On September 16, CNN senior data reporter Harry Enten wrote that while it’s “[p]retty clear that [Democratic candidate Vice President Kamala] Harris is ahead nationally right now… [h]er advantage in the battlegrounds is basically nil.
''Two days later, on September 18, Senator Lindsey Graham (R-SC) skipped votes in the Senate to travel to Nebraska, where he tried to convince state legislators to switch the state’s system of allotting electoral votes by district to a winner-take-all system.''
In my mind, there is no longer a Republican Party. What Trump leads is MAGA/KKK, the term I favor for them. Republicans, even the right-wingers such as Dick and Liz Cheney, have separated themselves from MAGA/KKK. There is the Libertarian Party that they and other Conservatives may ultimately join, but they haven't in this election cycle. We should remember that it was the Conservative oligarchs that got us into this fix with their campaigns of disinformation and misinformation through Fox, Newsmax, OAN, Rush Limbaugh, Alex Jones and other outlets, that led ordinary Americans to vote in favor of not taxing the oligarchs and plundering us into an unconscionable national debt. This, too, threatens the stability of the nation.
What bothers me most is that the "traditional" Republicans have by and large quit the party out of fear of being "primaried" by the RepubliKKKans. Liz Cheney is the only one who had the courage to run, and although she was defeated, is still a political force.
Yeah but don't forget how many Neoliberals like Clinton and even Obama to some extent supported this. It certainly falls mostly on the Tea Party GOP but the 1990s Democrats have to share some of the blame. They were as they often were asleep while the foxes raided the hen house.
And this is why I no longer call them by any name other than Republicans. Hook, line, and sinker - they've bought into it, or have abdicated responsibility for it.
I've been trying to figure this out too and come to some conclusions. But I do see the evolution from Reagan and his gang to the present greed driven crime organization that still calls itself the Republican Party.
Per the "Coloroado Newsline" this morning, ALL measures that will appear on the Colorado ballot have been posted for CO Voters.
Per the FBI, a "white powder" that was sent to the Colorado Secretary of State was 'harmless'. Hmmm, time to update the list of States that have been hit by that Voter Suppression tactic:
Let's see, in alphabetical Order, Iowa, Kansas, Nebraska, Oklahoma & Wyoming. Oklahoma still 🎶 looks mighty, mighty pretty 🎶.
CREEP was the unofficial name for the Nixon fund raising Committee to Re-Elect (CRP), but then my old party types liked it enough to make it official according to:
"...CREEP was what everyone called Nixon’s 1972 fundraising committee, despite their futile efforts to make us act like grown-ups and use its official acronym, CRP, or simply, “the Committee to Re-Elect.” But CREEP was just too irresistible, especially given the perpetual, political cartoon stereotype of Nixon as a hunched-over, skulking stalker with five o’clock shadow, and the ever-mounting real evidence of break-ins, bag men and other assorted dirty tricks.
The new CREEP is based out of a post office box at the Watergate office, apartment and shopping complex, “an inside joke with a serious punchline,” ProPublica’s Kim Barker writes. “The old CREEP… helped spur the creation of the FEC. The website for CREEP Super PAC says it’s committed ‘to raising voices not dollars’ and advocates disclosure. From the ProPublica article:
“It’s an excellent chance for people to step back and say, “Are we happy with 40 years of campaign finance and the lack of disclosure?”’ said Robert Lucas, 22, founder of the new CREEP and a graduate student in public policy at Georgetown University. ‘There’s a lot of irony, with the 40th anniversary of Watergate and where we are now.”
Where we are now, thanks to the Supreme Court’s Citizens United and other decisions, is 324 Super PACs registered with the FEC, of which only half or so actually have raised or spent money. But the ones that have are living large. According to the Center for Responsive Politics, so far, super PACs aligned with presidential candidates have spent a whopping $80,773,876, and The New York Times notes, “The big money in presidential politics is about to get a whole lot bigger...”
I left in 1996 (same as Elizabeth Warren), me because they ramped up the disgusting applications of the Newt Gingrich/Frank Luntz GoPac memo, "Language: A Key Mechanism of Control" and shunning of any who socialized with Democratic legislators.
I was confused by reporting that Nebraska and Maine were the only two states without winner take all since Hawaii had 3 electors for Hillary/Kaine instead of 4 in 2016. It turns out it seems a frustrated "faithless" Elector cast 1 vote for Bernie Sanders/Elizabeth Warren.
(All our donations had gone to Sanders and Warren, but we did back Clinton and Kaine later and voted for them, too.)
More important, let’s examine why there are groups of voters who have no interest in voting fore the candidate who will sponsor programs to help them. No, they are revenge voting. Why? We might speculate that there is a racial element to consider. That white people are distraught at being called privileged. Maybe. Add to this that Trump exploits the insecurities of those most likely to vote for him. The fiasco in Ohio over a group of legal residents who were falsely accused of eating pets. That’s par for the historical past during elections. And it ties neatly in the border problems in which Biden gave scant interest in until late in his administration. Trump uses a mafia like mentality as a kind and benevolent creature which he isn’t. So I agree that his chances are strong. It’s truly a toss-up.
And now to add to the inequality, social media mixed with AI, foreign interference, corrupting the minds of young children and creating major splits in our body politic and there you have a divide and conquer in place ripe for exploitation. Sorry I don’t have great news for the cheerleader section.
Bill, did you miss the part where Biden committed to signing a bipartisan "Border Bill" that was defeated in the House via clearly stated instructions from Trump?
"Don't give Biden a victory."
Biden has tightened the border. Biden has actually restricted the number of asylum seekers and the crossings are down. I don't agree with that because we are desperate for hard working immigrants. But nonetheless, he HAS NOT been giving "scant interest" to the border issue.
The blame for the continuing challenges at our southern border lies with Trump and House Republicans. THEY put politics and their own lust for power over border security. That bill included money for better processing of legitimate immigrants, more border personnel to control the numbers and millions for improved technology to detect fentanyl (most of which is being transported through official border crossings by Americans!).
Bill, if Americans are blaming Democrats for the border issues, it's because they don't know the FACTs. Let's all work on that. As to the pet eating incident, I look forward to Walz mopping the floor with Vance (October 1 debate) as he calls him out for creating chaos and havoc in a town that HE represents. Walz will SHAME him.
The immigrant story has been totally flipped in our favor now. Even the Republican Governor Mike DeWine has condemned the accusations against the legal Haitian immigrants who he explains have helped rebuild the economy in a region hurting for industrial workers. He praised their work ethic.
Without immigrants, we would have food shortages, hospitality businesses would collapse. Our elderly would be unattended in facilities and at home. Houses won't be built, roofs won't be repaired or replaced....the list is very long.
Let's spread the word. We ALL come from immigration. It is our strength as a nation.
Bill, a good friend of mine died this year in a care home. She had late-stage dementia; I visited her on the “memory care” floor, where every staff person was from Ethiopia. I never in my life saw more caring staff. It was obvious that they loved these elderly people and they assisted each one as if she/he was a grandparent. I donate the apartment below me in my duplex to refugees and I now have an Ethiopian family downstairs. The 12yo son calls me grandma (in Swahili) and the mother constantly looks for ways to do chores that I can no longer do. She told me: “It’s my culture. Big people help people who are needing it.”
If only we Americans could be so generous and kind.
The decade when the whole country moved from the "Ask not what your country can do for you" mentality to the "me! me!" mentality. Leftover Ronald Reagan stuff. We are still suffering from all of that today. Sigh...
Marge, Agree with you. My 89 yo mo suffered from Parkinson’s disease before her death. Her favorite caregiver was a kind and caring male immigrant working in her assisted living facility. Trump, Vance, and others who demonize immigrants will never get my vote for any office. We are a country of immigrants and let us never forget it.
Thank YOU…. THAT/This is US…. And I mean ALL of us…. We were ALL immigrants…. We do know who the “natives” are and we treat them dreadfully…. How very lovely for all of YOU….
We are and I could give some examples, but the media culture was seized by narcissism. Cultivating narcissism is tool for maximizing profit. Profit, in and of itself is not a bad thing when it;s "square deal" reciprocity. I see a lot of that with genuine small businesses, transactions often conclude (and I have been on both sides) with the vendor and the customer feeling genuine gratitude for one another. We all of necessity pursue self interest, but we also are endowed with a capacity for empathy, even kindness when our training calls that forward. Friedman's "The only corporate social responsibility a company has is to maximize its profits." has the tail wagging the dog, and is a recipe for social sociopathy; a society consumed by hubris and hate.
See, I try to resist this stuff here because although it is spot on with my personal viewpoint I also understand that it makes many people, even those who agree with me on things like who should be elected, very uncomfortable. Denying the "greatness" of the corporate mentality is tantamount to heresy for many in this country. Believe me I have been called a "dirty commie" many times in my life. It's a badge I always wore proudly until I started realizing how much it cost me in terms of influencing people. Sigh...
This made me happy, Bibi! I visited Tanzania three times while my son and his family lived there. At the market, I was Bibi Jude. Our first grandson is Jude, who lived there until he was three. 💙
But DeWine has said he will of course vote for tfg because DeWine is and has been a republican. That completely undercuts his purported concern for Springfield and its residents.
And many of us consider ourselves Christian, or of other faiths, or even no religious faith but follow the "Golden Rule"--and yet are quite the hypocrites.
AND the many people who are responding positively to Harris. They are sick and tired of the chaos, greed, meanness, racism, misogyny, violence, ignorance, and utter disregard for our laws, norms, and democracy. Many of us also are shocked by the cowardice and apparent death of the GOP as we’ve known it. There are many reasons why Harris is filling stadiums.
This border was an ignored problem for almost 3 years only when he saw his numbers go down did he begin to address it. During that time, I used to think I wonder when he’s going to do something, anything. So he eventually sent Harris on a thankless mission while still ignoring the millions rushing the border. He did nothing.
Oh, get a grip. Harris was sent to Central America to help mitigate the CAUSES off migration pressure LONG before the past year — YOU are either not paying attention or are purposely telling lies. Harris’s work bore fruit, too, as did work with getting Mexico to slow the rush of migrants to the border, actually cutting down the numbers during this administration, though conditions that spur migration continue, INCLUDING A CHANGING CLIMATE that will be made far worse with the Republican commitment to DRILL DRILL DRILL.
Seriously, get a grip … Just stop carrying water for the liars.
Ignore Bill Katz. He is troll on immigration, replacement for John Schmeegle who was chased of and has ended up on Threads; his substack, The Planets Speak is cetifiable.
Hello. I have a good grip. The few potential solutions are to create a Marshall like plan to help build and stabilize Central America. I have a good grip on current and the historical and this dates to the ancient cultures so cut it out, Yo Sisterina. And my focus is not me being anti immigrant but winning elections.
And losses in many fields that besides hand labor. My grandparents on both sides were immigrants. Kamala Harris's parents were immigrants., her mother a biologist and her father an economist.
We all come from immigration..... except the indigenous peoples who were here to greet the explorers when they "discovered" land the Europeans reportedly believed was India. We descendants of immigrants shamefully took over most of the land, sometimes by conquest, sometimes by treaties that we have broken, and by making indigenous people move to "reserves", which usually was land no one else wanted because it was a swamp or a place with poor soil. This needs to change. First there must be truth before there can be reconciliation. Only one of the two political parties will ever work towards truth or reconciliation. Just one more reason to vote blue.
I think Bill was saying that Biden ignored the border until late in his administration (i.e. until this year or late last year). He actually kind of flip flopped from a more "open border" approach when he saw (a) it wasn't working well and (b) he was losing support because of it. Of course in the end he is out anyway, but the point is still valid.
Biden didn’t ignore the border. If he’d issued an Executive Order on the border it could be easily reversed by an incoming Republican president. Laws are harder to change. Biden left the responsibility where it belonged.
He tried to, but my old party wanted to make it cost him no matter which path he chose.
After WWII we, though the Marshall Plan, established safer and sustainable conditions that really helped prevent the creation of massive of waves of refugees trying to flee famine and victimization by their own governments (without creating massively more powerful enemy nations).
What else should we expect if some (on either side) carelessly sets fire to the homes and lively hoods of people where they had expected conditions no worse than milder natural disasters?
Ye who hath little memory. Biden ignored the border as hundreds of thousands rushed. How quickly some forget. When asked be his homeland secretary why now executive order, how blithely answered, “Because it wouldn’t hold up in Court.” Go ahead and look it up. I know what I’m talking about.
A poll released earlier this week by Scripps News/IPSOS, a pretty non-partisan source, reported that 54% of Americans support the mass deportation of 11+ million immigrants. That doesn't sound like a pro-immigration stance, it's downright scary. The Republican Party is long-dead. For the past 9 years, Donald Trump and his Fascist allies have built a huge following on the foundation of anti-immigrant hate led by reporter-in-chief Stephen Miller, an evil man. And Democrats, our only hope, have responded to this vicious hate campaign with resounding silence. Why? Because it might hurt their election prospects. The Biden Administration continues to frame the matter as a "border security" issue. It is NOT a border security issue, it is a HUMAN RIGHTS issue. Does anyone remember the word "compassion". Throughout our history, immigrants have contributed mightily to America's economic, cultural and social well being. America is, to a large extent, an immigrant nation, I am the son of immigrants who worked hard to assure that I would have a better life. Hearing this survey casts a sickness across my entire body. Is this what we have come to? Mass deportation? It reeks of Nazi Germany pre-World War II.Does these people really understand what hey are supporting.
I know we must support our Democrat leaders, they are our hope for survival, BUT that support includes calling them out when they are in the wrong place. We must speak the truth to power; this is my truth.
Thomas Frank in his 2004 book, "What's the Matter with Kansas?" delves into how the wealthy used wedge issues (abortion, women's rights advocates, gay rights advocates, immigration) to con ordinary Americans to vote against their own best economic and social interests. Then, two Univ. of Kansas professors researched and published their findings on who voted for Trump in the 2016 election and why. You can google it: "The Anger Games: Who Voted for Donald Trump in the 2016 Election and Why?" It was published in the Feb. 2018 edition of the peer-reviewed journal, Critical Sociology. I think that the abstract is now available on-line. I downloaded the full report while it was still available.
It seems to me that anger and hate are very tiring, even on the physical body. As naive as I may seem to be, I truly hope people are tired of anger, rage, hate, and vote for someone who at least speaks of moving America forward together. I hope people are weary of being manipulated, pitted against one another, and of being lied to regularly, just so the uber wealthy can get wealthier. There's nothing wrong in being rich. It's the greed, individual and corporate greed, that is stealing our humanity.
And beyond being tired - I think an awful lot of us are absolutely terrified that this old person with a failing mind could possibly become president again, but this time with a vp whose agenda could, if possible, be nastier than tffg's and someone who has no capacity for ethics, empathy, nor, apparently, any idea of how government is supposed to run - well, tffg doesnt either - that was obvious. And almost all of the political party behind him just going along for the ride AND the power!
My book club read Hillbilly Elegy when it became a sensation. I couldn’t even finish it because as a lifelong rural Tennessean, it did not ring true to me. I didn’t trust Vance’s story or him. My parents worked hard and made little money, and their parents were sharecroppers who were true Appalachians. Guess I was more perceptive than I knew.
What contributes most to majorities of Republicanism particularly among non-college educated in the South and Mid-west: perhaps Fox News; family inherited white racism; plus standard TV commercials which use non-white actors representing the breath of our multi-racial society in virtually all commercials along with whites which serves to harden the racism that predominates in rural white areas as well as crowded lower income portions of cities nationwide! What do you think?
I miss Thomas Frank's writing so much. I don't know if he's retired or what, but if anyone has a line on where he is being published these days, please let me know.
Exactly! And that need for revenge began in 1954 with Brown v. Board. It was further aggravated by the civil rights legislation of the 60's, then it made Reagan's southern strategy a success, and it finally exploded during the terms of That Black President. It was just waiting for a face and a voice, which the Groper-in-Chief supplied.
