We make a mistake in blaming only Russia, etc., for disinformation. We have to thank Fox News and the likes of Rush Limbaugh, Alex Jones, and the band of freelance outliars. But especially Fox News, which gave status and credibility to lies and liars. It took an Australian to steal America from Americans.
The mistake is thinking that Fox News is not already under Russian influence. Russians spend a billion dollars per year on misinformation. If you think someone at fox news isn't on the payroll (Tucker *cough* *cough*) you're not thinking with a big enough perspective. Elon Musk is said to be in frequent contact with Putin. I think nobody really wants to acknowledge the scale of Russian information war, because it's hard to proove to the general public without a smoking gun. Still though, we just elected a convicted felon in a landslide. Something is going on...
I'm certainly not saying we should downplay Russia, but we also need to remember the national media. Tucker Carlson was fired from Fox, wasn't he? Remember Edward Snowdon? Not that he has anything to do with any of this, of course, but I have heard almost nothing about him since he exiled in Russia. I can't imagine being a citizen there, but I'll soon get a taste of it over here in my own country.
I spent maybe three years there in the 90’s. More recently I lived for about 5 years in Kyiv. What I think Trump and Musk and that whole crew really want is an unconstrained oligarchy and a fully controlled media. This is exactly what Russia is like, and I’m not looking forward to it in America.
I am convinced this was a stolen election already. Men, women, and children are literally crying in fear over the result. HARRIS/WALZ had giant crowds, an astounding vast ground game, and nationwide groups such as Red Wine And blue. TRUMP had flaccid crowds and his campaign events were conducted more for "media hits" to make it seem he was popular. Also, my red NorCal area had 10% of the Trump displays compared to former elections -- hardly any visible support -- and I estimate 4:1 ratio of HARRIS yardsigns
It is a shame! They are not ashamed because they set out to make money and make their friends rich as well. The problem is that we don't have a recourse. When will we insist on disinformation being shot down and not sensationalized by media outlets?
I would be curious to know, Heather, if you see any hubris on our part? What have we missed? What is the other side saying that has merit? We can pit ourselves against them, fight them, blame them, never concede anything or we could just possibly take a moment and ask ourselves, what is my part in this? Have I defended all my positions to the heights of absurdity? Why are we so quick to defend positions on massive spending, illegal crossings, regulations that cripple even the best policies, bureaucracies that stay in place far too long?
Why won't we say, it is NOT OKAY to abort a viable fetus in the third term unless there is danger to the life of the mother? Have you noticed how democrats will not answer this? Why won't we question giving hormones to children when they experience gender dysphoria? Why is it okay for male born children to participate in female born sports? I know I have nagging doubts about many of the arguments on my side and nagging agreements of many arguments on their side. Why are we so stubborn and absolutely not willing to give an inch in compromise? We blame them, the Russians, Fox media, and everyone else for Trump. But what if we had stopped making this about him? WE kept him in the forefront, not the Right media. The Right media was often reacting to our reactions.
We are complicit here. If we cannot look in the mirror and see our part in this and own up to it, how can we ever expect the same of the other side?
You are one of the smartest, best thinkers I follow. It takes bravery to say there are limits to liberal policies. We liberal are so afraid of being canceled that we have lost the art of using our common sense. This attitude makes us come across as extremists. It could be our refusal to place any limits on ourselves that creates this fear of chaos and tyranny on the other side.
I'd truly, deeply be curious to know your thoughts.
It is hubris for the government to tell people what type of healthcare their doctor is allowed to provide to our children or to women or to blacks, etc. It is hubris (and propaganda) to accept arguments about "massive spending" or "regulations that cripple policies" without looking at what the regulations specifically are and what that money is being used for. What about "massive spending" to bring back semiconductor manufacturing in the U.S. that has led to 800% more investment by private business than we spent? Are you against regulations that try to protect the safety of our population or our children? Is it the uninformed public's business to decide what vaccinations children should get in order to go to school?
In a democracy we need to depend on expert advice and not let non-experts and those who are simply driven by greed or their own religious beliefs determine how everyone lives. I don't hear anyone defending "illegal crossings," but there is legitimate disagreement about what to do about it. And separating children from parents is not a humane way to solve the problem. Or calling those desperate people vermin or criminals or insane. How is that a way to solve a problem?
The devil is always in the details. Each policy and decision has to be made with respect to the specific policy or decision itself. General statements that you suggest we are "defending to absurdity" is a mischaracterization and overgeneralization of what intelligent and informed people are doing.
What is "common sense" to some is foolishness to others. The question with this election was do we let the greedy and those of one religious faith determine how everyone else lives? In this country we believe in protecting the rights of the minority (and children or others who cannot make decisions for themselves) unless protecting those rights impinge on the rights of others. Only in the later cause do we have a ligitimate disagreement.
What appalled me about this election is the hatred and bigotry and misogyny that was openly expressed and apparently did not appall those who voted for Trump. Surely you don't think it is all right to call an entire nation of people "trash." But that is Trump did continually and what a lot of people who support Trump liked about him. And note that he never apologized or made a statement about them not being "trash." He appealed to the worst in all of us and, sadly, it worked.
While I know you want Heather's opinion not mine, I have thoughts I'd like to respectfully share. I don't disagree there has been complicity and complacency with Democrats. Yes, some of our positions as you mentioned above lacked moderation. However, there is little evidence that your specifics were central to what happened. There is ZERO moderation in the hate and vitriol expressed by the GOP, nor in their plans to arrest and oppress those who oppose them, nor in the impact that deporting millions will have not just our economy but on our humanity, nor in the economic impact to people's everyday lives from outrageous tariffs, nor in their sexist, racist, homophobic/transphobic ideology. Dems clearly missed the mark but I believe the reasons stated by HCR played an outsized role. I also believe Biden (though a great president) set us up for failure by not standing down from a second run before it even began. Ultimately, we must now accept that a majority of people voted for our country to become an authoritarian America.
Men, women, and children are literally crying in fear over the result. HARRIS/WALZ had giant crowds, an unprecedented vast ground game, and nationwide groups such as Red Wine And blue. TRUMP had flaccid crowds and his campaign events were conducted more for "media hits" to make it seem he was popular. Also, my red NorCal area had 10% of the Trump displays compared to former elections -- hardly any visible support -- and I estimate 4:1 ratio of HARRIS yardsigns. I am convinced this was a stolen election already.
