I predict that Republicans will need extra security as they campaign this fall and continue to spout lies and promote anti-democratic and fascist viewpoints that are not at all in line with the majority of American voters. And some of them just might get their heads kicked in trying to convince women they have no right to control their own bodies or that the second Amendment protects the right of a chickenshit 18 year old to gun down innocents of any age. And WHY is the Secret Service still protecting that jackass twice impeached LOSER tRump as he continues to hold rallies around the country promoting hate and division??? Doesn't that make the Secret Service a party to insurrection?? There are better uses for our tax dollars.
Are we supposed to be soothed or heartened by the words of encouragement spoken by that paragon of democratic thought, Mitch McConnell? According to Mitch, because of the tragedy in Uvalde Buffalo, there is an encouraging spirit of bipartisanship and concern for enacting legislation dealing with gun control and registration. (In actual fact, Mitch has repeatedly noted the very same spirit after every single incident and murder of innocent people. It's his standard go-to for such occasions, a kind of knee-jerk reaction and, as soon as the initial shock and tragedy have passed (in a week or so), he will revert back to his usual do-nothing stance.)
If you don't quite understand why people choose not to vote, you need to take a good look at the non-voter position and the sense it makes: What on earth is the purpose of voting if your elected "public servants" only care about their own financial and political concerns and have little time for you and your efforts to survive? Even though they owe their jobs to you and your vote, they don't care about you, your kids, your parents and friends. Considered from this valid perspective, it frankly makes more sense not to vote than to vote. There are, however, those of us who believe (or rather hope) that clinging to our ideals of how the system should work will compel us to defy logic and common-sense and still aim to make a difference by voting.
I have a prediction. McConnell will pretend to try to pass gun legislation then add some stupid provision that Democrats can’t possibly support and blame them for failing to pass it. Mark my words.
This sounds entirely plausible. If the GOP/Trumpy Party (McConnell, Cruz, etc.) were as serious about gun control as they are about maintaining and clinging fiercely to the status quo, holding on to their "seats" in Congress, retracting the rights of women to decide for themselves, denying the health, education, and general well-being of the citizens and residents of the US, we would be in a different place. As elected public servants on the national tit, they have a duty to respond to national needs and demands; if they choose themselves over those who put them in power, they need to go. Too bad, they probably won't. And--it so happens--elderly black grocery shoppers in Buffalo and very young Mexican-American kids in Uvalde will end up picking up a tab no one should have to pay.
The real tragedy is that--as things now stand--no one in government seems to care enough about who the real victims are. I am proud that Steve Kerr, head coach of the Warriors basketball team, and Beto O'Rourke seem to have a sense about what this means. My question is: Where are all the other Steves and Beto's? Why are there so few of such leaders and so many McConnells and Cruzes and McCarthy's and Trumpers? It wasn't always like this, why is it this way now? Did Citizens United give us "public servants" who would do better among the oligarchs of a country like Russia?
I believe that all or most of our elected "public servants" have decided that holding elected office is just the ticket for them, an open road to wealth and power (the two things that count and the only two things that count). Somehow, not voting seems to make more sense in this situation. We were once the leader of the free world but, well, President Zelenskyy can now lay more of a claim to that title than anyone in the US...we're left with a contingent of PAC supported ceos, NRA dealers in death, and wannabes who have zoomed on in and left us with the tab. THe only recourse against all of this is voting and, well, those holding the reins of power are not about to make that easy. We are left with the slight hope (and no guarantee) that somehow we might make some slight difference.
Our days as leader of the free world were in the past, during WWII when FDR make it clear to the world where we stood and what our principles and values were. People are trying to stand up against those with the wealth and power but we have to deal with McConnell, Cruz, and those who want to give the appearance of having values when, in fact, their only real value is their wealth and what they can squeeze out of us all to support it.
Not a bad idea at all! And we need to do it quickly. President Zelenskyy has indicated that there will be widespread famine if the war doesn't end. "How does this work?" you may wonder. Well, the fact of the matter is that Ukraine is an agricultural paradise and supplies a lot of grains and farm products to impoverished nations in the world. Right now, they have no port from which to send their produce and the country is in disarray but still they keep pressing on. They deserve a democracy if that is what they so choose...we deserve something, at least safety and security for our kids and a decent life.
We older voters know a few things, and remember better than elephants when we were burned. The press like to say that men over a certain age support tRump and older white women support him , blah blah blah! When I attended Bernie Sanders rallies, there was a LOT of grey hair and wrinkles in there with the kids and middle aged! Divide and conquer will not work anymore! they kill our grandchildren! This will not be forgotten by John Q. Public anytime soon!
Actually, what I don't understand is why suicidal mass-shooters & suicide bombers pick such rotten targets! Instead of picking something ultimately beneficial, they invariably pick on friggin' innocents, who are just as much a victim of their circumstance as the shooter himself!
I agree. But I have always observed that totally rotten people never get assassinated, only good ones. I guess the assassin feels their temporary attention will gain more if their victims are well liked or innocent?
I have a theory: envy. They’re envious that their victims have better lives than they do, or so they think. Parents who love them, community, the leisure to go to concerts and nightclubs, etc.
Envy may be part of it, but I think it is more complex than just envy. There is the need for recognition (that 15 minutes of fame) Anger at he world for not making it easier for them, Schools for not preparing them for the world in which they find themselves, Parents for having them and then not providing them a life of ease................................etc.
Well, now you've added Pride and Wrath (Anger.) That makes 4 of the 7. Only Lust, Gluttony, & Sloth are left! Wan'na go a "sept-fecta?" (Hoarding during the pandemic is mighty suspect - Gluttony.) "Grab 'em by the . . ." looks a lot like Lust, while not reading critical security reports stinks of Sloth - but I had ol' Tweety in mind for the last 2 of 'em. (Don't know about whether he hoarded!)
Makes sense. Envy has been "officially" encouraged since at least Ronald Regan. That's a Wank-publican value, that morphed into the "greed is good" ideology of the late 80's through '90s. How do these righteous bible-bashers reconcile with 2 of the 7 deadly sins, I wonder ‽ Well, they're "doin' it for the kids!" "Think of the kids!" ("The kids" used to be a standing joke among nightclub musicians out here - way back in the '60s. We all noticed that "havin' kids" somehow absolves you of any crime!) I guess it's all for "the family" now. BTW: Nightclubs and nightclub musicians as >I< knew them are a blip in history now. I left the business when I started getting a load of what was going to and has replaced them. Night life has become >very< dangerous, anyway - at least around here, these days.
DZK ; Just like Putin ; but Putin goes further and will not allow Russian citizens to have any guns, or even exposure to news from outside Russia. tRump will do the same if he can! end freedom of the press here. Imagine only seeing Tucker Carlson !?
I’m listening to The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich and it’s frightening how much our times resemble those. It boggles my mind that people put up with Hitler’s abuse.
Read the 2 volume book. Vol I is the rise, and Vol II is the fall. I read it back in the '70s and have never forgotten what it taught me. (If you're listening to an audio book, that'll do.)
Let me recommend: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0434409/ I usually recommend it at the drop of a hat to glean the direction we're headed - since 2005 when it was first released. You'll undoubtedly recognize the funny mask - that the clowns the movie decries have been wont to wear at "public gatherings" ever since!
You know what gets me? He decrees no guns at his NRA speech and no one objects! The same people who have a fit if you tell them they can’t bring guns to public places don’t say boo.
>Or< incite violence themselves under a "false flag." Keep an eye on who's being violent at peaceful civil rights rallies. (As an afterthought, d'ya think it would be hard to find and pay about 50 rowdies - "street merc's" - each $100 to infiltrate such a group and create violence? It'd be even easier anywhere there's an indigenous - not to be confused with Native American - gang-land culture. That'd be a cheap political campaign expenditure, when weighed against millions for minutes in campaign ads or political rallies! Hell! There'd even be >free< media coverage and public debate droning on and on for weeks!)
Ms. or Sir: IMHO, every young American should learn the term "agent provocateur" -- along with learning history and social justice movements. Your point is right on the money.
Nothing will wake up the giant like the power of an idea whose time has come. And the powers that be will do everything to prevent that from happening.
i hope you are correct in your assessment. but i don't think this "awakening" will happen without lots of support from and organisation by those who usually do vote -- support like community phone banks, in-person voter registration campaigns, and even driving individual voters to their polling place on election day. A LOT OF THOUGHT AND WORK! basically, we need a squadron of stacey abrams to organise and herd the democrat-cats towards a more liveable future for us all. this election may be the democrats' to lose, but without a lot of grass-roots initiative to make it happen ... well, i fear for the future of the country.
I think Stacey Abrams should have been head of a get out the vote organization totally supported by the Democrat Party. Dems seem unable to perform that function even though we are at a crisis point.
stacey abrams has her hands full running for the governor's position in GA, a position that seems fraught with fraud. (Hello Kemp.) she also did found Fair Fight Action to address voter suppression in 2018, so her activism "magic" is being transmitted widely.
As a start, besides the DNC and state Democratic parties, Field Team 6 is working on it. Join us at a volunteer fair – "find out all the fun (actual fun!) ways you can help – and see if you can resist signing up for an upcoming event!
It's too important to not try once – and too much fun to not try again. Can't wait to see you there!"
