich or Timothy Snyder? I am inclined to stick with one historian (Heather) & Reich who has synthesizes several "Siloes of Knowledge".
Brian, It is a difficult call. Timothy Snyder's, 'Thinking about... 'couldn't be more different than the others. With Snyder, the combination, for me, of deep reflection and sense of soul is highly unusual. We are at different stages in life, Brian, and it is impossible to know how much we are alike and different. I sum, I believe you would do well with either, and Reich may be closest to where you are now. You cannot lose, either way. Cheers!
Ever the optimist, I think the VA loss will scare up more "good votes" for 2022. It is all about turnout. Millions of new young voters will be eligible to vote. Most of them are smart and inclusive.
If the legislative log jam can be broken on BBB, there will be significant momentum to secure two more Senate seats. And then...and then a voting rights bill can be carved out from filibuster foolishness.
Which sets the stage for 2024. I know, I am a dreamer. But a positive dream and a strong cup of coffee starts my day better than hysterical gloom/doomism.
Having just sold in northern Virginia to depart after 30 years and having moved to Mid Coast Maine I can tell you Virginia was crowding out the reasonable centrist voices that brought Tim Kaine and Mark Warner to the senate and ousted idiots like George Allen and years before Stan Parris. The lurch to the crazy left was one -phobic too much for a generally centrist state. Expect a shellacking in 2022 because the president failed to keep AOC and co in a box.
"AOC and co" - including MA Senator Ed Markey - are advocating policies supported by more than 70% of all Americans. That makes them the centrists. It is why Joe Biden, a centrist for half a century and a very practical politician, is aligned with them.
Good move! Mid Coast Maine is a slice of heaven. Just be careful if you wander west - unless you are headed for the Lost Kitchen :)
Joe can't keep AOC in a box. How would he do that? And the progressive gang is mainstreaming faster than we can paddle against the tide. McAuliffe lost for two reasons. His comment about parents and schools was a bridge jump into oblivion. And he was old news that failed to get the young and forward thinking youth to the voting booths. Dem turnout was lame. And I would bet that it was progressives who stayed home. "Oh, Terry, more of the same." You could call it the Hillary effect.
BTW, on your way to Maine, stop in Boston for a bit. There is new progressive sheriff in town!
Sorry Bill, but the republican party is nothing but fascism. It needs to be screamed from the rooftops. Yes, McAuliffe's comment gave me a horrible sinking feeling, but Youngkin gave me a vision of trump
Well as a Cambridge refugee neither Boston nor Seattle is a place I’m likely to patronize anymore. Not sure the new sheriff in Boston was the wisest move. You’re right though about mcauliffe. Terrible option.
According to HCR in one of her recent history or political chat, AOC is more of a “traditionalist” and “conservative” when you consider the writing in the Constitution. I’m with AOC and HCR.
National. We are going to get crushed because of both the thought police and the defund the police nonsense and all the cousins of this crazytown nonsense
Thank you! That was my reaction to the incredibly pessimistic reporting. I do though, hope this may push the democrats to finish their bargaining and pass the bills so we can focus on how to get voting rights legislation passed.
Loved your analysis! And so completely agree with you! Give the guy a break! As much as I respect most of the media personalities, why, why, why are you undermining everything Biden and the Democrats do or try to do. Just stop It! You look foolish! It's a long road to success and the climb is difficult but slowly they will get there! Already they had one republican go against the pack and vote with the Dems. Give it time, try to stay positive and do what you can to help. It's just the beginning of the second quarter. Who gives up a game after the first quarter, not us!
Time is running out. It will soon be 2022 and in Floriduh, Gov. DeathSantis is getting another unnecessary goon squad to monitor elections, like the mad emperor's own nameless federal goons sent to intimidate and break up peaceful demonstrations that one time was an American civil right.
They are already here threatening school officials, teachers, election officials and getting into the face of everyone. Some good things happened here in Oregon where the small town where I worked did pass a fire levy, so they could have 24/7 professional fire service on hand not staffed with volunteers. In our fire district, it took three elections to get our fire/medic service up to snuff. This I do not understand.
I've been watching this since Nixon, been a long haul for me. Always tried to think "it's not as bad as it seems." But rupert keeps spewing bull schitt faster than Dems can shovel. Dems should have had their own bull horn since Ronnie, but he had his own script writer (Noonan) and PR expert (Deaver) to show him better than he ever was. Same with Rupert and trump. Propaganda works, sad to say
Propaganda works for both sides when it's employed properly. For every Lord Haw Haw, there has been a Churchill so far but we appear to still be searching for an antidote to Crockwork Orange.
I think we can always pick out the democrat/progressive-leaning media. They seem to bend over so much to not show bias that they end up speaking in superbly critical terms as to what are the imperfections of the good; holding their preferred policies/leaders/candidates to standards never imagined for the other side. And, we can not help but be discouraged when our side does what is possible, ok, pretty good, the right thing, even if not the perfect, the impossible, anything more than the other side would even think doing. We dare not defend what we do that is right and, like a good mid-westerner, point out that it could have been better before someone here in Lake Wobegon points out our lack of humility or the sin of bragging. Perhaps, we are simply too concerned with the potential of our integrity falling short that our media starts off with the apology for shortcomings, most of which would go unnoticed but for the most decerning of our opposition, leaving our message and achievements unheard of. Like this post, we twist ourselves in our own knickers, impure that they are, of course. 😏
Hello Keith. I'm drinking a cool, glass of water from the kitchen sink. Modest as that may seem, I still bring good election news,. 'In elections across the country, candidates of color made history Tuesday night.'
'..., bringing diversity to leadership roles in some of America's biggest cities, and in some states as well.'
'Boston, New York, Pittsburgh and Dearborn, Mich., were among the places that a majority of voters embraced minority candidates.'
'Michelle Wu is the first woman and person of color to be elected Boston's mayor
The city councilor and daughter of Taiwanese immigrants broke Boston's 199-year streak of white, male city leaders. Michelle Wu defeated fellow Democratic City Councilor Annissa Essaibi George, a self-described first-generation Arab-Polish American.'
"For many, the race came down to competing visions of the future with Essaibi George's version cast as more of the old guard and Wu's perceived as new-school Boston."
'Pittsburgh elects Ed Gainey, the city's first Black mayor ever.' "We know how people have talked about Pittsburgh, how siloed it is, how segregated it is," Gainey told supporters on Tuesday, according to member station WESA. "But today, you changed that."
'The western Pennsylvania metropolis, which is 23% Black, largely favored the Democrat Ed Gainey over Republican challenger Tony Moreno. Gainey was born and raised by a single mother in Pittsburgh, where he lived in public housing and later found a career in politics.'
'Cincinnati elects Aftab Pureval as its first Asian American mayor'
'The 39-year-old Democrat started his political career six years ago as an outsider, member station WVXU reports, and last night, he defeated 82-year-old opponent David Mann, "a longtime pillar of Cincinnati City Hall."
The Tibetan-Indian son of immigrants, Aftab Pureval, earned his law degree and worked for Procter & Gamble before running successfully for Hamilton County Clerk of Courts in 2016.
Morning Fern and Lynell! The good news is there in abundance. Media needs to do the little digging it takes with a tablespoon instead of spewing alarm. I mean, really people? 🙄
Nice analysis. With over 40 years working in government, to include writing and passing legislation, it slays me that people expected Biden to deliver a sweeping agenda within the first year of his Presidency. It took Obama three plus years to get the Affordable Care Act (which needs serious fixing) passed.
The Dems in Congress would have been better served to pass the Infrastructure bill, then tackle the other major pieces of legislation. Instead of writing gigantic legislation (meaning over hundreds, if not thousands of pages), focused on specific issues and pass the bill. This gives Americans a better chance to understand the message versus having so many things thrown at them at once.
Very much so, and with no need to do it. Far better to under promise and over deliver. Also, much more effective to discuss the positive impact of an action than the notional cost, especially when the 10 year total is presented as though it will be spent next week.
Terrible messaging and no apparent effort to work past it. Hard to imaging what the back story creators are thinking about, if they have any concept at all.
LK, Timing has to be considered when posing the options as you have. While the Build Back Better Plan may be enormous, what would the odds be to divide the package into or three or four bills, in addition to passing one or two national voting bills before the midterm elections? Go big or smaller several times over? A puzzlement?
Consider this. Americans are so distracted by so much, when you see large legislation like this, it becomes overwhelming. Sometimes going back to basics would help keep people focused and forces the debate between the parties.
Consider the child tax credit, apparently popular with many Americans. Make both parties make the case, for and against. Thus a record is clearly established that can be used at election time.
These huge bills cover so many issues, that a vote against it could easily be interpreted as I'm was for child tax credits, but didn't buy into the billionaire tax scheme that was originally proposed.
LK, The Build Back Better package and all items within it are popular. Your point concerning why is should have been divided into smaller portions was not persuasive to me as public interest has not been problematic. Manchin and Sinema and the delay as a result of their demands have caused public disappointment. My point was what were the odds of passing one large package plus one or two national voting rights bills vs 3 or 4 bills (pulled out the the entire pace) plus voting rights bills before the midterms. My guess is hard as it may be, going big ASAP made more sense. Doing anything worthwhile for the benefit of the American people now goes up against the Republican Wall, including a few Democrats.
Fern just listened to Former NJ Governor Whitman about the NJ elections. And then saw a truck driver (R) beat out the top NJ Democrat for a Senate seat. Whitman's comment was telling, though I can't verify the fact.
She said that over 50% of Americans are either Independent or non-affiliated with any political party. First time in the "history of political parties." She also said a majority of Americans are tired of the divisiveness brought on by the extremes of parties. And while it's easy to blame Repubs, the Dems are just as guilty and have been when they're out of power.
There are things that people agree with, i.e. Medicare having dental coverage. Why hold this popular bill hostage to other parts of Build Back America that are not popular.
The problem Dems have right now, and is constantly blared across cable commentary media, in the newspapers, social media of every stripe, is they haven't demonstrated the ability to govern. Getting the Infrastructure bill pass in the Senate was great. But being held up in the House for Build Back Better is ridiculous. Having passed a major piece of legislation that Trump and the Republicans didn't do, would be a thumb's up on Biden's agenda. Getting specific legislation passed by the midterms shows the Dems can govern. Putting all their eggs in one basket, to include the voting rights bills, and giving Repubs and others the ability to stall them just demonstrates they can't lead the nation. And that doesn't bode well for them in the midterms.
LK, The Democratic Party, under the big tent, has plenty of problems, however, the media presses on the negative. Let's not wait to communicate, but definitely do so again after the 2 infrastructure plans and a national voting rights bill are passed. I, actually, believe that they will be. Let's see where Biden and the Democratic party are about 7 months after that.
Biden and the Democratic Party have gotten a lot done. The positives, if reported, are usually in the small print. The party's messaging -- I won't get into that. Here are a few of the positives.
'He’s ended America’s longest war, got vaccines distributed at no cost nationwide and halved the child poverty rate. So why all the stories about ‘Biden‘s Cruel Summer’?'
'The facts of Biden’s presidency are there for all of us to see. When he took office, Biden inherited a country in the midst of a pandemic and an economic crisis, reeling from an unprecedented attack on its political system and wracked by social divisions the last president systematically sought to make worse. Our international standing had been battered by racist policies, nationalist, anti-immigrant rhetoric, attacks on our allies, corruption, efforts to undermine international institutions, embrace of our enemies, and rejection of our own core democratic values.'
'In just eight months, the president and his team have engineered transformational progress on many fronts. Where there had been no plan to administer vaccines, today over 200 million Americans have received at least one shot and the vaccines are available to every American free of charge and are now required of federal workers as part of a sweeping effort to contain the spread of the virus here. Our vaccine diplomacy efforts lead the world, with commitments to share 600 million doses to countries in need worldwide. Biden’s $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan has cut the child poverty rate in half. More jobs, 4.1 million, were created in the first six months of this administration than in the 12 years of the Trump and Bush administrations combined. The U.S. economy grew at an extraordinary annualized rate of 6.5 percent during the second quarter of this year. Biden implemented scores of executive orders undoing Trump administration policies that damaged the environment, put our security at risk, or violated the rights of Americans.'
'Biden made combatting climate change a priority again. The U.S. re-entered the Paris Climate Accords and re-joined the World Health Organization. The U.S. repaired damaged relations with allies. Biden has appointed new judges at a faster rate than his predecessors. He has appointed the most diverse cabinet in American history as well as the most diverse set of judges. Vice President Kamala Harris has led efforts to oversee police reform, to work with the nations of Central American to curb the flow of undocumented immigrants into the U.S., and to shore up our alliances to ensure stability in Asia. Secretary of State Antony Blinken has worked to usher in a new era in U.S. foreign policy in which America focuses on the emerging challenges of the 21st century. And the administration has been swift to provide essential aid when disasters like wildfires in the West, hurricanes in the South, and flooding in the East brought pain to millions.'
'The president ended the 20-year war in Afghanistan, something none of his three predecessors had the courage to do even as the costs of that war were compounded daily. And he negotiated a bipartisan bill now before the Congress to finally invest as we must in America’s neglected infrastructure, while outlining additional investments of $3.5 trillion as part of America’s Build Back Better package that will, taken with the infrastructure bill, represent the biggest investment in American competitiveness, health, and security in almost a century.'
'You might not agree with every one of these policies. Aspects of their implementation may not have been perfect. There are certainly areas where criticism is fair.'
'But somehow, this unprecedented record of achievement in the face of extraordinary challenges and a toxic political environment coming on the heels of the most incompetent and corrupt administration in American history, another narrative has emerged. It is so divorced from reality that it seems as if it is reporting on a different universe. It’s so crazy that you might dismiss it as the work of hacks or just the politically motivated, but it has taken on a life of its own.' (Daily Beast)
By the way, I am not demeaning or disparaging the truck driver and his occupation. We may need more like him in elected offices. He won because he listened to the people of his district. Or at least they think he did. Actions will tell.
Lynell Popcorn for you, beer for me, that’s a compromise that I gladly accept. If only our Dem cats in Congress could compromise and get the infrastructure enchiladas signed with swift implementation.
Thank you for the reminder that the "game" is not lost! I was a cheerleader back in the day; the team we cheered for didn't always win but our cheer team won all our competitions. We worked hard as a team and had faith in ourselves. No beer or popcorn for this old cheerleader; gotta get the squad in shape for the next "game"😉
After a couple of hours watching the hand wringing last night, I tuned in to Survivor and thence back to Rachel. She, thank goodness, had the perspective you share here, plus a bottle of good whiskey for her friend Steve. That was enough levity to re-right my ship!
Good advice. I refuse to see all as lost. There were things that happened Tuesday to give hope. Last night we did not watch the national news because we didn't want to hear all the nay saying. I confess to having a Facebook page and I did post that all is not lost and it's time to get to work. I am truly sorry about VA because they just took a giant step backwards. I have an ex-student who lives in Lynchburg and I am sure she is not happy.