I’m not Prof. Richardson, of course, but I like your approach that Democrats, liberals, whatever, need to look at themselves in the mirror and do a level-headed analysis of what went wrong with the policies they were promoting and the messaging they were giving. Casting blame, pointing fingers, recriminations, are all just a waste of energy. Those doing that should take some time to calm down and heal. Then get to work rebuilding and connecting with what Americans really care about.
You ask valid questions I share. I dream of a debate "game" show in which experts are included to explain the truth of an issue, and citizens are made to debate, even take the opposite view, in order to "win" so we teach critical thinking skills and encourage real communication. Of course there would have to be an entertainment aspect of getting to know the participants etc to hook people in and challenge our positions.
But re abortions: under Roe v Wade, third term abortions were only allowed in the case of the mother's life being in danger, as I understand it. And the irony of the overturning Roe v Wade means third term abortions are no longer against the law in states that do not have bans?
And of course there is the further collateral damage in states with abortion bans now is that mothers are dying from sepsis, untreated, because doctors and hospitals are terrified of being charged with crimes. And the further damage from that is that doctors are leaving these states because they cannot give mothers life saving care. Which further endangers the availability of health care in these areas. It's unbelievable.
Thank you Hk for your thoughtful comments. The abortion issue is a perfect place to start in trying to see the other (Red) POV. Many Republicans are fine with most abortions but not once a fetus is viable. I do not understand why my dear Blue democrats brothers and sisters cannot say that that POV is reasonable. Is it fear of reprisals from the far left that says it is nobody's business even if the child can survive on its own? This is what I mean by common sense. We should not be able to kill viable children. I keep waiting for my candidates to admit this. I believe it would put a huge amount of people at ease with the Pro-Choice movement. We just sometimes shoot ourselves in the foot by not standing for some measure of decency. How many women would actually choose to kill a viable fetus. Almost none if not absolutely none. So why are we afraid to come down on the side of common sense and morality?
Thank you, Susan. I think you are misinformed, and i was too, for a long time. Maybe folks on both sides are not as informed as we could be about this very important truth: Abortions in the third trimester under Roe v Wade are only to save the life of the mother. Propaganda has distorted this so even you are under the impression that Kamala, or anyone else, stands for anything other than that. Roe v Wade is based on fetus viability outside the womb (gen at 6-7 months). No doctor in this country would morally or legally perform an abortion in the third tri mester except as emergency health care for the life of the mother.
Abortion bans, making the legal struggle to provide energency third trimester healthcare a nightmare for all, are making doctors flee this country already. I saw a substack group of 500+++ physicians exchanging information about the best countries to land in for their families and the process required. American educated doctors will be welcomed, i am sure. They are tired of how we treat them here, between covid and the system, and obviously it is just getting worse. We already have a shortage of doctors and medical support so things could get really bad especially for prenatal and female care. But also for everyone in this country.
The noise, outright lies and distortion on the right has prevented us all from hearing each other. It sounds like the majority are actually on the same page. This should give us all great pause.
And we cannot have the reality of a child trafficking, rape and incest culture worldwide, and for centuries, with no recourse for women.
And by the way, fewer abortions happen under democratic administrations, thought because social services are more available, making expanding families or single motherhood more affordable.
I think I didn't explain myself fully HK. I know and you know that third trimester abortion ONLY happen to save the life of the mother. But Republicans don't hear us say that. When asked, "Is it okay to abort in the third trimester?", the politicians never say... "Only when the life of the mother is at stake." My question here is why not say that? The MAGA story is that we let babies die on the table who are viable. Of course we don't. But how will they know that unless we are very specific? It feels like Kamala and Biden danced around that. Did you feel they was clear?
Ah okay. Sorry. Cool. Yes, our messaging about this absolutely sucked when it was the primary issue really, for so many. A life or death misstep if doctors' hands continue to be tied, or infertility, and so much heartache. I think my heart is broken fully now but am glad you have made the point.
I want to thank Nancy, Lee and Don for responding to me. Some of your sentiments were echoed almost verbatim by my Republican friends about my "blue" side of the isle. I sent out an article yesterday to all of my friends and relatives, including those who voted for Trump. The article basically noted that with all our missteps, foibles and sins, we are still the place most immigrants want to live. And they are prouder of this place than we are. Fighting for a cause is important but we can pause our condemnation at times and appreciate what an amazing place this is...be trusting of the guardrails that are in place and have faith in the participation and care that our citizens do have for the future of our country. The most inspirational part of the article came from "a brilliant civil rights activist and legal scholar Pauli Murray who wrote about her desire to quash racism but not individual racists. She wrote:"
'I intend to destroy segregation by positive and embracing methods. When my brothers try to draw a circle to exclude me, I shall draw a larger circle to include them. Where they speak out for the privileges of a puny group, I shall shout for the rights of all mankind.' "
My dear Republican friend wrote back and said the following:
A very lovely message and one I hope that people like Oprah Winfrey will read. America is America and we are not going to no longer have the right to vote because Donald Trump won. Those are scare tactics used to frighten less informed people and I find it destructive and she should be called out on it. As our minister said, “Vote not for a personality, but for the policies which will represent our nation best.” We all need to get back to working as a country and stop the name calling and the hate. I am appalled at the things that I saw today on Facebook - filled with hate towards anyone who voted for Donald Trump. Never in my life have I seen such hatred expressed towards those with a different viewpoint or political view than I have seen over these past years. We are all Americans and this division in our country is heartbreaking to me."
Sound familiar?
This is what happens in echo chambers. I'm just saying.. let's step out of ours.
I am glad there are people like you who want to discuss this with them. If I had my way, I would divide the country in half so they could stay on their side of the world. I would be happy never to have to talk to them again. If this was their first exposure to DJT, I would be more willing to try to discuss it with them, but this has been over ten years of DJT and his reckless divisiveness. They are aware that he is a rapist, misogynistic, and narcissistic and that he does not believe in the institutions that uphold our democracy. This does not seem to bother them; it is not just about the economy. My best guess is that they appreciate the caste system in place and perhaps feel a bit threatened by any change.
I'm wondering what will happen first? Silencing the press (self censoring seems to have already begun months ago). Mass civil service firings. Mass deportations. Pulling out of NATO. Now that he is back in, how does the public expect he will ever leave?