Margaret-Yes-racism plays an outsized role on America’s development. It was one of the issues involved with establishment of the electoral college. Populations of the North and South were near equal except enslaved African Americans were only counted as 3/5 persons (even while being classified as property-not people) for representation purposes. However since they couldn’t vote the North would have more influence if there was a popular vote for president.
In 1957 conservative William F. Buckley wrote an article entitled “Why the South Must Prevail”. He argued that the White race was the most “advanced” race and the only ones who are qualified to govern.
This sentiment has prevailed and it’s regularly played out during elections. Consider voter suppression aimed at Black people’s votes. The SC declared that it’s all legal.
I don't know if you've caught some of Mr. Katz's comments about the aforementioned "wedge voting" as it pertains to gay and trans rights and the need for the Democratic party to divest itself from them; he was trumpeting them strongly several months ago. He has not tapped into the racial "wedge" but the lavender wedge is among his favorites to lambast.
😜😜😜 why Ally, You go girl… I’m 10,000% supportive of rights of all people ( way before it became popular to support gender issues btw) just not balls in girls stalls. I continue to be a feminist supporter regardless of new frangled dangled dos. Comprende?
Plus consider the "lumpen proletariat." FT 6 new goal, raise another million dollars to reach out to 15 million people, and deliver 4.5 million new voters to swing states and districts!
Come on Bill Katz....Biden did not give scant interest to the border problem until the end of his administration. He sent Kamala Harris, early, (after the courts refused to allow him to continue COVID restriction on immigration) to address the core issues causing migrants to leave their countries. These efforts resulted in $5.2 billion in private investment promises to increase jobs and living conditions. The State Department reported that companies have plowed nearly $1.3 billion in the region as of June 2024, the bulk of it in Guatemala and Honduras. Migrants come to the US because they cannot survive in their own countries.
Do we need immigration reform and a greater investment in border courts and border security? Yes. But, only Congress can pass laws for immigration reforms. President Biden did the one thing he could do, while encouraging Congress to do the one thing they could do. He focused on solving root causes for migration and resolving root causes is the real solution (we can treat cancer symptoms or we can try to eliminate the cancer causing the symptoms...I know which path I would choose)...but apparently most people want performative and punitive measures.
Congress failed, so he did what he could...an executive order. Executive orders can be struck down by courts or incoming administrations. It's better for Congress to make laws...so the Supreme Court doesn't just make it up, which is why we have so very many bad Court decisions...Congress is not doing their job.
Please Bill, start taking about the nuances of issues, not the wide propaganda sweep.
He did make an executive order after Congress failed to pass the border bill...why are you ignoring the facts, the sequence of events? Do you do the same to yourself and family. When trying to solve a problem, belittling yourself for not understanding that those you are dealing with to solve a problem are not motivated to solve the problem? Or do you try another tactic that sidesteps the people who clearly don't want the problem solved?
I just don't understand why you keep hammering on this issue.
My father and my husband's father, both blue collar, voted for Republicans their entire adult lives. They never met as one lived in the PNW and the other in the upper Midwest. Voting republican never helped them a bit.
But their argument, which was always in an angry tone to us kids, was that the Republicans were more patriotic, moral, fiscally responsible, pro-military (including veterans), anti-Russia, etc. They were all for Reaganomics, though it never trickled down to them. They were all for getting rid of inheritance and capital gains tax, hoping one day it would apply to them.
Both died in the late '90s. Would they have still voted GOP if they had lived to see the facade melt away from the party? Probably yes.
Bill-Your statement about a “racial element” is not speculation. You’re so right to point out that “distraught white people” are mostly the ones who are voting for DJT and the Rs.
Too many people don’t want to acknowledge the privilege of being White in America yet they cling to it by supporting the Rs (who are at least 90% white).
Their attack on Haitians is calculated. Racism is a tried and true method to keep Americans divided so we can be conquered.
When and if Trump orders the National Guard to open fire on protesters with live ammunition.....and he will do it people....his orange blood runs with hate and revenge....will the troopers drop their weapons or follow orders?
Orange is golfing.....being the full time bullshitter that he is to win the bullshit electoral college. Is there a counter milita being formed to fight back against the fascist takeover that the Orbanasslicker is banking on?
I think if you add the "otherwise" ahead of "normal" you're probably more accurate. I think that Frank Loomer's word "tribal" comes into play when I look at my retired law enforcement friends and spouses who are rock solid behind a convicted felon who stored classified documents (usually enough to get cops away from someone). I am not sure that their motivation is as much hatred of "other" as it is longing for an establishment of their "rightful" place at the top of the heap as white, cisgendered, heteronormative, Christian males (or their female spouses.
Are they in fact "intelligent?" I think that intelligence involves the ability to get past confirmation bias. Of course, if that's the test, there may be very few intelligent people in this world. But, still, given TFG's current mental condition, his history of lying, cheating, defaming and more, what compels them to ignore these factors? For some, racism, pure and simple. For others, white Protestantism now, white Protestantism forever. That's KKK.
Confirmation bias is foundational, almost across the board, so I wouldn't judge simplistically on that one, and i wouldn't confound it with how intelligent people are. I'd say the problem is "tribal", loyalty to one's group, and of course, loyalty to Trump/Maga, much of what is built on anathema to what the Dems seem to represent.
White, yes. It is trademarked Christian-ism, not Protestantism, which is pretty diverse. The most conservative Catholics are part of it. Nothing Jesus would have endorsed.
I think there used to be more than intelligence at work. When people are experiencing stress overload, the brain prioritizes paralysis, fear and anger. The amygdala rules, overriding the prefrontal cortex’s logical reasoning. In other words, evolution has prioritized the most basic survival instincts. If you are being chased by a lion, it’s not a good time to be considering speed, trajectory, relative tree-climbing abilities. Fight or flight, not thinking are your best options. Our brains still, unfortunately, tend to work that way when under stress or threat. It’s a winning strategy for Republicans to pump up the amygdala so people are cognitively impaired and just react.
I wish I believed in an actual hell, because at least then I could take a modicum of comfort from the thought of Graham and McConnell burning there for eternity for the damage they have caused.
Wow, a Shakespearean scholar on THIS group! I am stunned and thrilled! (Note: this was a genuine serious compliment. Please do not take it incorrectly!)
Just as well you don't, as a kid I and many others were indoctrinated with unrealistic fears of hellfire from the pulpits. I agree with you on the damage caused.
The attempt to skew elections towards favorites regardless of majority voting goes all the way back to 1800. Fascinating and initially promoted by the author of our Declaration of Independence. The HCR ability to tie historical context to current events routinely impresses me. Archaic as our Electoral College is, replacing it with a system tied to the popular vote, is challenging at best, highly unlikely in reality.
If we could elect representatives for whom country over party was a foundational belief, we’d have a decent chance to fix this. I won’t hold my breath.
I am liking your appreciation of Heather’s excellent historical narrative. I don’t share your pessimism for EC reform or elimination. The NPVIC is currently stalled, but a large electoral victory could give a Harris administration the votes to pass the John Lewis VRAA, which would end partisan gerrymandering in the states…the main tactic used by Republicans to dominate legislatures after Operation REDMAP. Breaking their hold on statehouses could mean progress on NPVIC reaching 270.
Please read my comments on the NPVIC elsewhere if you can find them. We agree the EC needs reform. The NPVIC is an antidemocratic measure that cannot and will not work EVEN if you can find enough states to support it initially. It is a Robert Reich fever dream to try to step around the constitution. I am as opposed to such measures by Democrats as I am by Republicans and every one should agree.
Besides even if it managed to be passed for a moment, the minute it needed to be invoked states would withdraw. It can't be enforced federally because the constitution places the authority for presidential elections in the hands of the states NOT the federal government (for good reason) so this is all just wasted time and effort. It won't ever be passed by enough states and if it was, it's effects could be overridden at any moment.
Please please everyone stop wasting breath and energy on this irrelevant notion. Ultimately we need to amend the constitution. That is where you should aim your efforts.
Maybe you’re right that when the rubber meets the road states would reverse their decision to join, but I don’t see how it is “anti-democratic” to prevent more minority supported Presidents, nor to encourage campaigns to treat every voter as equal. Furthermore, the path to a Constitutional Amendment eliminating the EC is far more insurmountable, so I think the NPVIC is worth trying. You saying it won’t work is not enough.
If you were in a state that voted for Harris but the national vote was for Trump but he lost the electoral college you would SUPPORT your state canceling your vote and changing your states electoral vote to sorry Trump? SERIOUSLY?. I certainly would NOT!.
I mean everyone looks at this from one perspective and ignores the other one. The electoral college was put in place for a reason and even if we disagree with it today the reason still has validity. So if we no longer like the reason, the right thing to do is to change the constitution. To say "well that's hard" is a cop out. Of course it's hard. It was made that way for a reason. Coming up with an end run around it is NOT a good way to even try to accomplish this and in the end I predict it will fail anyway so why bother?
Of course you are entitled to disagree and follow your path. I just think it is both a waste of time and wrong, two good reasons for not doing it.
The flaw in your counter argument lies in the “cancel your vote” part. If my state went for the loser of the popular vote, I wouldn’t complain. I am still proud to have voted for McGovern in ‘72, Gore on 2000, etc. The EC lost its validity after the Civil War Amendments were passed and Reconstruction was nullified by Black Codes and Jim Crow.
Its been more years than I want to admit since I watched that and frankly wouldnt have remembered her name anyhow! She sort of sounds like our current Repubs, doesnt she? Anything for the Cause?
I thought Heather's historical review of how voting by district was eclipsed by winner take all until only two states maintain it: Maine, and Nebraska, was most interesting. Players jockey according to their current advantage in every era. Certainly not something Republicans want to change any time soon. Lindsay seems to keep getting over-involved, so far an exercise in futility.
Senator Graham is the tip of the iceberg. What my diabolical/paranoid mind suspects is much darker than that. Trump has been half heartedly and half a--edly been campaigning. There is something happening beneath the surface that the MAGA/KKK has devised which is why Trump has been so cocky about the election and so self assured about winning. The plot by Georgia electors is just a teeny tiny piece of it. I am plenty scared of the outcome of this election.
• According to one of the new rules just imposed by the newly-appointed Republicans on the Georgia Board of Elections, not only must the Georgia ballots be hand counted but they must be hand counted by three people, and the three tallies must be exactly the same at the end or else...who the heck knows?
"The new rule requires that the number of ballots — not the number of votes — be counted at each polling place by three separate poll workers until all three counts are the same."
“These proposed rules are not tethered to any statute — and are, therefore, likely the precise type of impermissible legislation that agencies cannot do,” Elizabeth Young, senior assistant attorney general, wrote in the letter to [¶]|
The board voted on 11 total rule changes on Friday. Six of them passed, including allowing poll watchers access to more places during the tabulation of votes, daily posting of the number of people in each county who cast a ballot and publicly posting reconciliation reports to the county website."
All these changes means that the poll workers all must be retrained just 46 (?) days before the election and that counts may take days, weeks, or months to reconcile and resolve.
How I wish there were a way that these new rules in Georgia can be done away with, since many seem to be imposed without due authority, according to Ms. Young (see above).
He’s actually just trying to use his considerable influence to make a difference and that’s within our rules of fair play I guess but Nebraska didn’t cave.
well, Sen Graham clearly had a legal right to try to influence Nebraska, so that is 'within our rules of fair play' - but if one stops for a moment to consider the substance of what he was trying to do - squeeze one vote out for his Dear Leader by denying accurate representation for residents of a state he does not represent - it seems a lot less 'fair' and a lot more sleazy. But since Graham went over to the Dark Side in 2016, there's not much he won't do, sleazy or illegal, for the Dark Lord.
(Yes, I know that Dark Side is Star Wars and Dark Lord is Harry Potter, but Graham brings out all the darkness, I think....)
Thank you Heather for this history of the Electoral College, which seems to be a curse on our Democracy left to us by our Founding Fathers and enshrines minority rule. More disturbing than the attempts by Senator Graham to change Nebraska to a winner take all state are the GOP Election Board manipulations in Georgia and other states to inject chaos into the process of vote certification. What can we as citizens do about this additional means of increasing the power of a minority of the American People?
It’s not cheating. It’s perfectly legal. Not liking the outcome or the timing doesn’t change that. Fortunately, the latest reports I’ve seen suggest that it’s not going to happen.
Cripes! Even after that erudite historical explanation of the birth of the Electoral College I’m stymied.
Reform seems way overdue. A system in which the candidate with the least votes wins is not a democracy and the US cannot claim that title without some very serious review and legislative action
Well, Anne-Louise, it's a situation -- a big problem -- with a simple solution that has worked in the past: amendment to the US Constitution.
Of course, simple is not the same as easy. It takes a two thirds majority vote in both houses of Congress and then ratification of the proposed amendment by three quarters (38) of the 50 states' legislatures. At present it seems impossible, but there are, in fact, 27 amendments already, so it is doable depending on circumstances.
Clearly, the current GOP will become irrelevant if Presidents are elected by majority vote at the national level.
Oh Goodness, does that mean we need to actually "be" a democracy before we can legitimately present ourselves to the world as its "greatest democracy" and give democracy lessons to countries trying to emerge from authoritarian rule under their various dictators/kings /sultans/mullahs etc. as we have been doing for many decades?
Uh, yes it does, unless we're okay with being hypocrites.
An amendment would be terrific. But as you describe, it is quite a process. There is an easier way to achieve the goal. The national popular vote interstate compact. 17 states have signed on providing 209 of the 270 needed. Everyone could check where their state stands on this solution:
Bill, I’ve been following their progress for awhile now and am disheartened to see efforts flagging, particularly in “red” states—those that mostly benefit from the current skewed mess. I keep hoping tho!
In 2016 I had to explain to my German genealogist why Hilary had not won and our Electoral College system. People who want a better system hate it, but it will not happen in the current political scene. We just explained the Electoral College again to our garden helper who hates it, but doesn't understand why it came to be. i think Jill Lepore in her book These Truths (history of the US) gives an excellent explanation of what was going on at the Constitutional Convention. Actually I recommend the whole book as a good recent history of the US. She calls Bill Clinton a rascal which really stuck with me.
Well, sure, the history of the electoral college system is interesting, but in the light of recent experience it seems to be denying us a real democracy. Also, political scenes can change rapidly sometimes. Ask the Tsars.
As for Bill Clinton, he was a very talented politician, a smart, likeable guy, and a breath of fresh air after Ronny Raygun. He was also -- maybe still is -- the best straight faced liar among recent Presidents. Much better than Trump, who hasn't figured out that lies work best when framed by a bit of truth. Bubba would have made him roadkill.
Yes, it is denying us a democracy, but the Electoral College was a way of addressing an elephant in the room and there is no reason why people should not know why it exists. It is frustrating. I don't see the fact that we have an electoral college changing anytime soon except with a revolutionary upheaval of some kind. I would even argue here that the Russian Revolution really hasn't turned out be much of a revolution at all since oligarchs rule. I agree that Bill is a straight faced liar and I thought Lapore's calling him a rascal has merit. He may be smart, but he has been very foolish and maybe arrogant in thinking he could get away with some of the sexual escapades. I have always thought the people, know his proclivities, sent Monica in. Then there are the pictures of him with Epstein which are disturbing.
It seems impossible because the Republicans have been plotting the takeover of state legislatures and local governments for over 35 years. It seems impossible but the Democrats could reverse this trend by targeting first the swing states and then move on to the red states. The states with super majorities may seem "impossible" but picking off the most vulnerable districts and getting Democrat governors elected would be a good place to start.
Democrats have to play the long game instead of dwelling on the current election. This starts with the 2024 election where we all need to support the Democrat and Independent candidates for ALL elected positions.