I've already mailed 100 postcards to infrequent but left-leaning voters as part of a nation-wide GOTV effort. The organization is turnoutpac.org. I also think we should bombard the DLC, DNC, and DSCC with daily emails for the next seven months, with one simple message: Stop fighting progressives! Find out which Democrat is leading in their district and put all your resources into that race. Don't back anyone BUT THE LEADER, and if that person is progressive, such up your out-of-touch centrist views and support them. Hammer that home with all three organizations, over and over again. Finally, they should also put out one stark, unpleasant, but absolutely true message: The GOP is the Party of Death. Period. Party of Death. Party of Death. Tie them to Sandy Hook, Uvalde, TOPS Market, all the misery and fear they've caused. Do not EVER refer to them as anything else. My two cents.
Want to help? Check out the New Georgia Project, which -- among other efforts -- is gearing up to drive voters to their correct voting places so there won't be any wasted votes in the election.
Yes, tune in to Abrams' web site and find out what you can do to help. Voters' rights groups are cropping up all over Georgia. I donated to Free Speech for People, which pressured for the April hearing in which Marjorie Taylor Greene's right to participate in the primaries was challenged. I watched the entire hearing on You-Tube. All parties involved were very polite and professional and MTG was allowed to participate in the primary and won. BUT, the hearing helped publicize who and what she is. My money was well spent, and now I'm donating and volunteering for her Democrat challenger Marcus Flowers.
GrrlScientist ; Don't be afraid ; the other side has gun rights too. If they mess with the vote and things get too oppressive, they could get a taste of their own medicine...and beat a hasty retreat. There is a reason that the civil rights act passed in '65. I'm not advocating this, but I remember history. I was there.
What can be done about the bombardment of TV ads (e.g., rick caruso in Los Angeles) that fools people with no knowledge of who is he? I tried to find a site with candidate recommendations from Progressive Democrats but couldn't find one.
There are three other things that are equally important:
1) Trump, and the Big Lie have lost much of their allure;
2) It is looking like Garland is finally going to prosecute the insurrection leadership; and, most importantly
3) Putin showed his stripes, and Trump, Carlson, and Fox all miscalculated their ability to justify the invasion and subsequent atrocities in Ukraine. In fact, it appears that at least some of Putin's trolls who handed Trump the 2016 election not only refused to sabotage Ukraine's infrastructure, but turned their talents against the Russian war machine.
The key for Democratic success, however, will be:
A) for Garland to follow through, and announce the fact that American politicians have lived in a bubble that rightfully must continue to ensure that the judiciary is not used for political purposes. However when a sitting President breaks so many ethics rules and then, from the evidence, plots to subvert democracy, and policemen die as a result of an attempted coup, their must be repercussions to ensure it will never happen again.
(A federal law should be enacted of a presumption of fraud against the people of the United States for a State Official to fail to certify an election without solid evidence of voter fraud if such an act caused a result contrary to the popular vote.
B) for Biden to break the stalemate in Ukraine by proclaiming a countdown to declaring Russia a State Supporter of Terrorism unless Russia not only pulls out of ALL Ukrainian territory, returns Ukrainian citizens, and compensates for the damages Russia has caused. Perhaps 6 months, but with one hour removed for every tank or artillery shell fired, a day for every rocket, and a week for every missile that lands on a Ukrainian City. This should provide a powerful incentive, because the only way that Russia is likely to shake a terrorism categorization once proclaimed would be with a regime change.
C) Pass some legislation to decrease drug prices and otherwise improve Obamacare coverage, with hardship insurance subsidies, and expanded coverage for non-pharmaceutical care-chiropractic and herbal, and other traditional healthcare, and dramatically improve childcare, child nutrition, and for after-school programs, and
D) for Biden to talk about how we need to insure that the Republicans will not be able to destroy healthcare or Social Security, or to increase taxes on the poor and middle class, and to close the loopholes for the rich, and that federal banks need to pay state taxes, just like everyone else, with increased minimum taxation on the rich, and provide economic rewards for carpool clubs for commuters using electric vehicles, thus cutting traffic and gasoline prices
E) For Democrats to start using terms like Moscow Mitch, and asking why people are still listening to Fox, Trump, and Carlson with the question- What will it take for you to wake up to the fact that you are being lied to, over-and over again?
F) Do Op-eds of open letters to Carlson, and Trump, and the Goofy-Over-Putin (GOP) Party asking them why they preach on behalf of tyranny even while their hero, Putin, is committing atrocities to subjugate the People of Ukraine, and why did Trump cosy up to North Korea and try to destroy NATO, and harm our allies, and our diplomatic corps, and keep his talke with Putin secret, and destroy the nuclear deal that was keeping Iran from gaining nuclear weapons, and leave office with America so weakened by his actions that Putin believed he coul walk into Ukraine and American would do nothing, because he knew that he had Trump, Carlson, and the Fox propaganda machine working on his behalf?
In short, it is time to stop playing nice-guy so the worm can turn.
May 30, 2022·edited May 30, 2022Liked by Robert Reich
The real problem is the filibuster, found nowhere in the constitution or laws of the land. So, two people of 350 million people, just TWO, are preventing Democrats from passing needed legislation on both issues. And we know who they are.
Our hope is for any of three things: elect more Democrats to the Senate, replace Manchin and Sinema with two courageous Senators, end the filibuster, and then pass Statehood for DC
I wonder if there are any "laws" whatsoever in either party stating that if an elected member CONTINUALLY & for X amount of time votes in opposition to the party then they can no longer remain registered in that party. (Or is it expected that that person's own district will take care of the issue and vote them out? Or that a high-ranking party member will "have a little talk" with the bad apple? I have a feeling that nobody holds "little talks" any more..)
Not that I can tell, but the Republicans are much better at keeping everyone on the 'same page of the playbook.' Perhaps because they all depend on the same couple of billionaires to keep them in office.
May 30, 2022·edited May 30, 2022Liked by Robert Reich
9 shootings in the last 48 hours here, including 1 shot to death on the State House lawn by Broad & High Streets - the intersection that defines the very heart of Columbus, OH. Only a few months ago did we see NRA-heads, fully tacked and brandishing AR 15's, looking like the very mass shooters themselves that we've seen of late, parading around on the State House grounds in support of eliminating state gun regulations! I saw Dr Reich's video asking what it's going to take! Indeed! What's it gon'na take ‽ (I keep a'wonderin' why it doesn't occur these obviously suicidal mass shooters, who are clearly operating under some delusion they're making their death have meaning, don't opt to shoot first the a$$hole who >sold< them the damn guns in the first place!) How about forcibly removing bodyguard protection from the legislators - in the name of saving tax dollars - and forcing them to commute to and from work driving their own private vehicles, while admonishing that we'll pray they don't become collateral damage ‽
How do you get across to the public that for every mass shooting there's a gun dealer and an arms manufacturer profiting off the misery they've helped inflict ‽ Ain't that the logic behind a'goin' after drug dealers ‽
Also, I think the Democrats are doing a $hi7 job of making >absolutely clear< that inflation is global, and that we'd face it >whoever< is in office!< It has >nothing< to do with this administration's - or the Democrats' - economic policies. If it were >only< in the US, I'd hold suspect anyone who could succeed in making it go away as complicit. However, it's not happening in a national vacuum. I'd >really< wonder about any politician who could make >that< go away - global inflation - and I >wouldn't< be thinking it was the goddam messiah!
Biden's sinking approval rating is commensurate with how patently >unrealistic< are the voters' expectations, and the Democrats are doing >nothing< to remedy those expectations. Had ol' Tweety won, FOX and it's clones would be blowing hard that everything's >perfect!< Presently, we don't seem to even be able to cultivate realistic expectations in the face of proliferating firearms, the impact of massive population growth, the collapse of the education system - in part helped along by a functionally illiterate previous Secretary of Education - AND the simple fact that inflation is rampant globally. And we're not even among the worst impacted! Then, of course, there's the goddam Putin war on one of the bread-baskets of the goddam world - along with it's considerable control over a sizable percentage of oil production and Russia's incestuous pipeline link with members of the EU!
That's just my initial response to Dr Reich's question today.
DZK ; Don't forget that the Corporate owned 'news' have every reason to blame Biden and the Democrats for inflation, and they blame the local police for massacre related deaths of children, Not the NRA or corrupt legislators who are bought by them, along with judges on our 'high' court. They should be telling the truth and naming names. Like Mitt Romney $19 mil from the NRA for him.
I don't think they're overtly blaming Biden. I think they're failing to point out that he can only do so much to remedy the problem, and what he tries to do, the Republi-wankers cynically block. That's arguably worse than blaming him - it gives just enough info to lead people in jumping to their own, erroneous conclusions.
UPDATE: Apparently, a witness says the dead man was attacked by 3 individuals on scooters! Rental scooters absolutely clutter downtown Columbus. The witness must have thought he was having a bad reaction to something recreational!
I remember 4 college students being shot/killed for exercising their freedom of speech a few decades ago in Ohio at a political rally on campus. Also exit poll irregularities during an election with suspicions of voter fraud. there were no investigations, of course.
1. Nearly all Republicans are opponents of gun control, and all Democrats in favor. That needs to be hammered over and over by our Democrats who sometimes act more like a circular firing squad. Messaging, messaging.
2. A very significant root cause of our political dysfunction has been pointed out by the lawyer working with George W. Bush to capture the 2000 Presidency: our primary system.
Currently the general election in November produces in most states two radically different choices, and a bipartisan or centrist candidate is less likely. All of those Rs fear being primaried and losing power, far more than allowing more innocent victims of gun violence.
The proposals for ranked choice, is this "jungle primary"? might do amazing things.
While the "open primary" may hurt candidates in a small number of Republican-voting counties (e.g. Ventura County & Orange County) it does - in parallel - help candidates for statewide office: note the near-universality of Democratic candidates for statewide office since & the continued majority of Democratic candidates in both state chambers...