I was just giving comfort to the concern Trump will never leave - he is old so he will leave when he dies was my minor point! I see your point of course. Vance is so new to politics yet trained in law. He is a wild card that will flip in the wind of public opinion. Look how he flip flopped on Trump. At least he seems to have a real marriage and maybe his equal wife will influence him to soften in his narrow mindedness to fall back to live and let live freedom. Trump is a lost cause in gender equality or any recognition of rights to be ourselves so Vance would be better. He does not have the same ingrained level of lust for power or need for glory so he is a bit moldeable. Ok I was just dreaming to handle my grieving.
Trump is the tip of the iceberg grinding away toward Kleptocracy since at least Ronald Reagan presidency, and The Powell Memo era ushering in intentional supreme court radicalization. Sheldon Whitehouse, Senator, covers the Powell Memo plan to capture the Supreme Court on a YOuTube playlist of his speeches "for the congressional record" about the illegal capture.
We shall overcome. We have great work to do to break that mold and create a better more progressive union. We are about to get loads of evidence as ammunition to shift minds and wake up hearts. We gotta find the way to enlighten understanding and enhance tolerance (and appreciation) for differences.
Dems need a forensic accounting of communication strategies. Utilize the new forms and appealing surrogates on the popular new channels and every Ap. The voices and amount of channels the right uses hits the population outnumbers the stars.
I agree with Gerald Lewis. The die is cast. The fascists are in. I have kept abreast of all the commentary, know about General Flynn's compound in rural WA training Christian Warriors with around-the-clock gunfire inside the walls. I have read and watched all the revelations of significant Russian interference. I have seen the political opposition within the Republican party mysteriously vanish after a private meeting, pointing to Blackmail/Kompromat. The die is cast.
We need to build community, stock up on certain items, get our flu shots and immunizations while we still can.
I have no special insights or expertise in political matters, only my own experience and reading - and opinions based upon that, so here goes.
In my experience, the vast majority of Americans are quite ignorant about many things and cannot even think for themselves. For example, very few have any knowledge of global or national economics. Hell, most can’t manage their own finances responsibly or even balance their own checking accounts. If they are frustrated with their own financial pain and uncertainty, they look for someone who says “I can fix it”. No details needed on how or if anything he says makes economic sense, just “fix it”. I don’t think that the majority of people who voted for Trump are bigots, racists, or misogynists, though there are many, of course. I think they have short and selective memories and are just worried about their own economic vulnerability. Trump tapped into that and gave them confidence that he could “fix it”. This is a con, of course, but people don’t realize that.
I think Trump, Vance, Muskrat, and the GOP will run rampant for at least two-years, maybe longer. We’ll have a government of the oligarchs, by the oligarchs and for the oligarchs - and perhaps the white Christian nationalists as well. Their policies will be awful and it will take a while for those that voted for Trump to feel the effects on their own lives. But, eventually, buyer’s remorse will set in. When inflation hits 8-10%, when unemployment hits 8-10%, when they’ve lost their jobs, when they’ve lost the government services and benefits they used to count on, etc… there will be a backlash. Political parties that think they’ve been given a so-called “mandate”, always overstep. I don’t think it will be different this time.
Post-election I am hearing friends breaking down in sobs, men, women, and children, at the point of terror. It is so ironic that Trump ginned up "fear of the other," in his supporters -- and the result, now we ALL have legitimate fear of the 'austerity' and 'revenge' coming for Blue States, law enforcers, and women.
He is making wacko and vaccine denier JFK Jr HEAD OF THE FDA.
Give me a break. This is not normal. THIS IS NOT NORMAL.
We now live in a dystopian America . All things considered, what happened with women’s reproductive rights, and doctors reporting on pregnancy status, I see a future where one has to be very careful what one says , where and to who one says things that are not along party lines. You don’t really think this is going to stop at rounding up immigrants do you ? I’m devastated by the level of stupidity this country succumbed to. trump saying he has a “ powerful mandate” is exactly what no one with a couple of functioning brain cells wants to hear. Rip democracy.
If you haven't seen Jimmy Kimmel's November 6 message on YouTube it's available. After choking up, he said that the American people will get exactly what they voted for and sent chills down my spine.
We have become a lazy, ignorant, selfish and nationalist country. And I was under the impression that we were someone else. Thank you so much, Heather for reminding us that we can't give up a dream of a more perfect union.
I am most curious in the dissection of the voting categories. Young male/old male, wealthy/ most of us, suburban/rural, capitalists/corporatists, etc etc yadda. With 70% of the population in general and certainly a higher percentage of women favoring abortion rights, along with the most vilenous debasing of all women by Trump (and his chorus of kissers) that I have ever seen or could have ever imagined, I fully expected that women would defeat Trump at the voting booths. Not only was this wrongfully conceived, but any trace of this seems totally missing from any of the category evaluations. Were women callously hypocritical and coldly amoral, going to the polls and betraying their passion for reversing Roe, puerily sacrificial to the gauche insults to their gender? How could such an elephant stay invisible in the room?
Thank you Heather for your optimism about our democracy and clarity explaining our history & policies.
The last time Trump was elected in 2016 I was prepared to fight & joined millions of other women in the Women's March, went to meetings sponsored by Indivisible, MoveOn, etc.
Thus time I'm 74 years old, battling the return of a cancerous tumor and just don't have the will or energy to fight against Trump & his allies.
I hope that younger generations, X,Y,Z, Millennial, etc will rise up and take the actions necessary to preserve the future of democracy in this country & the world.
Thank you- so with Kamala's speech at Howard U, she left all of us with a valuable and honorable request- to continue the fight for all of us, for freedom, for democracy, for support of the U.S Constitution, for women's reproductive right to privacy, for our own lives. So yes- meet, mobilize, and plan together. Many of us started yesterday and will keep going. Not only will we avoid Trump's daily distractions and unsavory comments, we focus on positive future and the real leaders we can support.