You're correct Anne-Louise. But we can't get distracted after the election with trying to keep up on current events. The Democrats need to start working on taking back local politics right after the election.
The wild card is winning a trifecta, killing the filibuster, and enacting the JLVRAA, which will end the practice of partisan gerrymandering in the states…the tool of Operation REDMAP. THEN, we’ll see.
No doubt it’s a lot more complicated than it seems. I can’t imagine that abolishing the EC and going for direct voting would slide easily through the necessary procedures
Oh c'mon! "... invites corruption of every kind"??? No argument there is corruption but would you rather have our system or instead the one used in Russia? Or Hungary? Or Brazil?
Look, I have plenty of issues with our government but most of the real problems stem from the people not being informed enough and committed enough to care. When you have that kind of electorate it should be so surprising that there will be people who will try to take advantage. Overall I think we do a pretty good job at keeping the wolves at bay but we need continued vigilance.
But to dismiss everything as some compete and total invitation to corruption is really nonsense.
So many politicians are beneficiaries of our flawed system. Thomas Jefferson evidently thought he was entitled to the presidency. (He also had his own version of the Bible, where he cut out the parts he thought were unreal.) His hubris was extensive, but he was a Renaissance man of his day.
The winner take all system disenfranchises citizens. I am a blue dot in a red sea and often feel unrepresented. The congress critter who represents my district is a seditionist, David Rouzer, as is junior senator, Ted Budd. At one point, Rouzer thought he could adequately represent the 7th congressional district because he had a vacation home in the area. He “knew” coastal southeastern NC. He said as much. These people lie about who they really are.
Diana, an intermediate step that I believe would not require a constitutional amendment would be to pass a law stating that the allocation of electoral votes would be proportional to the vote in each state. While the number of electors per state would still remain, this would move us to a more proportional status so that those who vote for the less popular candidate in each state would have representation that they do not have with the current winner-take-all system.
that's what the National Popular Vote movement is trying to do. It would have to be by state law(s), not a federal law, though, because the states control their own elections, including for federal offices (within some limits, but this kind of thing is squarely in their power.)
John, unfortunately, the National Popular Vote movement would disenfranchise voters in each state who had not voted for the winner of the popular vote. I don’t see red states agreeing to this. My suggestion would not disenfranchise voters in each state that didn’t vote for the popular vote winner; it would allow voters in majority red or blue states to have representation in the electoral college. Of course, the winner of the popular vote should be the winner, but until the electoral college is replaced, it’s the only solution that stands a chance because the voters in each state that voted for the other guy would bring up lawsuits (imagine Texas voters who overwhelmingly vote for the Republican candidate having their votes going for the Democratic candidate).
--Benjamin Franklin's response to Elizabeth Willing Powel's question: "Well, Doctor, what have we got, a republic or a monarchy?" Franklin's reply: "A republic, if you can keep it." We were never a direct democracy. And what we have now is extremely unhealthy.
Why do I start getting a crick in my neck when the Electoral College is mentioned? It is just one more cog in the wheel for us to be concerned about. I have tried to convince myself that there is no way this is even a close race but then Ms. Lindsey shows up and all bets are off. If one vote makes a decision for 330 million people and it goes to Trump, we will not sit back like we did with Al Gore and just “accept” the outcome. It will not be pretty. SO, I have decided that Kamala will win by a landslide even with the obvious gerrymandering happening in these desperate states. We shalt not be driven back because as Kamala has repeated “When we fight, WE WIN!”
Robert Reich has a good layout of the National Popular Vote Interstate Compact. Why oh why did we not pay enough attention to get this done in time for November 5,2024. Gotta double down on GOTV in Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Nevada, North Carolina, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin.
We didn't pay attention because unfortunately there are two problems that are both almost impossible to overcome. First you need to get 51% of the electoral vote states to agree to it. As noted that has not happened and the GOP states are not in favor and they control more than half of the states at the legislative level. 77% is only 3/4 of the Democratic states. Virtually none of the GOP states will ever support this.
But even if it they did, there is literally NO way to enforce it. Any state that says they will adopt it can just as easily opt out if they decide that following it will cause their state to give votes to the opposing party that their voters didn't vote for. I explained this elsewhere and will do so again tomorrow here. But suffice it to say that as idealistic as the NPVIC sounds it is functionally useless in the one situation you need it to work, when one party wins the popular vote for President but loses the electoral vote. At that point every state who agreed to do this but whose voters voted the other way will withdraw (and there is no way to force them to NOT do this, it is after all a "compact" which by definition is a voluntary mechanism. )
So as much as I like Robert Reich and his ideas, this NPVIC is in my opinion neither going to ever be put into action and if it did, it won't work when it is needed most.
We need to amend the constitution but that will take a lot more time and effort. Right now my focus is winning this election despite the electoral college and winning the House and if at all possible the Senate.
Actually, I think it works if 51% of the Electoral VOTES are achieved. Not 51% of the states. Am I wrong? If 270 electoral votes are achieved, that's the story. Doesn't matter what states they come from. Right?
Not sure a state can withdraw from a law on a whim. If the LAW says the votes must go to the winner of the popular vote, then so be it.
You are correct about the 51% of the votes, not the states so it is possible to effect the NPVIC with fewer than 51% of the states. In fact if the ten biggest states all agreed to do this I think you have the 270 votes you need (I might be off by a states or two but it's definitely fewer than 51% of the states). But of course 51% of the electoral votes of the fewest involved states would still require big states which are both red and blue and so far none of the big red states (Texas, Florida) have signed up and I don't they ever will. This is NOT an idea being sorted by the GOP as it is clearly designed to try to keep them from winning elections by a minority of the popular vote. But the principal remains the same.
As for withdrawing, all it would take is for a state to pass an emergency law and have it signed by its governor. Keep in mind these are individual laws of each state NOT a federal law. So each state is the master of its own destiny.
In most of these states, even the big ones like California which all have full time legislatures, this could be done in about two days after the November election. And of course if that is what the majority of the legislature and the governor want to do, they can do it.
So yes you are right, it's not completely "trivial" but keep in mind that there would be tremendous pressure on a state which had just voted for the "winner" by the electoral vote to NOT change its vote to the winner of the popular vote. Do you really think that Texas, assuming they ever agreed to do this (which I doubt they will) would want to change their vote in the electoral college from Trump to Harris? Ditto California in reverse? Is just not going to happen.
No, even if you can actually get states representing 51% of the electoral vote to support the NPVIC, in the real world when push comes to shove it will fall apart. Personally I believe it should fall apart because it is really an anti democratic measure in terms of each seperate state. We are still a government of states when it comes to Presidential elections as much as that seems contradictory to do much else in America.
I support the idea of the NPVIC but I think the approach taken is wrong. This should be done properly by changing the way we elect presidents via the constitution not by making an end run around our laws even if they are currently screwed up.
Good information, Jon, and thanks for it, but methinks there have already been so many “end runs” around voting integrity (gerrymandering, overturning voting rights legislation, etc) is why the NPVIC was conceived of in the first place. I also have wondered if states would balk at implementing it, as you mention.
As for justifying the NPVIC "because they did it too " (i.e. gerrymandering, etc) that is really a red herring. Most of the end runs by the GOP were legal albeit terrible legislation. We will need to reverse all that crap of course in the end, but it doesn't in my mind justify a misguided and probably unenforceable approach to solving the real problems. Nor is "well they did it" a good excuse for emulating "them". I never let my kids use that nonsense as an excuse, I don't like seeing adults do it either.
Well first you need to get states representing 51% of the electoral votes to agree. Thus far only states representing about 39% have passed an enabling law. And they have had four years to do so. The likelihood of it happening is growing dimmer. Even some democratic leaning states have refused to do so.
I just think all the NPVICers are wasting their time focused on something that is unlikely to ever happen and even if it did is unlikely to be successful..
But go ahead knock your brains out. I just believe it is important to explain the truth. When people say "well how could a state withdraw if it was a law" it is obvious they have no idea how it really would work and I feel it is important and appropriate to explain the complications so maybe they can understand. I hope that makes sense.
For most of my 75 years, I have been a student and teacher of American History. Today's Letter is the clearest and most concise explanation of our complex system of choosing a President. Let the word go forth that HRC's Letter should be reproduced and placed in every classroom in our divided states of America. This Letter is much more important than posting ten commandments in classrooms. Bravo, HCR, you have done it again!
Let's not overlook HOME-SCHOOLERS..!!! And, while we are still at it, increase emphasis on public education. It should not be left up to "the States" to jack the curriculum around to suit perceived religious "ideals". But, it certainly needs to be wholesome providing for fundamental needs, literacy being the objective. Ignorance has a consequence. To me, homeschooling has been the result of this "ignorance". And, it's not the solution. Only a excuse for the absence of leadership we seem to be struggling with. Our current political climate has exposed some real doozies.
👍 HCR’s SubStack is my late late night, or early morning online classroom! I always learn so much from her, as well as the contributions of thoughtful commenters.
I still don’t understand it (the electoral college). How does The House number of 435 and Senate of 100 get electors distributed in each state? (Plus the 3 for Washington DC). In other words why does each state get to have “x” number of electors (whatever that number is for each state).
I am and always have been baffled by the electoral college. I’m not even sure what it is much less how a President is elected by 270 of its members vs the majority of the 380 million people in our country, (aka the popular vote). The adage “one man, one vote” (one person, one vote) is meaningless in our current system yet we are a “democracy”. Huh?!?
Thank you for expressing that. I don't have anything like those kind of credentials but support that this letter is greatly educational & important to understand. If we can understand how we got here, we can find how to go forward rather than being resigned to our system being being manipulated again us.
HCR: Thanks for the surgical analysis of the history of the Electoral College in U.S. politics and its potential impact on the U.S. General Election on 11/05/2024!
Yes, she is outstanding at deconstructing current events in a historical perspective.
Alas, she is preaching to choir on this thread. We need her educating the masses that either don’t vote or that are susceptible to Republican lies and false promises, but otherwise are potential pro democracy votes.
Instead, we have an oligarch (Musk) that bought the largest social media outlet, doing so with money contractually given to him by the representative government he attacks, opening it up to dispensing lies and disinformation that threatens Constitutional democracy.
Heather, may I suggest a few topics (including the above) for future letters?
The history of the Fairness Doctrine and how its resurrection could combat the lies and disinformation.
How demographics and targeted state and local political efforts could turn some of the largest red states blue.
Alec, I have often referred to this as LFAA University. I learn something new about US history every time the Professor churns out one of these Letters, and I consider myself slightly above average in my knowledge of US History. I also view the "after lecture gathering" of us students as part of that learning process.
I appreciate TC as well, and love the things I learn from him, along with Lucian Truscott IV. They add elements that are outside the Professor's wheel house. Then there's Timothy Snyder, and his books "On Tyranny" and the new one, "On Freedom". For my roughly $300 annual "tuition" I am learning so much that I never was exposed to before reading them.
Ally, love “LFFA Univ”! I, too, have long felt it is my late night online school! Kinda wish all the commenters really could hang out together and discuss the day’s course content!
Wondering how much $ is involved here…with so few to convince, to vote one way or the other, it seems likely that these few electoral votes can be bought. This question of corruption is tne reason the anonymous popular vote should surely carry more weight for determining the winner.
Well so far all states allocate their electoral votes based on the popular vote in their states. Until 2020 there was no apparent effort in any previous election in the 20th and 21st centuries to village that. It was Trump who started it all with his nonsensical "Stop the Steal" campaign to overturn the relatively clear decision of the voters. As long as the state election apparatus works in the swing states, $$ can't do too much damage as it would require each state to switch ALL of its votes from one candidate to the loser since except in Nebraska and New Hampshire (neither of which are "swing states") where district allocation of electors occurs.
It's funny but in that sense "winner take all" elections which would generally be considered anti democratic actually help prevent too much mischief. Apportioned elections as in Nebraska and New Hampshire actually would allow a loser to try to pick up one district vote at a time, something a lot easier to accomplish.
The real fear is states using their legislatures to create statewide havoc and delay. I think this election is going to see more of that. Hopefully we will be ready to fight it.
THANK YOU for the correction! I should have known that our at least double checked it myself. It's late (2 am) but no good excuse. I did know it was "one of the those New England states" 🙃
There are a lot of depressed democratic voters in the R states who do not vote. Small d, big D. That is by design, and by frustrated history, and because D money doesn’t get through to potential voters, and because . . . I don’t know why. . .
We are running against actual traitors. Yet.
Mike Johnson was not elected. He ran unopposed in 2022, and he is running unopposed again. Again! That happens all over our country. The DNC has to change that if it wants real enthusiasm, and if it wants my big contribution, when my ship comes in.
The current occupant of the governor’s office in Louisiana received about 1 in 6 of the eligible votes. This was reported as ‘51%’. The prior governor was a Democrat. ( What happened?! )
The current occupant of the governor’s office in Texas received 1 in 5 of the eligible votes. This was reported as ‘55%’. You know what that has meant.
Missouri and Kansas are better, in the 1 in 3 range. That is still not real democracy. I’m working on more numbers.
There are no uncontested races in Florida which is a big deal ! In 2022, 49% of registered Dems voted compared to 64% of GOP. FL Dem Chair, Nikki Fried,is doing all she can to make sure we don’t have a repeat.In her interview with Scott Dworkin, she talks about the Dems incredible ground game here…..and the Republicans lack of. GOTV everyone ! ✍️📲🏃🏻♀️💲🪧👕🛒
Sorry this is mostly nonsense. First of all in most if not all of the states you mention, most of the voters not voting were R not D. Most of them don't vote because they don't need to vote. It has definitely gotten closer in recent years but still to imply that somehow if turnout increased that a D would win is just ignoring the facts.
As for people running unopposed that's not their fault (and trust me I HATE Mike Johnson so it pains me to defend him at all). The reason no one opposed Mike Johnson is that they are going to lose! And basically few people are willing to invest that much time let alone money in a campaign they can NOT win. To say or suggest that means Mike Johnson wasn't elected is just stupid sophistry. Come up with REAL arguments and I will listen to you. Throw around nonsensical irrelevant opinions and I will politely ignore you.
The prior governor was a Democrat. That shows that the non voting bloc is not overwhelmingly R.
Giving up early, ‘obeying in advance,’ is the most frustrating practice of progressive orgs for me, and I hear it from many others.
Words matter. Saying ‘Mike Johnson was not elected’ summarizes the situation and fires up a conversation better than two pages of discussion imho.
The DNC needs to show up for unlikely districts because 1) it’s not just about this year and 2) a candidate and volunteers in a losing district are the best and cheapest campaign staff the candidates up the ballot could hope for.
Jess Piper, Michele Hornish, and a number of lithe standouts I am just finding out about are pressing this effort forward, with actual fund raising. Kudos to them! And kudos to Harris-Walz for sending money down ballot, though it needs to be several times more. I’m just trying to help with my little bits.
Much better. I like your comments when they aren't designed to inflame but rather to inform. You might not care about how I feel but I urge you to consider how others feel. Inflammatory arguments are us going low not high.
Very interesting statistic, how many of the eligible voters instead of actual voters voted for a candidate.
Perhaps there should be a minimum percentage of eligible voters having to vote for a candidate to be confirmed as the winner especially for an uncontested seat.
Since nobody voted for Mike Johnson in 2022 (he ran unopposed), should that be pointed out to Trump and all Republicans who said Harris didn't get any primary votes?
With a little over a month left in the presidential campaign, there are several actions that can be taken to deter cheating or unethical maneuvers like attempting to change electoral rules:
- Legal Challenges: File lawsuits to block last-minute changes to electoral laws that seem designed to favor one party. Courts can be powerful tools in maintaining the integrity of the electoral system, especially if changes violate established state or federal laws.
- Media Exposure: Use media and social platforms to raise awareness of any attempts to manipulate the electoral process. Highlighting these tactics can create public backlash, increasing scrutiny on those pushing for last-minute rule changes.