Since the vast majority of voters in California are progressive and fair leaning, I don't think the top two has been politically fair. I do think Green, Peace, Libertarian, Independent parties should also have their shot at the primaries but pitting two Democrats, or two Republicans against each other in the actual election is just plain dumb.
Obviously there's a thin line between democracy & a "tyranny of the majority" (i.e. mob rule)... but fairness could be in the eye of the beholder: if most voters are Democrat & vote Democrat (or registered "non-partisan" but vote Democrat) then the system works to yield choice to those voters.
Also, as Raymond mentioned in the parallel thread: "open primary" reforms are commonly coupled with rank-choice voting (i.e. as a replacement for first-past-the-post); such a change arguably addresses the issue of fairness insofar as a voter can feel secure in choosing the N most qualified candidates & knowing that a consensus can be reached.
Where I live in Ventura County California you can end up with no Democratic candidates. Depending on how many of them run, they split the vote and get eliminated from the general election. It’s a terrible idea.
Where I live in Sacramento county, there were a lot more Republicans than Democrats on the ballot, perhaps with a greater split on the Republican vote. Hard for me to say how it will all play out. For the first time, I was able to convince everyone in my household to vote Democrat down the ballot, and to pick progressive where possible. We’ve all voted.
Hmmm......a sensible question can be framed: Why do Republican senators sit on their hands rather than vote for sensible gun laws? The answer, of course, is their constituents. In a recent poll (admittedly 3 months before Buffalo and Uvalde, but after many, many other mass shootings) 84% of Texan Republicans opposed stricter gun laws. I am quite sure this is mirrored in other red states. Now suppose your name is, I dunno, Ted Cruz, and you're just smart enough to realize you have to go whichever way the wind blows, you could be looking at losing your seat to another Republican or (heavens) a Democrat, unless you sit on your hands.
Ah, the piety ("Our thoughts and prayers go out," etc.), followed by "Guns don't kill people, bad people kill people," you wait.
If you're name happens to be Mitt Romney, it's just more of the same.
I admire your optimism, and of course Democrats must continue their pursuit of stricter gun laws, because the current situation is nothing short of a national disgrace.
However, in terms of realpolitik, I still think Democrats should go big on something that cuts across party lines: healthcare. This, with the Roe issue, could deliver big Democrat victories in November and in 2024, and this in turn will enable sensible gun laws, at last.
It's perhaps worth reflecting on the British General Election in 1945. Everyone was sure Churchill would win, including the Labour Party. So when it came time to draw up their manifesto, some bright spark said "Since we'll lose the election anyway, why don't we write what we really want instead of hedging to the right as we always do?" And, universal healthcare was placed front and center of the manifesto. The result was a LANDSLIDE victory for Labour.
They are 1. Ideologues. 2. Conduits for corporate money.
However I agree in part. The least common denominator is benefits. Even a racist pro-life gun nut needs to survive. It's easy to show that Republicans vote against their constituents' economic interests.
I also agree in part, but Democrats are ideologues and conduits too. So look at it from Cruz's viewpoint (if you can bear to): if 84% of Texan Republicans oppose changes to the gun laws, and if Cruz votes for new gun restrictions, then 20-30% of potential Republican voters may just decide to stay at home when it comes time to seek re-election.
He's not up for re-election. His base was bought and paid for by his wife's clients -- mostly Texas oilmen. He's also a culture warrior. Gun laws are a minor issue with his constituents.
The rubber meets the road in Ohio, Kentucky, Kansas, Wisconsin, etc.
All politics are local. As I explained elsewhere one prototype should be Kentucky where Democrat Andy Beshear beat sitting Republican governor Matt Bevin in a deep-red state where Donald Trump won by 30 points. The main issue was health care. Rand Paul is opposed to "benefits" per se on an ideological basis. 80% of Kentucky voters rely on such benefits.
In Kansas, Democrat Laura Kelly won by showing former Republican Gov. Sam Brownback's “reckless tax experiments” and “dangerously underfunded schools. She's up for re-election. Guns and abortion should not be her main themes.
Thanks for this. I'm well aware of Sen. Scott's "manifesto" for the GOP. Utterly terrifying. Mainstream media needs to address that before the midterms.
Thank you, Mr. Solomon. It is amazing that so many Floridians (who only became Floridians after retirement in a Blue State) suddenly become avid trumpsters - early onset old age dementia?
I don't want to start a civil war. Most of them were Trumpers before coming here. They come in several varieties.
When I speak to them I NEVER speak about Trump. I speak benefits.
I speak fluent Medicare. Many of them are being fleeced by Medicare Plus, which is NOT Medicare. Republicans are behind it.
I am a Vietnnam veteran. Can't tell you how many veterans were unaware that Republicans consider them "takers" and want to wipe out their benefits.
I worked for SSA a couple of times and wrote published papers about it. Can't tell you how many believe that Democrats were borrowing from the trust funds, when it was Republican policy. It takes a while to sink in. Not only are retired people in jeopardy, but any wage earner who is fully and currently insured has an insurance policy worth over a million dollars in most cases.
The main gripe is about the border. I heard 22 kinds of visa cases in my years at DOL. The antidote is "employer sanctions." Even the most racists hate the people who are attracting (if not actually sending) people to the border.
I like the idea of adding healthcare to women's right to bodily autonomy, in fact, tying them together as universal healthcare and the privacy of the doctor-patient relationship.
I too certainly hope u r correct! Amy McGrath here in KY has begun an initiative called SOS where she is trying to mobilize voters. If u remember, she ran against McConnell in 2018 but lost in the rural areas of KY where people always vote against their best interests & are single issue voters mostly on abortion bans.
Most EASTERN KY citizens are fanatical about their guns so I wouldn’t count on KY people changing their voting habits & that’s why McConnell has been able to hold his Base so tightly! Rand Paul is up for re-election this year & the Dem Party here is working to take his seat away which might be possible if many rural GQP voters don’t vote bec our legislature has removed so many election sites! The Dems will probably be doing some phone banks this Fall & I will participate for sure! All we can do is work as hard as possible calling young, working middle aged folks & seniors & hope for good weather & a great turnout!!
If Kentucky could get rid of Bevin, it can get rid of Paul, who is a carpet bagging hypocrite. Beshear beat a sitting Republican governor in a deep-red state where Donald Trump won by 30 points.
Energize the Beshear voters and Democrats can win statewide. His main issue was Obamacare and Medicaid.
It helps when the Democratic candidate demonizes the Republican and evangelizes benefits.
Hi Daniel, Beshear barely squeaked a win by 80,000 votes I believe but I’m almost positive it was all the people who belonged to the Teacher’s Union that got him over the line. Bevin was threatening to take some benefits away from teachers & somehow reduce the retirement plan for current teachers & devise a new plan for incoming teachers. Bevin had teachers protesting at the Capitol in Frankfort almost every day while Beshear was telling them he had no such plan to do that to his teachers & even hired a former teacher to be his Lt Gov. I’m not sure what he’s going to use this time in his campaigning but we have been giving his campaign small monthly donations since Jan although his election is not until 2023. I hope he reminds everybody about the policies he used to inform the public about how to stay safe from Covid infections, places to get tested, & a website for planning your vaccinations. He was on one local news station every day with his state public health director broadcasting his daily briefing from the summer of 2020 until this past Spring giving stats & showing where in the state major spikes were happening! The best stats were about vaccinations & he showed everyone where the reluctant to get vaccinated people were located. Wouldn’t u guess it was always the Eastern KY counties along with some in the far Western part of the state. The Repugs in those counties & the ones in his Legislature which is a super majority of Repugs gave him so much grief over masks & shutting down of in person church services in the early days of Covid, they very nearly forced him out of the Governor’s mansion out of fear for his kids lives. Some idiot even hung an effigy of Gov Beshear in the front yard of his home & for awhile there were protestors out front of the mansion every day complaining that he was taking their freedoms away! It really hit the fan when he shut schools down last year for nearly a semester bec of all the Delta spikes & lack of enough people getting vaccinated. Zoom classes were difficult to do when rural parts of the state had no Internet except @ libraries or fast food restaurants! Some good came from Covid though bec more smaller companies sprang up that began connecting rural parts of the state to the Internet & now they even have a discounted rate for service if u are on Medicaid or Social Security only. I certainly hope he gets another 4 years bec he’s brought many new companies & many jobs to the state, taken Federal dollars to help people in 2 Western counties rebuild from a deadly & massively damaging tornado that happened in mid Dec ‘21 of all weird times. He’s gotten infrastructure money to fix bad water pipes in E. KY & recently received money to start work on a new Brent Spence bridge on I 75 over the Ohio River bet KY & Cincy, Oh. And don’t U know McConnell has been trying to take credit for getting that money sent here just like those Repugs do in other states! They make me want to scream @ them!!
Daniel, u said u live in FL, a place where my hubby & I have snowbirded to every winter from 2009 until Spring of 2020 when we cut our trip short in March to hightail it home bec of Covid! We love the Destin/Ft Walton Beach area & once thought we would live there after retirement. I really can’t stand the humidity & heat of summer though plus the terrible mosquito & fire ant problem so I guess we’ll stay put in KY & just visit the son in Orlando & daughter in Pensacola during the winter months if we ever get to start traveling by RV again! Health issues are starting to interfere & making it more difficult so having Covid & high gas prices as excuses doesn’t make me feel too badly! Having a lousy Gov like DeSantis makes it even less attractive though I know he won’t be there forever! I hope he loses his election to Nikkie Freid or that Crist fellow & doesn’t have a minutes worth of luck running for Pres in ‘24!! He’s a Trumper for certain & who needs that kind of idiocy!!