Do you think Trump will allow for a 'peaceful resistance?' Why, when he has just achieved the first major step in becoming what he wanted, would he want to combat a bunch of Harris supporters, or at least those who might want to minimize the effectiveness of his already stated political and social objectives? By example, if Trump truly begins to deport millions of people, will there be mass demonstrations of people against this atrocity? Will he deploy military assets to quell such unrest? Will he see to it that anti-Trump demonstrators are jailed? New ideas from the Trump administration will, over his four year presidency be created (will he attempt to remain beyond four years by trying to change the Constitution - he has legislative assets and goodly number of supporters outside of government - or by sheer rejection of what the Constitution says?) Remember when he said this would be the last election anyone would have to worry about? What possibly could he mean? Don't forget one of his key advisors is a fellow named Steven Miller. Another will be Steve Bannon. Do some research into what each of these men stand for. Anyone think that anyone writing such a piece as I am writing might face some sort of retribution? Finally, there's a fellow with an obvious dialect suggesting he is not "ethnic" American, and whose first name is Kurt. He works in the large dining facility at Mayo Clinic. I engaged him in conversation and amidst this visit, Kurt showed me the number tattooed on his left forearm.
I have no illusion about the possibilities of Trump's 'reign.'
here's an explanation I've come across (a long post), which predicted this election outcome: hint, If Bernie was the candidate democrats would have won: and in 2016 Trump voters were tending to favor Bernie over Trump (when Bernie was winning primaries)
Here’s a warning and an admonition written in January 2019 by author and organizer Jonathan Smucker: “If the Dem Party establishment succeeds in beating down the fresh leadership and bold vision that's stepping up, it will effectively enable the continued rise of authoritarianism. But they will not wake up and suddenly grasp this. It's on us to outmaneuver them and win.”
If you’ve been alive since then, you know that whoever the “us” was did not, in fact, outmaneuver them. Instead, the effort to build a multiracial working-class coalition was outmaneuvered by Democratic Party leaders. The progressive wing was subsequently allowed in by Joe Biden as a junior party in his coalition, and he was able to knock Donald Trump out of the White House. Under the Kamala Harris campaign, amidst a yearlong genocide in Gaza, that progressive wing was transitioned to silent partner at best, hostile faction at worst. Harris spent more time campaigning with Liz Cheney and Mark Cuban than Shawn Fain, the Sanders-esque leader of the United Auto Workers, fresh off his union’s historic victory in a strike against the Big Three automakers, who represent the pride of the industrial Midwest. The Washington Post managed to call her loss, mystefyingly, “a stinging verdict for the American left.“
Harris made lots of mistakes — not doing an interview for a month, hewing closely to Biden for no reason, not explaining why she changed positions, etc. — but her defeat was sweeping enough that we need to look for deeper structural answers. Smucker’s warning, that smothering the reform wing of the party would make it too weak to stand up to Trump, made sense at the time and is prophetic today. I’ve tracked the years-long arc of that ultimately losing fight with my colleague over at Breaking Points, Krystal Ball, and early this morning she put her thoughts on it into a short essay that we’re publishing below.
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Unfortunately, the essay by Krystal Ball is too long, so you'll have to find it yourselves, but I believe it's the foundational argument as to why Trunp is in power now.
What I would suggest in the face of the death of democracy is that Joe Biden bring out reams of proof about the bots, the buying of influencers, and ESPECIALLY the algorithms in facebook, twitter, and other sites that are designed to drive people down ratholes of exaggerated lies to enhance the viewers anger and fear and the website owner’s profit. Then he should say this election was not just tainted, it was totally undermined and perverted, and cancel it with the caveat that there will be another in January. Then cut off social media sites (other countries have done this) until a neutral algorithm for the site can be vetted that won’t encourage knee-jerk anger and fear to get views. Explain this and leave any other sites open (backlash is one thing, lying propaganda is another) and, after the uproar (and be ready from it) with a month to cool off open what should be near neutral sites as much as can be hoped (p.s. any influencer or other site that has over say, 50,000 views is considered a publisher with libel lawsand other publishing laws applied) opennthings back up AND have the biggest sd and web blitz you can to lay this out to the public. The Supreme Court said you could do this, repercussion free, last summer. It can be done firmly but decently, although yes, there might be some violence that the right was hepped up for anyway. But to be crawlingly “decent” , like Merrick Garland, to those who spit in the face of the Constitution and mock the weakness of democracy, is abhorrent. Make them work for it at least, certainly as hard as this country has had to since January 6th.
Why are the Democrats being blamed for 'losing or not supporting the working class?' How is that real when I believe they have always had their interest? Supporting unions, creating manufacturing jobs, promoting affordable health care? What did they do wrong?
The election was over before it began and with just enough votes to give it a sense of reality. But it wasn’t, it was incredibly well planned and executed. Trump knew it was rigged and told his followers: https://youtu.be/of9OP_a6MNg?feature=shared
I've enjoyed your posts most when you relate history to our current experience. And while Trumpism is of a degree that we perhaps have never seen in a president, aspects of his movement, as you well know, is not new. If racism is a part of his message and purpose, we all know a lot about how it came about, including its roots in the Constitution that people ennoble as the work of geniuses, instead of a political compromise by elites. Our history of xenophobia, misogyny and economic class warfare may be less familiar.
But where I'd love your perspective is how we came out of these anti-democratic movements. Or if now is without historical parallels, are there lessons in the past nonetheless?
My view is that Trumpism is not about the economy, immigration or transgender affirmation. But rather it's about a broad middle class longing for respect. Yes, racism, sexism and xenophobia probably fuels some Trump voters, but its driving force may be cultural class warfare. Has this happened before? If so, what made it abate?
We make a mistake in blaming only Russia, etc., for disinformation. We have to thank Fox News and the likes of Rush Limbaugh, Alex Jones, and the band of freelance outliars. But especially Fox News, which gave status and credibility to lies and liars. It took an Australian to steal America from Americans.
The Joe Rogan experience is another blight. 🤦🏻♂️
It's a shame. And I don't just mean that as a figure of speech. All these people should be ashamed, if they had any shame to feel.
The mistake is thinking that Fox News is not already under Russian influence. Russians spend a billion dollars per year on misinformation. If you think someone at fox news isn't on the payroll (Tucker *cough* *cough*) you're not thinking with a big enough perspective. Elon Musk is said to be in frequent contact with Putin. I think nobody really wants to acknowledge the scale of Russian information war, because it's hard to proove to the general public without a smoking gun. Still though, we just elected a convicted felon in a landslide. Something is going on...