- Mobilize Voters: Encourage widespread voter turnout, especially in key districts. A high voter turnout can counteract efforts to skew election results through gerrymandering or winner-take-all systems.
- Pressure Campaigns: Organize public pressure on state legislators or governors through petitions, protests, or direct lobbying to oppose such changes. Politicians may reconsider if they face significant pushback from their constituents.
- Coalition Building: Work with bipartisan organizations and election integrity groups to ensure that election rules remain fair and to hold those attempting to cheat accountable. Bringing together a broader coalition can strengthen the push for fairness.
- Promote Voting by Mail or Early Voting: Encourage voters to vote early or by mail, especially in states where Republicans may attempt to limit voter access at the polls. Ensuring more people cast their ballots early can reduce the effectiveness of any last-minute manipulations.
My Democrats Abroad Germany region is announcing when we get our ballots online and what state. I live in Illinois, a state where I may get my ballot emailed to me, but I have to print it and mail it back. We got ours from Illinois last night. I also saw that Texas, California, New Mexico, North Carolina, Florida, New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Ohio did. One person from Ohio complained that, "there‘s an anti-gerrymandering issue on the ballot, which the Republicans don‘t want, so the Republican SoS put language on the ballot that is the most brazenly slanted partisan bull---- I‘ve ever seen. It takes up over half a page on the ballot, shot through with what could have been Fox News talking points. I‘d heard about it, because of course the Republican state Supreme Court decided this week that they could use the language. This is one of those times when I expected something bad, and still I‘m shocked when I actually see it." So, we are waiting to hear from other states today. All Voters Abroad emailed ballots must be received by September 21. That is the law. My precinct captain has been going over all of the links for all of the states, and notifying the people in charge if there are any errors. Let us hope they all get straightened out. I will be speaking in Northern Germany tomorrow on Project 2025. I agree with vote early. I am going to be guiding my daughter aged 19, and niece age 20, and nephews 23 and 26 in making sure they get out and vote early. My daughter has been sharing information with her friends. Unfortunately several of them have just transferred out of swing states back home to our Blue state for college. She is voting from Germany.
Linda, I live in Illinois and read two Illinois newspapers daily. I am amazed that I haven't heard about the anti-gerrymandering issue on the ballot. Perhaps the reason is that, as Robert Reich's recent video explains, private equity is buying out the media. Nevertheless, how have the Republicans worded the issue to mislead the voters? We need to get the word out in a hurry.
The anti-gerrymandering issue is only in Ohio. A lot of papers are doing a good job talking about SOS LaRose's scam (also the amazing David Pepper), but the Senate election in particular is sucking up a lot of commercial air time that we need to deconfuse this blatant screw of the people. This issue against gerrymandering should be an easy bipartisan win and LaRose/DeWine know it. Also the threat to Springfield from Vance/Trump lies is very distracting right now to people, and rightfully so. Vote Yes Ohio #1 no matter what!
Yes!! The state ballot board, led by LaRose, changed the language on the issue to say the amendment would CAUSE gerrymandering, when it is really AGAINST gerrymandering. And the Republican led Supreme Court agreed!
Lol. That's why I didn't hear about it in Illinois. I still want to know about it because it is a good idea. You should see the Illinois Congressional map.
The Nebraska issue is very worrisome because we may very well come down to a single electoral college vote. It looks like one member of the Nebraska state legislature - which is unicameral meaning they only have one body, not two like all the other states - a former democrat named Mike McDonnell is holding out from making this change to a winner take all system to their electoral college allocation, which is by district at present. Anyone reading this who is concerned, I encourage you to write to state Senator McDonnelll (they call them senators, there are no representatives) and ask him to hold his ground. I saw a news report suggesting he may be wavering.
An article I read in the Nebraska Examiner pretty much says the same thing. I’m from Oregon and not familiar with that paper or its slant so I can’t say if their perspective is accurate or not but the quote was pretty much that he was “trying to find a way to yes”. I assume he’s still capable of basic speech so I interpreted that to mean $.
The polls are NOT counting new voter registrants … many of whom are female & skew young. And I have felt for a while ( just listen to Simon Rosenberg and Tom Bonier!) that polls are seriously “under-including” women in general who are not only enthused — they are ENRAGED.
Plus there are more women than men: in North Carolina for example it’s 95:100 men to women. Women already are slightly more reliable voters.
So I think we’re going to be surprised. Some pleasantly and some …. Not so much.
This is not government by the consent of the governed any longer. And if Trump breaks the constitution and rules as a dictator if elected, I am wondering how long the electorate will put up with it. I can foresee horrible scenarios of all sorts in a Trump II administration: women dying by the score from lack of reproductive care. Humanitarian catastrophe (and the attempt to hide it in cruel and brutal ways) if the Trump deportation of 10 million and the concentration camps of Stephen Miller, the Goebbelsesque "poison dwarf" of Trumpism, are realized; general economic hardship as families see wealth drained from onerous tariffs. The list goes on and on and on.
As far as I am concerned, Trump abrogating the constitution will itself constitute a form of secession - in fact, I think it should be obviously self-evident to all that this is indeed the case. Then all bets are off. The constitution will be a dead letter - unless the blue states stand together and frame the conflict that will surely arise as one in which it is the red, not the blue states, that have left the union with their rejection of the constitution and the law, their rejection of democracy and republicanism.
Because it is the GOP that has seceded from the Union through their embrace of a tyrant, their embrace of lawlessness, and above all their rejection that the legitimacy of any government Americans have lived under by tradition and law, rests on the consent of the majority of the governed. I myself would hope for an amicable divorce, but I'm afraid the situation is going to become very grim should Harris lose.
Loved the phrase Goebbelesque "poison dwarf" LOL! I still love the irony of Stephen, a devout Jew, being associated with and identified as something Goebbelesque.
One can only assume that Stephen will be "surprised" just like the Hitler-supporting Jews were in the 30s when they ALL were rounded up and sent to Auschwitz. "Hey, it's nothing personal, but you guys are, after all, Jews." Yeah Stephen Miller, Trump will still be thrilled that you helped him win but don't worry, he will have a gas chamber with your name on it too.
Steve, women have begun dying. The spectre of secession is rearing its ugly head, and I am afraid that secession would be the only way to amend the US Constitution in the direction of democracy rather than authoritarianism.
Sadly Ally I don't think secession will ever play out in the US. There is too much history associated with it going back of course to the Civil War. We will succeed together or go down together.
Jon, it’s long been a tug-of-war….just risen (yet again) to a fever pitch in recent years. I’ve posted here in the past this study by the Nationhood Lab of the Pell Center at Salve Regina College & seems fitting to do so again given the comments: https://nationhoodlab.org/a-balkanized-federation/
Is there any way, if Harris wins and the Democrats regain control of both the Senate and Congress, that the laws for voting could be changed to the same as the ones in Australia? In Australia, everyone must vote or they will be fined. One vote for each person. It is illegal not to vote. Can America ever clean up the deceit and corruption in politics, or is “deceit and corruption” the definition of politics?
Pretty much anything can be done or changed but it takes votes in Congress and Presidential support. Right now I think such a mandatory voting law wouldnt have much of a chance. Also voting in the United States is mostly controlled by the state (unlike Australia where it is mostly controlled by the federal government) so I am not sure how many states would actually impose such laws. And as a very evenly divided nation, unless there was massive national support such an idea would almost never fly.
Size matters. With under 30 million in population, Australia has an easier (less costly) way of effecting a mandated vote policy. I'm in Denmark, with five million in population, which means that fining and collecting on fines would be so simple to do. I'm not sure how it is carried out in Australia, but I'll wager LOTS that carrying out fines and collection in the US would be useless.
That is an awesome system. You gotta hope everyone educates themselves on the candidates and issues before they vote. At least here, a certain percentage of people who don’t vote likely shouldn’t because they don’t inform themselves. But who am I fooling— that is true of too many people who DO vote…
Some day, a historian and psychiatrist will work together to explain what truly happened to men like Graham, who served with Joe Biden in the Senate and who originally saw Trump for exactly who and what he was.
How about when manipulating personal fears and venalities expressly lets the powerful manipulate all?
As in Springfield, Ohio, where “they” are eating people’s cats and dogs. Stealing geese from the park.
We can learn to fear (yes, Hunter Thompson) and loathe “them” as that so nicely perverts the personal. So all MAGA sinks now to only the most personally skank memes, tropes, narratives.
That’s all on the front end, brought to us by hero of “The Apprentice,” plus hero of “Hillbilly Elegy.” Larger, on the back end, for public policy, apprentices and lackeys of the billionaires have Project 2025.
The personal / the public always gets thus split. My favorite of this: from “21 Reasons Why Japanese Men Suck (A Book Review) by Ms. Kaori Shoji” (The Japan Times).
It was a 2013 book she agreed to review, thanks to its coy title. Right off starting it she saw both author and book as “dead on arrival,” yet could toy with the author’s pretentions (a Japanese male academic) – till she got to how the author “tries to link a heavily political issue (Japan’s alarming birth rate decline) to the personal and intimate terrain of dating and sex.”
Kaori Shoji knows not to skew public policy issues (like birth rate decline) merely to the personal. She also knows Japan’s patriarchy 1) refuses anywhere near needed funds for daycare; 2) penalizes professional women for having babies (most can never return to their professions); and 3) deadens all schools so none ever questions anything.
All gets skewed: U.S., Japan – wherever schools get engineered to fail the personal, but so further our public policy nihilist rich., who, as Heather shows today, are still at it.
She's wickedly funny. For the puffed-up guy who wrote the book she reviewed, she reserves ironically formal English, fit to his own high pretensions (so totally void of any common sense).
You can find hers online just by putting into your search engine “21 Reasons Why Japanese Men Suck (A Book Review) by Ms. Kaori Shoji.”
Trump will win no matter how many postcards I write to get out the vote for Dems or how many dollars I donate. But I'll keep writing those postcards and donate myself into debt, no longer out of hope but out of duty.
Duty is the enactment of loyalty. Sometimes just daily placing one foot in front of another becomes an act of heroism 🐈⬛ 💙The world will not end if Trump is re elected. Even if he isn’t, the MAGA movement, the Heritage Foundation and their treacherous global oligarchy enablers will continue their attacks on social justice and rule of law. This US election is a single battle in a war for Enlightenment informed politics.
I do not need to imagine it. One of my life’s painful epiphanies is that even the darkest of enacted evils personally suffered whenever exposed in the light does nothing to rectify the wounds that have been inflicted. It simply lifts the burden of silencing calumny off of the targeted and leaves them with the embodied wisdom that survival is never about winning. Simply continuing to live, endure and help others less fortunate as best you can, is all.
So, if Trump is made the world’s latest depraved Demagogue in November, that is the best survival advice I have to give 🐈⬛💙
- Pulled Quote -
''Two days later, on September 18, Senator Lindsey Graham (R-SC) skipped votes in the Senate to travel to Nebraska, where he tried to convince state legislators to switch the state’s system of allotting electoral votes by district to a winner-take-all system.''
What is another word for cheater?
Speak up. Speak out. Vote.
- Swindler
- Fraudster
- Conman
- Phony
Idiot.
Liar.
Creep.
Ooh sorry I was NOT referring to NIxon's 1972 election committee with that last one. Lol. 🙃
- Republican
In my mind, there is no longer a Republican Party. What Trump leads is MAGA/KKK, the term I favor for them. Republicans, even the right-wingers such as Dick and Liz Cheney, have separated themselves from MAGA/KKK. There is the Libertarian Party that they and other Conservatives may ultimately join, but they haven't in this election cycle. We should remember that it was the Conservative oligarchs that got us into this fix with their campaigns of disinformation and misinformation through Fox, Newsmax, OAN, Rush Limbaugh, Alex Jones and other outlets, that led ordinary Americans to vote in favor of not taxing the oligarchs and plundering us into an unconscionable national debt. This, too, threatens the stability of the nation.
What bothers me most is that the "traditional" Republicans have by and large quit the party out of fear of being "primaried" by the RepubliKKKans. Liz Cheney is the only one who had the courage to run, and although she was defeated, is still a political force.
Amen Liz Cheney🇺🇸
MAGA.
MAZA.
MAZI.
NAZI!
Right.
Yeah but don't forget how many Neoliberals like Clinton and even Obama to some extent supported this. It certainly falls mostly on the Tea Party GOP but the 1990s Democrats have to share some of the blame. They were as they often were asleep while the foxes raided the hen house.
And this is why I no longer call them by any name other than Republicans. Hook, line, and sinker - they've bought into it, or have abdicated responsibility for it.
I've been trying to figure this out too and come to some conclusions. But I do see the evolution from Reagan and his gang to the present greed driven crime organization that still calls itself the Republican Party.
Libertarians are almost worse than republicans....
Unindicted co -conspirator in the GA case.
Seditionist.
Per the "Coloroado Newsline" this morning, ALL measures that will appear on the Colorado ballot have been posted for CO Voters.
Per the FBI, a "white powder" that was sent to the Colorado Secretary of State was 'harmless'. Hmmm, time to update the list of States that have been hit by that Voter Suppression tactic:
Let's see, in alphabetical Order, Iowa, Kansas, Nebraska, Oklahoma & Wyoming. Oklahoma still 🎶 looks mighty, mighty pretty 🎶.
Secessionist
J L Graham, Bang Boom Mic Drop
Mmmmmm! Bingo!
The list of pejoratives is long that describe tRump et al.
CREEP was the unofficial name for the Nixon fund raising Committee to Re-Elect (CRP), but then my old party types liked it enough to make it official according to:
https://billmoyers.com/2012/04/13/nixon-creep-and-watergate-they%E2%80%99re-baaacck/
"...CREEP was what everyone called Nixon’s 1972 fundraising committee, despite their futile efforts to make us act like grown-ups and use its official acronym, CRP, or simply, “the Committee to Re-Elect.” But CREEP was just too irresistible, especially given the perpetual, political cartoon stereotype of Nixon as a hunched-over, skulking stalker with five o’clock shadow, and the ever-mounting real evidence of break-ins, bag men and other assorted dirty tricks.
The new CREEP is based out of a post office box at the Watergate office, apartment and shopping complex, “an inside joke with a serious punchline,” ProPublica’s Kim Barker writes. “The old CREEP… helped spur the creation of the FEC. The website for CREEP Super PAC says it’s committed ‘to raising voices not dollars’ and advocates disclosure. From the ProPublica article:
“It’s an excellent chance for people to step back and say, “Are we happy with 40 years of campaign finance and the lack of disclosure?”’ said Robert Lucas, 22, founder of the new CREEP and a graduate student in public policy at Georgetown University. ‘There’s a lot of irony, with the 40th anniversary of Watergate and where we are now.”
Where we are now, thanks to the Supreme Court’s Citizens United and other decisions, is 324 Super PACs registered with the FEC, of which only half or so actually have raised or spent money. But the ones that have are living large. According to the Center for Responsive Politics, so far, super PACs aligned with presidential candidates have spent a whopping $80,773,876, and The New York Times notes, “The big money in presidential politics is about to get a whole lot bigger...”
I left in 1996 (same as Elizabeth Warren), me because they ramped up the disgusting applications of the Newt Gingrich/Frank Luntz GoPac memo, "Language: A Key Mechanism of Control" and shunning of any who socialized with Democratic legislators.
I was confused by reporting that Nebraska and Maine were the only two states without winner take all since Hawaii had 3 electors for Hillary/Kaine instead of 4 in 2016. It turns out it seems a frustrated "faithless" Elector cast 1 vote for Bernie Sanders/Elizabeth Warren.
(All our donations had gone to Sanders and Warren, but we did back Clinton and Kaine later and voted for them, too.)