All is definitely not lost but the potential remains there unless a positive, coherent and unifying strategy becomes clear fairly quickly. Right now, the public exchange that amounts to "my way or the highway" serves no purpose other than to drive media notice and make life easy for sensationalistic punditry of which we have an overabundance. Youngkin probably won't be quite as bad as he's been portrayed, Murphy did end up winning and your former student, like the rest of us, will do well to start working on 2022 and '24 to ensure a better set of results.
Don't give up completely, I fall into the "a pox on both their houses" thought line from time to time and it's tempting right now until I remember that the Democrats have always behaved more or less like they are at the moment while Republicans have, at times past, supported the concepts and process of government as we'd like to know it.
I too am very hopeful for the 2nd Qtr. however that does not mean I am not deeply troubled that so many fellow Americans are thoughtlessly following a propaganda spewing cult and I strongly believe there needs to be security and safety from undue influence. This is 2021 not 1776. We have progressed in understanding minds and prosocial behaviors over the past 300 years. We should be able to figure out the difference between freedom of speech and propaganda
Cults are by definition irrational, strange and likely sinister. They do not deprogram themselves. Ike knew that. We apparently don’t. Your last sentence is the crux of our problems
Do human instincts change? Some of them may be quiet but arousable. I am thinking about tribalism. It has been ignited and one of our most serious problems. How to tamp it back down, hopefully, we will learn how.
We have learned that neural pathways can be changed. Instincts are gut level reactions (I believe) and can be over-ridden by executive function. It’s the ability to engage executive function or not, that matters. Emotional trauma, shame, poor ego development, lack of attunement from caregivers, all effect the ability of executive function. Most Democrats understand parents need support as those “things” are difficult to deliver under stress. Republicans, I argue, want to keep a fertile ground for their propaganda to work.
You're going to need more beer. I respect your optimism and hope you're right but the coaching staff is debating which playback to use and it's unclear that the whole offense is agreed on the strategy. BIF isn't exactly 3 yards and a cloud of dust but it is only one down and the BBB touchdown will still be an option. Right now the defense is feeling and acting pretty smug and that's usually a good time to hit them hard; there might even be a breakthrough play for a score.
I like your optimism. Very much. Yet, we progressives will over analyze and rewrite until the deadline is about to pass and then wring our hands over not winning everything. I hope the coach and quarterback give the rest of the team a good talking to. An few neither know on what line the ball is placed nor the direction of the scoreable goal post. You sound like the coach in this scenario, Keith. I'm trying to identify the coach in the real game. Some might suggest that Mr Biden is too divided between being coach and/quarterback. Thanks.
Some, at least one, would agree with your closing comment and suggest that there are either too many coaches who aren't clear on the concept or no coach at all.
Keith, I look at stats. The Republicans gained territory in every single county, not just for the Governor position. Candy coat it all you want, I'm choosing the reality of mathematics.
1. JD Vance is a hypocrite. His entire point in the book that gave him this platform was that education, especially at the college level, made the difference for him. Who’s giving that to him if not the professors?
2. The trick is going to be reminding people that by not voting, they become less equal. Every time a person doesn’t vote, they make the vote of someone else more powerful.
I volunteer with unhomed teens and often think about this. They have so little power to begin with but then they give over the little bit of power they do have to other people.
Last night I voted in person in Minneapolis. To my great surprise, I wasn’t registered! I always vote, I’m always registered…. I don’t know why I wouldn’t be? Luckily, my husband was with me and vouched for my address, therefore I was able to register on the spot, and get my vote in before the polls closed. I just wanted to share this with you all, because I felt like it was awfully sketchy! If I had voted by mail, what would have happened?
Hi Eleanor, you were lucky to be able to register on Election Day! I don’t know the answer but I was a volunteer with Common Cause during the election. During an election you can go to 866ourvote.org or call 866-OUR-VOTE (which is an election protection hotline). I think you can still call the number now. The election protection workers may not know what happened but they may have suggestions for the next time. Hope this is useful.
Or better yet, continually check on registration status throughout the year..many states have had problem free mail-in voting for years….but if you happen to live in states with suppression issues all bets are off!!
One of the very few good things about Georgia voting is that you can still check your voter status online. If you get to vote by mail, the status of your ballot is included as well.
Many “blue states” offer same day voter registration, allowing for people to register and vote on election day. This is commonplace, rather than unusual
NH does have same day registration but I wouldn't be at all surprised if the R-led legislature doesn't do away with it. They've gone whole hog on ignoring public input-there was overwhelming negative input against school vouchers diverting public education monies to religious/private schools and home schooler families. Then they cut public education funding even more. (Betsy Devos would be so pleased. S/) The response was so negative, they went so far as to hide it in the State Budget and got away with it. What doesn't help is that there was no studies as to how the plan would affect the budget nor minimal if any oversight of the plan going forward.
HOW did NH goes crazy (again)? NH iz the outlier in New England. Though, I’ll never understand how VT and MA ended up with Republican govs - tho capable and “moderate"
Western MA has a lot of small towns that tend red. The state has a lot of voters who would be liberal Republicans if such a thing still existed; they will vote for a Republican candidate who makes sense to them.
Yes, and this is why we need to pass the Freedom to Vote Act so that anyone in any state can register and vote on the same day! It’s just one way we can make voting easier, not harder. Then, we can have a level playing field across all states.
Is that ironic that we have to be grateful the "they" let us vote? It should be an inalienable right. But this will be true from now on, if we can wrest the country back from authoritarianism, liars and blaggarts.
Did you receive a ballot in the mail? My state (Montana) conducted the election by mail this year. Only registered voters received a ballot, approximately 3 weeks before Election Day. People who were not already registered had to go to the courthouse to register and obtain a ballot.
I ❤️ that MONTANA had vote by mail! How did this happen? Conservatives are a majority in MT. (tho I supported your former Dem Gov Steve Bullock for Pres)
Let us all be clear, practicing, supporting, teaching, and failing to actively oppose discrimination against or suppression of any group of our neighbors and fellow travelers on this orb we call earth because of the color of their skin, place of birth, ethnicity, religion or none that they practice, their economic circumstances, who they love, or what sex the believe themselves to be is simply wrong by any moral code you may choose to believe. There is no acceptable excuse for such attitudes or behavior.
Those who believe such discrimination or suppression is acceptable diminish the quality of life for us all, including themselves. Such reprehensible behavior is to be identified and called out by name for what it is. We should neither tolerate or excuse it for anything other than what it is. We must teach our young that we are all entitled to equal respect and opportunity. Opposing a moral code that promotes such teachings is evil in whatever time it occurs - in history, at present, or in the future.
But every child and young person properly instructed on the power of love, compassion, and empathy is a pebble cast into the waters of the pond whose ripples spread to stir the waters. Don’t ever miss an opportunity to cast another pebble into the waters.
I strongly suggest reading Fiona Hill’s book, “There Is Nothing For You Here.” When opening the book, first read the final two chapters, “Conclusion” and “Creating Opportunity in the Twenty-first Century.” These chapters set a frame of reference for her message in the book of the importance of the infrastructure of opportunity and how it is created. You will come to understand the importance of educational opportunity and of role models and mentors. These are the most important tools for creating a better future for all, our nation and the world.
Be a role model. Be a mentor. Advocate for educational opportunity. And above all practice kindness.
I have long subscribed to Gandhi’s Ten Rules For Changing the World. The first of those ten is - “You must be the change you want to see in the world.” If you wish to see more beauty, create beauty. If you wish to see more peace, practice and create peace. To change the world you must first practice change yourself.
Never miss an opportunity to cast a pebble into the still waters. Each pebble creates ripples that stir the waters. Be a caster of pebbles of kindness and tolerance. The more of us who cast those pebbles and teach the importance of kindness, the more we stir the waters and spread the ripples of kindness.
Just started the book. I was so impressed by her when she spoke during DJT's impeachment mess - second one! Hope she continues to be a public figure - she could do some good, I think.
In advance, Happy birthday, Rob Boyte. You are young, decisive, a writer, hard working and a commentator -- sometimes funny, too. I'm glad you're here. Cheers!
72 here. But I got it at least 50 yrs ago. The only way you could act and think like them is to have been taught from an early age going back many generations. And ask any teacher that input on a clean slate is simple compared to trying to erase the wrong information after many yrs.Add family tradition, trust, and loyality.Not much difference in a Drug Addition to retrain the brain. What has happen now tho is those that hid not being prejudice are coming out. Didn’t see that like now in the Civil Rights time. We still have faith and hope. What good would it do to save the planet and lose each other ? Or save ourselves in privilege and wealth and keep bringing suffering upon us and our home planet ? We All have a lot of work to do.
I agree with everything but the religion part. I actively discriminate against people of faith because faith is making claims of moral authority without evidence or data to back up the claims.
I understand your point. However, I would ask you to remember that there are many in virtually all faiths who do good works for many and practice tolerance, care, and compassion. Likewise there are some who miss or pervert the near universal foundational belief in all faiths of what many often call “the golden rule” of caring for others as you wish for them to care for you. Do not condemn a faith or those who practice it for those who may pervert, misinterpret, or misunderstand it.
As Shakespeare says in his play, Julius Caesar:
Cassius to Brutus after the murder of Caesar - Cassius:
Good works are wonderful. They are still good without adding in the unproven claims about meaning, the nature of the universe, etc. I believe I am entitled to have reality-based conversations.
Brother, we are all entitled to whatever conversations we choose. I only urge that you consider the importance of kindness when having those conversations. Particularly when you have them in the context of mentoring or coaching our youth.
I struggle to become more kind every day. That must be balanced with direct action and well-defined boundaries around who I am, who I am becoming, and how much intrusion I am willing to tolerate from proselytizing strangers knocking on my door. :)
Ahhhh, balancing with direct action, leads me to remind all again of Gandhi's ten rules for changing the world where his fourth rule is - "Without action you aren't going anywhere."
Without taking action very little will be done. However, taking action can be hard and difficult. There can be much inner resistance.
And so you may resort to preaching, as Gandhi says. Or reading and studying endlessly. And feeling like you are moving forward. But getting little or no practical results in real life.
So, to really get where you want to go and to really understand yourself and your world you need to practice. Books can mostly just bring you knowledge. You have to take action and translate that knowledge into results and understanding.
So knowledge and good intentions without action will produce little in the way of results. Only personal commitment and taking direct action will effect change.
What? You discriminate against anyone who believes in any deity because you are offended by the ideas you have decided go along with that? You treat people badly based on your ideas about their ideas?
No. I do not treat people badly based on their irrational claims. I discriminate. Very different meanings. I demand data-driven, evidence-based conversations. I avoid theists primarily because they often refuse to stop proselytizing and trying to indoctrinate. Please don't make another attempt to change my words or meaning. Thank you so much.
Ah, I am used to the word 'discriminate' being used to mean treating people badly based on their skin color or other characteristic. "I actively discriminate against people of faith" seemed to fit into that category. Not only did I not intend to alter your meaning, I phrased my comment as I did because your apparent meaning did not seem likely to me. Thank you for clarifying.
Almost by definition, faith is based on subjective experience and can only be called "evidence-based" if you choose to see those subjective experiences as evidence. I can appreciate that you would be annoyed if people badger you to see the world as they do - and seriously annoyed if it happened to you over and over and over again.
I know a great many people who believe in Gd (as they understand Gd, however that may be; it varies) and have no interest at all in proselytizing. It is literally against the Jewish religion to proselytize. I have met many people of other religions (Muslims, Hindus, Buddhists, Christians) who have not tried to convert me, and only a few who have tried. So my experience in that regard has been different than yours.
As a person of faith, I would hope that you and I could have reasonable conversations on topics of mutual interest(for example, within this group); and that even if you think I'm an idiot on the subject of faith, you would not hold that against me as long as I conducted myself with the same respect for your approach to life as I would like you to show for mine.
"As a person of faith, I would hope that you and I could have reasonable conversations on topics of mutual interest(for example, within this group); and that even if you think I'm an idiot on the subject of faith, you would not hold that against me as long as I conducted myself with the same respect for your approach to life as I would like you to show for mine."
Joan,
To your last paragraph: Yes, absolutely and unequivocally. I do not wish to treat anyone poorly even if I disagree vehemently with the ideas they espouse. I was brought up in a house of faith that had no room for differing ideas or experiences and so full understand the difference between personal, private faith and rabid evangelical faith. They are not the same.
Cheers to reasonable conversations and respect to you as one of faith. I only raise my hackles when a person of faith insists that I participate in rituals or render honorifics that are not earned and not freely given.
Thank you, Ellie, for continuing to bring Robert Hubbell into the mix. I was nearly moved to tears by Today's Edition when he responded (gently and respectfully) to what may be a common feeling amongst readers of this substack: an expression of doubt that lasting change would come "in my lifetime." (I resonate with this concern, being officially an elder according to the laws in Connecticut.)
Hubbell wrote: "For most readers, it is true that the ultimate promises of the Constitution will not be fully achieved in our lifetimes. But the same was true for those who labored before us, including Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., John Lewis, Susan B. Anthony, Frederick Douglas, and Margaret Sanger. Like them, our charge is to make incremental progress during our lifetimes. We can do that."
Morning, Ellie!! These are all great links. Especially the MeidasTouch Woman...she is terrific. She is absolutely right. She needs to get the Dems on board...today!
And thanks for the threadreader link, too. I can't deny being disappointed by yesterday's loss of the Virginia governorship, but I am so glad to see/hear of the wins/gains made across the country!
Thank you, Ellie, for these links. (I just started following MeidasTouch.)
It should be self-evident that the Dems need to use these bullet points everywhere and all the time. If we don't get our positive message across, we may never have the chance again.
As Dr. Richardson's daily accounts for future readers, historians, and all those who would be aware and wish to know their past mount, I'm finding it very hard to live through the present with anything akin to mental health or hope. Curiously, I take some (ironic) comfort in knowing my awareness, too, may have always been one hoped for outcome of the message in a bottle sent to us by those in the past who monitored and recorded historical events. I feel deep in grief for my country, something I know many others currently share--and many, many diverse people have felt in the past. They survived (or perhaps did not), as I will (or will not), and my hope is that the fight we are in now leads to a fairer, more just future comprised of more equity under the law and less grieving. It's a good reason to keep hoping and fighting.
Linda, take heart. If i have learned one thing from Heather—and I’ve actually learned many—is history repeats. It always works itself out. Not to denigrate your angst, as I’m often disheartened myownself.
Carl Hiaasen 's "Squeeze Me" is a TERRIFIC read! The POTUS lives in Casa Bellicosa in Palm Beach surrounded by his fawning "Potussies." Greatly lowering my stress levels!!
none of this takes into consideration that we have the internet, FB, Twitter and of course Fox News that a majority of voters watch daily sometimes all day. IMO Linda is right to be terrified because you can't tell these people individually that they are being lead by forces they can't see or understand. If something is done about Fox News and the other propaganda machines, history will do us no good, we cannot repeat it in exactly the same way because there has never been a Fox News element before. IMO we are sliding down the slippery slope and picking up speed every single day the news cycle is reporting on the next shiny object and the Democrats are running around like Chicken Little.