Very interesting to learn that rural KY is heavily single-issue on abortion bans. It suggests that with the Court's probable abortion ruling those people will no longer have a reason to vote. Think of the possibilities.
As you describe, KY is a tough state to flip, and you may not get far using gun control and abortion rights (unless with younger women re the latter) as main issues... guessing things like infrastructure (electricity, internet, roads, clean water..) might help IF there's evidence that Biden's plan has begun to filter down and be SEEN and people are getting JOBS... but in the end it may be JOBS and the ECONOMY that have the greatest interest and inflation is a giant fly in that ointment... Crossed fingers for all your efforts. Glad to see Amy "fighting back" a la Abrams when the governorship was essentially stolen from her first time.
Proportionally, ruby red Eastern Kentucky is more dependent on government benefits than anyplace else in the country. Although there are few Blacks there, IMHO also as racist.
Andy Beshear eats burgoo, listens to bluegrass music, comes from a Disciples of Christ church family and he and his wife and serve as deacons. He is fluent in the language, (Bill Monroeism), speaks fluent black lung, Social Security and Medicare/Medicaid.
Rand Paul was named for an atheist, and opposes all social programs. By necessary implication supports Putin over Ukraine. Opposed infrastructure.
Charles Booker needs to overcome race to mitigate the Eastern Kentucky vote. I've been recommending that he use Bill Monroe's Working on a Building as his theme song.
If I was a liar I tell you what I would do
I’d quit my lying and work on a building too
If I was a drunkard I tell you what I would do
I’d quit my drinking and work on a building too
If I was a gambler I tell you what I would do
I’d quit my gambling and work on a building too
If I was a preacher I tell you what I would do
I would keep on preaching and work on a building too
My god! I hope you are correct in your predictions! It is certainly possible! Let’s hope that republicans are just as correct as Putin! Perhaps say 20 percent of those who failed to vote will have had enough! Outrage has awakened support for Ukraine like nobody ever thought it would!
In order to win, we need to FLIP four Senate races in Florida, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin. Field Team 6 has millions of unregistered likely Democratic women in a database from these states.
My thought has always been when it comes to gun violence, is when it hits close to home, i.e. a Rep's or Senator's family, they'll bee acting quickly on all the anti-gun legislation that has been brought forth and rejected previously.
As for Abortion rights, The Evangelicals can be "blinded" by their faith. I have one in my family. Abortion, oh, no, no, no. Bring that child into the world. But don't you touch anyone's guns, even though one of them may be used to kill that child that HAD to be brought into the world. Talk about uncaring, brainless individuals, that's them.
In 2017 the US House Majority Whip, gop Steve Scalise was CRITIALLY injured when shot at a congressional recreational baseball game. Several surgeries required to repair internal injuries. He has yet to miss a beat in thumbing his nose to any sort of reasonable gun control. Go figure..... on the other issue, I think you're right. Many people glom onto just one issue, make up their minds early on, don't do anything to double check their thinking, and run to the polls, period. Really a self-defeating behavior when so many serious SERIOUS issues confront us all right now that if not handled correctly will make abortion rights the least of our problems.. for ALL of us. IDK how to open the eyes and minds of single issue-adherents.
MM Harris ; Maybe ask them if they would like to live in Russia, or worse Ukraine, because the GOP love Putin, who is admired by tRump, and Tucker Carlson and they all would ban abortion in less than a heartbeat!
Professor, Though I agree, quoting you, that “women’s right to choose” and “children’s right to safety” could substantially galvanize not only the Base, but also Independents and moderate Republicans, I also expect inflation to be particularly impactful this fall. Hence, I continue to press for the playbook I started promoting back in January, after Dems failed to get either Manchin or Sinema to approve the Budget Reconciliation package (BBB)
As previously stated, aside from amplifying accomplishments, either Biden or a surrogate needs to go to West Virginia, and also to the red parts of Mississippi and Alabama, and to other states and say, “This is what we have tried to deliver and these folks have voted against it.” Simply put, Dems have to be willing to engage in war. One can’t play fair with people who don’t play fair. There are no rules. The other side has shown that it will do whatever is necessary to attain power. Therefore, Democratic leadership has got to say, “America, when they didn’t care about you, we did.”
At the same time, Senate Dems must try and pass whichever Budget Reconciliation provisions can get support from 50 Senators as a down payment to present to voters with more to come if Dems can retain the House and pick up at least 2 Senate seats.
The House already has signed off on this legislation. We’re simply waiting on the Senate.
Love the question! From the dark side, a definition (paraphrased) from my father for a term that had currency in his days: "A system of government in which business interests seize power." The term that this defines, my friends, is fascism. So deep down there may be much more that is driving potential voters. This is saying that the excellent examples presented may have much deeper roots -- and may yield a much bigger response. May it be so.
Yes and more yes. It is commonly held that our gun law weakness results from contributions by the arms manufacturers. I doubt that an industry that limited in gross sales can purchase and pervert an entire political party. It just doesn't make sense--what is the gross revenue of the domestic small-arms manufacturers--maybe $3billion? About as much as the cardboard box industry? No, fascism seems good for business-big, big business. Serious investments have been made in the disorder brought by profligate distribution of firearms. C'mon, folks, whatever happened to the phrase, "A well-regulated militia..."
"America is sick and her sickness endangers the whole world. Given America’s immense power and resources, a cure must be found within. The first thing that is needed is an education teaching that hate must be avoided, that excellence does not consist in violence. To achieve this change of outlook is an immense task which America’s “Radicals” must attempt to carry out. Whether the necessary heroism will be forthcoming, I do not know. We can only hope that it may be so."
— Bertrand Russell, Bertrand Russell’s America: Volume II (1945–1970), Part II. The Increase of American Violence, Published in truncated form as The Ethos of Violence in The Minority of One, January 1965, p. 607
I am a retired educator who spent 42 years helping children and adults to learn how to learn, how to think not what to think. Designing lessons and units while managing behavior and assisting in the development of social skills for the future. I would not want to carry a gun. People learn more complex skills when they are not afraid. I want my learners to not be afraid when they are in school and in their communities. Daily life should not be hostage to guns.
About abortion, I am past that time of my life where I would need to make such a decision, however, I firmly believe that I have the right to make that decision. No one else. I need the information from my Dr. not from an elected official or another person. Perhaps there needs to be a registry where those who oppose abortion commit to giving 20% if their income and assets to a fund where if a woman has to carry and keep a embryo they have decided they do not want to, can pull on that account for a lifetime support once that embryo is born.
I had a D&C when my placenta died and pregnancy ended at 5 months. What if that had not been possible. Back then the neonatal care was not at the sophistication of today. It was a horrific enough experience without having to carry the dead pregnancy to term.
There are real life consequences to the choices our elected officials are making. I do not even want to get into the Economy that is rigged for the top 1%.
Susan ; Pregnancy is more complicated than just bringing it to term. There are many women who have had experiences similar to what you had. It is not as simple as some think. Women have even died in childbirth, It stlll happens today, with all the technology. I am sorry that you had that experience.
I sure hope you are right, Prof. Reich. I just want to add the quote of a catholic nun (in 2004, I believe) that sums up the essence of the hypocrisy inherent in the "pro-life" crowd. Most of your readers have probably seen this quote. "I do not believe that just because you’re opposed to abortion, that that makes you pro-life. In fact, I think in many cases, your morality is deeply lacking if all you want is a child born but not a child fed, not a child educated, not a child housed. And why would I think that you don’t? Because you don’t want any tax money to go there. That’s not pro-life. That’s pro-birth. We need a much broader conversation on what the morality of pro-life is.”
I predict that Republicans will need extra security as they campaign this fall and continue to spout lies and promote anti-democratic and fascist viewpoints that are not at all in line with the majority of American voters. And some of them just might get their heads kicked in trying to convince women they have no right to control their own bodies or that the second Amendment protects the right of a chickenshit 18 year old to gun down innocents of any age. And WHY is the Secret Service still protecting that jackass twice impeached LOSER tRump as he continues to hold rallies around the country promoting hate and division??? Doesn't that make the Secret Service a party to insurrection?? There are better uses for our tax dollars.
I understand that guns were prohibited when ol' Tweety spoke at the NRA convention.
True enough!
Are we supposed to be soothed or heartened by the words of encouragement spoken by that paragon of democratic thought, Mitch McConnell? According to Mitch, because of the tragedy in Uvalde Buffalo, there is an encouraging spirit of bipartisanship and concern for enacting legislation dealing with gun control and registration. (In actual fact, Mitch has repeatedly noted the very same spirit after every single incident and murder of innocent people. It's his standard go-to for such occasions, a kind of knee-jerk reaction and, as soon as the initial shock and tragedy have passed (in a week or so), he will revert back to his usual do-nothing stance.)
If you don't quite understand why people choose not to vote, you need to take a good look at the non-voter position and the sense it makes: What on earth is the purpose of voting if your elected "public servants" only care about their own financial and political concerns and have little time for you and your efforts to survive? Even though they owe their jobs to you and your vote, they don't care about you, your kids, your parents and friends. Considered from this valid perspective, it frankly makes more sense not to vote than to vote. There are, however, those of us who believe (or rather hope) that clinging to our ideals of how the system should work will compel us to defy logic and common-sense and still aim to make a difference by voting.
I have a prediction. McConnell will pretend to try to pass gun legislation then add some stupid provision that Democrats can’t possibly support and blame them for failing to pass it. Mark my words.