More important, let’s examine why there are groups of voters who have no interest in voting fore the candidate who will sponsor programs to help them. No, they are revenge voting. Why? We might speculate that there is a racial element to consider. That white people are distraught at being called privileged. Maybe. Add to this that Trump exploits the insecurities of those most likely to vote for him. The fiasco in Ohio over a group of legal residents who were falsely accused of eating pets. That’s par for the historical past during elections. And it ties neatly in the border problems in which Biden gave scant interest in until late in his administration. Trump uses a mafia like mentality as a kind and benevolent creature which he isn’t. So I agree that his chances are strong. It’s truly a toss-up.
And now to add to the inequality, social media mixed with AI, foreign interference, corrupting the minds of young children and creating major splits in our body politic and there you have a divide and conquer in place ripe for exploitation. Sorry I don’t have great news for the cheerleader section.
Bill, did you miss the part where Biden committed to signing a bipartisan "Border Bill" that was defeated in the House via clearly stated instructions from Trump?
"Don't give Biden a victory."
Biden has tightened the border. Biden has actually restricted the number of asylum seekers and the crossings are down. I don't agree with that because we are desperate for hard working immigrants. But nonetheless, he HAS NOT been giving "scant interest" to the border issue.
The blame for the continuing challenges at our southern border lies with Trump and House Republicans. THEY put politics and their own lust for power over border security. That bill included money for better processing of legitimate immigrants, more border personnel to control the numbers and millions for improved technology to detect fentanyl (most of which is being transported through official border crossings by Americans!).
Bill, if Americans are blaming Democrats for the border issues, it's because they don't know the FACTs. Let's all work on that. As to the pet eating incident, I look forward to Walz mopping the floor with Vance (October 1 debate) as he calls him out for creating chaos and havoc in a town that HE represents. Walz will SHAME him.
The immigrant story has been totally flipped in our favor now. Even the Republican Governor Mike DeWine has condemned the accusations against the legal Haitian immigrants who he explains have helped rebuild the economy in a region hurting for industrial workers. He praised their work ethic.
Without immigrants, we would have food shortages, hospitality businesses would collapse. Our elderly would be unattended in facilities and at home. Houses won't be built, roofs won't be repaired or replaced....the list is very long.
Let's spread the word. We ALL come from immigration. It is our strength as a nation.
Bill, a good friend of mine died this year in a care home. She had late-stage dementia; I visited her on the “memory care” floor, where every staff person was from Ethiopia. I never in my life saw more caring staff. It was obvious that they loved these elderly people and they assisted each one as if she/he was a grandparent. I donate the apartment below me in my duplex to refugees and I now have an Ethiopian family downstairs. The 12yo son calls me grandma (in Swahili) and the mother constantly looks for ways to do chores that I can no longer do. She told me: “It’s my culture. Big people help people who are needing it.”
If only we Americans could be so generous and kind.
You must have missed the 80s 😀.
The decade when the whole country moved from the "Ask not what your country can do for you" mentality to the "me! me!" mentality. Leftover Ronald Reagan stuff. We are still suffering from all of that today. Sigh...
I remember those years well. I thought I would never feel despair more deeply than when Reagan was elected. Boy was I wrong.
I was too stoned at the time in the 1980s.
Marge, Agree with you. My 89 yo mo suffered from Parkinson’s disease before her death. Her favorite caregiver was a kind and caring male immigrant working in her assisted living facility. Trump, Vance, and others who demonize immigrants will never get my vote for any office. We are a country of immigrants and let us never forget it.
Thank YOU…. THAT/This is US…. And I mean ALL of us…. We were ALL immigrants…. We do know who the “natives” are and we treat them dreadfully…. How very lovely for all of YOU….
We are and I could give some examples, but the media culture was seized by narcissism. Cultivating narcissism is tool for maximizing profit. Profit, in and of itself is not a bad thing when it;s "square deal" reciprocity. I see a lot of that with genuine small businesses, transactions often conclude (and I have been on both sides) with the vendor and the customer feeling genuine gratitude for one another. We all of necessity pursue self interest, but we also are endowed with a capacity for empathy, even kindness when our training calls that forward. Friedman's "The only corporate social responsibility a company has is to maximize its profits." has the tail wagging the dog, and is a recipe for social sociopathy; a society consumed by hubris and hate.
See, I try to resist this stuff here because although it is spot on with my personal viewpoint I also understand that it makes many people, even those who agree with me on things like who should be elected, very uncomfortable. Denying the "greatness" of the corporate mentality is tantamount to heresy for many in this country. Believe me I have been called a "dirty commie" many times in my life. It's a badge I always wore proudly until I started realizing how much it cost me in terms of influencing people. Sigh...
This made me happy, Bibi! I visited Tanzania three times while my son and his family lived there. At the market, I was Bibi Jude. Our first grandson is Jude, who lived there until he was three. 💙
But DeWine has said he will of course vote for tfg because DeWine is and has been a republican. That completely undercuts his purported concern for Springfield and its residents.
Party over country, the dark side of politics!
De Wine says that. Maybe he is protecting himself from MAGAts. But it would of course be better if he stood up to them for all to see.
We are all either immigrant or of immigrant ancestors and have a history of being anti immigrants. Go figure.
And many of us consider ourselves Christian, or of other faiths, or even no religious faith but follow the "Golden Rule"--and yet are quite the hypocrites.
Go figure.
Indeed…. And THEN , we have Heather and her readers and responders!
AND the many people who are responding positively to Harris. They are sick and tired of the chaos, greed, meanness, racism, misogyny, violence, ignorance, and utter disregard for our laws, norms, and democracy. Many of us also are shocked by the cowardice and apparent death of the GOP as we’ve known it. There are many reasons why Harris is filling stadiums.
This border was an ignored problem for almost 3 years only when he saw his numbers go down did he begin to address it. During that time, I used to think I wonder when he’s going to do something, anything. So he eventually sent Harris on a thankless mission while still ignoring the millions rushing the border. He did nothing.
Oh, get a grip. Harris was sent to Central America to help mitigate the CAUSES off migration pressure LONG before the past year — YOU are either not paying attention or are purposely telling lies. Harris’s work bore fruit, too, as did work with getting Mexico to slow the rush of migrants to the border, actually cutting down the numbers during this administration, though conditions that spur migration continue, INCLUDING A CHANGING CLIMATE that will be made far worse with the Republican commitment to DRILL DRILL DRILL.
Seriously, get a grip … Just stop carrying water for the liars.
Ignore Bill Katz. He is troll on immigration, replacement for John Schmeegle who was chased of and has ended up on Threads; his substack, The Planets Speak is cetifiable.
Surprisingly I have to support Bill here. I just think you misunderstood his comments.
Hello. I have a good grip. The few potential solutions are to create a Marshall like plan to help build and stabilize Central America. I have a good grip on current and the historical and this dates to the ancient cultures so cut it out, Yo Sisterina. And my focus is not me being anti immigrant but winning elections.
Good reason to vote for tRump?
There is no good reason to vote for Trump.
To quote Trump "you're fired!" 🙃
And losses in many fields that besides hand labor. My grandparents on both sides were immigrants. Kamala Harris's parents were immigrants., her mother a biologist and her father an economist.
We all come from immigration..... except the indigenous peoples who were here to greet the explorers when they "discovered" land the Europeans reportedly believed was India. We descendants of immigrants shamefully took over most of the land, sometimes by conquest, sometimes by treaties that we have broken, and by making indigenous people move to "reserves", which usually was land no one else wanted because it was a swamp or a place with poor soil. This needs to change. First there must be truth before there can be reconciliation. Only one of the two political parties will ever work towards truth or reconciliation. Just one more reason to vote blue.
I think Bill was saying that Biden ignored the border until late in his administration (i.e. until this year or late last year). He actually kind of flip flopped from a more "open border" approach when he saw (a) it wasn't working well and (b) he was losing support because of it. Of course in the end he is out anyway, but the point is still valid.
Biden didn’t ignore the border. If he’d issued an Executive Order on the border it could be easily reversed by an incoming Republican president. Laws are harder to change. Biden left the responsibility where it belonged.
He tried to, but my old party wanted to make it cost him no matter which path he chose.
After WWII we, though the Marshall Plan, established safer and sustainable conditions that really helped prevent the creation of massive of waves of refugees trying to flee famine and victimization by their own governments (without creating massively more powerful enemy nations).
What else should we expect if some (on either side) carelessly sets fire to the homes and lively hoods of people where they had expected conditions no worse than milder natural disasters?
Ye who hath little memory. Biden ignored the border as hundreds of thousands rushed. How quickly some forget. When asked be his homeland secretary why now executive order, how blithely answered, “Because it wouldn’t hold up in Court.” Go ahead and look it up. I know what I’m talking about.
A poll released earlier this week by Scripps News/IPSOS, a pretty non-partisan source, reported that 54% of Americans support the mass deportation of 11+ million immigrants. That doesn't sound like a pro-immigration stance, it's downright scary. The Republican Party is long-dead. For the past 9 years, Donald Trump and his Fascist allies have built a huge following on the foundation of anti-immigrant hate led by reporter-in-chief Stephen Miller, an evil man. And Democrats, our only hope, have responded to this vicious hate campaign with resounding silence. Why? Because it might hurt their election prospects. The Biden Administration continues to frame the matter as a "border security" issue. It is NOT a border security issue, it is a HUMAN RIGHTS issue. Does anyone remember the word "compassion". Throughout our history, immigrants have contributed mightily to America's economic, cultural and social well being. America is, to a large extent, an immigrant nation, I am the son of immigrants who worked hard to assure that I would have a better life. Hearing this survey casts a sickness across my entire body. Is this what we have come to? Mass deportation? It reeks of Nazi Germany pre-World War II.Does these people really understand what hey are supporting.
I know we must support our Democrat leaders, they are our hope for survival, BUT that support includes calling them out when they are in the wrong place. We must speak the truth to power; this is my truth.
Thomas Frank in his 2004 book, "What's the Matter with Kansas?" delves into how the wealthy used wedge issues (abortion, women's rights advocates, gay rights advocates, immigration) to con ordinary Americans to vote against their own best economic and social interests. Then, two Univ. of Kansas professors researched and published their findings on who voted for Trump in the 2016 election and why. You can google it: "The Anger Games: Who Voted for Donald Trump in the 2016 Election and Why?" It was published in the Feb. 2018 edition of the peer-reviewed journal, Critical Sociology. I think that the abstract is now available on-line. I downloaded the full report while it was still available.
It seems to me that anger and hate are very tiring, even on the physical body. As naive as I may seem to be, I truly hope people are tired of anger, rage, hate, and vote for someone who at least speaks of moving America forward together. I hope people are weary of being manipulated, pitted against one another, and of being lied to regularly, just so the uber wealthy can get wealthier. There's nothing wrong in being rich. It's the greed, individual and corporate greed, that is stealing our humanity.
And beyond being tired - I think an awful lot of us are absolutely terrified that this old person with a failing mind could possibly become president again, but this time with a vp whose agenda could, if possible, be nastier than tffg's and someone who has no capacity for ethics, empathy, nor, apparently, any idea of how government is supposed to run - well, tffg doesnt either - that was obvious. And almost all of the political party behind him just going along for the ride AND the power!
My book club read Hillbilly Elegy when it became a sensation. I couldn’t even finish it because as a lifelong rural Tennessean, it did not ring true to me. I didn’t trust Vance’s story or him. My parents worked hard and made little money, and their parents were sharecroppers who were true Appalachians. Guess I was more perceptive than I knew.
Agree.
What contributes most to majorities of Republicanism particularly among non-college educated in the South and Mid-west: perhaps Fox News; family inherited white racism; plus standard TV commercials which use non-white actors representing the breath of our multi-racial society in virtually all commercials along with whites which serves to harden the racism that predominates in rural white areas as well as crowded lower income portions of cities nationwide! What do you think?
I miss Thomas Frank's writing so much. I don't know if he's retired or what, but if anyone has a line on where he is being published these days, please let me know.
A summary of the full report:
https://www.researchgate.net/profile/David-Smith-229/publication/336563996_Summary_and_Statistics_The_Anger_Games_Who_Voted_for_Donald_Trump_in_the_2016_Election_and_Why/links/5da5e454299bf1c1e4c35d55/Summary-and-Statistics-The-Anger-Games-Who-Voted-for-Donald-Trump-in-the-2016-Election-and-Why.pdf?origin=publication_detail&_tp=eyJjb250ZXh0Ijp7ImZpcnN0UGFnZSI6InB1YmxpY2F0aW9uIiwicGFnZSI6InB1YmxpY2F0aW9uRG93bmxvYWQiLCJwcmV2aW91c1BhZ2UiOiJwdWJsaWNhdGlvbiJ9fQ
"No, they are revenge voting."
Exactly! And that need for revenge began in 1954 with Brown v. Board. It was further aggravated by the civil rights legislation of the 60's, then it made Reagan's southern strategy a success, and it finally exploded during the terms of That Black President. It was just waiting for a face and a voice, which the Groper-in-Chief supplied.
Margaret-Yes-racism plays an outsized role on America’s development. It was one of the issues involved with establishment of the electoral college. Populations of the North and South were near equal except enslaved African Americans were only counted as 3/5 persons (even while being classified as property-not people) for representation purposes. However since they couldn’t vote the North would have more influence if there was a popular vote for president.
In 1957 conservative William F. Buckley wrote an article entitled “Why the South Must Prevail”. He argued that the White race was the most “advanced” race and the only ones who are qualified to govern.
This sentiment has prevailed and it’s regularly played out during elections. Consider voter suppression aimed at Black people’s votes. The SC declared that it’s all legal.
I don't know if you've caught some of Mr. Katz's comments about the aforementioned "wedge voting" as it pertains to gay and trans rights and the need for the Democratic party to divest itself from them; he was trumpeting them strongly several months ago. He has not tapped into the racial "wedge" but the lavender wedge is among his favorites to lambast.
LOL. Ally, I have absolutely no idea is this comment was supportive or critical of Katz! Please explain!
😜😜😜 why Ally, You go girl… I’m 10,000% supportive of rights of all people ( way before it became popular to support gender issues btw) just not balls in girls stalls. I continue to be a feminist supporter regardless of new frangled dangled dos. Comprende?
Plus consider the "lumpen proletariat." FT 6 new goal, raise another million dollars to reach out to 15 million people, and deliver 4.5 million new voters to swing states and districts!
https://www.fieldteam6.org/newsletter
Come on Bill Katz....Biden did not give scant interest to the border problem until the end of his administration. He sent Kamala Harris, early, (after the courts refused to allow him to continue COVID restriction on immigration) to address the core issues causing migrants to leave their countries. These efforts resulted in $5.2 billion in private investment promises to increase jobs and living conditions. The State Department reported that companies have plowed nearly $1.3 billion in the region as of June 2024, the bulk of it in Guatemala and Honduras. Migrants come to the US because they cannot survive in their own countries.
Do we need immigration reform and a greater investment in border courts and border security? Yes. But, only Congress can pass laws for immigration reforms. President Biden did the one thing he could do, while encouraging Congress to do the one thing they could do. He focused on solving root causes for migration and resolving root causes is the real solution (we can treat cancer symptoms or we can try to eliminate the cancer causing the symptoms...I know which path I would choose)...but apparently most people want performative and punitive measures.
Congress failed, so he did what he could...an executive order. Executive orders can be struck down by courts or incoming administrations. It's better for Congress to make laws...so the Supreme Court doesn't just make it up, which is why we have so very many bad Court decisions...Congress is not doing their job.
Please Bill, start taking about the nuances of issues, not the wide propaganda sweep.
He had but one option and if only showing he was on it, he could have made an executive order and didn’t.
He did make an executive order after Congress failed to pass the border bill...why are you ignoring the facts, the sequence of events? Do you do the same to yourself and family. When trying to solve a problem, belittling yourself for not understanding that those you are dealing with to solve a problem are not motivated to solve the problem? Or do you try another tactic that sidesteps the people who clearly don't want the problem solved?
I just don't understand why you keep hammering on this issue.