Quoting Christine’s reply to a different comment today, we should be scared but not afraid. Healthy fear keeps our eyes and ears open. Then we call up courage to respond.
In 2016 - 2020, arsonists set the fire. The original arsonists are now largely out of the picture. They still make incendiary noise, but the media are slowly forgetting them.
But the fire continues to burn. It is no longer built on accelerants and incendiaries: it has now caught in the forest itself. It is no longer an arsonist president throwing racist gasoline: it is racism itself, burning in Congress and in communities.
This, too, will burn itself out in time, though at tremendous cost and destruction. Like a forest fire, the details are unpredictable. One house burns to ash; the neighboring house is untouched. One state will be well-governed by sensible policy; another will be poorly-governed on the politics of resentment, political graft, and naked corruption. We can name the ones that are burning now.
Unfortunately there were not enough firemen in Virginia. If the Dems can't get their supporters out to vote at elections, the Republicans can. This disparity in determination plays havoc with the standard sociological statistics and population trends.
IMHO, the dem candidate for governor was lackluster, uninspiring, and a re-hash from a prior term. While there is great news coming from many local elections and organized local groups, this candidate was silenced by a slickly packaged racist message. I don't know what ails the Virginia democratic electorate or the condition of the organization on the ground. What is clear is that delivery of the narrative is a critical piece of the process and that message must be succinct, relevant, and motivating.
Agree with Joseph re: the racism, antisemitism, anti-intellectual, and I would add misogyny that has been stoked and could well be on the way to uncontained, extending the forest fire analogy. Effective firefighters will make it clear that we are all together, we are all enfranchised citizens, and that we grow in community toward the future. Fighting these flames of fascism requires clarity of vision and message, truth-telling, unity, and motivation to vote...
The dems don’t have that killer instinct and they are too busy laughing at Steven Colbert monologues and escaping into squid games. They waste words and time saying things like “the majority of the American people want...“ this or that. People know what they want. You don’t have to tell them what they want. Every wasted word is a vote lost. and let’s stop using this phrase, the “American people” like they are some mythical race living in a distant galaxy and you wouldn’t touch them with a pole a billion light years long. meanwhile, dems had better not count on the immigrant vote. Immigrants come here for economic opportunity as much as for freedom, and opportunity requires stability. Immigrants arrive out of determination, not on a magic carpet. When cities burn, immigrants vote republican. As black folks do better, they want stability, too. Meanwhile, can the dems find votes among the working class when the president’s wife is a professor of education?
I have found it necessary to turn off the radio--or switch to music--in the last few days because of the idiocy even of the NPR reporting on election results. This is clear to me: the fact that Rethuglicans are "disciplined" in their "messaging"--whether it is full of race-baiting, sexism, and antisemitism or not--makes it easy to present them as an organized political body, but the fact that Democrats are extremely varied in their political stances, are promoting a wide variety of strategies and options, and are in love with undercutting each other even when the stakes are super high that they remain a united front against the Forces of Evil, means that media presentations of their activities can be full of melodrama, hand-wringing, and dire predictions of mayhem,. This is not a comparison between equal messaging, which the Fairness Act was supposed to require. It is an unequal contest because people are addicted to rubbernecking (as the traffic guys in NYC love to call it when there is an accident during rush hour) and easily ignore the real existential threats.
The results of this election cycle of 2021 were decidedly mixed, and they absolutely reflect the whiplash levels off confusion a lot of Americans feel. Turnout was lousy, which always helps the radical right, but even so, in a lot of places, Dems came out on top by presenting highly localized rational plans. These are too complex and varied to be able to be put into a single sound-bite. It is far easier for the reporting to simplify the contests to race-baiting, dog whistles, and the "failure" of the Dems. This misrepresents every single contest that occurred this year. But media outlets don't care. They can't make money by presenting the real complexities of people's lives.
Here's an example: NPR ran a good story this morning on the stupidity of state legislators who are demanding that physicians prescribe ivermectin, even though it is a dangerous drug that does NOTHING to help Covid patients. But instead of presenting clear clinical information about WHY ivermectin doesn't do anything, and WHY the snake oil salesmen pushing it are doing so, they went with the sound bites of embattled, exhausted, and irritated physicians trying to get a word in edgewise while self-important s***s in government shout them down. You can claim that the shortness of the news cycle is the reason for this kind of reporting. I say it is because it is the easiest thing to do. The end result was that NPR posed a "do you trust doctors or do you trust politicians?" question, instead of reporting legitimately on this issue.
I totally agree with your disappointment on the loss of good reporting. Boston once had a helicopter pilot who called the rubbernecking slowed traffic the "curiosity factor." We seem to be fascinated by the unusual and a compulsive liar, mentally ill potus responsible for mismanaging a public health crisis, and refusing to take any responsibility at all, surrounded by bullies and cowards is very new to us. He further dumbed things down by thinking there are only 2 sides to every issue. I'm still reeling that Anderson Cooper would repeat Grassley's claim that 91% of Iowa repubs support the fool. Good time to shut off the yada yada 😖🤪🥰
I just did a quick survey of my brower's "news" feed for today: ELEVEN headlines with Trump, one with Ivana Trump, one with Melania Trump, TWO with Biden. It's this way every day - a near obsession with TFG. Disgusting.
I use Microsoft Edge, so if that shoe fits, then yes, there must be. Their daily "news" feed puts out headlines from all sorts of publications, some right, some left, some questionable. But THEY have the option of which "headline" to choose and invariably it will have the orangeman's name emblazoned. And invariably, there will be almost NOTHING regarding Biden.
I have spent this week on the coast in Newport, OR. There is no WiFi, and very spotty TV reception (no cable, no dish). I’ve read very few news reports on my phone (cell coverage is pretty good) and have depended on Substack writings to keep myself informed.
Currently there’s a fabulous storm (gale force winds and moderate rain) giving me a pleasant background to the news I am consuming.
NPR's decline began during TFG's administration (reign). Its political coverage has sunk into the clichéd "he said, she said" format without offering incisive analytical perspectives. NPR also bends over backward to let Republicans say whatever they want, no matter how untrue, and rarely without aggressive pushback.
“The professors are the enemy,” Nixon said. It's clear the Republicans in their quest to rewrite history and quash democracy want to control what young people know and the way they think. Why? Professors have a superpower. They can open those maturing young minds to the way the world has been, is now, and could be in the future. Well, not just young minds. Heather has been opening a lot of our minds since she began her letters.
I received the following thank-you message from Lissa Savaglio, Chair of the Loudoun County Democratic Committee:
"I am sure I am not alone in my disappointment in last night's elections. This election was so deeply important for us, for our neighbors, and for our communities. Our progress comes not in a straight line, but in a jagged path. As we zig and zag along that path, Loudoun Democrats delivered up and down the ballot.
"Loudoun Democrats held every House of Delegates seat in Loudoun.
"Loudoun Democrats delivered a double-digit county victory for our statewide candidates.
"Loudoun Democrats won 7 of 8 magisterial districts.
"Loudoun Democrats delivered the most votes to a statewide Democratic ticket in modern history."
While this is heartening news, it is clear our message needs to be better focused to ensure we keep the ground gained by the new voting rights laws Virginians enacted this year.
Morning, Stuart!! I haven't focused yet on how pockets in the rest of the state voted. I will say in Loudoun County, where I live, we are overwhelmed by The Loser's base. So to capture some wins for Democrats to me is huge.
As a side note, in my little town, early on, before the vaccine (and even now) I was surprised to see retailers adhering to and enforcing masking rules!
Just watch for gerrymandering by Republicans to include Loudon and similar Counties close to DC in eventual DC statehood as quid pro quo for creating state and thus ensuring Republican hold on Virginia and reducing any advantage to Dems in the Senate battle.
Thanks, Stuart. I confess I had a hard time understanding our redistricting efforts when I read about it. All I know is it hasn't been a smooth transition.
Yeah. Gerrymandering is at play again here in Washington state and in Oregon. Democratic strongholds. Guess its the party in power that gets to make the rules every ten years.
Today's/last night's election-results seem to indicate that the Democrats need a better message than, "[opposition Republican] is a Trumper." From the sources I trust, the election in VA was more about the sleeping D voters or the milquetoast messaging (see above) that was the only motivation to vote D. Same thing in NJ. Poor D turnout in a state that has 1 MILLION more D's and it should not have been close.
That said, I think it underscores that the on-the-fence voters need to see more effective governance from the D's since they have it, for now, but have produced little. There are various reasons for that lack of production (at least production as observed) but it is now a bellwether for the mid-terms that should not be ignored. This was a free-pass to see what motivates both sides, frankly. R's are going to laud the result in VA and claim it's the new wave of conservatism or at least the assessment of Biden. I am not sure which is more accurate, but locally we saw validation of policing (rebranding the Minneapolis Police Department failed) and a validation of taxpayers supporting MORE MONEY for schools. D's should understand that and learn from what the voters support in those limited areas that they can take intel from.
Public-policing and schools are on the minds of voters. Public safety and Education are hot. Two subjects that are hard for D's to support simultaneously: but that is the will of the voters, here. Our much-maligned Mayor of Minneapolis who had the horrible task of being Mayor before during and after the murder of George Floyd, has emerged victorious and he is nominally a D and also supported his police department, a very polarizing position here. And this is a Mayor who chose to abandon a police-station in the midst of the Floyd-riots. A tough tough deal.
When the dollars ultimately flow to red states from the infrastructure plan and some of Biden's agenda hit locales, his numbers will rise, but for now the right-wing media will fixate on the costs of the social program prior to it becoming law.
I find it FASCINATING that nobody I know objects to the Freedom to Vote Act... not a single R or conservative friend...not one... it seems to be an objection purely-driven by that good -Senator from Kentucky and tied to a litmus-test within his own party, but not from the voters. Hmmmm.
"Conservatives oppose the Freedom to Vote, what is next they threaten? The right to a woman’s liberty? The right to a safe future for our kids and grandkids? Money is the root of all evil, and conservatives worship money above all else - a woman’s life and the right to vote.
Democrats believe above all else in “Liberty and Justice for All,” as our founders meant. Liberty for all voters; liberty for all people - including woman, gays and lesbians, and our children to have a safe planet.
Without “Liberty and Justice for All” - there is no freedom”
So, in the darkest hour before the light, at 3:35AM EDT, I did my best to present a frame for progressives and Dems. We must grow a backbone! Conservatives do NOT like us, especially when we have nothing to say! “Cons” comprise appx 35% of the electorate. Our “tribe” then, is the rest of America, and we do best when we excite ourselves!
WHATEVER our frame )message), we must learn to always use it, refer back to it, amplify it. This is the message of masters of framing, such as George Lakoff - and apparently conservatives.
Remember that the "hard left" of the Democrats, don't seem to understand the maxim - "Perfection is the enemy of the good". We have the same problem here. How this can be overcome, I do not know. (Remember, in our current culture, compromise is seen as dirty a word as co-operation).
Funny thing, Hugh, is that these Dems like AOC, Pelosi, Jayopal, are just being ... Democrats, like the ones that own WWII and built the New Deal. Funny thing ....
Sadly I think D’s are FOR too many things and R’s are AGAINST too many things. We declare that investing in children and roads and better environment is important so we need a dollar and the R’s convince their base that they are being ripped off. The R’s spend several TRILLION dollars over two decades on war machines, subsidies on coal and oil and slash domestic programming/investment and their base nod their heads. It’s the messaging, stupid.🤔
There he goes again. J D Vance using his childhood trauma as a weapon on the side of evil. The list is long and mighty of those who reacted to their childhood trauma but did so on behalf of the good for others. Rest in peace John Lewis.
Agreed. Vance has even turned on his professor who opened the door to his making a lot of money and fame. "During his first year at Yale Law, his mentor and professor Amy Chua convinced him to write his memoir." ~Wikipedia
I cannot locate a link, but I know I did read about how she mentored him toward the "Conservative" direction. I have to be honest and say I am not a fan of Amy.
Vance denounces early childhood education, programs that may have prevented his devastating early childhood. But then, how would he have made his $millions.
"Yesterday, at the National Conservatism Conference, J. D. Vance, who is running for the Senate from Ohio, quoted Richard Nixon’s statement that 'The professors are the enemy.'"
Now, that's funny, coming from a Yale-educated individual! And wisdom from Richard Nixon to boot! Why not quote Hitler, Stalin, and Pol Pot while he's at it?
I think it's a shame that the Democratic party isn't able to rally behind their president and demonstrate their ability to govern, instead bickering endlessly about myriad details of omnibus bills on infrastructure and social programs. While negotiation and compromise are the grist of the legislative process, strength in the face of opposition is also a virtue in the political calculus. Biden has shown his willingness to compromise on legislation he deems critical for the nation's interest. Why is it that a tiny fraction of his congressional party colleagues think that endless resistance is of higher individual value in the long run than showing partisan strength approaching the midterms? Perhaps the better strategy would have been a whole series of narrow, single issue bills with the expectation that 80% would pass and the other 20% could be revisited in a year or two.
I don't hardly see results of this 2021 election as a disaster for Democrats, rather more of a search for the most provocative headline story(s) by the media to pump for the purpose of garnering viewers and advertisers.
I don't hardly see results of this 2021 election as a disaster for Democrats, rather more of a search for the most provocative headline story(s) by the media to pump for the purpose of garnering viewers and advertisers
The problem is, since they have no chance of getting Republicans to act like the other governing party, senate rules are such that they could only pass all this stuff via budget reconciliation, which cannot be filibustered, and the rule is, they only get one bite at the apple each fiscal year. So all those narrowly-focused bills would just be fodder for more Republican filibusters. The fact is, they're playing the hand they got dealt. You play poker with the hand you're dealt, not the one you want.
Yes but they can change the deck by getting rid of/taming the filibuster now. If they don't do the Republicans will as soon as they take back the Senate next Year.
Today's Republicans aren't interested in policies that will help the U.S. population. Why? Because most Republican voters easily take to race-baiting the way bees take to honey (for bees and humankind this this is a healthy symbiosis), for racially anxious conservatives and outright racists such easy baiting and ignorance will spell their doom.
On the other hand, many progressives won contests on the municipal level, and, as you stated, New Jersey's Democratic governor has been reelected.
Today’s letter showing the world history of authoritarian suppression of democracy and particularly the racist, classist history of the removal of democracy by white Southerners during the American Apartheid, just reinforces this nagging feeling that I am living a nightmare with no end.
The 14th Amendment is still in the Constitution and the Dept. of Justice is supposedly still there, so where are the enforcers of voter rights from the Federal Government? Since the Madman was evicted from the White House, his Repugnant Party Cult of followers has become more insane trying to wrest control of the Federal Government WITH IMPUNITY. When that didn’t work, they have blatantly taken over the state elections by using the BIG LIE projection that voting was not secure and made laws to suppress voting.