I'm certainly not saying we should downplay Russia, but we also need to remember the national media. Tucker Carlson was fired from Fox, wasn't he? Remember Edward Snowdon? Not that he has anything to do with any of this, of course, but I have heard almost nothing about him since he exiled in Russia. I can't imagine being a citizen there, but I'll soon get a taste of it over here in my own country.
I spent maybe three years there in the 90’s. More recently I lived for about 5 years in Kyiv. What I think Trump and Musk and that whole crew really want is an unconstrained oligarchy and a fully controlled media. This is exactly what Russia is like, and I’m not looking forward to it in America.
I am convinced this was a stolen election already. Men, women, and children are literally crying in fear over the result. HARRIS/WALZ had giant crowds, an astounding vast ground game, and nationwide groups such as Red Wine And blue. TRUMP had flaccid crowds and his campaign events were conducted more for "media hits" to make it seem he was popular. Also, my red NorCal area had 10% of the Trump displays compared to former elections -- hardly any visible support -- and I estimate 4:1 ratio of HARRIS yardsigns
It is a shame! They are not ashamed because they set out to make money and make their friends rich as well. The problem is that we don't have a recourse. When will we insist on disinformation being shot down and not sensationalized by media outlets?
I would be curious to know, Heather, if you see any hubris on our part? What have we missed? What is the other side saying that has merit? We can pit ourselves against them, fight them, blame them, never concede anything or we could just possibly take a moment and ask ourselves, what is my part in this? Have I defended all my positions to the heights of absurdity? Why are we so quick to defend positions on massive spending, illegal crossings, regulations that cripple even the best policies, bureaucracies that stay in place far too long?
Why won't we say, it is NOT OKAY to abort a viable fetus in the third term unless there is danger to the life of the mother? Have you noticed how democrats will not answer this? Why won't we question giving hormones to children when they experience gender dysphoria? Why is it okay for male born children to participate in female born sports? I know I have nagging doubts about many of the arguments on my side and nagging agreements of many arguments on their side. Why are we so stubborn and absolutely not willing to give an inch in compromise? We blame them, the Russians, Fox media, and everyone else for Trump. But what if we had stopped making this about him? WE kept him in the forefront, not the Right media. The Right media was often reacting to our reactions.
We are complicit here. If we cannot look in the mirror and see our part in this and own up to it, how can we ever expect the same of the other side?
You are one of the smartest, best thinkers I follow. It takes bravery to say there are limits to liberal policies. We liberal are so afraid of being canceled that we have lost the art of using our common sense. This attitude makes us come across as extremists. It could be our refusal to place any limits on ourselves that creates this fear of chaos and tyranny on the other side.
I'd truly, deeply be curious to know your thoughts.
It is hubris for the government to tell people what type of healthcare their doctor is allowed to provide to our children or to women or to blacks, etc. It is hubris (and propaganda) to accept arguments about "massive spending" or "regulations that cripple policies" without looking at what the regulations specifically are and what that money is being used for. What about "massive spending" to bring back semiconductor manufacturing in the U.S. that has led to 800% more investment by private business than we spent? Are you against regulations that try to protect the safety of our population or our children? Is it the uninformed public's business to decide what vaccinations children should get in order to go to school?
In a democracy we need to depend on expert advice and not let non-experts and those who are simply driven by greed or their own religious beliefs determine how everyone lives. I don't hear anyone defending "illegal crossings," but there is legitimate disagreement about what to do about it. And separating children from parents is not a humane way to solve the problem. Or calling those desperate people vermin or criminals or insane. How is that a way to solve a problem?
The devil is always in the details. Each policy and decision has to be made with respect to the specific policy or decision itself. General statements that you suggest we are "defending to absurdity" is a mischaracterization and overgeneralization of what intelligent and informed people are doing.
What is "common sense" to some is foolishness to others. The question with this election was do we let the greedy and those of one religious faith determine how everyone else lives? In this country we believe in protecting the rights of the minority (and children or others who cannot make decisions for themselves) unless protecting those rights impinge on the rights of others. Only in the later cause do we have a ligitimate disagreement.
What appalled me about this election is the hatred and bigotry and misogyny that was openly expressed and apparently did not appall those who voted for Trump. Surely you don't think it is all right to call an entire nation of people "trash." But that is Trump did continually and what a lot of people who support Trump liked about him. And note that he never apologized or made a statement about them not being "trash." He appealed to the worst in all of us and, sadly, it worked.
Thank you Nancy...I responded you all three comments above.
While I know you want Heather's opinion not mine, I have thoughts I'd like to respectfully share. I don't disagree there has been complicity and complacency with Democrats. Yes, some of our positions as you mentioned above lacked moderation. However, there is little evidence that your specifics were central to what happened. There is ZERO moderation in the hate and vitriol expressed by the GOP, nor in their plans to arrest and oppress those who oppose them, nor in the impact that deporting millions will have not just our economy but on our humanity, nor in the economic impact to people's everyday lives from outrageous tariffs, nor in their sexist, racist, homophobic/transphobic ideology. Dems clearly missed the mark but I believe the reasons stated by HCR played an outsized role. I also believe Biden (though a great president) set us up for failure by not standing down from a second run before it even began. Ultimately, we must now accept that a majority of people voted for our country to become an authoritarian America.
Men, women, and children are literally crying in fear over the result. HARRIS/WALZ had giant crowds, an unprecedented vast ground game, and nationwide groups such as Red Wine And blue. TRUMP had flaccid crowds and his campaign events were conducted more for "media hits" to make it seem he was popular. Also, my red NorCal area had 10% of the Trump displays compared to former elections -- hardly any visible support -- and I estimate 4:1 ratio of HARRIS yardsigns. I am convinced this was a stolen election already.
Thank you Lee...I responded you all three comments above.
I’m not Prof. Richardson, of course, but I like your approach that Democrats, liberals, whatever, need to look at themselves in the mirror and do a level-headed analysis of what went wrong with the policies they were promoting and the messaging they were giving. Casting blame, pointing fingers, recriminations, are all just a waste of energy. Those doing that should take some time to calm down and heal. Then get to work rebuilding and connecting with what Americans really care about.
Thank you Don...I responded you all three comments above.