This sounds entirely plausible. If the GOP/Trumpy Party (McConnell, Cruz, etc.) were as serious about gun control as they are about maintaining and clinging fiercely to the status quo, holding on to their "seats" in Congress, retracting the rights of women to decide for themselves, denying the health, education, and general well-being of the citizens and residents of the US, we would be in a different place. As elected public servants on the national tit, they have a duty to respond to national needs and demands; if they choose themselves over those who put them in power, they need to go. Too bad, they probably won't. And--it so happens--elderly black grocery shoppers in Buffalo and very young Mexican-American kids in Uvalde will end up picking up a tab no one should have to pay.
The real tragedy is that--as things now stand--no one in government seems to care enough about who the real victims are. I am proud that Steve Kerr, head coach of the Warriors basketball team, and Beto O'Rourke seem to have a sense about what this means. My question is: Where are all the other Steves and Beto's? Why are there so few of such leaders and so many McConnells and Cruzes and McCarthy's and Trumpers? It wasn't always like this, why is it this way now? Did Citizens United give us "public servants" who would do better among the oligarchs of a country like Russia?
I believe that all or most of our elected "public servants" have decided that holding elected office is just the ticket for them, an open road to wealth and power (the two things that count and the only two things that count). Somehow, not voting seems to make more sense in this situation. We were once the leader of the free world but, well, President Zelenskyy can now lay more of a claim to that title than anyone in the US...we're left with a contingent of PAC supported ceos, NRA dealers in death, and wannabes who have zoomed on in and left us with the tab. THe only recourse against all of this is voting and, well, those holding the reins of power are not about to make that easy. We are left with the slight hope (and no guarantee) that somehow we might make some slight difference.
Our days as leader of the free world were in the past, during WWII when FDR make it clear to the world where we stood and what our principles and values were. People are trying to stand up against those with the wealth and power but we have to deal with McConnell, Cruz, and those who want to give the appearance of having values when, in fact, their only real value is their wealth and what they can squeeze out of us all to support it.
I think we should collect all the personal assault rifles and automatic weapons and ship them to Ukraine where they can be put to the use intended
Not a bad idea at all! And we need to do it quickly. President Zelenskyy has indicated that there will be widespread famine if the war doesn't end. "How does this work?" you may wonder. Well, the fact of the matter is that Ukraine is an agricultural paradise and supplies a lot of grains and farm products to impoverished nations in the world. Right now, they have no port from which to send their produce and the country is in disarray but still they keep pressing on. They deserve a democracy if that is what they so choose...we deserve something, at least safety and security for our kids and a decent life.
It's been done before ; bait and switch, or support a popular bill to look good, knowing all along that it does not have a chance to pass.
Yeah, it’s disgusting. But maybe this time people will see through it. Fool me once and all that.
We older voters know a few things, and remember better than elephants when we were burned. The press like to say that men over a certain age support tRump and older white women support him , blah blah blah! When I attended Bernie Sanders rallies, there was a LOT of grey hair and wrinkles in there with the kids and middle aged! Divide and conquer will not work anymore! they kill our grandchildren! This will not be forgotten by John Q. Public anytime soon!
That old chestnut again ‽
oldest trick in the book
>Acute!<
And there are some elected officials who do care about us. If we give up we give in and the fascist team wins
Actually, what I don't understand is why suicidal mass-shooters & suicide bombers pick such rotten targets! Instead of picking something ultimately beneficial, they invariably pick on friggin' innocents, who are just as much a victim of their circumstance as the shooter himself!
I agree. But I have always observed that totally rotten people never get assassinated, only good ones. I guess the assassin feels their temporary attention will gain more if their victims are well liked or innocent?
Probably because the rotten people expect it. That's probably why they're so worried about "protecting themselves!"
I have a theory: envy. They’re envious that their victims have better lives than they do, or so they think. Parents who love them, community, the leisure to go to concerts and nightclubs, etc.
Envy may be part of it, but I think it is more complex than just envy. There is the need for recognition (that 15 minutes of fame) Anger at he world for not making it easier for them, Schools for not preparing them for the world in which they find themselves, Parents for having them and then not providing them a life of ease................................etc.
Well, now you've added Pride and Wrath (Anger.) That makes 4 of the 7. Only Lust, Gluttony, & Sloth are left! Wan'na go a "sept-fecta?" (Hoarding during the pandemic is mighty suspect - Gluttony.) "Grab 'em by the . . ." looks a lot like Lust, while not reading critical security reports stinks of Sloth - but I had ol' Tweety in mind for the last 2 of 'em. (Don't know about whether he hoarded!)
Makes sense. Envy has been "officially" encouraged since at least Ronald Regan. That's a Wank-publican value, that morphed into the "greed is good" ideology of the late 80's through '90s. How do these righteous bible-bashers reconcile with 2 of the 7 deadly sins, I wonder ‽ Well, they're "doin' it for the kids!" "Think of the kids!" ("The kids" used to be a standing joke among nightclub musicians out here - way back in the '60s. We all noticed that "havin' kids" somehow absolves you of any crime!) I guess it's all for "the family" now. BTW: Nightclubs and nightclub musicians as >I< knew them are a blip in history now. I left the business when I started getting a load of what was going to and has replaced them. Night life has become >very< dangerous, anyway - at least around here, these days.
Again, my mind is boggled.
How’s that for irony?
Paula B. Even more ironic, as someone in this thread (Dee, I think) pointed out that our tax dollars going to pay secret service to protect his ass.
DZK ; Just like Putin ; but Putin goes further and will not allow Russian citizens to have any guns, or even exposure to news from outside Russia. tRump will do the same if he can! end freedom of the press here. Imagine only seeing Tucker Carlson !?
I’m listening to The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich and it’s frightening how much our times resemble those. It boggles my mind that people put up with Hitler’s abuse.
Read the 2 volume book. Vol I is the rise, and Vol II is the fall. I read it back in the '70s and have never forgotten what it taught me. (If you're listening to an audio book, that'll do.)
Yes, an audiobook. Fifty-something hours.
Let me recommend: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0434409/ I usually recommend it at the drop of a hat to glean the direction we're headed - since 2005 when it was first released. You'll undoubtedly recognize the funny mask - that the clowns the movie decries have been wont to wear at "public gatherings" ever since!
Yet they refuse to protect our school children. Or those at worship, or even shopping!
ol' Tweety's >special!< (Now ain't that special!)
You know what gets me? He decrees no guns at his NRA speech and no one objects! The same people who have a fit if you tell them they can’t bring guns to public places don’t say boo.
Did you notice he directed them to storm the US Capitol and they did it. That’s what makes scary
Everything about them is scary.
Refer to my earlier comment on 9 people being shot in 48 hours about who paraded in front of the State House a couple of months ago.
Yeah, I saw that.
Their own voters!
Why can't AMERICANS have gun nuts too?!? As the alt right has proven, it would be EASY to sneak weapons into one of Bunkerboy's hugbox rallies!
Hell! Even jumping out from behind a doorway and scaring it would do the job!
I believe many are counting on the possibility they can provoke violence from the Left.
>Or< incite violence themselves under a "false flag." Keep an eye on who's being violent at peaceful civil rights rallies. (As an afterthought, d'ya think it would be hard to find and pay about 50 rowdies - "street merc's" - each $100 to infiltrate such a group and create violence? It'd be even easier anywhere there's an indigenous - not to be confused with Native American - gang-land culture. That'd be a cheap political campaign expenditure, when weighed against millions for minutes in campaign ads or political rallies! Hell! There'd even be >free< media coverage and public debate droning on and on for weeks!)
Ms. or Sir: IMHO, every young American should learn the term "agent provocateur" -- along with learning history and social justice movements. Your point is right on the money.
Nothing will wake up the giant like the power of an idea whose time has come. And the powers that be will do everything to prevent that from happening.
dzk is just fine! (The genderless voice of the perplexed!) LOL! ];-)>
>Absolutely Agreed!<
i hope you are correct in your assessment. but i don't think this "awakening" will happen without lots of support from and organisation by those who usually do vote -- support like community phone banks, in-person voter registration campaigns, and even driving individual voters to their polling place on election day. A LOT OF THOUGHT AND WORK! basically, we need a squadron of stacey abrams to organise and herd the democrat-cats towards a more liveable future for us all. this election may be the democrats' to lose, but without a lot of grass-roots initiative to make it happen ... well, i fear for the future of the country.
I think Stacey Abrams should have been head of a get out the vote organization totally supported by the Democrat Party. Dems seem unable to perform that function even though we are at a crisis point.
stacey abrams has her hands full running for the governor's position in GA, a position that seems fraught with fraud. (Hello Kemp.) she also did found Fair Fight Action to address voter suppression in 2018, so her activism "magic" is being transmitted widely.
As a start, besides the DNC and state Democratic parties, Field Team 6 is working on it. Join us at a volunteer fair – "find out all the fun (actual fun!) ways you can help – and see if you can resist signing up for an upcoming event!
It's too important to not try once – and too much fun to not try again. Can't wait to see you there!"
Thursday, June 2 at 5pm PT.
Contact Mervis Reissig: merv4peace@gmail.com
I've already mailed 100 postcards to infrequent but left-leaning voters as part of a nation-wide GOTV effort. The organization is turnoutpac.org. I also think we should bombard the DLC, DNC, and DSCC with daily emails for the next seven months, with one simple message: Stop fighting progressives! Find out which Democrat is leading in their district and put all your resources into that race. Don't back anyone BUT THE LEADER, and if that person is progressive, such up your out-of-touch centrist views and support them. Hammer that home with all three organizations, over and over again. Finally, they should also put out one stark, unpleasant, but absolutely true message: The GOP is the Party of Death. Period. Party of Death. Party of Death. Tie them to Sandy Hook, Uvalde, TOPS Market, all the misery and fear they've caused. Do not EVER refer to them as anything else. My two cents.