Now the Fascist Governor of Florida is instituting his own Brown Shirt Goon Squad to “enforce” voter restrictions that even the tepid local CBS news says is unwarranted. (They finally woke up to the nightmare that has been going on since January) They even showed the demagoguery of DeathSantis crude partisan chanting in which he reveled like those despots before him.
The Dems are unsuccessfully arguing over bipartisanship, (with 2 Fifth Column operatives in their own ranks) while the Repugnant Party condones the successful removal of democracy. This is my daily nightmare, seeing all the progress of equality that has been painfully gained in my long life being systematically destroyed by the fascists in government and the intimidation of their insane cult following in the streets and soon to be in official uniforms to monitor how we vote. AND NO ONE SEEMS CAPABLE OF STOPPING IT.
Whoever faces DeathSantis next November needs to have a solid strategy to go against what will be a Florida parent’s bill of rights that he will run on. Republicans have already come out saying that’s what won in Virginia. And with him already touting that here, you know it will be on steroids.
Courtesy of Kathleen Murray on More Perfect Democracy:
I found this to be a useful post-mortem of the Virginia Election, including the communication angle. Posted by Prof. Williamson on his FB page today:
Virginia Election Post-Mortem - A thoughtful 12 point analysis from University of Richmond Professor Thad Williamson:
Twelve unprocessed early morning thoughts on yesterday’s results.
1. It is obvious in retrospect that for the main general election message to be that “Youngkin is like Trump” was a huge mistake. A. It bolstered Youngkin’s name recognition. B. It ignored the obvious fact that the gubernatorial electorate is not the presidential electorate in Virginia. C. It ignored reality that much of the Biden margin in 2020 was precisely white moderates/conservative/independents who saw Trump as a uniquely dangerous threat to democracy/health and only needed a little convincing to believe Youngkin is not Trump. D. Also ignoring reality that Trump-aligned forces are still significant, have a lot of energy, and would be itching badly for a win. McAuliffe came off too often as if he wanted a re-run of 2016, and as if the goal in this election was to drive a fatal stake through Trumpism, rather than just to get elected governor of Virginia.
2. It was also a huge mistake because there was an alternative approach available, to A. Communicate to moderates/independents what he did positive for Virginia in his previous term. B. Communicate to the base his support for and commitment to upholding the incredible legislative accomplishment of the past two years. C. Talking clearly and concretely about future plans. D. Making at least some effort to explain clearly to rural Virginia how and why those future plans and the Democratic agenda would benefit everyone, including them. Of these, that point B did not come through loud enough was really hard to understand.
3. The entire CRT issue was mis-handled in my view. This should have been understood for what it was, not at all about CRT but 100% about stoking fear—fear of racial equality, and fear that whites will have to rethink what they have been taught about this nation. The best answer took this form: “We need to teach all our kids the truth about American history, even when it’s painful, because it will help them build a better country. This means acknowledging white supremacy, racism, and slavery as central features of our history and making sure students go into the world with the facts and knowledge needed to comprehend and improve the world they will face. This is what we stand for and we are unapologetic about it.” In effect, the same message that was sent when the Confederate monuments came down. “We don’t teach CRT” was an unhelpful dodge that missed the real issue. A response like the above could have called the question in a more direct way, “are you saying we should whitewash American history”?
4. The “parents shouldn’t tell schools what to teach” was a major blunder and probably the turning point—the equivalent of Hillary’s “deplorables” comment. It should have been clearly and immediately walked back, as even most Ds would not agree with that statement put that way. It created or rather amplified the perceived cultural divide between McAuliffe and a large swath of the state, and also revealed the candidate perhaps had not thought very deeply about the underlying issue. A better answer would take the form of “parents are important and have voice through many channels, including elected school boards” and gone from there.
5. I do not think the Democrats in Virginia this this time were truly prepared for a close election, and what that entails in terms of quality of on-the-ground organization. That mindset started from almost everyone (including me) complacently acting like the Virginia electorate of November 2020 would be the Virginia electorate this year (or in the near future).
6. That said, the turnout and performance in urban Virginia was good relative to prior gubernatorial elections. Exit polls show support for McAuliffe among Black voters essentially matched support for Biden last year, and that he actually did better than Biden among Latino and Asian voters. So the narrative that urban and voters of color didn’t do their part doesn’t hold up.
7. What does hold up is the huge white backlash and how Youngkin outperformed Trump among white men and white women. He won 2 of 3 white men in Virginia. Think about that for a minute. There was also apparently increased rural turnout. As just one local comparison, in Goochland Youngkin got 9500 votes compared to 6500 for Gillespie in 2017. In Roanoke County he got 28,000 votes compared to 20,000 in 2017. And so on and so on. That wave broke the model for how Virginia elections go—rural and exurban Virginia re-asserted itself in a powerful way.
8. To counter the wave, you’d have to anticipate it and then raise the operational level in Democratic strongholds to above the bar for previous elections (not just match, but above). I think Ds matched the bar but they needed to exceed it.
9. I first got an inkling of the red wave at the State Fair in late September. We go every year, and of course it’s Republican-leaning, but the level of enthusiasm and signage for Youngkin way exceeded what I’d seen in previous years. Upon reflection, it’s obvious—“you think you could take down the R.E. Lee statue and there would be no response?"—that a backlash was going to come. As Nina Simone* sings, white backlash is one of the through-lines of American history—why should we have ever believed that we had transcended that history?
10. I say all this in the spirit more of analysis than criticism, although some criticism is warranted given the consequences of this result. It’s always easier to see things after the fact, and often really hard to navigate shifting winds in real time under a lot of pressure. But the fundamental mistake pointed to in item #1 seems like a preventable error, and it’s hard not to see this as a self-inflicted missed opportunity to consolidate the progress that has been made in Virginia. The gist of the error is not understanding and communicating from the beginning that a) 2021 would not be like 2020 b) it was always likely to be really close and c) so much at stake worth enthusiastically fighting for.
11. Let there be a lot of discussion about what all this means for the future in Virginia. The House of Delegates is still in the air but if all results hold as of 1:30 am and I did my math right that would be 51-49 Republican; maybe with luck that ends up at 50-50. 2023 will be here soon and the Ds will have a chance to start putting this right. But in the long term what will be needed is a way to communicate strong progressive ideas and goals (with no dilution or backtracking on racial equity) in ways that at least some rural people can relate to and see value in. The Ds face the exact same challenge nationally. It’s a tall ask, and a tough needle to thread, but we have to try. I have ideas, that I’ve written a little bit about elsewhere.
12. As for right now, I have class at 10:30 am and likely some quite perturbed first-year students to talk with. This is the third time in the last few years I’ve shown up Wednesday morning after a tough election result to have class. Showing up and talking about stuff, no matter what has happened or what I personally feel, is part of my professional responsibility, so I’ll be there ready to go, share some of these observations, and see what the students think.”
That’s a good point to be preparing for: Republican “parents’ ‘bill of rights’.” Since they are largely demands aggressively proclaimed and that impinge on other people’s rights to health, safety, and education, we should be clear about this in our messaging. So not let them claim “parents’ rights” in their bullying. Assert “your rights stop where my rights start.” Keep asserting that CRT is an academic legal term, and it is not part of school curriculums. Parents have the right to put their children in private schools—that should be paid for by the parents, not through vouchers paid for by public tax dollars.
Same here. But you’re right. Not 1 person can stop it. All of us are more capable than 1 of us. They got a professional loser, lying, cheating, con, bully, coward who has the morals of an ally cat. Wonder when they will figure out the only thing they made great was helping donnie pay off debt and law suits. Beats the hell out of any “ Gofundme “ I’ve ever seen.
As a historian, I am bemused by instant analyses after a political (or football) event. The Democrats are ‘frantic and had a disastrous game plan’ because of what occurred in the Virginia or New Jersey (where polls had Governor Murphy comfortably ahead) elections. Were I to analyze election results in Southold NY (Congressman Lee Zeldin’s territory—his major distinction with Trump sycophant Jim Jordan is that Zeldin wears a jacket), I would find that the Democrats have scored a resounding victory by ousting a long-entrenched Republican government.
“White back lash”in Virginia, still studying the entrails of the NJ results, mass repudiation of President Biden—-blah, blah, blah. Of course, when election results are disappointing, there is an immediate blame game. However, this is a four-quarter ‘game,’ and an agile quarterback, as is President Biden, is capable of getting his team more focused before half time in 2022. The Democrat cat fight over the physical and social infrastructure bills was debilitating for all to see. Quarterback Biden seems capable of giving several recalcitrant Dems in Congress catnip to obtain some of the most significant legislation since LBJ’s Great Society.
Many Americans are distressed by the ups-and-downs of the pandemic (in which the Biden administration has performed admirably, after the previous quarterback was dismissed). The supply snafu, which is world wide, may impede Christmas shopping, but by mid-2022 consumers should again be happy, the economy should be growing robustly, and President Biden’s quarterbacking is likely to be applauded for his PROMISES MADE/RESULTS DELIVERED as contrasted to Republican cheap shots and policy-less braying.
Traditionally the party that’s in the White House loses Congressional seats in mid-term elections. However, this is not written in stone nor are these traditional times. I am not in a funk at the end of the first quarter. My team has a seasoned quarterback with a flexible playbook. I have a bag of popcorn and a beer in hand, as I await the second quarter.
"Boston elected its first woman and first person of color as mayor. Pittsburgh and Kansas City, Kan., each elected its first Black mayor. Cincinnati chose an Asian American mayor, and Dearborn, Mich.’s next mayor is going to be an Arab American Muslim.
Cheer up, people. We made it through another election."
Gail Collins NYT November 4, 2021
And on a further positive note. We had another free and fair election day in this Country.
Excellent, Barbara!! And, yes, I made the comment yesterday that I was pretty sure when we lost, there wouldn't be cries of voter/election fraud. So far, I've not heard any such.
Thank you, Barbara. When possible, if suggesting a source please include a link to it.
https://www.nytimes.com/2021/11/03/opinion/election-results.html
Thanks, Tom.
I am a student of history & believe Democrats must pass both infrastructure bills to provide a growing social safety net for ALL Americans. This is what European countries did after WWII to combat fascism. I think they learned the lessons of post WWI. Today's fascists are the Republicans, read "How Fascism Works". Democratic Patriots must get active for the 2022 midterms, to save our democratic republic. Don't trust me, read "On Tyranny" by historian Timothy Snyder. History instructs.
Thanks for the book recommendations, Brian. I am very pleased to be introduced to the work by Jason Stanley, "How Fascism Works." Timothy Snyder is a Frequently Mentioned Author on this substack, as you may know. "On Tyranny" was chilling in 2017, and it is terrifying now.
Paul Krugman yesterday, "you should be terrified".
I prefer, “scary, but not afraid.” (To quote myself..🙋🏽!)
I quoted you on "be scared but not afraid" to another comment today--healthy fear followed by courage!
Necessary step in problem solving such as the situation facing democracy. Thank you Ellie. Onward!
Milton Mayer's "They Thought They Were Free" another good but scary read re how fascism can ooze into a society. I have to say that "Adventures of a Bystander," by Peter Drucker was a game changer for me. Started before turn of the century and all the way through the horror. Hard to believe that those same forces are still at work. And in our America, but oozing they are.
Always good to pick up book recommendations from this group. Thank you all.
Try Friendly Fascism by Bertram Gross. He was writing before 1985 and before internet & cell phones. As cynical as I find this book, he was headed in the right direction of corporate rule.
Welcome Brian.
Timothy Snyder has a substack. He has been presenting the 20 Lessons from Tyranny, along with some recent thoughts as well as addressing other subjects. The link is below.
We'll meet here again on the Forum.
https://snyder.substack.com/
Which substack is better, Robert Reich or Timothy Snyder? I am inclined to stick with one historian (Heather) & Reich who has synthesizes several "Siloes of Knowledge".
Brian, It is a difficult call. Timothy Snyder's, 'Thinking about... 'couldn't be more different than the others. With Snyder, the combination, for me, of deep reflection and sense of soul is highly unusual. We are at different stages in life, Brian, and it is impossible to know how much we are alike and different. I sum, I believe you would do well with either, and Reich may be closest to where you are now. You cannot lose, either way. Cheers!
You can try before you buy for free. That's what I've been doing.
Ever the optimist, I think the VA loss will scare up more "good votes" for 2022. It is all about turnout. Millions of new young voters will be eligible to vote. Most of them are smart and inclusive.
If the legislative log jam can be broken on BBB, there will be significant momentum to secure two more Senate seats. And then...and then a voting rights bill can be carved out from filibuster foolishness.
Which sets the stage for 2024. I know, I am a dreamer. But a positive dream and a strong cup of coffee starts my day better than hysterical gloom/doomism.
Having just sold in northern Virginia to depart after 30 years and having moved to Mid Coast Maine I can tell you Virginia was crowding out the reasonable centrist voices that brought Tim Kaine and Mark Warner to the senate and ousted idiots like George Allen and years before Stan Parris. The lurch to the crazy left was one -phobic too much for a generally centrist state. Expect a shellacking in 2022 because the president failed to keep AOC and co in a box.
"AOC and co" - including MA Senator Ed Markey - are advocating policies supported by more than 70% of all Americans. That makes them the centrists. It is why Joe Biden, a centrist for half a century and a very practical politician, is aligned with them.
Good move! Mid Coast Maine is a slice of heaven. Just be careful if you wander west - unless you are headed for the Lost Kitchen :)
Joe can't keep AOC in a box. How would he do that? And the progressive gang is mainstreaming faster than we can paddle against the tide. McAuliffe lost for two reasons. His comment about parents and schools was a bridge jump into oblivion. And he was old news that failed to get the young and forward thinking youth to the voting booths. Dem turnout was lame. And I would bet that it was progressives who stayed home. "Oh, Terry, more of the same." You could call it the Hillary effect.
BTW, on your way to Maine, stop in Boston for a bit. There is new progressive sheriff in town!
Sorry Bill, but the republican party is nothing but fascism. It needs to be screamed from the rooftops. Yes, McAuliffe's comment gave me a horrible sinking feeling, but Youngkin gave me a vision of trump
Don't apologize to me! I agree with all three of your sentences. I just choose optimism today.
amen!
Well as a Cambridge refugee neither Boston nor Seattle is a place I’m likely to patronize anymore. Not sure the new sheriff in Boston was the wisest move. You’re right though about mcauliffe. Terrible option.
Yeah, I am not a city guy anyway. I am jealous, of course. I can smell the salt air and seaweed. Enjoy!
I guess we can count on you to vote? LePage is on the loose again! And Bozo Collins endorsed him! Danger, Will Robinson!
Absolutely we must defeat LePage and those of the same ilk
Yep.
According to HCR in one of her recent history or political chat, AOC is more of a “traditionalist” and “conservative” when you consider the writing in the Constitution. I’m with AOC and HCR.
Are you suggesting a shellacking in VA or the USA?