For almost 3 precious years, he did nothing. Gad.
My father and my husband's father, both blue collar, voted for Republicans their entire adult lives. They never met as one lived in the PNW and the other in the upper Midwest. Voting republican never helped them a bit.
But their argument, which was always in an angry tone to us kids, was that the Republicans were more patriotic, moral, fiscally responsible, pro-military (including veterans), anti-Russia, etc. They were all for Reaganomics, though it never trickled down to them. They were all for getting rid of inheritance and capital gains tax, hoping one day it would apply to them.
Both died in the late '90s. Would they have still voted GOP if they had lived to see the facade melt away from the party? Probably yes.
Bill-Your statement about a “racial element” is not speculation. You’re so right to point out that “distraught white people” are mostly the ones who are voting for DJT and the Rs.
Too many people don’t want to acknowledge the privilege of being White in America yet they cling to it by supporting the Rs (who are at least 90% white).
Their attack on Haitians is calculated. Racism is a tried and true method to keep Americans divided so we can be conquered.
When and if Trump orders the National Guard to open fire on protesters with live ammunition.....and he will do it people....his orange blood runs with hate and revenge....will the troopers drop their weapons or follow orders?
Orange is golfing.....being the full time bullshitter that he is to win the bullshit electoral college. Is there a counter milita being formed to fight back against the fascist takeover that the Orbanasslicker is banking on?
Boy, you can be a REAL bummer early in the morning Bill LOL. Couldn't you at least wait until I had breakfast? 🙃
Next time give me a heads up. I accommodate .
And normal, intelligent people consider him a suitsble candidate?????
Absolutely! Hate and fear are the strongest motivators.
“Those Who Can Make You Believe Absurdities Can Make You Commit Atrocities” - Voltaire
I think if you add the "otherwise" ahead of "normal" you're probably more accurate. I think that Frank Loomer's word "tribal" comes into play when I look at my retired law enforcement friends and spouses who are rock solid behind a convicted felon who stored classified documents (usually enough to get cops away from someone). I am not sure that their motivation is as much hatred of "other" as it is longing for an establishment of their "rightful" place at the top of the heap as white, cisgendered, heteronormative, Christian males (or their female spouses.
When the people on top of the hill see others attaining the same heights, they think they are sinking.
I agree, thank you!!!
No, they don't, you have to have a political infection, to favour Trump. He's a worse-case version of a teflon leader.
Are they in fact "intelligent?" I think that intelligence involves the ability to get past confirmation bias. Of course, if that's the test, there may be very few intelligent people in this world. But, still, given TFG's current mental condition, his history of lying, cheating, defaming and more, what compels them to ignore these factors? For some, racism, pure and simple. For others, white Protestantism now, white Protestantism forever. That's KKK.
Confirmation bias is foundational, almost across the board, so I wouldn't judge simplistically on that one, and i wouldn't confound it with how intelligent people are. I'd say the problem is "tribal", loyalty to one's group, and of course, loyalty to Trump/Maga, much of what is built on anathema to what the Dems seem to represent.
White, yes. It is trademarked Christian-ism, not Protestantism, which is pretty diverse. The most conservative Catholics are part of it. Nothing Jesus would have endorsed.
I think there used to be more than intelligence at work. When people are experiencing stress overload, the brain prioritizes paralysis, fear and anger. The amygdala rules, overriding the prefrontal cortex’s logical reasoning. In other words, evolution has prioritized the most basic survival instincts. If you are being chased by a lion, it’s not a good time to be considering speed, trajectory, relative tree-climbing abilities. Fight or flight, not thinking are your best options. Our brains still, unfortunately, tend to work that way when under stress or threat. It’s a winning strategy for Republicans to pump up the amygdala so people are cognitively impaired and just react.
I wish I believed in an actual hell, because at least then I could take a modicum of comfort from the thought of Graham and McConnell burning there for eternity for the damage they have caused.
The devil wouldn’t want them either.
“Hell is empty & all the Devils are here.”
The Tempest; Act 1, Scene 2
W. Shakespeare
Wow, a Shakespearean scholar on THIS group! I am stunned and thrilled! (Note: this was a genuine serious compliment. Please do not take it incorrectly!)
Just as well you don't, as a kid I and many others were indoctrinated with unrealistic fears of hellfire from the pulpits. I agree with you on the damage caused.
My really, really good buddy, now departed, Jim Buie, opined that religious indoctrination of the very young is a form of child abuse.
Brain-washing. Propaganda. Control.
I was lucky. My parents NEVER made us listen to religious babble. We were proud atheists. They just beat us LOL!
So it turns out while we avoided religious indoctrination, we were just subjected to other forms of child abuse.
When the minority rule. The lasting damage of McConnelly.
The attempt to skew elections towards favorites regardless of majority voting goes all the way back to 1800. Fascinating and initially promoted by the author of our Declaration of Independence. The HCR ability to tie historical context to current events routinely impresses me. Archaic as our Electoral College is, replacing it with a system tied to the popular vote, is challenging at best, highly unlikely in reality.
If we could elect representatives for whom country over party was a foundational belief, we’d have a decent chance to fix this. I won’t hold my breath.
I am liking your appreciation of Heather’s excellent historical narrative. I don’t share your pessimism for EC reform or elimination. The NPVIC is currently stalled, but a large electoral victory could give a Harris administration the votes to pass the John Lewis VRAA, which would end partisan gerrymandering in the states…the main tactic used by Republicans to dominate legislatures after Operation REDMAP. Breaking their hold on statehouses could mean progress on NPVIC reaching 270.
We’re philosophically aligned, I sincerely hope your more optimistic outlook is the correct one!
Please read my comments on the NPVIC elsewhere if you can find them. We agree the EC needs reform. The NPVIC is an antidemocratic measure that cannot and will not work EVEN if you can find enough states to support it initially. It is a Robert Reich fever dream to try to step around the constitution. I am as opposed to such measures by Democrats as I am by Republicans and every one should agree.
Besides even if it managed to be passed for a moment, the minute it needed to be invoked states would withdraw. It can't be enforced federally because the constitution places the authority for presidential elections in the hands of the states NOT the federal government (for good reason) so this is all just wasted time and effort. It won't ever be passed by enough states and if it was, it's effects could be overridden at any moment.
Please please everyone stop wasting breath and energy on this irrelevant notion. Ultimately we need to amend the constitution. That is where you should aim your efforts.
Maybe you’re right that when the rubber meets the road states would reverse their decision to join, but I don’t see how it is “anti-democratic” to prevent more minority supported Presidents, nor to encourage campaigns to treat every voter as equal. Furthermore, the path to a Constitutional Amendment eliminating the EC is far more insurmountable, so I think the NPVIC is worth trying. You saying it won’t work is not enough.
If you were in a state that voted for Harris but the national vote was for Trump but he lost the electoral college you would SUPPORT your state canceling your vote and changing your states electoral vote to sorry Trump? SERIOUSLY?. I certainly would NOT!.
I mean everyone looks at this from one perspective and ignores the other one. The electoral college was put in place for a reason and even if we disagree with it today the reason still has validity. So if we no longer like the reason, the right thing to do is to change the constitution. To say "well that's hard" is a cop out. Of course it's hard. It was made that way for a reason. Coming up with an end run around it is NOT a good way to even try to accomplish this and in the end I predict it will fail anyway so why bother?
Of course you are entitled to disagree and follow your path. I just think it is both a waste of time and wrong, two good reasons for not doing it.
The flaw in your counter argument lies in the “cancel your vote” part. If my state went for the loser of the popular vote, I wouldn’t complain. I am still proud to have voted for McGovern in ‘72, Gore on 2000, etc. The EC lost its validity after the Civil War Amendments were passed and Reconstruction was nullified by Black Codes and Jim Crow.
Belle Watling will do anything for The Cause.
And only you anx I are old enough to remember Belle??!?!? (Wink wink)
Surely not.
You must be ancient. I'm 84 and I haven't a clue who Belle Watling was.
GWTW. The whorehouse madam in Gone With the Wind who secretly gives Melanie money for the "Cause."
Its been more years than I want to admit since I watched that and frankly wouldnt have remembered her name anyhow! She sort of sounds like our current Repubs, doesnt she? Anything for the Cause?
Thanks Kathleen
Thank you Richard. I was feeling exactly the same, and ‘embarrassed’…
yes, a woman raised in the 50s to be a polite smiling ear for men.
With respect, that polite person’s gone with the wind 💨
I'm 86 and I dont either! What's her story?
Thanks, Jon. Had to look her up.
The gone with the wind all character, taking place in Georgia. The Madame of a whorehouse yep that’s an app description of Lindsey boy.
I thought Heather's historical review of how voting by district was eclipsed by winner take all until only two states maintain it: Maine, and Nebraska, was most interesting. Players jockey according to their current advantage in every era. Certainly not something Republicans want to change any time soon. Lindsay seems to keep getting over-involved, so far an exercise in futility.
Republicans realize, if it comes down to a popular vote, they are unlikely to win another election.
at the presidential level, for sure.
Senator Graham is the tip of the iceberg. What my diabolical/paranoid mind suspects is much darker than that. Trump has been half heartedly and half a--edly been campaigning. There is something happening beneath the surface that the MAGA/KKK has devised which is why Trump has been so cocky about the election and so self assured about winning. The plot by Georgia electors is just a teeny tiny piece of it. I am plenty scared of the outcome of this election.
I'm scared too.
• According to one of the new rules just imposed by the newly-appointed Republicans on the Georgia Board of Elections, not only must the Georgia ballots be hand counted but they must be hand counted by three people, and the three tallies must be exactly the same at the end or else...who the heck knows?
"The new rule requires that the number of ballots — not the number of votes — be counted at each polling place by three separate poll workers until all three counts are the same."
https://apnews.com/.../georgia-state-election-board-rules...
• Also:
“These proposed rules are not tethered to any statute — and are, therefore, likely the precise type of impermissible legislation that agencies cannot do,” Elizabeth Young, senior assistant attorney general, wrote in the letter to [¶]|
The board voted on 11 total rule changes on Friday. Six of them passed, including allowing poll watchers access to more places during the tabulation of votes, daily posting of the number of people in each county who cast a ballot and publicly posting reconciliation reports to the county website."
https://www.npr.org/.../georgia-election-board-hand-count...
All these changes means that the poll workers all must be retrained just 46 (?) days before the election and that counts may take days, weeks, or months to reconcile and resolve.
How I wish there were a way that these new rules in Georgia can be done away with, since many seem to be imposed without due authority, according to Ms. Young (see above).
He’s actually just trying to use his considerable influence to make a difference and that’s within our rules of fair play I guess but Nebraska didn’t cave.
well, Sen Graham clearly had a legal right to try to influence Nebraska, so that is 'within our rules of fair play' - but if one stops for a moment to consider the substance of what he was trying to do - squeeze one vote out for his Dear Leader by denying accurate representation for residents of a state he does not represent - it seems a lot less 'fair' and a lot more sleazy. But since Graham went over to the Dark Side in 2016, there's not much he won't do, sleazy or illegal, for the Dark Lord.
(Yes, I know that Dark Side is Star Wars and Dark Lord is Harry Potter, but Graham brings out all the darkness, I think....)
John, you picked a good word for Senator Graham: Sleazy. Darth Voldemort or Lord Vader....now there's a villian!
Voldevader? Super sleazy slithering sop is he….
Mixed metaphors is fair in politics 😂😂
Not everything that is within the rules is fair play.
In that respect - its a bit like the "norms" of government!!! Remember? The ones that tffg ignored throughout his 4 years.
🤬🤬🤬🤬🤬
Horrifying in the extreme
That word is cheater!
Trump.
Another word for cheater? Graham, of course. But wait, there's another: Scott, and from my congressional district: Timmons.
Thank you Heather for this history of the Electoral College, which seems to be a curse on our Democracy left to us by our Founding Fathers and enshrines minority rule. More disturbing than the attempts by Senator Graham to change Nebraska to a winner take all state are the GOP Election Board manipulations in Georgia and other states to inject chaos into the process of vote certification. What can we as citizens do about this additional means of increasing the power of a minority of the American People?
It’s not cheating. It’s perfectly legal. Not liking the outcome or the timing doesn’t change that. Fortunately, the latest reports I’ve seen suggest that it’s not going to happen.
Maybe if senator graham (and the others) had been held accountable….
Is this legal?
Cripes! Even after that erudite historical explanation of the birth of the Electoral College I’m stymied.
Reform seems way overdue. A system in which the candidate with the least votes wins is not a democracy and the US cannot claim that title without some very serious review and legislative action
Not "seems" overdue. It's an impossible situation.
Well, Anne-Louise, it's a situation -- a big problem -- with a simple solution that has worked in the past: amendment to the US Constitution.
Of course, simple is not the same as easy. It takes a two thirds majority vote in both houses of Congress and then ratification of the proposed amendment by three quarters (38) of the 50 states' legislatures. At present it seems impossible, but there are, in fact, 27 amendments already, so it is doable depending on circumstances.
Clearly, the current GOP will become irrelevant if Presidents are elected by majority vote at the national level.
Oh Goodness, does that mean we need to actually "be" a democracy before we can legitimately present ourselves to the world as its "greatest democracy" and give democracy lessons to countries trying to emerge from authoritarian rule under their various dictators/kings /sultans/mullahs etc. as we have been doing for many decades?
Uh, yes it does, unless we're okay with being hypocrites.
An amendment would be terrific. But as you describe, it is quite a process. There is an easier way to achieve the goal. The national popular vote interstate compact. 17 states have signed on providing 209 of the 270 needed. Everyone could check where their state stands on this solution:
https://www.nationalpopularvote.com
Could we not vote to split the elector’s vote to match the popular vote? Just wondering.
Sure, but then why have an Electoral College at all? Each citizen can be an elector.
Bill, I’ve been following their progress for awhile now and am disheartened to see efforts flagging, particularly in “red” states—those that mostly benefit from the current skewed mess. I keep hoping tho!
Charles Koch has wanted a constitutional convention for decades, he has the agenda all worked out because one would not be limited to one issue.
Right, and that's the very scary part.
Indeed, it’s unfortunately a classic “be careful for what you wish for”
situation.
Indeed, be careful what you wish for. Unintended consequences everywhere
hackbg a constitutional convention means the WHOLE constitution is up for grabs. Be careful what you wish for
USA is noted for being being a flawed democracy - not quite "illiberal" Orban style but.... https://www.wikiwand.com/en/articles/The_Economist_Democracy_Index
In 2016 I had to explain to my German genealogist why Hilary had not won and our Electoral College system. People who want a better system hate it, but it will not happen in the current political scene. We just explained the Electoral College again to our garden helper who hates it, but doesn't understand why it came to be. i think Jill Lepore in her book These Truths (history of the US) gives an excellent explanation of what was going on at the Constitutional Convention. Actually I recommend the whole book as a good recent history of the US. She calls Bill Clinton a rascal which really stuck with me.
Well, sure, the history of the electoral college system is interesting, but in the light of recent experience it seems to be denying us a real democracy. Also, political scenes can change rapidly sometimes. Ask the Tsars.
As for Bill Clinton, he was a very talented politician, a smart, likeable guy, and a breath of fresh air after Ronny Raygun. He was also -- maybe still is -- the best straight faced liar among recent Presidents. Much better than Trump, who hasn't figured out that lies work best when framed by a bit of truth. Bubba would have made him roadkill.
Yes, it is denying us a democracy, but the Electoral College was a way of addressing an elephant in the room and there is no reason why people should not know why it exists. It is frustrating. I don't see the fact that we have an electoral college changing anytime soon except with a revolutionary upheaval of some kind. I would even argue here that the Russian Revolution really hasn't turned out be much of a revolution at all since oligarchs rule. I agree that Bill is a straight faced liar and I thought Lapore's calling him a rascal has merit. He may be smart, but he has been very foolish and maybe arrogant in thinking he could get away with some of the sexual escapades. I have always thought the people, know his proclivities, sent Monica in. Then there are the pictures of him with Epstein which are disturbing.