You ask valid questions I share. I dream of a debate "game" show in which experts are included to explain the truth of an issue, and citizens are made to debate, even take the opposite view, in order to "win" so we teach critical thinking skills and encourage real communication. Of course there would have to be an entertainment aspect of getting to know the participants etc to hook people in and challenge our positions.
But re abortions: under Roe v Wade, third term abortions were only allowed in the case of the mother's life being in danger, as I understand it. And the irony of the overturning Roe v Wade means third term abortions are no longer against the law in states that do not have bans?
And of course there is the further collateral damage in states with abortion bans now is that mothers are dying from sepsis, untreated, because doctors and hospitals are terrified of being charged with crimes. And the further damage from that is that doctors are leaving these states because they cannot give mothers life saving care. Which further endangers the availability of health care in these areas. It's unbelievable.
Thank you Hk for your thoughtful comments. The abortion issue is a perfect place to start in trying to see the other (Red) POV. Many Republicans are fine with most abortions but not once a fetus is viable. I do not understand why my dear Blue democrats brothers and sisters cannot say that that POV is reasonable. Is it fear of reprisals from the far left that says it is nobody's business even if the child can survive on its own? This is what I mean by common sense. We should not be able to kill viable children. I keep waiting for my candidates to admit this. I believe it would put a huge amount of people at ease with the Pro-Choice movement. We just sometimes shoot ourselves in the foot by not standing for some measure of decency. How many women would actually choose to kill a viable fetus. Almost none if not absolutely none. So why are we afraid to come down on the side of common sense and morality?
Thank you, Susan. I think you are misinformed, and i was too, for a long time. Maybe folks on both sides are not as informed as we could be about this very important truth: Abortions in the third trimester under Roe v Wade are only to save the life of the mother. Propaganda has distorted this so even you are under the impression that Kamala, or anyone else, stands for anything other than that. Roe v Wade is based on fetus viability outside the womb (gen at 6-7 months). No doctor in this country would morally or legally perform an abortion in the third tri mester except as emergency health care for the life of the mother.
Abortion bans, making the legal struggle to provide energency third trimester healthcare a nightmare for all, are making doctors flee this country already. I saw a substack group of 500+++ physicians exchanging information about the best countries to land in for their families and the process required. American educated doctors will be welcomed, i am sure. They are tired of how we treat them here, between covid and the system, and obviously it is just getting worse. We already have a shortage of doctors and medical support so things could get really bad especially for prenatal and female care. But also for everyone in this country.
The noise, outright lies and distortion on the right has prevented us all from hearing each other. It sounds like the majority are actually on the same page. This should give us all great pause.
And we cannot have the reality of a child trafficking, rape and incest culture worldwide, and for centuries, with no recourse for women.
And by the way, fewer abortions happen under democratic administrations, thought because social services are more available, making expanding families or single motherhood more affordable.
Ironic. Tragic. All of it.
I think I didn't explain myself fully HK. I know and you know that third trimester abortion ONLY happen to save the life of the mother. But Republicans don't hear us say that. When asked, "Is it okay to abort in the third trimester?", the politicians never say... "Only when the life of the mother is at stake." My question here is why not say that? The MAGA story is that we let babies die on the table who are viable. Of course we don't. But how will they know that unless we are very specific? It feels like Kamala and Biden danced around that. Did you feel they was clear?
Ah okay. Sorry. Cool. Yes, our messaging about this absolutely sucked when it was the primary issue really, for so many. A life or death misstep if doctors' hands continue to be tied, or infertility, and so much heartache. I think my heart is broken fully now but am glad you have made the point.
Yes.
Very very good question. We have to fix this.
I want to thank Nancy, Lee and Don for responding to me. Some of your sentiments were echoed almost verbatim by my Republican friends about my "blue" side of the isle. I sent out an article yesterday to all of my friends and relatives, including those who voted for Trump. The article basically noted that with all our missteps, foibles and sins, we are still the place most immigrants want to live. And they are prouder of this place than we are. Fighting for a cause is important but we can pause our condemnation at times and appreciate what an amazing place this is...be trusting of the guardrails that are in place and have faith in the participation and care that our citizens do have for the future of our country. The most inspirational part of the article came from "a brilliant civil rights activist and legal scholar Pauli Murray who wrote about her desire to quash racism but not individual racists. She wrote:"
'I intend to destroy segregation by positive and embracing methods. When my brothers try to draw a circle to exclude me, I shall draw a larger circle to include them. Where they speak out for the privileges of a puny group, I shall shout for the rights of all mankind.' "
My dear Republican friend wrote back and said the following:
A very lovely message and one I hope that people like Oprah Winfrey will read. America is America and we are not going to no longer have the right to vote because Donald Trump won. Those are scare tactics used to frighten less informed people and I find it destructive and she should be called out on it. As our minister said, “Vote not for a personality, but for the policies which will represent our nation best.” We all need to get back to working as a country and stop the name calling and the hate. I am appalled at the things that I saw today on Facebook - filled with hate towards anyone who voted for Donald Trump. Never in my life have I seen such hatred expressed towards those with a different viewpoint or political view than I have seen over these past years. We are all Americans and this division in our country is heartbreaking to me."
Sound familiar?
This is what happens in echo chambers. I'm just saying.. let's step out of ours.
I am glad there are people like you who want to discuss this with them. If I had my way, I would divide the country in half so they could stay on their side of the world. I would be happy never to have to talk to them again. If this was their first exposure to DJT, I would be more willing to try to discuss it with them, but this has been over ten years of DJT and his reckless divisiveness. They are aware that he is a rapist, misogynistic, and narcissistic and that he does not believe in the institutions that uphold our democracy. This does not seem to bother them; it is not just about the economy. My best guess is that they appreciate the caste system in place and perhaps feel a bit threatened by any change.
IT is an intentional misinformtion tactic.
Any valid concern or complaint an oppressed democrat might express,
is blunted by the identical claim being made by the oppressor.
"I'm Rubber And You're Glue,
Your words bounce off me and stick to you."
I'm wondering what will happen first? Silencing the press (self censoring seems to have already begun months ago). Mass civil service firings. Mass deportations. Pulling out of NATO. Now that he is back in, how does the public expect he will ever leave?
He will die. He’s old.
oh great!!!! President Vance!!!!