National. We are going to get crushed because of both the thought police and the defund the police nonsense and all the cousins of this crazytown nonsense
Thought police? Sounds like wishing and hoping.
✊🏼United.
And tfg is not behind the presidential podium. I am grateful every day
Now, Jeri, this is a huge reminder for all of us!
Thank you! That was my reaction to the incredibly pessimistic reporting. I do though, hope this may push the democrats to finish their bargaining and pass the bills so we can focus on how to get voting rights legislation passed.
But will the two Trojan Horses play ball or stall at the gate
Gate opened for Murkowski. Let ‘em in!
Loved your analysis! And so completely agree with you! Give the guy a break! As much as I respect most of the media personalities, why, why, why are you undermining everything Biden and the Democrats do or try to do. Just stop It! You look foolish! It's a long road to success and the climb is difficult but slowly they will get there! Already they had one republican go against the pack and vote with the Dems. Give it time, try to stay positive and do what you can to help. It's just the beginning of the second quarter. Who gives up a game after the first quarter, not us!
Time is running out. It will soon be 2022 and in Floriduh, Gov. DeathSantis is getting another unnecessary goon squad to monitor elections, like the mad emperor's own nameless federal goons sent to intimidate and break up peaceful demonstrations that one time was an American civil right.
Goon squads coming all over soon, brown shirts anybody?
They are already here threatening school officials, teachers, election officials and getting into the face of everyone. Some good things happened here in Oregon where the small town where I worked did pass a fire levy, so they could have 24/7 professional fire service on hand not staffed with volunteers. In our fire district, it took three elections to get our fire/medic service up to snuff. This I do not understand.
I've been watching this since Nixon, been a long haul for me. Always tried to think "it's not as bad as it seems." But rupert keeps spewing bull schitt faster than Dems can shovel. Dems should have had their own bull horn since Ronnie, but he had his own script writer (Noonan) and PR expert (Deaver) to show him better than he ever was. Same with Rupert and trump. Propaganda works, sad to say
Propaganda works for both sides when it's employed properly. For every Lord Haw Haw, there has been a Churchill so far but we appear to still be searching for an antidote to Crockwork Orange.
Is this a self-fulfilling prophecy?
God I hope not. Donate all I can, but old, retired school counselor's retirement pay won't cut it.
I think we can always pick out the democrat/progressive-leaning media. They seem to bend over so much to not show bias that they end up speaking in superbly critical terms as to what are the imperfections of the good; holding their preferred policies/leaders/candidates to standards never imagined for the other side. And, we can not help but be discouraged when our side does what is possible, ok, pretty good, the right thing, even if not the perfect, the impossible, anything more than the other side would even think doing. We dare not defend what we do that is right and, like a good mid-westerner, point out that it could have been better before someone here in Lake Wobegon points out our lack of humility or the sin of bragging. Perhaps, we are simply too concerned with the potential of our integrity falling short that our media starts off with the apology for shortcomings, most of which would go unnoticed but for the most decerning of our opposition, leaving our message and achievements unheard of. Like this post, we twist ourselves in our own knickers, impure that they are, of course. 😏
Hello Keith. I'm drinking a cool, glass of water from the kitchen sink. Modest as that may seem, I still bring good election news,. 'In elections across the country, candidates of color made history Tuesday night.'
'..., bringing diversity to leadership roles in some of America's biggest cities, and in some states as well.'
'Boston, New York, Pittsburgh and Dearborn, Mich., were among the places that a majority of voters embraced minority candidates.'
'Michelle Wu is the first woman and person of color to be elected Boston's mayor
The city councilor and daughter of Taiwanese immigrants broke Boston's 199-year streak of white, male city leaders. Michelle Wu defeated fellow Democratic City Councilor Annissa Essaibi George, a self-described first-generation Arab-Polish American.'
"For many, the race came down to competing visions of the future with Essaibi George's version cast as more of the old guard and Wu's perceived as new-school Boston."
'Pittsburgh elects Ed Gainey, the city's first Black mayor ever.' "We know how people have talked about Pittsburgh, how siloed it is, how segregated it is," Gainey told supporters on Tuesday, according to member station WESA. "But today, you changed that."
'The western Pennsylvania metropolis, which is 23% Black, largely favored the Democrat Ed Gainey over Republican challenger Tony Moreno. Gainey was born and raised by a single mother in Pittsburgh, where he lived in public housing and later found a career in politics.'
'Cincinnati elects Aftab Pureval as its first Asian American mayor'
'The 39-year-old Democrat started his political career six years ago as an outsider, member station WVXU reports, and last night, he defeated 82-year-old opponent David Mann, "a longtime pillar of Cincinnati City Hall."
The Tibetan-Indian son of immigrants, Aftab Pureval, earned his law degree and worked for Procter & Gamble before running successfully for Hamilton County Clerk of Courts in 2016.
(NPR, WNYC) See link to article below.
And there are a lot more.
https://www.npr.org/2021/11/03/1051811110/election-night-2021-results-michelle-wu-eric-adams-ed-gainey-mayor
Cleveland, OH also good news. https://www.cleveland.com/cityhall/2021/11/justin-bibb-wins-cleveland-mayoral-election-in-dominating-fashion-over-kevin-kelley-to-succeed-frank-jackson.html
Morning Fern and Lynell! The good news is there in abundance. Media needs to do the little digging it takes with a tablespoon instead of spewing alarm. I mean, really people? 🙄
Democracy! 🙋🏻🙋🏼🙋🏽🙋🏾🙋🏿
LET'S GO TO CLEVELAND!
*Cleveland's new mayor wasting no time in making sure his administration is ready day one
*BREAKING: There Will Soon Be More Women than Kevins on Cleveland City
Council
*Cleveland zoo welcomes baby gorilla in historic first
*Officials hold Opportunity Corridor ribbon-cutting; road expected to open by end of next week
*Lee’s Seafood Boil opens new location in Uptown Cleveland
Such exciting news, Fern...bring it on!
Yes, Ma'am, we sure do relish that good news. It make take some digging, but it's there. Top of the morning to you, Lynell!
typo correct: 'It 'may' take some digging....'
Nice analysis. With over 40 years working in government, to include writing and passing legislation, it slays me that people expected Biden to deliver a sweeping agenda within the first year of his Presidency. It took Obama three plus years to get the Affordable Care Act (which needs serious fixing) passed.
The Dems in Congress would have been better served to pass the Infrastructure bill, then tackle the other major pieces of legislation. Instead of writing gigantic legislation (meaning over hundreds, if not thousands of pages), focused on specific issues and pass the bill. This gives Americans a better chance to understand the message versus having so many things thrown at them at once.
Thank you for this. Are the Democrats guilty of over promising and under delivering?
Very much so, and with no need to do it. Far better to under promise and over deliver. Also, much more effective to discuss the positive impact of an action than the notional cost, especially when the 10 year total is presented as though it will be spent next week.
So there is also a bad messaging problem.
Terrible messaging and no apparent effort to work past it. Hard to imaging what the back story creators are thinking about, if they have any concept at all.
Neither. All this is long overdue.
LK, Timing has to be considered when posing the options as you have. While the Build Back Better Plan may be enormous, what would the odds be to divide the package into or three or four bills, in addition to passing one or two national voting bills before the midterm elections? Go big or smaller several times over? A puzzlement?
Consider this. Americans are so distracted by so much, when you see large legislation like this, it becomes overwhelming. Sometimes going back to basics would help keep people focused and forces the debate between the parties.
Consider the child tax credit, apparently popular with many Americans. Make both parties make the case, for and against. Thus a record is clearly established that can be used at election time.
These huge bills cover so many issues, that a vote against it could easily be interpreted as I'm was for child tax credits, but didn't buy into the billionaire tax scheme that was originally proposed.
LK, The Build Back Better package and all items within it are popular. Your point concerning why is should have been divided into smaller portions was not persuasive to me as public interest has not been problematic. Manchin and Sinema and the delay as a result of their demands have caused public disappointment. My point was what were the odds of passing one large package plus one or two national voting rights bills vs 3 or 4 bills (pulled out the the entire pace) plus voting rights bills before the midterms. My guess is hard as it may be, going big ASAP made more sense. Doing anything worthwhile for the benefit of the American people now goes up against the Republican Wall, including a few Democrats.
Fern just listened to Former NJ Governor Whitman about the NJ elections. And then saw a truck driver (R) beat out the top NJ Democrat for a Senate seat. Whitman's comment was telling, though I can't verify the fact.
She said that over 50% of Americans are either Independent or non-affiliated with any political party. First time in the "history of political parties." She also said a majority of Americans are tired of the divisiveness brought on by the extremes of parties. And while it's easy to blame Repubs, the Dems are just as guilty and have been when they're out of power.
There are things that people agree with, i.e. Medicare having dental coverage. Why hold this popular bill hostage to other parts of Build Back America that are not popular.
The problem Dems have right now, and is constantly blared across cable commentary media, in the newspapers, social media of every stripe, is they haven't demonstrated the ability to govern. Getting the Infrastructure bill pass in the Senate was great. But being held up in the House for Build Back Better is ridiculous. Having passed a major piece of legislation that Trump and the Republicans didn't do, would be a thumb's up on Biden's agenda. Getting specific legislation passed by the midterms shows the Dems can govern. Putting all their eggs in one basket, to include the voting rights bills, and giving Repubs and others the ability to stall them just demonstrates they can't lead the nation. And that doesn't bode well for them in the midterms.
Whitman, Did not hit the bull's-eye.
2021 Sep 1‑17 (Gallup)
R I D
29 40 29
LK, The Democratic Party, under the big tent, has plenty of problems, however, the media presses on the negative. Let's not wait to communicate, but definitely do so again after the 2 infrastructure plans and a national voting rights bill are passed. I, actually, believe that they will be. Let's see where Biden and the Democratic party are about 7 months after that.
Biden and the Democratic Party have gotten a lot done. The positives, if reported, are usually in the small print. The party's messaging -- I won't get into that. Here are a few of the positives.
'He’s ended America’s longest war, got vaccines distributed at no cost nationwide and halved the child poverty rate. So why all the stories about ‘Biden‘s Cruel Summer’?'
'The facts of Biden’s presidency are there for all of us to see. When he took office, Biden inherited a country in the midst of a pandemic and an economic crisis, reeling from an unprecedented attack on its political system and wracked by social divisions the last president systematically sought to make worse. Our international standing had been battered by racist policies, nationalist, anti-immigrant rhetoric, attacks on our allies, corruption, efforts to undermine international institutions, embrace of our enemies, and rejection of our own core democratic values.'
'In just eight months, the president and his team have engineered transformational progress on many fronts. Where there had been no plan to administer vaccines, today over 200 million Americans have received at least one shot and the vaccines are available to every American free of charge and are now required of federal workers as part of a sweeping effort to contain the spread of the virus here. Our vaccine diplomacy efforts lead the world, with commitments to share 600 million doses to countries in need worldwide. Biden’s $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan has cut the child poverty rate in half. More jobs, 4.1 million, were created in the first six months of this administration than in the 12 years of the Trump and Bush administrations combined. The U.S. economy grew at an extraordinary annualized rate of 6.5 percent during the second quarter of this year. Biden implemented scores of executive orders undoing Trump administration policies that damaged the environment, put our security at risk, or violated the rights of Americans.'
'Biden made combatting climate change a priority again. The U.S. re-entered the Paris Climate Accords and re-joined the World Health Organization. The U.S. repaired damaged relations with allies. Biden has appointed new judges at a faster rate than his predecessors. He has appointed the most diverse cabinet in American history as well as the most diverse set of judges. Vice President Kamala Harris has led efforts to oversee police reform, to work with the nations of Central American to curb the flow of undocumented immigrants into the U.S., and to shore up our alliances to ensure stability in Asia. Secretary of State Antony Blinken has worked to usher in a new era in U.S. foreign policy in which America focuses on the emerging challenges of the 21st century. And the administration has been swift to provide essential aid when disasters like wildfires in the West, hurricanes in the South, and flooding in the East brought pain to millions.'
'The president ended the 20-year war in Afghanistan, something none of his three predecessors had the courage to do even as the costs of that war were compounded daily. And he negotiated a bipartisan bill now before the Congress to finally invest as we must in America’s neglected infrastructure, while outlining additional investments of $3.5 trillion as part of America’s Build Back Better package that will, taken with the infrastructure bill, represent the biggest investment in American competitiveness, health, and security in almost a century.'
'You might not agree with every one of these policies. Aspects of their implementation may not have been perfect. There are certainly areas where criticism is fair.'
'But somehow, this unprecedented record of achievement in the face of extraordinary challenges and a toxic political environment coming on the heels of the most incompetent and corrupt administration in American history, another narrative has emerged. It is so divorced from reality that it seems as if it is reporting on a different universe. It’s so crazy that you might dismiss it as the work of hacks or just the politically motivated, but it has taken on a life of its own.' (Daily Beast)
https://www.thedailybeast.com/bidens-achievements-are-big-his-press-coverage-is-small
From Daily Kos:
Run a real and important investigation into January 6th
Got the US is back in the UN Human Rights Council
Wind Farms Are Seeing Huge Expansion
Biden and the Democrats raised social security for 70 million people
Biden negotiated an international deal to end tax havens
Biden eliminated some student debt
Biden strengthened protections for dreamers
Biden strengthened unions
Biden ordered all federal contractors to pay their workers a $15 minimum wage and provide emergency paid leave.
Reuniting families Trump tore apart (Daily Kos) See link below.
There is more -- but that is enough for now.
https://www.dailykos.com/story/2021/10/16/2058227/-50-Amazing-Things-Democrats-Have-Done-Since-Biden-Took-Office-Saturday-s-GNR
By the way, I am not demeaning or disparaging the truck driver and his occupation. We may need more like him in elected offices. He won because he listened to the people of his district. Or at least they think he did. Actions will tell.
Agree, LK!
Keep the beer, Keith, but please pass the popcorn!
Lynell Popcorn for you, beer for me, that’s a compromise that I gladly accept. If only our Dem cats in Congress could compromise and get the infrastructure enchiladas signed with swift implementation.
That's a deal, Keith. A message needs to be sent that "compromise" is not a dirty word.
Thank you for the reminder that the "game" is not lost! I was a cheerleader back in the day; the team we cheered for didn't always win but our cheer team won all our competitions. We worked hard as a team and had faith in ourselves. No beer or popcorn for this old cheerleader; gotta get the squad in shape for the next "game"😉
After a couple of hours watching the hand wringing last night, I tuned in to Survivor and thence back to Rachel. She, thank goodness, had the perspective you share here, plus a bottle of good whiskey for her friend Steve. That was enough levity to re-right my ship!
Good advice. I refuse to see all as lost. There were things that happened Tuesday to give hope. Last night we did not watch the national news because we didn't want to hear all the nay saying. I confess to having a Facebook page and I did post that all is not lost and it's time to get to work. I am truly sorry about VA because they just took a giant step backwards. I have an ex-student who lives in Lynchburg and I am sure she is not happy.