A priceless two-cents. I'll do it.
Yes! The Party of Death
I agree!
Want to help? Check out the New Georgia Project, which -- among other efforts -- is gearing up to drive voters to their correct voting places so there won't be any wasted votes in the election.
Yes, tune in to Abrams' web site and find out what you can do to help. Voters' rights groups are cropping up all over Georgia. I donated to Free Speech for People, which pressured for the April hearing in which Marjorie Taylor Greene's right to participate in the primaries was challenged. I watched the entire hearing on You-Tube. All parties involved were very polite and professional and MTG was allowed to participate in the primary and won. BUT, the hearing helped publicize who and what she is. My money was well spent, and now I'm donating and volunteering for her Democrat challenger Marcus Flowers.
GrrlScientist ; Don't be afraid ; the other side has gun rights too. If they mess with the vote and things get too oppressive, they could get a taste of their own medicine...and beat a hasty retreat. There is a reason that the civil rights act passed in '65. I'm not advocating this, but I remember history. I was there.
Yep.
What can be done about the bombardment of TV ads (e.g., rick caruso in Los Angeles) that fools people with no knowledge of who is he? I tried to find a site with candidate recommendations from Progressive Democrats but couldn't find one.
I’m trying to paste in a link but it doesn’t work. Try knock-la.com, LAP Progressive, LA Forward Action, Indivisible, etc.
Thank you Paula
There are three other things that are equally important:
1) Trump, and the Big Lie have lost much of their allure;
2) It is looking like Garland is finally going to prosecute the insurrection leadership; and, most importantly
3) Putin showed his stripes, and Trump, Carlson, and Fox all miscalculated their ability to justify the invasion and subsequent atrocities in Ukraine. In fact, it appears that at least some of Putin's trolls who handed Trump the 2016 election not only refused to sabotage Ukraine's infrastructure, but turned their talents against the Russian war machine.
The key for Democratic success, however, will be:
A) for Garland to follow through, and announce the fact that American politicians have lived in a bubble that rightfully must continue to ensure that the judiciary is not used for political purposes. However when a sitting President breaks so many ethics rules and then, from the evidence, plots to subvert democracy, and policemen die as a result of an attempted coup, their must be repercussions to ensure it will never happen again.
(A federal law should be enacted of a presumption of fraud against the people of the United States for a State Official to fail to certify an election without solid evidence of voter fraud if such an act caused a result contrary to the popular vote.
B) for Biden to break the stalemate in Ukraine by proclaiming a countdown to declaring Russia a State Supporter of Terrorism unless Russia not only pulls out of ALL Ukrainian territory, returns Ukrainian citizens, and compensates for the damages Russia has caused. Perhaps 6 months, but with one hour removed for every tank or artillery shell fired, a day for every rocket, and a week for every missile that lands on a Ukrainian City. This should provide a powerful incentive, because the only way that Russia is likely to shake a terrorism categorization once proclaimed would be with a regime change.
C) Pass some legislation to decrease drug prices and otherwise improve Obamacare coverage, with hardship insurance subsidies, and expanded coverage for non-pharmaceutical care-chiropractic and herbal, and other traditional healthcare, and dramatically improve childcare, child nutrition, and for after-school programs, and
D) for Biden to talk about how we need to insure that the Republicans will not be able to destroy healthcare or Social Security, or to increase taxes on the poor and middle class, and to close the loopholes for the rich, and that federal banks need to pay state taxes, just like everyone else, with increased minimum taxation on the rich, and provide economic rewards for carpool clubs for commuters using electric vehicles, thus cutting traffic and gasoline prices
E) For Democrats to start using terms like Moscow Mitch, and asking why people are still listening to Fox, Trump, and Carlson with the question- What will it take for you to wake up to the fact that you are being lied to, over-and over again?
F) Do Op-eds of open letters to Carlson, and Trump, and the Goofy-Over-Putin (GOP) Party asking them why they preach on behalf of tyranny even while their hero, Putin, is committing atrocities to subjugate the People of Ukraine, and why did Trump cosy up to North Korea and try to destroy NATO, and harm our allies, and our diplomatic corps, and keep his talke with Putin secret, and destroy the nuclear deal that was keeping Iran from gaining nuclear weapons, and leave office with America so weakened by his actions that Putin believed he coul walk into Ukraine and American would do nothing, because he knew that he had Trump, Carlson, and the Fox propaganda machine working on his behalf?
In short, it is time to stop playing nice-guy so the worm can turn.
Thanks for listening.
We should call Republicans the pro-atrocity party.
Pro Death Party
Paula B. ; It fits them perfectly!
Pro atrocity, pro poverty, pro sickness, pro racism.
Yes!
The real problem is the filibuster, found nowhere in the constitution or laws of the land. So, two people of 350 million people, just TWO, are preventing Democrats from passing needed legislation on both issues. And we know who they are.
Our hope is for any of three things: elect more Democrats to the Senate, replace Manchin and Sinema with two courageous Senators, end the filibuster, and then pass Statehood for DC
I wonder if there are any "laws" whatsoever in either party stating that if an elected member CONTINUALLY & for X amount of time votes in opposition to the party then they can no longer remain registered in that party. (Or is it expected that that person's own district will take care of the issue and vote them out? Or that a high-ranking party member will "have a little talk" with the bad apple? I have a feeling that nobody holds "little talks" any more..)
Not that I can tell, but the Republicans are much better at keeping everyone on the 'same page of the playbook.' Perhaps because they all depend on the same couple of billionaires to keep them in office.
especially if they take money from the wrong donors.
9 shootings in the last 48 hours here, including 1 shot to death on the State House lawn by Broad & High Streets - the intersection that defines the very heart of Columbus, OH. Only a few months ago did we see NRA-heads, fully tacked and brandishing AR 15's, looking like the very mass shooters themselves that we've seen of late, parading around on the State House grounds in support of eliminating state gun regulations! I saw Dr Reich's video asking what it's going to take! Indeed! What's it gon'na take ‽ (I keep a'wonderin' why it doesn't occur these obviously suicidal mass shooters, who are clearly operating under some delusion they're making their death have meaning, don't opt to shoot first the a$$hole who >sold< them the damn guns in the first place!) How about forcibly removing bodyguard protection from the legislators - in the name of saving tax dollars - and forcing them to commute to and from work driving their own private vehicles, while admonishing that we'll pray they don't become collateral damage ‽
How do you get across to the public that for every mass shooting there's a gun dealer and an arms manufacturer profiting off the misery they've helped inflict ‽ Ain't that the logic behind a'goin' after drug dealers ‽
Also, I think the Democrats are doing a $hi7 job of making >absolutely clear< that inflation is global, and that we'd face it >whoever< is in office!< It has >nothing< to do with this administration's - or the Democrats' - economic policies. If it were >only< in the US, I'd hold suspect anyone who could succeed in making it go away as complicit. However, it's not happening in a national vacuum. I'd >really< wonder about any politician who could make >that< go away - global inflation - and I >wouldn't< be thinking it was the goddam messiah!
https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/w3ct39sz
Biden's sinking approval rating is commensurate with how patently >unrealistic< are the voters' expectations, and the Democrats are doing >nothing< to remedy those expectations. Had ol' Tweety won, FOX and it's clones would be blowing hard that everything's >perfect!< Presently, we don't seem to even be able to cultivate realistic expectations in the face of proliferating firearms, the impact of massive population growth, the collapse of the education system - in part helped along by a functionally illiterate previous Secretary of Education - AND the simple fact that inflation is rampant globally. And we're not even among the worst impacted! Then, of course, there's the goddam Putin war on one of the bread-baskets of the goddam world - along with it's considerable control over a sizable percentage of oil production and Russia's incestuous pipeline link with members of the EU!
That's just my initial response to Dr Reich's question today.
Now, tell us how you really feel.
Love it!
BRAVO!
👏👏👏
DZK ; Don't forget that the Corporate owned 'news' have every reason to blame Biden and the Democrats for inflation, and they blame the local police for massacre related deaths of children, Not the NRA or corrupt legislators who are bought by them, along with judges on our 'high' court. They should be telling the truth and naming names. Like Mitt Romney $19 mil from the NRA for him.
I don't think they're overtly blaming Biden. I think they're failing to point out that he can only do so much to remedy the problem, and what he tries to do, the Republi-wankers cynically block. That's arguably worse than blaming him - it gives just enough info to lead people in jumping to their own, erroneous conclusions.
Sure ; it makes them seem reasonable and maybe plausible and unbiased.
UPDATE: Apparently, a witness says the dead man was attacked by 3 individuals on scooters! Rental scooters absolutely clutter downtown Columbus. The witness must have thought he was having a bad reaction to something recreational!
A professional hit!?
Not improbable. There's a gang culture here.
There is a gang culture throughout this country!
Yeah! Wank-publicans!
Isn't Ohio an important swing state?
>Used< to be. Not so much these days. Only the metro areas do any swingin'! The countryside is mostly blood red.
I remember 4 college students being shot/killed for exercising their freedom of speech a few decades ago in Ohio at a political rally on campus. Also exit poll irregularities during an election with suspicions of voter fraud. there were no investigations, of course.