I was just giving comfort to the concern Trump will never leave - he is old so he will leave when he dies was my minor point! I see your point of course. Vance is so new to politics yet trained in law. He is a wild card that will flip in the wind of public opinion. Look how he flip flopped on Trump. At least he seems to have a real marriage and maybe his equal wife will influence him to soften in his narrow mindedness to fall back to live and let live freedom. Trump is a lost cause in gender equality or any recognition of rights to be ourselves so Vance would be better. He does not have the same ingrained level of lust for power or need for glory so he is a bit moldeable. Ok I was just dreaming to handle my grieving.
This is what most concerns me .. ,😵💫
Trump is the tip of the iceberg grinding away toward Kleptocracy since at least Ronald Reagan presidency, and The Powell Memo era ushering in intentional supreme court radicalization. Sheldon Whitehouse, Senator, covers the Powell Memo plan to capture the Supreme Court on a YOuTube playlist of his speeches "for the congressional record" about the illegal capture.
And the world be a better place.
The changes will be fast.
Project 2025 is a 180 day plan.
They are well funded and ready to go.
They have been recruiting for two years.
They actually wrote it down.
We should infiltrate their organization!!
Let’s do it!
The die is cast. The fascists are in.
We shall overcome. We have great work to do to break that mold and create a better more progressive union. We are about to get loads of evidence as ammunition to shift minds and wake up hearts. We gotta find the way to enlighten understanding and enhance tolerance (and appreciation) for differences.
Dems need a forensic accounting of communication strategies. Utilize the new forms and appealing surrogates on the popular new channels and every Ap. The voices and amount of channels the right uses hits the population outnumbers the stars.
We better learn our lessons fast!
Time to fight fire with fire. I feel like we keep bringing pillows to a gun fight.
I agree with Gerald Lewis. The die is cast. The fascists are in. I have kept abreast of all the commentary, know about General Flynn's compound in rural WA training Christian Warriors with around-the-clock gunfire inside the walls. I have read and watched all the revelations of significant Russian interference. I have seen the political opposition within the Republican party mysteriously vanish after a private meeting, pointing to Blackmail/Kompromat. The die is cast.
We need to build community, stock up on certain items, get our flu shots and immunizations while we still can.
That worries me, too, so much. I hope HCR can give us some reassurance about that.
I have no special insights or expertise in political matters, only my own experience and reading - and opinions based upon that, so here goes.
In my experience, the vast majority of Americans are quite ignorant about many things and cannot even think for themselves. For example, very few have any knowledge of global or national economics. Hell, most can’t manage their own finances responsibly or even balance their own checking accounts. If they are frustrated with their own financial pain and uncertainty, they look for someone who says “I can fix it”. No details needed on how or if anything he says makes economic sense, just “fix it”. I don’t think that the majority of people who voted for Trump are bigots, racists, or misogynists, though there are many, of course. I think they have short and selective memories and are just worried about their own economic vulnerability. Trump tapped into that and gave them confidence that he could “fix it”. This is a con, of course, but people don’t realize that.
I think Trump, Vance, Muskrat, and the GOP will run rampant for at least two-years, maybe longer. We’ll have a government of the oligarchs, by the oligarchs and for the oligarchs - and perhaps the white Christian nationalists as well. Their policies will be awful and it will take a while for those that voted for Trump to feel the effects on their own lives. But, eventually, buyer’s remorse will set in. When inflation hits 8-10%, when unemployment hits 8-10%, when they’ve lost their jobs, when they’ve lost the government services and benefits they used to count on, etc… there will be a backlash. Political parties that think they’ve been given a so-called “mandate”, always overstep. I don’t think it will be different this time.
Post-election I am hearing friends breaking down in sobs, men, women, and children, at the point of terror. It is so ironic that Trump ginned up "fear of the other," in his supporters -- and the result, now we ALL have legitimate fear of the 'austerity' and 'revenge' coming for Blue States, law enforcers, and women.
He is making wacko and vaccine denier JFK Jr HEAD OF THE FDA.
Give me a break. This is not normal. THIS IS NOT NORMAL.
We now live in a dystopian America . All things considered, what happened with women’s reproductive rights, and doctors reporting on pregnancy status, I see a future where one has to be very careful what one says , where and to who one says things that are not along party lines. You don’t really think this is going to stop at rounding up immigrants do you ? I’m devastated by the level of stupidity this country succumbed to. trump saying he has a “ powerful mandate” is exactly what no one with a couple of functioning brain cells wants to hear. Rip democracy.
The tech spy apparatus is so powerful it will be impossible to hide significant resistance, IMO
If you haven't seen Jimmy Kimmel's November 6 message on YouTube it's available. After choking up, he said that the American people will get exactly what they voted for and sent chills down my spine.
We have become a lazy, ignorant, selfish and nationalist country. And I was under the impression that we were someone else. Thank you so much, Heather for reminding us that we can't give up a dream of a more perfect union.
I am most curious in the dissection of the voting categories. Young male/old male, wealthy/ most of us, suburban/rural, capitalists/corporatists, etc etc yadda. With 70% of the population in general and certainly a higher percentage of women favoring abortion rights, along with the most vilenous debasing of all women by Trump (and his chorus of kissers) that I have ever seen or could have ever imagined, I fully expected that women would defeat Trump at the voting booths. Not only was this wrongfully conceived, but any trace of this seems totally missing from any of the category evaluations. Were women callously hypocritical and coldly amoral, going to the polls and betraying their passion for reversing Roe, puerily sacrificial to the gauche insults to their gender? How could such an elephant stay invisible in the room?
Never in my life …have I been so sorry to have been so wrong.
…and yet, in spite of it all, I’m somehow glad to have truly expected so much more from our “fellow Americans”.
Enlightened public opinion really is the answer to so many problems. Thanks for your excellence in truth telling. It’s all so complicated.
Thank you Heather for your optimism about our democracy and clarity explaining our history & policies.
The last time Trump was elected in 2016 I was prepared to fight & joined millions of other women in the Women's March, went to meetings sponsored by Indivisible, MoveOn, etc.
Thus time I'm 74 years old, battling the return of a cancerous tumor and just don't have the will or energy to fight against Trump & his allies.
I hope that younger generations, X,Y,Z, Millennial, etc will rise up and take the actions necessary to preserve the future of democracy in this country & the world.