All is definitely not lost but the potential remains there unless a positive, coherent and unifying strategy becomes clear fairly quickly. Right now, the public exchange that amounts to "my way or the highway" serves no purpose other than to drive media notice and make life easy for sensationalistic punditry of which we have an overabundance. Youngkin probably won't be quite as bad as he's been portrayed, Murphy did end up winning and your former student, like the rest of us, will do well to start working on 2022 and '24 to ensure a better set of results.
I am sure she will. Her husband is of the opinion that both parties are equally bad. I gave up with him.
Don't give up completely, I fall into the "a pox on both their houses" thought line from time to time and it's tempting right now until I remember that the Democrats have always behaved more or less like they are at the moment while Republicans have, at times past, supported the concepts and process of government as we'd like to know it.
I too am very hopeful for the 2nd Qtr. however that does not mean I am not deeply troubled that so many fellow Americans are thoughtlessly following a propaganda spewing cult and I strongly believe there needs to be security and safety from undue influence. This is 2021 not 1776. We have progressed in understanding minds and prosocial behaviors over the past 300 years. We should be able to figure out the difference between freedom of speech and propaganda
Cults are by definition irrational, strange and likely sinister. They do not deprogram themselves. Ike knew that. We apparently don’t. Your last sentence is the crux of our problems
Agreed. There are experts who have spent lifetimes studying/researching cults. If only we were curious enough to learn what they know.
They don't deprogram themselves
Do human instincts change? Some of them may be quiet but arousable. I am thinking about tribalism. It has been ignited and one of our most serious problems. How to tamp it back down, hopefully, we will learn how.
We have learned that neural pathways can be changed. Instincts are gut level reactions (I believe) and can be over-ridden by executive function. It’s the ability to engage executive function or not, that matters. Emotional trauma, shame, poor ego development, lack of attunement from caregivers, all effect the ability of executive function. Most Democrats understand parents need support as those “things” are difficult to deliver under stress. Republicans, I argue, want to keep a fertile ground for their propaganda to work.
You're going to need more beer. I respect your optimism and hope you're right but the coaching staff is debating which playback to use and it's unclear that the whole offense is agreed on the strategy. BIF isn't exactly 3 yards and a cloud of dust but it is only one down and the BBB touchdown will still be an option. Right now the defense is feeling and acting pretty smug and that's usually a good time to hit them hard; there might even be a breakthrough play for a score.
Who is playing by the rules in this game?
Not sure there are still too many rules but the Democrats are more clearly attached to the original set than is the other party.
I like your optimism. Very much. Yet, we progressives will over analyze and rewrite until the deadline is about to pass and then wring our hands over not winning everything. I hope the coach and quarterback give the rest of the team a good talking to. An few neither know on what line the ball is placed nor the direction of the scoreable goal post. You sound like the coach in this scenario, Keith. I'm trying to identify the coach in the real game. Some might suggest that Mr Biden is too divided between being coach and/quarterback. Thanks.
Some, at least one, would agree with your closing comment and suggest that there are either too many coaches who aren't clear on the concept or no coach at all.
One might say that Pelosi is the coach.
Keith, I look at stats. The Republicans gained territory in every single county, not just for the Governor position. Candy coat it all you want, I'm choosing the reality of mathematics.
1. JD Vance is a hypocrite. His entire point in the book that gave him this platform was that education, especially at the college level, made the difference for him. Who’s giving that to him if not the professors?
2. The trick is going to be reminding people that by not voting, they become less equal. Every time a person doesn’t vote, they make the vote of someone else more powerful.
Your first point is EXACTLY what I was thinking. JD would have been someone else altogether (or, more likely, no one) without his education.
Beth, your #2 contains a good message for those of us writing postcards and letters to support get-out-the-vote organizations. Thank you, very much!
Thanks for the work you do. Writing GOTV postcards is hard work!
I usually do them while listening to HCR or a replay of Stacey Abrams’ documentary!
Tina and Joel, you're right. Point #2 will be going on my postcards in the future.
What a powerful campaign slogan Vance has "My ignorance is equal to your knowledge." Or as TFG would say "My ignorance is better than your knowledge."
I like how you expressed that: that by not voting, they become “less equal.” I wonder if more people saw it that way, if it would motivate them more?
I volunteer with unhomed teens and often think about this. They have so little power to begin with but then they give over the little bit of power they do have to other people.
Voter registration usually requires an address of some sort. Does that make it even harder for unhomed people to vote?
What great work you do! Thanks to all of you who volunteer to anything!
Exactly, Beth M. JDVance is a mere speck of dust on my radar screen. I blow it right off or drown it and the other specks with a Windex wipe.
JD Vance sold any integrity he once possessed in exchange for the potential of power.
Excellent points Beth! Thank You.
"By not voting you become less equal."
Last night I voted in person in Minneapolis. To my great surprise, I wasn’t registered! I always vote, I’m always registered…. I don’t know why I wouldn’t be? Luckily, my husband was with me and vouched for my address, therefore I was able to register on the spot, and get my vote in before the polls closed. I just wanted to share this with you all, because I felt like it was awfully sketchy! If I had voted by mail, what would have happened?
Hi Eleanor, you were lucky to be able to register on Election Day! I don’t know the answer but I was a volunteer with Common Cause during the election. During an election you can go to 866ourvote.org or call 866-OUR-VOTE (which is an election protection hotline). I think you can still call the number now. The election protection workers may not know what happened but they may have suggestions for the next time. Hope this is useful.
Empasizes the need to get out and vote in person and not rely just on the mail.
Or better yet, continually check on registration status throughout the year..many states have had problem free mail-in voting for years….but if you happen to live in states with suppression issues all bets are off!!
In some states you receive notification your ballot has been received, via mail in, and counted.
In Michigan we can easily track our ballots on line.
One of the very few good things about Georgia voting is that you can still check your voter status online. If you get to vote by mail, the status of your ballot is included as well.
When you request a mail in ballot shouldn’t you be informed that you are not currently registered?
Or to rephrase that how can you get a mail in ballot if you’re not registered?
Many “blue states” offer same day voter registration, allowing for people to register and vote on election day. This is commonplace, rather than unusual
NH does have same day registration but I wouldn't be at all surprised if the R-led legislature doesn't do away with it. They've gone whole hog on ignoring public input-there was overwhelming negative input against school vouchers diverting public education monies to religious/private schools and home schooler families. Then they cut public education funding even more. (Betsy Devos would be so pleased. S/) The response was so negative, they went so far as to hide it in the State Budget and got away with it. What doesn't help is that there was no studies as to how the plan would affect the budget nor minimal if any oversight of the plan going forward.
HOW did NH goes crazy (again)? NH iz the outlier in New England. Though, I’ll never understand how VT and MA ended up with Republican govs - tho capable and “moderate"
Western MA has a lot of small towns that tend red. The state has a lot of voters who would be liberal Republicans if such a thing still existed; they will vote for a Republican candidate who makes sense to them.
Yes, and this is why we need to pass the Freedom to Vote Act so that anyone in any state can register and vote on the same day! It’s just one way we can make voting easier, not harder. Then, we can have a level playing field across all states.
So glad that they let you vote.
Is that ironic that we have to be grateful the "they" let us vote? It should be an inalienable right. But this will be true from now on, if we can wrest the country back from authoritarianism, liars and blaggarts.
Did you receive a ballot in the mail? My state (Montana) conducted the election by mail this year. Only registered voters received a ballot, approximately 3 weeks before Election Day. People who were not already registered had to go to the courthouse to register and obtain a ballot.
I ❤️ that MONTANA had vote by mail! How did this happen? Conservatives are a majority in MT. (tho I supported your former Dem Gov Steve Bullock for Pres)
Well, it costs less to conduct vote by mail, than to set up polling places across the state. Always looking for ways to spend less…
HEY! WAIT! A great way to democratically conduct safe and certain elections - without all of the labor! Conservatives would love this! (grrrrr!
The Rs feel pretty confident about the outcome, so they will allow vote by mail.
Assuming the DeJoyless sabotages of USPS functionality can be fixed.
Let us all be clear, practicing, supporting, teaching, and failing to actively oppose discrimination against or suppression of any group of our neighbors and fellow travelers on this orb we call earth because of the color of their skin, place of birth, ethnicity, religion or none that they practice, their economic circumstances, who they love, or what sex the believe themselves to be is simply wrong by any moral code you may choose to believe. There is no acceptable excuse for such attitudes or behavior.
Those who believe such discrimination or suppression is acceptable diminish the quality of life for us all, including themselves. Such reprehensible behavior is to be identified and called out by name for what it is. We should neither tolerate or excuse it for anything other than what it is. We must teach our young that we are all entitled to equal respect and opportunity. Opposing a moral code that promotes such teachings is evil in whatever time it occurs - in history, at present, or in the future.
From South Pacific.
Rogers and Hammerstein
You've got to be taught
To hate and fear,
You've got to be taught
From year to year,
It's got to be drummed
In your dear little ear
You've got to be carefully taught.
You've got to be taught to be afraid
Of people whose eyes are oddly made,
And people whose skin is a diff'rent shade,
You've got to be carefully taught.
You've got to be taught before it's too late,
Before you are six or seven or eight,
To hate all the people your relatives hate,
You've got to be carefully taught!
And so the hatred gets passed from Mom and Dad to the children, generation after generation, with no end in sight.😩
But every child and young person properly instructed on the power of love, compassion, and empathy is a pebble cast into the waters of the pond whose ripples spread to stir the waters. Don’t ever miss an opportunity to cast another pebble into the waters.
I strongly suggest reading Fiona Hill’s book, “There Is Nothing For You Here.” When opening the book, first read the final two chapters, “Conclusion” and “Creating Opportunity in the Twenty-first Century.” These chapters set a frame of reference for her message in the book of the importance of the infrastructure of opportunity and how it is created. You will come to understand the importance of educational opportunity and of role models and mentors. These are the most important tools for creating a better future for all, our nation and the world.
Be a role model. Be a mentor. Advocate for educational opportunity. And above all practice kindness.
I have long subscribed to Gandhi’s Ten Rules For Changing the World. The first of those ten is - “You must be the change you want to see in the world.” If you wish to see more beauty, create beauty. If you wish to see more peace, practice and create peace. To change the world you must first practice change yourself.
https://www.dailygood.org/story/466/gandhi-s-10-rules-for-changing-the-world-henrik-
Never miss an opportunity to cast a pebble into the still waters. Each pebble creates ripples that stir the waters. Be a caster of pebbles of kindness and tolerance. The more of us who cast those pebbles and teach the importance of kindness, the more we stir the waters and spread the ripples of kindness.
Thank you for that link! I really needed to re-visit those rules today! I also shared it on my FB page.
No coincidence that the Koch’s went after our educational institutions with a vengeance
Keep at it, BruceC. Yes!
Just started the book. I was so impressed by her when she spoke during DJT's impeachment mess - second one! Hope she continues to be a public figure - she could do some good, I think.
❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️
Teaching hate to a child is evil and handicaps that child.
I think the young get it! It is the old farts who are the problem.
That might be a stereotype. (in 4 days I will be 77. Glad I'm young and not an Old Fart.)
In advance, Happy birthday, Rob Boyte. You are young, decisive, a writer, hard working and a commentator -- sometimes funny, too. I'm glad you're here. Cheers!
Young and fresh minded is def not an age. Rock on, Rob.
I don't mind being an old fart, if you learn something new every day then you gain knowledge and maybe wisdom. (I am 76.)
And frankly, there are a LOT of those still in Congress!
Oh and I AM an old fart (83).
100% with you. If they believe their God made them where do they think the rest of the world came from ? They hate that question.
72 here. But I got it at least 50 yrs ago. The only way you could act and think like them is to have been taught from an early age going back many generations. And ask any teacher that input on a clean slate is simple compared to trying to erase the wrong information after many yrs.Add family tradition, trust, and loyality.Not much difference in a Drug Addition to retrain the brain. What has happen now tho is those that hid not being prejudice are coming out. Didn’t see that like now in the Civil Rights time. We still have faith and hope. What good would it do to save the planet and lose each other ? Or save ourselves in privilege and wealth and keep bringing suffering upon us and our home planet ? We All have a lot of work to do.
Totally. Lesson in ‘da house. Preach, BruceC.
🙋🏽
I agree with everything but the religion part. I actively discriminate against people of faith because faith is making claims of moral authority without evidence or data to back up the claims.
I understand your point. However, I would ask you to remember that there are many in virtually all faiths who do good works for many and practice tolerance, care, and compassion. Likewise there are some who miss or pervert the near universal foundational belief in all faiths of what many often call “the golden rule” of caring for others as you wish for them to care for you. Do not condemn a faith or those who practice it for those who may pervert, misinterpret, or misunderstand it.
As Shakespeare says in his play, Julius Caesar:
Cassius to Brutus after the murder of Caesar - Cassius:
"The fault, dear Brutus, is not in our stars,
But in ourselves, that we are underlings."
Good works are wonderful. They are still good without adding in the unproven claims about meaning, the nature of the universe, etc. I believe I am entitled to have reality-based conversations.
Brother, we are all entitled to whatever conversations we choose. I only urge that you consider the importance of kindness when having those conversations. Particularly when you have them in the context of mentoring or coaching our youth.
I struggle to become more kind every day. That must be balanced with direct action and well-defined boundaries around who I am, who I am becoming, and how much intrusion I am willing to tolerate from proselytizing strangers knocking on my door. :)
Ahhhh, balancing with direct action, leads me to remind all again of Gandhi's ten rules for changing the world where his fourth rule is - "Without action you aren't going anywhere."
Without taking action very little will be done. However, taking action can be hard and difficult. There can be much inner resistance.
And so you may resort to preaching, as Gandhi says. Or reading and studying endlessly. And feeling like you are moving forward. But getting little or no practical results in real life.
So, to really get where you want to go and to really understand yourself and your world you need to practice. Books can mostly just bring you knowledge. You have to take action and translate that knowledge into results and understanding.
So knowledge and good intentions without action will produce little in the way of results. Only personal commitment and taking direct action will effect change.
What? You discriminate against anyone who believes in any deity because you are offended by the ideas you have decided go along with that? You treat people badly based on your ideas about their ideas?
No. I do not treat people badly based on their irrational claims. I discriminate. Very different meanings. I demand data-driven, evidence-based conversations. I avoid theists primarily because they often refuse to stop proselytizing and trying to indoctrinate. Please don't make another attempt to change my words or meaning. Thank you so much.
Ah, I am used to the word 'discriminate' being used to mean treating people badly based on their skin color or other characteristic. "I actively discriminate against people of faith" seemed to fit into that category. Not only did I not intend to alter your meaning, I phrased my comment as I did because your apparent meaning did not seem likely to me. Thank you for clarifying.
Almost by definition, faith is based on subjective experience and can only be called "evidence-based" if you choose to see those subjective experiences as evidence. I can appreciate that you would be annoyed if people badger you to see the world as they do - and seriously annoyed if it happened to you over and over and over again.