Two observations here:
1. Nearly all Republicans are opponents of gun control, and all Democrats in favor. That needs to be hammered over and over by our Democrats who sometimes act more like a circular firing squad. Messaging, messaging.
2. A very significant root cause of our political dysfunction has been pointed out by the lawyer working with George W. Bush to capture the 2000 Presidency: our primary system.
Currently the general election in November produces in most states two radically different choices, and a bipartisan or centrist candidate is less likely. All of those Rs fear being primaried and losing power, far more than allowing more innocent victims of gun violence.
The proposals for ranked choice, is this "jungle primary"? might do amazing things.
The top two primary in California is, and has been, a total disaster.
Agree. It favors Republicans where I live in Ventura County. Probably elsewhere as well. I never could understand why Democrats support it.
Some cockeyed idea that 3rd parties would have a better chance, duh.
Ha!
While the "open primary" may hurt candidates in a small number of Republican-voting counties (e.g. Ventura County & Orange County) it does - in parallel - help candidates for statewide office: note the near-universality of Democratic candidates for statewide office since & the continued majority of Democratic candidates in both state chambers...
Since the vast majority of voters in California are progressive and fair leaning, I don't think the top two has been politically fair. I do think Green, Peace, Libertarian, Independent parties should also have their shot at the primaries but pitting two Democrats, or two Republicans against each other in the actual election is just plain dumb.
Obviously there's a thin line between democracy & a "tyranny of the majority" (i.e. mob rule)... but fairness could be in the eye of the beholder: if most voters are Democrat & vote Democrat (or registered "non-partisan" but vote Democrat) then the system works to yield choice to those voters.
Also, as Raymond mentioned in the parallel thread: "open primary" reforms are commonly coupled with rank-choice voting (i.e. as a replacement for first-past-the-post); such a change arguably addresses the issue of fairness insofar as a voter can feel secure in choosing the N most qualified candidates & knowing that a consensus can be reached.
From Florida, please explain how getting rid of the primary failed. I am all ears.
Where I live in Ventura County California you can end up with no Democratic candidates. Depending on how many of them run, they split the vote and get eliminated from the general election. It’s a terrible idea.
Where I live in Sacramento county, there were a lot more Republicans than Democrats on the ballot, perhaps with a greater split on the Republican vote. Hard for me to say how it will all play out. For the first time, I was able to convince everyone in my household to vote Democrat down the ballot, and to pick progressive where possible. We’ve all voted.
Yaaay!
Then does not the ranked choice voting idea solve that problem?
No, it does the opposite. When the top two vote getters go on to the general election there’s a good chance they could be from the same party.
Hmmm......a sensible question can be framed: Why do Republican senators sit on their hands rather than vote for sensible gun laws? The answer, of course, is their constituents. In a recent poll (admittedly 3 months before Buffalo and Uvalde, but after many, many other mass shootings) 84% of Texan Republicans opposed stricter gun laws. I am quite sure this is mirrored in other red states. Now suppose your name is, I dunno, Ted Cruz, and you're just smart enough to realize you have to go whichever way the wind blows, you could be looking at losing your seat to another Republican or (heavens) a Democrat, unless you sit on your hands.
Ah, the piety ("Our thoughts and prayers go out," etc.), followed by "Guns don't kill people, bad people kill people," you wait.
If you're name happens to be Mitt Romney, it's just more of the same.
I admire your optimism, and of course Democrats must continue their pursuit of stricter gun laws, because the current situation is nothing short of a national disgrace.
However, in terms of realpolitik, I still think Democrats should go big on something that cuts across party lines: healthcare. This, with the Roe issue, could deliver big Democrat victories in November and in 2024, and this in turn will enable sensible gun laws, at last.
It's perhaps worth reflecting on the British General Election in 1945. Everyone was sure Churchill would win, including the Labour Party. So when it came time to draw up their manifesto, some bright spark said "Since we'll lose the election anyway, why don't we write what we really want instead of hedging to the right as we always do?" And, universal healthcare was placed front and center of the manifesto. The result was a LANDSLIDE victory for Labour.
The answer is NOT their constituents.
They are 1. Ideologues. 2. Conduits for corporate money.
However I agree in part. The least common denominator is benefits. Even a racist pro-life gun nut needs to survive. It's easy to show that Republicans vote against their constituents' economic interests.
The majority of people in South Carolina always vote against that which would help them and vote for ideology. It baffles the mind. I left in 1978.
I also agree in part, but Democrats are ideologues and conduits too. So look at it from Cruz's viewpoint (if you can bear to): if 84% of Texan Republicans oppose changes to the gun laws, and if Cruz votes for new gun restrictions, then 20-30% of potential Republican voters may just decide to stay at home when it comes time to seek re-election.
He's not up for re-election. His base was bought and paid for by his wife's clients -- mostly Texas oilmen. He's also a culture warrior. Gun laws are a minor issue with his constituents.
The rubber meets the road in Ohio, Kentucky, Kansas, Wisconsin, etc.
All politics are local. As I explained elsewhere one prototype should be Kentucky where Democrat Andy Beshear beat sitting Republican governor Matt Bevin in a deep-red state where Donald Trump won by 30 points. The main issue was health care. Rand Paul is opposed to "benefits" per se on an ideological basis. 80% of Kentucky voters rely on such benefits.
In Kansas, Democrat Laura Kelly won by showing former Republican Gov. Sam Brownback's “reckless tax experiments” and “dangerously underfunded schools. She's up for re-election. Guns and abortion should not be her main themes.
Here's a little advertising copy from the Fascist state of Florida where Lil Marco Rubio and our nefarious governor are up for re-election.
https://www.charlottedems.com/miami-herald-op-ed-florida-seniors-at-risk-of-losing-social-security-medicare-under-scotts-harmful-gop-plan/?fbclid=IwAR16-bCumk8d7s1am7oQtS3JjvIcEPw2IpooalFFpjlMcX6BwQqkhsb4pgQ
Thanks for this. I'm well aware of Sen. Scott's "manifesto" for the GOP. Utterly terrifying. Mainstream media needs to address that before the midterms.
Thank you, Mr. Solomon. It is amazing that so many Floridians (who only became Floridians after retirement in a Blue State) suddenly become avid trumpsters - early onset old age dementia?
I don't want to start a civil war. Most of them were Trumpers before coming here. They come in several varieties.
When I speak to them I NEVER speak about Trump. I speak benefits.
I speak fluent Medicare. Many of them are being fleeced by Medicare Plus, which is NOT Medicare. Republicans are behind it.
I am a Vietnnam veteran. Can't tell you how many veterans were unaware that Republicans consider them "takers" and want to wipe out their benefits.
I worked for SSA a couple of times and wrote published papers about it. Can't tell you how many believe that Democrats were borrowing from the trust funds, when it was Republican policy. It takes a while to sink in. Not only are retired people in jeopardy, but any wage earner who is fully and currently insured has an insurance policy worth over a million dollars in most cases.
The main gripe is about the border. I heard 22 kinds of visa cases in my years at DOL. The antidote is "employer sanctions." Even the most racists hate the people who are attracting (if not actually sending) people to the border.
Do I hear an echo of Tip O'Neill on local politics?
I like the idea of adding healthcare to women's right to bodily autonomy, in fact, tying them together as universal healthcare and the privacy of the doctor-patient relationship.
I too certainly hope u r correct! Amy McGrath here in KY has begun an initiative called SOS where she is trying to mobilize voters. If u remember, she ran against McConnell in 2018 but lost in the rural areas of KY where people always vote against their best interests & are single issue voters mostly on abortion bans.
Most EASTERN KY citizens are fanatical about their guns so I wouldn’t count on KY people changing their voting habits & that’s why McConnell has been able to hold his Base so tightly! Rand Paul is up for re-election this year & the Dem Party here is working to take his seat away which might be possible if many rural GQP voters don’t vote bec our legislature has removed so many election sites! The Dems will probably be doing some phone banks this Fall & I will participate for sure! All we can do is work as hard as possible calling young, working middle aged folks & seniors & hope for good weather & a great turnout!!
If Kentucky could get rid of Bevin, it can get rid of Paul, who is a carpet bagging hypocrite. Beshear beat a sitting Republican governor in a deep-red state where Donald Trump won by 30 points.
Energize the Beshear voters and Democrats can win statewide. His main issue was Obamacare and Medicaid.
It helps when the Democratic candidate demonizes the Republican and evangelizes benefits.
Hi Daniel, Beshear barely squeaked a win by 80,000 votes I believe but I’m almost positive it was all the people who belonged to the Teacher’s Union that got him over the line. Bevin was threatening to take some benefits away from teachers & somehow reduce the retirement plan for current teachers & devise a new plan for incoming teachers. Bevin had teachers protesting at the Capitol in Frankfort almost every day while Beshear was telling them he had no such plan to do that to his teachers & even hired a former teacher to be his Lt Gov. I’m not sure what he’s going to use this time in his campaigning but we have been giving his campaign small monthly donations since Jan although his election is not until 2023. I hope he reminds everybody about the policies he used to inform the public about how to stay safe from Covid infections, places to get tested, & a website for planning your vaccinations. He was on one local news station every day with his state public health director broadcasting his daily briefing from the summer of 2020 until this past Spring giving stats & showing where in the state major spikes were happening! The best stats were about vaccinations & he showed everyone where the reluctant to get vaccinated people were located. Wouldn’t u guess it was always the Eastern KY counties along with some in the far Western part of the state. The Repugs in those counties & the ones in his Legislature which is a super majority of Repugs gave him so much grief over masks & shutting down of in person church services in the early days of Covid, they very nearly forced him out of the Governor’s mansion out of fear for his kids lives. Some idiot even hung an effigy of Gov Beshear in the front yard of his home & for awhile there were protestors out front of the mansion every day complaining that he was taking their freedoms away! It really hit the fan when he shut schools down last year for nearly a semester bec of all the Delta spikes & lack of enough people getting vaccinated. Zoom classes were difficult to do when rural parts of the state had no Internet except @ libraries or fast food restaurants! Some good came from Covid though bec more smaller companies sprang up that began connecting rural parts of the state to the Internet & now they even have a discounted rate for service if u are on Medicaid or Social Security only. I certainly hope he gets another 4 years bec he’s brought many new companies & many jobs to the state, taken Federal dollars to help people in 2 Western counties rebuild from a deadly & massively damaging tornado that happened in mid Dec ‘21 of all weird times. He’s gotten infrastructure money to fix bad water pipes in E. KY & recently received money to start work on a new Brent Spence bridge on I 75 over the Ohio River bet KY & Cincy, Oh. And don’t U know McConnell has been trying to take credit for getting that money sent here just like those Repugs do in other states! They make me want to scream @ them!!