Sigh, David, still waiting for so so so many years for the ERA to be passed/ratified.
Which we seem to be, David. OK with being hypocrites.
Nice comment, Ally. Maybe when we acknowledge our own hypocrisy we are on the road to sobriety.
It seems impossible because the Republicans have been plotting the takeover of state legislatures and local governments for over 35 years. It seems impossible but the Democrats could reverse this trend by targeting first the swing states and then move on to the red states. The states with super majorities may seem "impossible" but picking off the most vulnerable districts and getting Democrat governors elected would be a good place to start.
Democrats have to play the long game instead of dwelling on the current election. This starts with the 2024 election where we all need to support the Democrat and Independent candidates for ALL elected positions.
If they don't put everything into the current election, there will be no long game.
I think he includes that idea, but he's also right about a long game.
You're correct Anne-Louise. But we can't get distracted after the election with trying to keep up on current events. The Democrats need to start working on taking back local politics right after the election.
the long game.! Check out the demise of RvWade
The wild card is winning a trifecta, killing the filibuster, and enacting the JLVRAA, which will end the practice of partisan gerrymandering in the states…the tool of Operation REDMAP. THEN, we’ll see.
No doubt it’s a lot more complicated than it seems. I can’t imagine that abolishing the EC and going for direct voting would slide easily through the necessary procedures
Nothing slides easily in this peculiar system, which invites corruption of every kind.
Oh c'mon! "... invites corruption of every kind"??? No argument there is corruption but would you rather have our system or instead the one used in Russia? Or Hungary? Or Brazil?
Look, I have plenty of issues with our government but most of the real problems stem from the people not being informed enough and committed enough to care. When you have that kind of electorate it should be so surprising that there will be people who will try to take advantage. Overall I think we do a pretty good job at keeping the wolves at bay but we need continued vigilance.
But to dismiss everything as some compete and total invitation to corruption is really nonsense.
Those with billions of dollars to spend spreading their propaganda, disinformation, misinformation and lies have the advantage.
Brookings study of this issue was helpful to me: https://www.brookings.edu/articles/how-to-get-rid-of-the-electoral-college/
So many politicians are beneficiaries of our flawed system. Thomas Jefferson evidently thought he was entitled to the presidency. (He also had his own version of the Bible, where he cut out the parts he thought were unreal.) His hubris was extensive, but he was a Renaissance man of his day.
The winner take all system disenfranchises citizens. I am a blue dot in a red sea and often feel unrepresented. The congress critter who represents my district is a seditionist, David Rouzer, as is junior senator, Ted Budd. At one point, Rouzer thought he could adequately represent the 7th congressional district because he had a vacation home in the area. He “knew” coastal southeastern NC. He said as much. These people lie about who they really are.
Diana, an intermediate step that I believe would not require a constitutional amendment would be to pass a law stating that the allocation of electoral votes would be proportional to the vote in each state. While the number of electors per state would still remain, this would move us to a more proportional status so that those who vote for the less popular candidate in each state would have representation that they do not have with the current winner-take-all system.
that's what the National Popular Vote movement is trying to do. It would have to be by state law(s), not a federal law, though, because the states control their own elections, including for federal offices (within some limits, but this kind of thing is squarely in their power.)
John, unfortunately, the National Popular Vote movement would disenfranchise voters in each state who had not voted for the winner of the popular vote. I don’t see red states agreeing to this. My suggestion would not disenfranchise voters in each state that didn’t vote for the popular vote winner; it would allow voters in majority red or blue states to have representation in the electoral college. Of course, the winner of the popular vote should be the winner, but until the electoral college is replaced, it’s the only solution that stands a chance because the voters in each state that voted for the other guy would bring up lawsuits (imagine Texas voters who overwhelmingly vote for the Republican candidate having their votes going for the Democratic candidate).
Keep in mind that we are not a direct democracy but rather a republic. A democratic republic, yes, but not a democracy per se.
--Benjamin Franklin's response to Elizabeth Willing Powel's question: "Well, Doctor, what have we got, a republic or a monarchy?" Franklin's reply: "A republic, if you can keep it." We were never a direct democracy. And what we have now is extremely unhealthy.
I’m with you….I too am stymied!!
Why do I start getting a crick in my neck when the Electoral College is mentioned? It is just one more cog in the wheel for us to be concerned about. I have tried to convince myself that there is no way this is even a close race but then Ms. Lindsey shows up and all bets are off. If one vote makes a decision for 330 million people and it goes to Trump, we will not sit back like we did with Al Gore and just “accept” the outcome. It will not be pretty. SO, I have decided that Kamala will win by a landslide even with the obvious gerrymandering happening in these desperate states. We shalt not be driven back because as Kamala has repeated “When we fight, WE WIN!”
Here’s hoping!!!
🤞🤞🤞🤞🤞☮️
Fellow Readers -- In case you don't know about the "National Popular Vote Interstate Compact" you owe it to yourself to learn about it. We are 77% of the way to making the popular vote become the law of the land without a constitutional amendment. -- Check out https://www.nationalpopularvote.com & https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Popular_Vote_Interstate_Compact#
Robert Reich has a good layout of the National Popular Vote Interstate Compact. Why oh why did we not pay enough attention to get this done in time for November 5,2024. Gotta double down on GOTV in Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Nevada, North Carolina, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin.
💙
https://open.substack.com/pub/robertreich/p/how-do-we-get-democracy-back-into-c4d?utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web
We didn't pay attention because unfortunately there are two problems that are both almost impossible to overcome. First you need to get 51% of the electoral vote states to agree to it. As noted that has not happened and the GOP states are not in favor and they control more than half of the states at the legislative level. 77% is only 3/4 of the Democratic states. Virtually none of the GOP states will ever support this.
But even if it they did, there is literally NO way to enforce it. Any state that says they will adopt it can just as easily opt out if they decide that following it will cause their state to give votes to the opposing party that their voters didn't vote for. I explained this elsewhere and will do so again tomorrow here. But suffice it to say that as idealistic as the NPVIC sounds it is functionally useless in the one situation you need it to work, when one party wins the popular vote for President but loses the electoral vote. At that point every state who agreed to do this but whose voters voted the other way will withdraw (and there is no way to force them to NOT do this, it is after all a "compact" which by definition is a voluntary mechanism. )
So as much as I like Robert Reich and his ideas, this NPVIC is in my opinion neither going to ever be put into action and if it did, it won't work when it is needed most.
We need to amend the constitution but that will take a lot more time and effort. Right now my focus is winning this election despite the electoral college and winning the House and if at all possible the Senate.
Actually, I think it works if 51% of the Electoral VOTES are achieved. Not 51% of the states. Am I wrong? If 270 electoral votes are achieved, that's the story. Doesn't matter what states they come from. Right?
Not sure a state can withdraw from a law on a whim. If the LAW says the votes must go to the winner of the popular vote, then so be it.
But please enlighten me. I could be wrong.
You are correct about the 51% of the votes, not the states so it is possible to effect the NPVIC with fewer than 51% of the states. In fact if the ten biggest states all agreed to do this I think you have the 270 votes you need (I might be off by a states or two but it's definitely fewer than 51% of the states). But of course 51% of the electoral votes of the fewest involved states would still require big states which are both red and blue and so far none of the big red states (Texas, Florida) have signed up and I don't they ever will. This is NOT an idea being sorted by the GOP as it is clearly designed to try to keep them from winning elections by a minority of the popular vote. But the principal remains the same.
As for withdrawing, all it would take is for a state to pass an emergency law and have it signed by its governor. Keep in mind these are individual laws of each state NOT a federal law. So each state is the master of its own destiny.
In most of these states, even the big ones like California which all have full time legislatures, this could be done in about two days after the November election. And of course if that is what the majority of the legislature and the governor want to do, they can do it.
So yes you are right, it's not completely "trivial" but keep in mind that there would be tremendous pressure on a state which had just voted for the "winner" by the electoral vote to NOT change its vote to the winner of the popular vote. Do you really think that Texas, assuming they ever agreed to do this (which I doubt they will) would want to change their vote in the electoral college from Trump to Harris? Ditto California in reverse? Is just not going to happen.
No, even if you can actually get states representing 51% of the electoral vote to support the NPVIC, in the real world when push comes to shove it will fall apart. Personally I believe it should fall apart because it is really an anti democratic measure in terms of each seperate state. We are still a government of states when it comes to Presidential elections as much as that seems contradictory to do much else in America.
I support the idea of the NPVIC but I think the approach taken is wrong. This should be done properly by changing the way we elect presidents via the constitution not by making an end run around our laws even if they are currently screwed up.
Good information, Jon, and thanks for it, but methinks there have already been so many “end runs” around voting integrity (gerrymandering, overturning voting rights legislation, etc) is why the NPVIC was conceived of in the first place. I also have wondered if states would balk at implementing it, as you mention.
As for justifying the NPVIC "because they did it too " (i.e. gerrymandering, etc) that is really a red herring. Most of the end runs by the GOP were legal albeit terrible legislation. We will need to reverse all that crap of course in the end, but it doesn't in my mind justify a misguided and probably unenforceable approach to solving the real problems. Nor is "well they did it" a good excuse for emulating "them". I never let my kids use that nonsense as an excuse, I don't like seeing adults do it either.
Well first you need to get states representing 51% of the electoral votes to agree. Thus far only states representing about 39% have passed an enabling law. And they have had four years to do so. The likelihood of it happening is growing dimmer. Even some democratic leaning states have refused to do so.
I just think all the NPVICers are wasting their time focused on something that is unlikely to ever happen and even if it did is unlikely to be successful..
But go ahead knock your brains out. I just believe it is important to explain the truth. When people say "well how could a state withdraw if it was a law" it is obvious they have no idea how it really would work and I feel it is important and appropriate to explain the complications so maybe they can understand. I hope that makes sense.
Thanks, Ellie!
I love starting the day by joining a positive action.
Thank you. I’m willing to work in KY.
Agreed. A work in progress, though Jon's comments are sobering
Done
For most of my 75 years, I have been a student and teacher of American History. Today's Letter is the clearest and most concise explanation of our complex system of choosing a President. Let the word go forth that HRC's Letter should be reproduced and placed in every classroom in our divided states of America. This Letter is much more important than posting ten commandments in classrooms. Bravo, HCR, you have done it again!
Let's not overlook HOME-SCHOOLERS..!!! And, while we are still at it, increase emphasis on public education. It should not be left up to "the States" to jack the curriculum around to suit perceived religious "ideals". But, it certainly needs to be wholesome providing for fundamental needs, literacy being the objective. Ignorance has a consequence. To me, homeschooling has been the result of this "ignorance". And, it's not the solution. Only a excuse for the absence of leadership we seem to be struggling with. Our current political climate has exposed some real doozies.
👍 HCR’s SubStack is my late late night, or early morning online classroom! I always learn so much from her, as well as the contributions of thoughtful commenters.
I still don’t understand it (the electoral college). How does The House number of 435 and Senate of 100 get electors distributed in each state? (Plus the 3 for Washington DC). In other words why does each state get to have “x” number of electors (whatever that number is for each state).
I am and always have been baffled by the electoral college. I’m not even sure what it is much less how a President is elected by 270 of its members vs the majority of the 380 million people in our country, (aka the popular vote). The adage “one man, one vote” (one person, one vote) is meaningless in our current system yet we are a “democracy”. Huh?!?
Thank you for expressing that. I don't have anything like those kind of credentials but support that this letter is greatly educational & important to understand. If we can understand how we got here, we can find how to go forward rather than being resigned to our system being being manipulated again us.
HCR: Thanks for the surgical analysis of the history of the Electoral College in U.S. politics and its potential impact on the U.S. General Election on 11/05/2024!
She is a national treasure!
Yes, she is outstanding at deconstructing current events in a historical perspective.
Alas, she is preaching to choir on this thread. We need her educating the masses that either don’t vote or that are susceptible to Republican lies and false promises, but otherwise are potential pro democracy votes.
Instead, we have an oligarch (Musk) that bought the largest social media outlet, doing so with money contractually given to him by the representative government he attacks, opening it up to dispensing lies and disinformation that threatens Constitutional democracy.
Heather, may I suggest a few topics (including the above) for future letters?
The history of the Fairness Doctrine and how its resurrection could combat the lies and disinformation.
How demographics and targeted state and local political efforts could turn some of the largest red states blue.
Without Letters what I knew was spotty. Ignorance is a terrible thing. Thank you, HCR and TC.
Alec, I have often referred to this as LFAA University. I learn something new about US history every time the Professor churns out one of these Letters, and I consider myself slightly above average in my knowledge of US History. I also view the "after lecture gathering" of us students as part of that learning process.
I appreciate TC as well, and love the things I learn from him, along with Lucian Truscott IV. They add elements that are outside the Professor's wheel house. Then there's Timothy Snyder, and his books "On Tyranny" and the new one, "On Freedom". For my roughly $300 annual "tuition" I am learning so much that I never was exposed to before reading them.
Ally, love “LFFA Univ”! I, too, have long felt it is my late night online school! Kinda wish all the commenters really could hang out together and discuss the day’s course content!
More good information. Thanks.
Wondering how much $ is involved here…with so few to convince, to vote one way or the other, it seems likely that these few electoral votes can be bought. This question of corruption is tne reason the anonymous popular vote should surely carry more weight for determining the winner.
Well so far all states allocate their electoral votes based on the popular vote in their states. Until 2020 there was no apparent effort in any previous election in the 20th and 21st centuries to village that. It was Trump who started it all with his nonsensical "Stop the Steal" campaign to overturn the relatively clear decision of the voters. As long as the state election apparatus works in the swing states, $$ can't do too much damage as it would require each state to switch ALL of its votes from one candidate to the loser since except in Nebraska and New Hampshire (neither of which are "swing states") where district allocation of electors occurs.
It's funny but in that sense "winner take all" elections which would generally be considered anti democratic actually help prevent too much mischief. Apportioned elections as in Nebraska and New Hampshire actually would allow a loser to try to pick up one district vote at a time, something a lot easier to accomplish.
The real fear is states using their legislatures to create statewide havoc and delay. I think this election is going to see more of that. Hopefully we will be ready to fight it.
Maine awards EV by region like Nebraska. New Hampshire is winner take all
THANK YOU for the correction! I should have known that our at least double checked it myself. It's late (2 am) but no good excuse. I did know it was "one of the those New England states" 🙃
There are a lot of depressed democratic voters in the R states who do not vote. Small d, big D. That is by design, and by frustrated history, and because D money doesn’t get through to potential voters, and because . . . I don’t know why. . .
We are running against actual traitors. Yet.
Mike Johnson was not elected. He ran unopposed in 2022, and he is running unopposed again. Again! That happens all over our country. The DNC has to change that if it wants real enthusiasm, and if it wants my big contribution, when my ship comes in.
The current occupant of the governor’s office in Louisiana received about 1 in 6 of the eligible votes. This was reported as ‘51%’. The prior governor was a Democrat. ( What happened?! )
The current occupant of the governor’s office in Texas received 1 in 5 of the eligible votes. This was reported as ‘55%’. You know what that has meant.
Missouri and Kansas are better, in the 1 in 3 range. That is still not real democracy. I’m working on more numbers.
And that is why you feel the way you do.
We can fix this, this year, but time is up!
We got to get outta R and shift into D ! — b.rad
We got to get outta R and shift into D ! — b.rad
Catchy.
"Catchy". Indeed LOL!
JL, some pithy commenter on a (this?) SubStack recently opined that “R” = Reverse and “D” = Drive. Simple & accurate point!