I know a great many people who believe in Gd (as they understand Gd, however that may be; it varies) and have no interest at all in proselytizing. It is literally against the Jewish religion to proselytize. I have met many people of other religions (Muslims, Hindus, Buddhists, Christians) who have not tried to convert me, and only a few who have tried. So my experience in that regard has been different than yours.
As a person of faith, I would hope that you and I could have reasonable conversations on topics of mutual interest(for example, within this group); and that even if you think I'm an idiot on the subject of faith, you would not hold that against me as long as I conducted myself with the same respect for your approach to life as I would like you to show for mine.
"As a person of faith, I would hope that you and I could have reasonable conversations on topics of mutual interest(for example, within this group); and that even if you think I'm an idiot on the subject of faith, you would not hold that against me as long as I conducted myself with the same respect for your approach to life as I would like you to show for mine."
Joan,
To your last paragraph: Yes, absolutely and unequivocally. I do not wish to treat anyone poorly even if I disagree vehemently with the ideas they espouse. I was brought up in a house of faith that had no room for differing ideas or experiences and so full understand the difference between personal, private faith and rabid evangelical faith. They are not the same.
Cheers to reasonable conversations and respect to you as one of faith. I only raise my hackles when a person of faith insists that I participate in rituals or render honorifics that are not earned and not freely given.
As Robert Hubbell quotes Dan Rather, "fatalism has never been a winning strategy." So we dust ourselves off, regroup, and get back to work.
https://roberthubbell.substack.com/p/todays-edition-its-hard-to-beat-someone
Here is some 11/02/2021 progressive down ballot inspiration:
https://twitter.com/threadreaderapp/status/1456016687803817985?s=20
Tips to be "ruthlessly patriotic" in clear messaging for democracy:
https://twitter.com/TeaPainUSA/status/1455894093826076691?s=20
"People need to know what we stand for...in six words or less." From a woman some are nominating to chair the DNC.
https://twitter.com/MeidasTouch/status/1456063647181000707?s=20
Pick 6 words. Okay, 7 bullet points. The Build Back Better Act delivers:
1. Childcare
2. Universal pre-k
3. Affordable housing
4. Lower prescription costs
5. Monthly payments per child
6. Home and community based care
7. Millions of good-paying jobs
...this list from a Democrat who knows what she's talking about.
https://twitter.com/RepJayapal/status/1455961725136605188?s=20
Go forth and amplify!
Thank you, Ellie, for continuing to bring Robert Hubbell into the mix. I was nearly moved to tears by Today's Edition when he responded (gently and respectfully) to what may be a common feeling amongst readers of this substack: an expression of doubt that lasting change would come "in my lifetime." (I resonate with this concern, being officially an elder according to the laws in Connecticut.)
Hubbell wrote: "For most readers, it is true that the ultimate promises of the Constitution will not be fully achieved in our lifetimes. But the same was true for those who labored before us, including Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., John Lewis, Susan B. Anthony, Frederick Douglas, and Margaret Sanger. Like them, our charge is to make incremental progress during our lifetimes. We can do that."
We can do that.
We can do that.
Morning, Ellie!! These are all great links. Especially the MeidasTouch Woman...she is terrific. She is absolutely right. She needs to get the Dems on board...today!
And thanks for the threadreader link, too. I can't deny being disappointed by yesterday's loss of the Virginia governorship, but I am so glad to see/hear of the wins/gains made across the country!
And these are words that can have a much wider appeal than just the "dem's group certainties"
Thanks Ellie!!! As always, excellent resources and guidance. I posted "Meidas Touch on my fb page and Michigan Dems'. She is right on.
Thank you, Ellie, for these links. (I just started following MeidasTouch.)
It should be self-evident that the Dems need to use these bullet points everywhere and all the time. If we don't get our positive message across, we may never have the chance again.
As Dr. Richardson's daily accounts for future readers, historians, and all those who would be aware and wish to know their past mount, I'm finding it very hard to live through the present with anything akin to mental health or hope. Curiously, I take some (ironic) comfort in knowing my awareness, too, may have always been one hoped for outcome of the message in a bottle sent to us by those in the past who monitored and recorded historical events. I feel deep in grief for my country, something I know many others currently share--and many, many diverse people have felt in the past. They survived (or perhaps did not), as I will (or will not), and my hope is that the fight we are in now leads to a fairer, more just future comprised of more equity under the law and less grieving. It's a good reason to keep hoping and fighting.
Linda, take heart. If i have learned one thing from Heather—and I’ve actually learned many—is history repeats. It always works itself out. Not to denigrate your angst, as I’m often disheartened myownself.
Jane Goodall's new book HOPE is a terrific read. I felt my stress level go down just reading her introduction.
Carl Hiaasen 's "Squeeze Me" is a TERRIFIC read! The POTUS lives in Casa Bellicosa in Palm Beach surrounded by his fawning "Potussies." Greatly lowering my stress levels!!
“Squeeze Me “ was hysterical !! Potussies,Mastodon and Mockingbird..😂😂😂
When he wanted...Mastadon - I can't ruin it for anyone. Just read it folks!!!! Hysterical!!
none of this takes into consideration that we have the internet, FB, Twitter and of course Fox News that a majority of voters watch daily sometimes all day. IMO Linda is right to be terrified because you can't tell these people individually that they are being lead by forces they can't see or understand. If something is done about Fox News and the other propaganda machines, history will do us no good, we cannot repeat it in exactly the same way because there has never been a Fox News element before. IMO we are sliding down the slippery slope and picking up speed every single day the news cycle is reporting on the next shiny object and the Democrats are running around like Chicken Little.
It is worthwhile for us to be here.
Quoting Christine’s reply to a different comment today, we should be scared but not afraid. Healthy fear keeps our eyes and ears open. Then we call up courage to respond.
What I see is a forest fire.
In 2016 - 2020, arsonists set the fire. The original arsonists are now largely out of the picture. They still make incendiary noise, but the media are slowly forgetting them.
But the fire continues to burn. It is no longer built on accelerants and incendiaries: it has now caught in the forest itself. It is no longer an arsonist president throwing racist gasoline: it is racism itself, burning in Congress and in communities.
This, too, will burn itself out in time, though at tremendous cost and destruction. Like a forest fire, the details are unpredictable. One house burns to ash; the neighboring house is untouched. One state will be well-governed by sensible policy; another will be poorly-governed on the politics of resentment, political graft, and naked corruption. We can name the ones that are burning now.
Unfortunately there were not enough firemen in Virginia. If the Dems can't get their supporters out to vote at elections, the Republicans can. This disparity in determination plays havoc with the standard sociological statistics and population trends.
IMHO, the dem candidate for governor was lackluster, uninspiring, and a re-hash from a prior term. While there is great news coming from many local elections and organized local groups, this candidate was silenced by a slickly packaged racist message. I don't know what ails the Virginia democratic electorate or the condition of the organization on the ground. What is clear is that delivery of the narrative is a critical piece of the process and that message must be succinct, relevant, and motivating.
Agree with Joseph re: the racism, antisemitism, anti-intellectual, and I would add misogyny that has been stoked and could well be on the way to uncontained, extending the forest fire analogy. Effective firefighters will make it clear that we are all together, we are all enfranchised citizens, and that we grow in community toward the future. Fighting these flames of fascism requires clarity of vision and message, truth-telling, unity, and motivation to vote...
It also requires, as in any community, mutual deep listening and not just town crier contests.
Kim…I so agree with you about the candidate. Last time I listened to him, he was complaining about Youngkin’s sweater vests.
🙄😳
kind of ridiculous, no?
We need visionary leaders. I know they exist. What can we do to encourage them to actually run for office?
The dems don’t have that killer instinct and they are too busy laughing at Steven Colbert monologues and escaping into squid games. They waste words and time saying things like “the majority of the American people want...“ this or that. People know what they want. You don’t have to tell them what they want. Every wasted word is a vote lost. and let’s stop using this phrase, the “American people” like they are some mythical race living in a distant galaxy and you wouldn’t touch them with a pole a billion light years long. meanwhile, dems had better not count on the immigrant vote. Immigrants come here for economic opportunity as much as for freedom, and opportunity requires stability. Immigrants arrive out of determination, not on a magic carpet. When cities burn, immigrants vote republican. As black folks do better, they want stability, too. Meanwhile, can the dems find votes among the working class when the president’s wife is a professor of education?
Great analogy, thanks.
Beautiful analogy.
I have found it necessary to turn off the radio--or switch to music--in the last few days because of the idiocy even of the NPR reporting on election results. This is clear to me: the fact that Rethuglicans are "disciplined" in their "messaging"--whether it is full of race-baiting, sexism, and antisemitism or not--makes it easy to present them as an organized political body, but the fact that Democrats are extremely varied in their political stances, are promoting a wide variety of strategies and options, and are in love with undercutting each other even when the stakes are super high that they remain a united front against the Forces of Evil, means that media presentations of their activities can be full of melodrama, hand-wringing, and dire predictions of mayhem,. This is not a comparison between equal messaging, which the Fairness Act was supposed to require. It is an unequal contest because people are addicted to rubbernecking (as the traffic guys in NYC love to call it when there is an accident during rush hour) and easily ignore the real existential threats.
The results of this election cycle of 2021 were decidedly mixed, and they absolutely reflect the whiplash levels off confusion a lot of Americans feel. Turnout was lousy, which always helps the radical right, but even so, in a lot of places, Dems came out on top by presenting highly localized rational plans. These are too complex and varied to be able to be put into a single sound-bite. It is far easier for the reporting to simplify the contests to race-baiting, dog whistles, and the "failure" of the Dems. This misrepresents every single contest that occurred this year. But media outlets don't care. They can't make money by presenting the real complexities of people's lives.
Here's an example: NPR ran a good story this morning on the stupidity of state legislators who are demanding that physicians prescribe ivermectin, even though it is a dangerous drug that does NOTHING to help Covid patients. But instead of presenting clear clinical information about WHY ivermectin doesn't do anything, and WHY the snake oil salesmen pushing it are doing so, they went with the sound bites of embattled, exhausted, and irritated physicians trying to get a word in edgewise while self-important s***s in government shout them down. You can claim that the shortness of the news cycle is the reason for this kind of reporting. I say it is because it is the easiest thing to do. The end result was that NPR posed a "do you trust doctors or do you trust politicians?" question, instead of reporting legitimately on this issue.
I totally agree with your disappointment on the loss of good reporting. Boston once had a helicopter pilot who called the rubbernecking slowed traffic the "curiosity factor." We seem to be fascinated by the unusual and a compulsive liar, mentally ill potus responsible for mismanaging a public health crisis, and refusing to take any responsibility at all, surrounded by bullies and cowards is very new to us. He further dumbed things down by thinking there are only 2 sides to every issue. I'm still reeling that Anderson Cooper would repeat Grassley's claim that 91% of Iowa repubs support the fool. Good time to shut off the yada yada 😖🤪🥰
I just did a quick survey of my brower's "news" feed for today: ELEVEN headlines with Trump, one with Ivana Trump, one with Melania Trump, TWO with Biden. It's this way every day - a near obsession with TFG. Disgusting.
There's an official repub browser??
I use Microsoft Edge, so if that shoe fits, then yes, there must be. Their daily "news" feed puts out headlines from all sorts of publications, some right, some left, some questionable. But THEY have the option of which "headline" to choose and invariably it will have the orangeman's name emblazoned. And invariably, there will be almost NOTHING regarding Biden.
I have spent this week on the coast in Newport, OR. There is no WiFi, and very spotty TV reception (no cable, no dish). I’ve read very few news reports on my phone (cell coverage is pretty good) and have depended on Substack writings to keep myself informed.
Currently there’s a fabulous storm (gale force winds and moderate rain) giving me a pleasant background to the news I am consuming.
What beautiful balance you’re enjoying, Ally!! Namaste!
NPR's decline began during TFG's administration (reign). Its political coverage has sunk into the clichéd "he said, she said" format without offering incisive analytical perspectives. NPR also bends over backward to let Republicans say whatever they want, no matter how untrue, and rarely without aggressive pushback.
“The professors are the enemy,” Nixon said. It's clear the Republicans in their quest to rewrite history and quash democracy want to control what young people know and the way they think. Why? Professors have a superpower. They can open those maturing young minds to the way the world has been, is now, and could be in the future. Well, not just young minds. Heather has been opening a lot of our minds since she began her letters.
Morning, all!! Morning, Dr. R!!
I received the following thank-you message from Lissa Savaglio, Chair of the Loudoun County Democratic Committee:
"I am sure I am not alone in my disappointment in last night's elections. This election was so deeply important for us, for our neighbors, and for our communities. Our progress comes not in a straight line, but in a jagged path. As we zig and zag along that path, Loudoun Democrats delivered up and down the ballot.
"Loudoun Democrats held every House of Delegates seat in Loudoun.
"Loudoun Democrats delivered a double-digit county victory for our statewide candidates.
"Loudoun Democrats won 7 of 8 magisterial districts.
"Loudoun Democrats delivered the most votes to a statewide Democratic ticket in modern history."
While this is heartening news, it is clear our message needs to be better focused to ensure we keep the ground gained by the new voting rights laws Virginians enacted this year.
https://www.democracydocket.com/alerts/virginias-landmark-voting-rights-act-goes-into-effect/
https://www.nytimes.com/2021/04/02/us/politics/virginia-voting-rights-northam.html?
Thank you for this; there are SO many other state and local elections that get ignored….and really, this is where the hard work begins.
So true, Carol...thanks!
Hi Lynell, Sounds a bit like Loudon County Democrats must be feeling a bit lonely.
Morning, Stuart!! I haven't focused yet on how pockets in the rest of the state voted. I will say in Loudoun County, where I live, we are overwhelmed by The Loser's base. So to capture some wins for Democrats to me is huge.
As a side note, in my little town, early on, before the vaccine (and even now) I was surprised to see retailers adhering to and enforcing masking rules!
Just watch for gerrymandering by Republicans to include Loudon and similar Counties close to DC in eventual DC statehood as quid pro quo for creating state and thus ensuring Republican hold on Virginia and reducing any advantage to Dems in the Senate battle.
Thanks, Stuart. I confess I had a hard time understanding our redistricting efforts when I read about it. All I know is it hasn't been a smooth transition.
Yeah. Gerrymandering is at play again here in Washington state and in Oregon. Democratic strongholds. Guess its the party in power that gets to make the rules every ten years.
Thanks Lynell. And thanks to Louden Democrats!
You're welcome, MaryPat - LOL!
Today's/last night's election-results seem to indicate that the Democrats need a better message than, "[opposition Republican] is a Trumper." From the sources I trust, the election in VA was more about the sleeping D voters or the milquetoast messaging (see above) that was the only motivation to vote D. Same thing in NJ. Poor D turnout in a state that has 1 MILLION more D's and it should not have been close.