Thank you- so with Kamala's speech at Howard U, she left all of us with a valuable and honorable request- to continue the fight for all of us, for freedom, for democracy, for support of the U.S Constitution, for women's reproductive right to privacy, for our own lives. So yes- meet, mobilize, and plan together. Many of us started yesterday and will keep going. Not only will we avoid Trump's daily distractions and unsavory comments, we focus on positive future and the real leaders we can support.
Do you think Trump will allow for a 'peaceful resistance?' Why, when he has just achieved the first major step in becoming what he wanted, would he want to combat a bunch of Harris supporters, or at least those who might want to minimize the effectiveness of his already stated political and social objectives? By example, if Trump truly begins to deport millions of people, will there be mass demonstrations of people against this atrocity? Will he deploy military assets to quell such unrest? Will he see to it that anti-Trump demonstrators are jailed? New ideas from the Trump administration will, over his four year presidency be created (will he attempt to remain beyond four years by trying to change the Constitution - he has legislative assets and goodly number of supporters outside of government - or by sheer rejection of what the Constitution says?) Remember when he said this would be the last election anyone would have to worry about? What possibly could he mean? Don't forget one of his key advisors is a fellow named Steven Miller. Another will be Steve Bannon. Do some research into what each of these men stand for. Anyone think that anyone writing such a piece as I am writing might face some sort of retribution? Finally, there's a fellow with an obvious dialect suggesting he is not "ethnic" American, and whose first name is Kurt. He works in the large dining facility at Mayo Clinic. I engaged him in conversation and amidst this visit, Kurt showed me the number tattooed on his left forearm.
I have no illusion about the possibilities of Trump's 'reign.'
here's an explanation I've come across (a long post), which predicted this election outcome: hint, If Bernie was the candidate democrats would have won: and in 2016 Trump voters were tending to favor Bernie over Trump (when Bernie was winning primaries)
Here’s a warning and an admonition written in January 2019 by author and organizer Jonathan Smucker: “If the Dem Party establishment succeeds in beating down the fresh leadership and bold vision that's stepping up, it will effectively enable the continued rise of authoritarianism. But they will not wake up and suddenly grasp this. It's on us to outmaneuver them and win.”
If you’ve been alive since then, you know that whoever the “us” was did not, in fact, outmaneuver them. Instead, the effort to build a multiracial working-class coalition was outmaneuvered by Democratic Party leaders. The progressive wing was subsequently allowed in by Joe Biden as a junior party in his coalition, and he was able to knock Donald Trump out of the White House. Under the Kamala Harris campaign, amidst a yearlong genocide in Gaza, that progressive wing was transitioned to silent partner at best, hostile faction at worst. Harris spent more time campaigning with Liz Cheney and Mark Cuban than Shawn Fain, the Sanders-esque leader of the United Auto Workers, fresh off his union’s historic victory in a strike against the Big Three automakers, who represent the pride of the industrial Midwest. The Washington Post managed to call her loss, mystefyingly, “a stinging verdict for the American left.“
Harris made lots of mistakes — not doing an interview for a month, hewing closely to Biden for no reason, not explaining why she changed positions, etc. — but her defeat was sweeping enough that we need to look for deeper structural answers. Smucker’s warning, that smothering the reform wing of the party would make it too weak to stand up to Trump, made sense at the time and is prophetic today. I’ve tracked the years-long arc of that ultimately losing fight with my colleague over at Breaking Points, Krystal Ball, and early this morning she put her thoughts on it into a short essay that we’re publishing below.
Drop Site will be tracking the new administration’s foreign policy moves closely. Help us do it by becoming a paying subscriber: [to their substack]
Unfortunately, the essay by Krystal Ball is too long, so you'll have to find it yourselves, but I believe it's the foundational argument as to why Trunp is in power now.
Thank you! I’m so glad and relieved to see that some people on here understand the true story of what has happened and who is to blame.
What I would suggest in the face of the death of democracy is that Joe Biden bring out reams of proof about the bots, the buying of influencers, and ESPECIALLY the algorithms in facebook, twitter, and other sites that are designed to drive people down ratholes of exaggerated lies to enhance the viewers anger and fear and the website owner’s profit. Then he should say this election was not just tainted, it was totally undermined and perverted, and cancel it with the caveat that there will be another in January. Then cut off social media sites (other countries have done this) until a neutral algorithm for the site can be vetted that won’t encourage knee-jerk anger and fear to get views. Explain this and leave any other sites open (backlash is one thing, lying propaganda is another) and, after the uproar (and be ready from it) with a month to cool off open what should be near neutral sites as much as can be hoped (p.s. any influencer or other site that has over say, 50,000 views is considered a publisher with libel lawsand other publishing laws applied) opennthings back up AND have the biggest sd and web blitz you can to lay this out to the public. The Supreme Court said you could do this, repercussion free, last summer. It can be done firmly but decently, although yes, there might be some violence that the right was hepped up for anyway. But to be crawlingly “decent” , like Merrick Garland, to those who spit in the face of the Constitution and mock the weakness of democracy, is abhorrent. Make them work for it at least, certainly as hard as this country has had to since January 6th.
Why are the Democrats being blamed for 'losing or not supporting the working class?' How is that real when I believe they have always had their interest? Supporting unions, creating manufacturing jobs, promoting affordable health care? What did they do wrong?
The election was over before it began and with just enough votes to give it a sense of reality. But it wasn’t, it was incredibly well planned and executed. Trump knew it was rigged and told his followers: https://youtu.be/of9OP_a6MNg?feature=shared
Ms. Richardson:
I've enjoyed your posts most when you relate history to our current experience. And while Trumpism is of a degree that we perhaps have never seen in a president, aspects of his movement, as you well know, is not new. If racism is a part of his message and purpose, we all know a lot about how it came about, including its roots in the Constitution that people ennoble as the work of geniuses, instead of a political compromise by elites. Our history of xenophobia, misogyny and economic class warfare may be less familiar.
But where I'd love your perspective is how we came out of these anti-democratic movements. Or if now is without historical parallels, are there lessons in the past nonetheless?
My view is that Trumpism is not about the economy, immigration or transgender affirmation. But rather it's about a broad middle class longing for respect. Yes, racism, sexism and xenophobia probably fuels some Trump voters, but its driving force may be cultural class warfare. Has this happened before? If so, what made it abate?