There are no uncontested races in Florida which is a big deal ! In 2022, 49% of registered Dems voted compared to 64% of GOP. FL Dem Chair, Nikki Fried,is doing all she can to make sure we don’t have a repeat.In her interview with Scott Dworkin, she talks about the Dems incredible ground game here…..and the Republicans lack of. GOTV everyone ! ✍️📲🏃🏻♀️💲🪧👕🛒
https://www.dworkinsubstack.com/p/florida-is-winnable-exclusive-with?r=fqsxl&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web
Sorry this is mostly nonsense. First of all in most if not all of the states you mention, most of the voters not voting were R not D. Most of them don't vote because they don't need to vote. It has definitely gotten closer in recent years but still to imply that somehow if turnout increased that a D would win is just ignoring the facts.
As for people running unopposed that's not their fault (and trust me I HATE Mike Johnson so it pains me to defend him at all). The reason no one opposed Mike Johnson is that they are going to lose! And basically few people are willing to invest that much time let alone money in a campaign they can NOT win. To say or suggest that means Mike Johnson wasn't elected is just stupid sophistry. Come up with REAL arguments and I will listen to you. Throw around nonsensical irrelevant opinions and I will politely ignore you.
Good points, the grass roots has been lop-sided since Reagan Democrats, if memory serves. That’s when Nixon’s dirty tricks went ballistic
Gently, gently.
The prior governor was a Democrat. That shows that the non voting bloc is not overwhelmingly R.
Giving up early, ‘obeying in advance,’ is the most frustrating practice of progressive orgs for me, and I hear it from many others.
Words matter. Saying ‘Mike Johnson was not elected’ summarizes the situation and fires up a conversation better than two pages of discussion imho.
The DNC needs to show up for unlikely districts because 1) it’s not just about this year and 2) a candidate and volunteers in a losing district are the best and cheapest campaign staff the candidates up the ballot could hope for.
Jess Piper, Michele Hornish, and a number of lithe standouts I am just finding out about are pressing this effort forward, with actual fund raising. Kudos to them! And kudos to Harris-Walz for sending money down ballot, though it needs to be several times more. I’m just trying to help with my little bits.
as I see it, best luck to US! — b.rad
Much better. I like your comments when they aren't designed to inflame but rather to inform. You might not care about how I feel but I urge you to consider how others feel. Inflammatory arguments are us going low not high.
It's a republic if you can keep them interested.
- Ben Franklin's sidekick
I like that, b-rad. I saw a meme that said: Elections are like vehicle transmissions: D for forward and R for backward.
Very interesting statistic, how many of the eligible voters instead of actual voters voted for a candidate.
Perhaps there should be a minimum percentage of eligible voters having to vote for a candidate to be confirmed as the winner especially for an uncontested seat.
Since nobody voted for Mike Johnson in 2022 (he ran unopposed), should that be pointed out to Trump and all Republicans who said Harris didn't get any primary votes?
So that leaves us with the question - in the limited time available, what can be done?
With a little over a month left in the presidential campaign, there are several actions that can be taken to deter cheating or unethical maneuvers like attempting to change electoral rules:
- Legal Challenges: File lawsuits to block last-minute changes to electoral laws that seem designed to favor one party. Courts can be powerful tools in maintaining the integrity of the electoral system, especially if changes violate established state or federal laws.
- Media Exposure: Use media and social platforms to raise awareness of any attempts to manipulate the electoral process. Highlighting these tactics can create public backlash, increasing scrutiny on those pushing for last-minute rule changes.
- Mobilize Voters: Encourage widespread voter turnout, especially in key districts. A high voter turnout can counteract efforts to skew election results through gerrymandering or winner-take-all systems.
- Pressure Campaigns: Organize public pressure on state legislators or governors through petitions, protests, or direct lobbying to oppose such changes. Politicians may reconsider if they face significant pushback from their constituents.
- Coalition Building: Work with bipartisan organizations and election integrity groups to ensure that election rules remain fair and to hold those attempting to cheat accountable. Bringing together a broader coalition can strengthen the push for fairness.
- Promote Voting by Mail or Early Voting: Encourage voters to vote early or by mail, especially in states where Republicans may attempt to limit voter access at the polls. Ensuring more people cast their ballots early can reduce the effectiveness of any last-minute manipulations.
Pray.
The VP is now announcing the dates where early voting has begun, at the end of her rallies.
My Democrats Abroad Germany region is announcing when we get our ballots online and what state. I live in Illinois, a state where I may get my ballot emailed to me, but I have to print it and mail it back. We got ours from Illinois last night. I also saw that Texas, California, New Mexico, North Carolina, Florida, New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Ohio did. One person from Ohio complained that, "there‘s an anti-gerrymandering issue on the ballot, which the Republicans don‘t want, so the Republican SoS put language on the ballot that is the most brazenly slanted partisan bull---- I‘ve ever seen. It takes up over half a page on the ballot, shot through with what could have been Fox News talking points. I‘d heard about it, because of course the Republican state Supreme Court decided this week that they could use the language. This is one of those times when I expected something bad, and still I‘m shocked when I actually see it." So, we are waiting to hear from other states today. All Voters Abroad emailed ballots must be received by September 21. That is the law. My precinct captain has been going over all of the links for all of the states, and notifying the people in charge if there are any errors. Let us hope they all get straightened out. I will be speaking in Northern Germany tomorrow on Project 2025. I agree with vote early. I am going to be guiding my daughter aged 19, and niece age 20, and nephews 23 and 26 in making sure they get out and vote early. My daughter has been sharing information with her friends. Unfortunately several of them have just transferred out of swing states back home to our Blue state for college. She is voting from Germany.
From Australia, I can only offer solidarity.
Likewise from Ireland 🐈⬛💙☘️
The shamrock is good!
Thank you for your support and ideas. It takes a village to raise a child and to keep a political party strong.
Thanks, Gary.
Linda, I live in Illinois and read two Illinois newspapers daily. I am amazed that I haven't heard about the anti-gerrymandering issue on the ballot. Perhaps the reason is that, as Robert Reich's recent video explains, private equity is buying out the media. Nevertheless, how have the Republicans worded the issue to mislead the voters? We need to get the word out in a hurry.
The anti-gerrymandering issue is only in Ohio. A lot of papers are doing a good job talking about SOS LaRose's scam (also the amazing David Pepper), but the Senate election in particular is sucking up a lot of commercial air time that we need to deconfuse this blatant screw of the people. This issue against gerrymandering should be an easy bipartisan win and LaRose/DeWine know it. Also the threat to Springfield from Vance/Trump lies is very distracting right now to people, and rightfully so. Vote Yes Ohio #1 no matter what!
Yes!! The state ballot board, led by LaRose, changed the language on the issue to say the amendment would CAUSE gerrymandering, when it is really AGAINST gerrymandering. And the Republican led Supreme Court agreed!
Lol. That's why I didn't hear about it in Illinois. I still want to know about it because it is a good idea. You should see the Illinois Congressional map.
Are you referring to the Roberts court? Don't think preserving rights of the majority is his priority.
The Nebraska issue is very worrisome because we may very well come down to a single electoral college vote. It looks like one member of the Nebraska state legislature - which is unicameral meaning they only have one body, not two like all the other states - a former democrat named Mike McDonnell is holding out from making this change to a winner take all system to their electoral college allocation, which is by district at present. Anyone reading this who is concerned, I encourage you to write to state Senator McDonnelll (they call them senators, there are no representatives) and ask him to hold his ground. I saw a news report suggesting he may be wavering.
My cynical friends here in Nebraska believe that Sen. McDonnelll is holding out for unspecified concessions from Gov. Pillen and the state GOP.
An article I read in the Nebraska Examiner pretty much says the same thing. I’m from Oregon and not familiar with that paper or its slant so I can’t say if their perspective is accurate or not but the quote was pretty much that he was “trying to find a way to yes”. I assume he’s still capable of basic speech so I interpreted that to mean $.
The Nebraska Examiner is a 501(c)(3) charity news organization rated highly factual and editorially left biased by the media bias fact check website.
https://mediabiasfactcheck.com/nebraska-examiner-bias/
The polls are NOT counting new voter registrants … many of whom are female & skew young. And I have felt for a while ( just listen to Simon Rosenberg and Tom Bonier!) that polls are seriously “under-including” women in general who are not only enthused — they are ENRAGED.
Plus there are more women than men: in North Carolina for example it’s 95:100 men to women. Women already are slightly more reliable voters.
So I think we’re going to be surprised. Some pleasantly and some …. Not so much.
And hope that these women live in Nebraska!
I've got all my fingers AND my toes crossed.
OMG…I am with you in that! Fingers AND toes!!!
And eyes, until it hurts too much.
🤣
This is not government by the consent of the governed any longer. And if Trump breaks the constitution and rules as a dictator if elected, I am wondering how long the electorate will put up with it. I can foresee horrible scenarios of all sorts in a Trump II administration: women dying by the score from lack of reproductive care. Humanitarian catastrophe (and the attempt to hide it in cruel and brutal ways) if the Trump deportation of 10 million and the concentration camps of Stephen Miller, the Goebbelsesque "poison dwarf" of Trumpism, are realized; general economic hardship as families see wealth drained from onerous tariffs. The list goes on and on and on.
As far as I am concerned, Trump abrogating the constitution will itself constitute a form of secession - in fact, I think it should be obviously self-evident to all that this is indeed the case. Then all bets are off. The constitution will be a dead letter - unless the blue states stand together and frame the conflict that will surely arise as one in which it is the red, not the blue states, that have left the union with their rejection of the constitution and the law, their rejection of democracy and republicanism.
Because it is the GOP that has seceded from the Union through their embrace of a tyrant, their embrace of lawlessness, and above all their rejection that the legitimacy of any government Americans have lived under by tradition and law, rests on the consent of the majority of the governed. I myself would hope for an amicable divorce, but I'm afraid the situation is going to become very grim should Harris lose.
Loved the phrase Goebbelesque "poison dwarf" LOL! I still love the irony of Stephen, a devout Jew, being associated with and identified as something Goebbelesque.
...and a devout jew aligning with the Christian Nationalists..! Strange bedfellows.
MAGAt is all about "strange bedfellows".
One can only assume that Stephen will be "surprised" just like the Hitler-supporting Jews were in the 30s when they ALL were rounded up and sent to Auschwitz. "Hey, it's nothing personal, but you guys are, after all, Jews." Yeah Stephen Miller, Trump will still be thrilled that you helped him win but don't worry, he will have a gas chamber with your name on it too.
Steve, women have begun dying. The spectre of secession is rearing its ugly head, and I am afraid that secession would be the only way to amend the US Constitution in the direction of democracy rather than authoritarianism.
Sadly Ally I don't think secession will ever play out in the US. There is too much history associated with it going back of course to the Civil War. We will succeed together or go down together.
Jon, it’s long been a tug-of-war….just risen (yet again) to a fever pitch in recent years. I’ve posted here in the past this study by the Nationhood Lab of the Pell Center at Salve Regina College & seems fitting to do so again given the comments: https://nationhoodlab.org/a-balkanized-federation/
Is there any way, if Harris wins and the Democrats regain control of both the Senate and Congress, that the laws for voting could be changed to the same as the ones in Australia? In Australia, everyone must vote or they will be fined. One vote for each person. It is illegal not to vote. Can America ever clean up the deceit and corruption in politics, or is “deceit and corruption” the definition of politics?
Pretty much anything can be done or changed but it takes votes in Congress and Presidential support. Right now I think such a mandatory voting law wouldnt have much of a chance. Also voting in the United States is mostly controlled by the state (unlike Australia where it is mostly controlled by the federal government) so I am not sure how many states would actually impose such laws. And as a very evenly divided nation, unless there was massive national support such an idea would almost never fly.
Size matters. With under 30 million in population, Australia has an easier (less costly) way of effecting a mandated vote policy. I'm in Denmark, with five million in population, which means that fining and collecting on fines would be so simple to do. I'm not sure how it is carried out in Australia, but I'll wager LOTS that carrying out fines and collection in the US would be useless.
LOL indeed, we can't even collect parking ticket fines here in the US (San Francisco has a 50% scofflaw rate on parking violations! )
I envy you though, I love Denmark!
That is an awesome system. You gotta hope everyone educates themselves on the candidates and issues before they vote. At least here, a certain percentage of people who don’t vote likely shouldn’t because they don’t inform themselves. But who am I fooling— that is true of too many people who DO vote…
What a worm Graham is. He has always reminded me of an earth worme with his pasty white and pink skin.
Some day, a historian and psychiatrist will work together to explain what truly happened to men like Graham, who served with Joe Biden in the Senate and who originally saw Trump for exactly who and what he was.
Money? Power? Blackmail? All of the above?
SF, I vote blackmail
Getting elected again?
" . . .corrupted by money or power or ignorance"?
How about when manipulating personal fears and venalities expressly lets the powerful manipulate all?
As in Springfield, Ohio, where “they” are eating people’s cats and dogs. Stealing geese from the park.
We can learn to fear (yes, Hunter Thompson) and loathe “them” as that so nicely perverts the personal. So all MAGA sinks now to only the most personally skank memes, tropes, narratives.
That’s all on the front end, brought to us by hero of “The Apprentice,” plus hero of “Hillbilly Elegy.” Larger, on the back end, for public policy, apprentices and lackeys of the billionaires have Project 2025.
The personal / the public always gets thus split. My favorite of this: from “21 Reasons Why Japanese Men Suck (A Book Review) by Ms. Kaori Shoji” (The Japan Times).
It was a 2013 book she agreed to review, thanks to its coy title. Right off starting it she saw both author and book as “dead on arrival,” yet could toy with the author’s pretentions (a Japanese male academic) – till she got to how the author “tries to link a heavily political issue (Japan’s alarming birth rate decline) to the personal and intimate terrain of dating and sex.”
Kaori Shoji knows not to skew public policy issues (like birth rate decline) merely to the personal. She also knows Japan’s patriarchy 1) refuses anywhere near needed funds for daycare; 2) penalizes professional women for having babies (most can never return to their professions); and 3) deadens all schools so none ever questions anything.
All gets skewed: U.S., Japan – wherever schools get engineered to fail the personal, but so further our public policy nihilist rich., who, as Heather shows today, are still at it.
Well said.
Phil, I am intrigued to read the book review by Kaori Shoji. You told that story so well I was walking along the path with you!
Love Kaori Shoji, Kathy.
She's wickedly funny. For the puffed-up guy who wrote the book she reviewed, she reserves ironically formal English, fit to his own high pretensions (so totally void of any common sense).
You can find hers online just by putting into your search engine “21 Reasons Why Japanese Men Suck (A Book Review) by Ms. Kaori Shoji.”
👏 MAGA and their mega rich enablers are political nihilists.
Trump will win no matter how many postcards I write to get out the vote for Dems or how many dollars I donate. But I'll keep writing those postcards and donate myself into debt, no longer out of hope but out of duty.
Duty is the enactment of loyalty. Sometimes just daily placing one foot in front of another becomes an act of heroism 🐈⬛ 💙The world will not end if Trump is re elected. Even if he isn’t, the MAGA movement, the Heritage Foundation and their treacherous global oligarchy enablers will continue their attacks on social justice and rule of law. This US election is a single battle in a war for Enlightenment informed politics.
More will end than any can imagine if he is powerful again.
I do not need to imagine it. One of my life’s painful epiphanies is that even the darkest of enacted evils personally suffered whenever exposed in the light does nothing to rectify the wounds that have been inflicted. It simply lifts the burden of silencing calumny off of the targeted and leaves them with the embodied wisdom that survival is never about winning. Simply continuing to live, endure and help others less fortunate as best you can, is all.
So, if Trump is made the world’s latest depraved Demagogue in November, that is the best survival advice I have to give 🐈⬛💙
Trying to decide if this is an existential gift or a paean to the status quo. Brain warp early in the morning
😺Damned if I know - both ?!
Aargh.
Don’t talk dirty.
Also, because it will show the outcome should the popular vote someday triumph the electoral vote.