That said, I think it underscores that the on-the-fence voters need to see more effective governance from the D's since they have it, for now, but have produced little. There are various reasons for that lack of production (at least production as observed) but it is now a bellwether for the mid-terms that should not be ignored. This was a free-pass to see what motivates both sides, frankly. R's are going to laud the result in VA and claim it's the new wave of conservatism or at least the assessment of Biden. I am not sure which is more accurate, but locally we saw validation of policing (rebranding the Minneapolis Police Department failed) and a validation of taxpayers supporting MORE MONEY for schools. D's should understand that and learn from what the voters support in those limited areas that they can take intel from.
Public-policing and schools are on the minds of voters. Public safety and Education are hot. Two subjects that are hard for D's to support simultaneously: but that is the will of the voters, here. Our much-maligned Mayor of Minneapolis who had the horrible task of being Mayor before during and after the murder of George Floyd, has emerged victorious and he is nominally a D and also supported his police department, a very polarizing position here. And this is a Mayor who chose to abandon a police-station in the midst of the Floyd-riots. A tough tough deal.
When the dollars ultimately flow to red states from the infrastructure plan and some of Biden's agenda hit locales, his numbers will rise, but for now the right-wing media will fixate on the costs of the social program prior to it becoming law.
I find it FASCINATING that nobody I know objects to the Freedom to Vote Act... not a single R or conservative friend...not one... it seems to be an objection purely-driven by that good -Senator from Kentucky and tied to a litmus-test within his own party, but not from the voters. Hmmmm.
"Conservatives oppose the Freedom to Vote, what is next they threaten? The right to a woman’s liberty? The right to a safe future for our kids and grandkids? Money is the root of all evil, and conservatives worship money above all else - a woman’s life and the right to vote.
Democrats believe above all else in “Liberty and Justice for All,” as our founders meant. Liberty for all voters; liberty for all people - including woman, gays and lesbians, and our children to have a safe planet.
Without “Liberty and Justice for All” - there is no freedom”
So, in the darkest hour before the light, at 3:35AM EDT, I did my best to present a frame for progressives and Dems. We must grow a backbone! Conservatives do NOT like us, especially when we have nothing to say! “Cons” comprise appx 35% of the electorate. Our “tribe” then, is the rest of America, and we do best when we excite ourselves!
WHATEVER our frame )message), we must learn to always use it, refer back to it, amplify it. This is the message of masters of framing, such as George Lakoff - and apparently conservatives.
Remember that the "hard left" of the Democrats, don't seem to understand the maxim - "Perfection is the enemy of the good". We have the same problem here. How this can be overcome, I do not know. (Remember, in our current culture, compromise is seen as dirty a word as co-operation).
Funny thing, Hugh, is that these Dems like AOC, Pelosi, Jayopal, are just being ... Democrats, like the ones that own WWII and built the New Deal. Funny thing ....
Love that quote, how appropriate
That's a good one but right now Will Rogers's comes closer to describing the Democrats.
When will the Democrat Leadership ever learn?
Sadly I think D’s are FOR too many things and R’s are AGAINST too many things. We declare that investing in children and roads and better environment is important so we need a dollar and the R’s convince their base that they are being ripped off. The R’s spend several TRILLION dollars over two decades on war machines, subsidies on coal and oil and slash domestic programming/investment and their base nod their heads. It’s the messaging, stupid.🤔
There he goes again. J D Vance using his childhood trauma as a weapon on the side of evil. The list is long and mighty of those who reacted to their childhood trauma but did so on behalf of the good for others. Rest in peace John Lewis.
Agreed. Vance has even turned on his professor who opened the door to his making a lot of money and fame. "During his first year at Yale Law, his mentor and professor Amy Chua convinced him to write his memoir." ~Wikipedia
Now he'll make even more money. Sounds fairly normal for much of the Yale elite that he's joining.
I cannot locate a link, but I know I did read about how she mentored him toward the "Conservative" direction. I have to be honest and say I am not a fan of Amy.
Amy who?
Chua
https://www.kentuckymoonbow.com/blog/vance-early-childhood
Vance denounces early childhood education, programs that may have prevented his devastating early childhood. But then, how would he have made his $millions.
JD Vance is an opportunist.
"Yesterday, at the National Conservatism Conference, J. D. Vance, who is running for the Senate from Ohio, quoted Richard Nixon’s statement that 'The professors are the enemy.'"
Now, that's funny, coming from a Yale-educated individual! And wisdom from Richard Nixon to boot! Why not quote Hitler, Stalin, and Pol Pot while he's at it?
Vance is proof of the truth of the old saying, "You can always tell a Marine. You just can't tell him very much."
😂😂😂
I think it's a shame that the Democratic party isn't able to rally behind their president and demonstrate their ability to govern, instead bickering endlessly about myriad details of omnibus bills on infrastructure and social programs. While negotiation and compromise are the grist of the legislative process, strength in the face of opposition is also a virtue in the political calculus. Biden has shown his willingness to compromise on legislation he deems critical for the nation's interest. Why is it that a tiny fraction of his congressional party colleagues think that endless resistance is of higher individual value in the long run than showing partisan strength approaching the midterms? Perhaps the better strategy would have been a whole series of narrow, single issue bills with the expectation that 80% would pass and the other 20% could be revisited in a year or two.
I don't hardly see results of this 2021 election as a disaster for Democrats, rather more of a search for the most provocative headline story(s) by the media to pump for the purpose of garnering viewers and advertisers.
I don't hardly see results of this 2021 election as a disaster for Democrats, rather more of a search for the most provocative headline story(s) by the media to pump for the purpose of garnering viewers and advertisers
Nailed. It.
The problem is, since they have no chance of getting Republicans to act like the other governing party, senate rules are such that they could only pass all this stuff via budget reconciliation, which cannot be filibustered, and the rule is, they only get one bite at the apple each fiscal year. So all those narrowly-focused bills would just be fodder for more Republican filibusters. The fact is, they're playing the hand they got dealt. You play poker with the hand you're dealt, not the one you want.
Yes but they can change the deck by getting rid of/taming the filibuster now. If they don't do the Republicans will as soon as they take back the Senate next Year.
I totally agree, Stuart. The rethuglicans won't think twice about getting rid of the filibuster once they're on top. Makes me sick.
Thanks for the post.
Today's Republicans aren't interested in policies that will help the U.S. population. Why? Because most Republican voters easily take to race-baiting the way bees take to honey (for bees and humankind this this is a healthy symbiosis), for racially anxious conservatives and outright racists such easy baiting and ignorance will spell their doom.
On the other hand, many progressives won contests on the municipal level, and, as you stated, New Jersey's Democratic governor has been reelected.
I continue to have hope.
Thank you.
THE NEVER ENDING NIGHTMARE
Today’s letter showing the world history of authoritarian suppression of democracy and particularly the racist, classist history of the removal of democracy by white Southerners during the American Apartheid, just reinforces this nagging feeling that I am living a nightmare with no end.
The 14th Amendment is still in the Constitution and the Dept. of Justice is supposedly still there, so where are the enforcers of voter rights from the Federal Government? Since the Madman was evicted from the White House, his Repugnant Party Cult of followers has become more insane trying to wrest control of the Federal Government WITH IMPUNITY. When that didn’t work, they have blatantly taken over the state elections by using the BIG LIE projection that voting was not secure and made laws to suppress voting.
Now the Fascist Governor of Florida is instituting his own Brown Shirt Goon Squad to “enforce” voter restrictions that even the tepid local CBS news says is unwarranted. (They finally woke up to the nightmare that has been going on since January) They even showed the demagoguery of DeathSantis crude partisan chanting in which he reveled like those despots before him.
The Dems are unsuccessfully arguing over bipartisanship, (with 2 Fifth Column operatives in their own ranks) while the Repugnant Party condones the successful removal of democracy. This is my daily nightmare, seeing all the progress of equality that has been painfully gained in my long life being systematically destroyed by the fascists in government and the intimidation of their insane cult following in the streets and soon to be in official uniforms to monitor how we vote. AND NO ONE SEEMS CAPABLE OF STOPPING IT.
Whoever faces DeathSantis next November needs to have a solid strategy to go against what will be a Florida parent’s bill of rights that he will run on. Republicans have already come out saying that’s what won in Virginia. And with him already touting that here, you know it will be on steroids.
Courtesy of Kathleen Murray on More Perfect Democracy:
I found this to be a useful post-mortem of the Virginia Election, including the communication angle. Posted by Prof. Williamson on his FB page today:
Virginia Election Post-Mortem - A thoughtful 12 point analysis from University of Richmond Professor Thad Williamson:
Twelve unprocessed early morning thoughts on yesterday’s results.
1. It is obvious in retrospect that for the main general election message to be that “Youngkin is like Trump” was a huge mistake. A. It bolstered Youngkin’s name recognition. B. It ignored the obvious fact that the gubernatorial electorate is not the presidential electorate in Virginia. C. It ignored reality that much of the Biden margin in 2020 was precisely white moderates/conservative/independents who saw Trump as a uniquely dangerous threat to democracy/health and only needed a little convincing to believe Youngkin is not Trump. D. Also ignoring reality that Trump-aligned forces are still significant, have a lot of energy, and would be itching badly for a win. McAuliffe came off too often as if he wanted a re-run of 2016, and as if the goal in this election was to drive a fatal stake through Trumpism, rather than just to get elected governor of Virginia.
2. It was also a huge mistake because there was an alternative approach available, to A. Communicate to moderates/independents what he did positive for Virginia in his previous term. B. Communicate to the base his support for and commitment to upholding the incredible legislative accomplishment of the past two years. C. Talking clearly and concretely about future plans. D. Making at least some effort to explain clearly to rural Virginia how and why those future plans and the Democratic agenda would benefit everyone, including them. Of these, that point B did not come through loud enough was really hard to understand.
3. The entire CRT issue was mis-handled in my view. This should have been understood for what it was, not at all about CRT but 100% about stoking fear—fear of racial equality, and fear that whites will have to rethink what they have been taught about this nation. The best answer took this form: “We need to teach all our kids the truth about American history, even when it’s painful, because it will help them build a better country. This means acknowledging white supremacy, racism, and slavery as central features of our history and making sure students go into the world with the facts and knowledge needed to comprehend and improve the world they will face. This is what we stand for and we are unapologetic about it.” In effect, the same message that was sent when the Confederate monuments came down. “We don’t teach CRT” was an unhelpful dodge that missed the real issue. A response like the above could have called the question in a more direct way, “are you saying we should whitewash American history”?
4. The “parents shouldn’t tell schools what to teach” was a major blunder and probably the turning point—the equivalent of Hillary’s “deplorables” comment. It should have been clearly and immediately walked back, as even most Ds would not agree with that statement put that way. It created or rather amplified the perceived cultural divide between McAuliffe and a large swath of the state, and also revealed the candidate perhaps had not thought very deeply about the underlying issue. A better answer would take the form of “parents are important and have voice through many channels, including elected school boards” and gone from there.
5. I do not think the Democrats in Virginia this this time were truly prepared for a close election, and what that entails in terms of quality of on-the-ground organization. That mindset started from almost everyone (including me) complacently acting like the Virginia electorate of November 2020 would be the Virginia electorate this year (or in the near future).
6. That said, the turnout and performance in urban Virginia was good relative to prior gubernatorial elections. Exit polls show support for McAuliffe among Black voters essentially matched support for Biden last year, and that he actually did better than Biden among Latino and Asian voters. So the narrative that urban and voters of color didn’t do their part doesn’t hold up.
7. What does hold up is the huge white backlash and how Youngkin outperformed Trump among white men and white women. He won 2 of 3 white men in Virginia. Think about that for a minute. There was also apparently increased rural turnout. As just one local comparison, in Goochland Youngkin got 9500 votes compared to 6500 for Gillespie in 2017. In Roanoke County he got 28,000 votes compared to 20,000 in 2017. And so on and so on. That wave broke the model for how Virginia elections go—rural and exurban Virginia re-asserted itself in a powerful way.
8. To counter the wave, you’d have to anticipate it and then raise the operational level in Democratic strongholds to above the bar for previous elections (not just match, but above). I think Ds matched the bar but they needed to exceed it.
9. I first got an inkling of the red wave at the State Fair in late September. We go every year, and of course it’s Republican-leaning, but the level of enthusiasm and signage for Youngkin way exceeded what I’d seen in previous years. Upon reflection, it’s obvious—“you think you could take down the R.E. Lee statue and there would be no response?"—that a backlash was going to come. As Nina Simone* sings, white backlash is one of the through-lines of American history—why should we have ever believed that we had transcended that history?
10. I say all this in the spirit more of analysis than criticism, although some criticism is warranted given the consequences of this result. It’s always easier to see things after the fact, and often really hard to navigate shifting winds in real time under a lot of pressure. But the fundamental mistake pointed to in item #1 seems like a preventable error, and it’s hard not to see this as a self-inflicted missed opportunity to consolidate the progress that has been made in Virginia. The gist of the error is not understanding and communicating from the beginning that a) 2021 would not be like 2020 b) it was always likely to be really close and c) so much at stake worth enthusiastically fighting for.
11. Let there be a lot of discussion about what all this means for the future in Virginia. The House of Delegates is still in the air but if all results hold as of 1:30 am and I did my math right that would be 51-49 Republican; maybe with luck that ends up at 50-50. 2023 will be here soon and the Ds will have a chance to start putting this right. But in the long term what will be needed is a way to communicate strong progressive ideas and goals (with no dilution or backtracking on racial equity) in ways that at least some rural people can relate to and see value in. The Ds face the exact same challenge nationally. It’s a tall ask, and a tough needle to thread, but we have to try. I have ideas, that I’ve written a little bit about elsewhere.
12. As for right now, I have class at 10:30 am and likely some quite perturbed first-year students to talk with. This is the third time in the last few years I’ve shown up Wednesday morning after a tough election result to have class. Showing up and talking about stuff, no matter what has happened or what I personally feel, is part of my professional responsibility, so I’ll be there ready to go, share some of these observations, and see what the students think.”
*Nina Simone “Backlash Blues” https://youtu.be/ciROMLNlhxs
https://www.thadwilliamson.com (edited)
That was fabulous reading.
That’s a good point to be preparing for: Republican “parents’ ‘bill of rights’.” Since they are largely demands aggressively proclaimed and that impinge on other people’s rights to health, safety, and education, we should be clear about this in our messaging. So not let them claim “parents’ rights” in their bullying. Assert “your rights stop where my rights start.” Keep asserting that CRT is an academic legal term, and it is not part of school curriculums. Parents have the right to put their children in private schools—that should be paid for by the parents, not through vouchers paid for by public tax dollars.
Same here. But you’re right. Not 1 person can stop it. All of us are more capable than 1 of us. They got a professional loser, lying, cheating, con, bully, coward who has the morals of an ally cat. Wonder when they will figure out the only thing they made great was helping donnie pay off debt and law suits. Beats the hell out of any “ Gofundme “ I’ve ever seen.