Daniel, u said u live in FL, a place where my hubby & I have snowbirded to every winter from 2009 until Spring of 2020 when we cut our trip short in March to hightail it home bec of Covid! We love the Destin/Ft Walton Beach area & once thought we would live there after retirement. I really can’t stand the humidity & heat of summer though plus the terrible mosquito & fire ant problem so I guess we’ll stay put in KY & just visit the son in Orlando & daughter in Pensacola during the winter months if we ever get to start traveling by RV again! Health issues are starting to interfere & making it more difficult so having Covid & high gas prices as excuses doesn’t make me feel too badly! Having a lousy Gov like DeSantis makes it even less attractive though I know he won’t be there forever! I hope he loses his election to Nikkie Freid or that Crist fellow & doesn’t have a minutes worth of luck running for Pres in ‘24!! He’s a Trumper for certain & who needs that kind of idiocy!!
Very interesting to learn that rural KY is heavily single-issue on abortion bans. It suggests that with the Court's probable abortion ruling those people will no longer have a reason to vote. Think of the possibilities.
As you describe, KY is a tough state to flip, and you may not get far using gun control and abortion rights (unless with younger women re the latter) as main issues... guessing things like infrastructure (electricity, internet, roads, clean water..) might help IF there's evidence that Biden's plan has begun to filter down and be SEEN and people are getting JOBS... but in the end it may be JOBS and the ECONOMY that have the greatest interest and inflation is a giant fly in that ointment... Crossed fingers for all your efforts. Glad to see Amy "fighting back" a la Abrams when the governorship was essentially stolen from her first time.
Proportionally, ruby red Eastern Kentucky is more dependent on government benefits than anyplace else in the country. Although there are few Blacks there, IMHO also as racist.
Andy Beshear eats burgoo, listens to bluegrass music, comes from a Disciples of Christ church family and he and his wife and serve as deacons. He is fluent in the language, (Bill Monroeism), speaks fluent black lung, Social Security and Medicare/Medicaid.
Rand Paul was named for an atheist, and opposes all social programs. By necessary implication supports Putin over Ukraine. Opposed infrastructure.
Charles Booker needs to overcome race to mitigate the Eastern Kentucky vote. I've been recommending that he use Bill Monroe's Working on a Building as his theme song.
If I was a liar I tell you what I would do
I’d quit my lying and work on a building too
If I was a drunkard I tell you what I would do
I’d quit my drinking and work on a building too
If I was a gambler I tell you what I would do
I’d quit my gambling and work on a building too
If I was a preacher I tell you what I would do
I would keep on preaching and work on a building too
I’m a working on building
For my lord
for my lord!
My god! I hope you are correct in your predictions! It is certainly possible! Let’s hope that republicans are just as correct as Putin! Perhaps say 20 percent of those who failed to vote will have had enough! Outrage has awakened support for Ukraine like nobody ever thought it would!
In order to win, we need to FLIP four Senate races in Florida, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin. Field Team 6 has millions of unregistered likely Democratic women in a database from these states.
North Carolina
525,337 Unregistered Likely Democratic Women
Florida
770,734 Unregistered Likely Democratic Women
Wisconsin
385,213 Unregistered Likely Democratic Women
Pennsylvania
595,734 Unregistered Likely Democratic Women
Field Team 6 fair:
Thursday, June 2 at 5pm PT.
Contact Mervis Reissig: merv4peace@gmail.com
My thought has always been when it comes to gun violence, is when it hits close to home, i.e. a Rep's or Senator's family, they'll bee acting quickly on all the anti-gun legislation that has been brought forth and rejected previously.
As for Abortion rights, The Evangelicals can be "blinded" by their faith. I have one in my family. Abortion, oh, no, no, no. Bring that child into the world. But don't you touch anyone's guns, even though one of them may be used to kill that child that HAD to be brought into the world. Talk about uncaring, brainless individuals, that's them.
In 2017 the US House Majority Whip, gop Steve Scalise was CRITIALLY injured when shot at a congressional recreational baseball game. Several surgeries required to repair internal injuries. He has yet to miss a beat in thumbing his nose to any sort of reasonable gun control. Go figure..... on the other issue, I think you're right. Many people glom onto just one issue, make up their minds early on, don't do anything to double check their thinking, and run to the polls, period. Really a self-defeating behavior when so many serious SERIOUS issues confront us all right now that if not handled correctly will make abortion rights the least of our problems.. for ALL of us. IDK how to open the eyes and minds of single issue-adherents.
Scalise thumbs his nose at gun control, because he survived. If one of his kids or wife had been shot and killed, he might have a different reaction.
MM Harris ; Maybe ask them if they would like to live in Russia, or worse Ukraine, because the GOP love Putin, who is admired by tRump, and Tucker Carlson and they all would ban abortion in less than a heartbeat!
The antidote is benefits. Even ideologues need the necessities of life.
As long as they recognize where those benefits are coming from.
Professor, Though I agree, quoting you, that “women’s right to choose” and “children’s right to safety” could substantially galvanize not only the Base, but also Independents and moderate Republicans, I also expect inflation to be particularly impactful this fall. Hence, I continue to press for the playbook I started promoting back in January, after Dems failed to get either Manchin or Sinema to approve the Budget Reconciliation package (BBB)
As previously stated, aside from amplifying accomplishments, either Biden or a surrogate needs to go to West Virginia, and also to the red parts of Mississippi and Alabama, and to other states and say, “This is what we have tried to deliver and these folks have voted against it.” Simply put, Dems have to be willing to engage in war. One can’t play fair with people who don’t play fair. There are no rules. The other side has shown that it will do whatever is necessary to attain power. Therefore, Democratic leadership has got to say, “America, when they didn’t care about you, we did.”
At the same time, Senate Dems must try and pass whichever Budget Reconciliation provisions can get support from 50 Senators as a down payment to present to voters with more to come if Dems can retain the House and pick up at least 2 Senate seats.
The House already has signed off on this legislation. We’re simply waiting on the Senate.
From your pen to God's ears!
Love the question! From the dark side, a definition (paraphrased) from my father for a term that had currency in his days: "A system of government in which business interests seize power." The term that this defines, my friends, is fascism. So deep down there may be much more that is driving potential voters. This is saying that the excellent examples presented may have much deeper roots -- and may yield a much bigger response. May it be so.
Yes and more yes. It is commonly held that our gun law weakness results from contributions by the arms manufacturers. I doubt that an industry that limited in gross sales can purchase and pervert an entire political party. It just doesn't make sense--what is the gross revenue of the domestic small-arms manufacturers--maybe $3billion? About as much as the cardboard box industry? No, fascism seems good for business-big, big business. Serious investments have been made in the disorder brought by profligate distribution of firearms. C'mon, folks, whatever happened to the phrase, "A well-regulated militia..."
"America is sick and her sickness endangers the whole world. Given America’s immense power and resources, a cure must be found within. The first thing that is needed is an education teaching that hate must be avoided, that excellence does not consist in violence. To achieve this change of outlook is an immense task which America’s “Radicals” must attempt to carry out. Whether the necessary heroism will be forthcoming, I do not know. We can only hope that it may be so."
— Bertrand Russell, Bertrand Russell’s America: Volume II (1945–1970), Part II. The Increase of American Violence, Published in truncated form as The Ethos of Violence in The Minority of One, January 1965, p. 607
I agree. America and her citizens are sick physically, mentally and emotionally. I have no solutions. Except I try to be better today than yesterday.
Stephen W Blackburn. "Within."
Therapy: Buy a tent and evangelize. Sell the beatitudes.
Cecelia Jernegan: Salvation may be resolved by arousal of the slumbering giant.
“It is in your hands to create a better world for all who live in it.” – Nelson Mandela
I am a retired educator who spent 42 years helping children and adults to learn how to learn, how to think not what to think. Designing lessons and units while managing behavior and assisting in the development of social skills for the future. I would not want to carry a gun. People learn more complex skills when they are not afraid. I want my learners to not be afraid when they are in school and in their communities. Daily life should not be hostage to guns.
About abortion, I am past that time of my life where I would need to make such a decision, however, I firmly believe that I have the right to make that decision. No one else. I need the information from my Dr. not from an elected official or another person. Perhaps there needs to be a registry where those who oppose abortion commit to giving 20% if their income and assets to a fund where if a woman has to carry and keep a embryo they have decided they do not want to, can pull on that account for a lifetime support once that embryo is born.
I had a D&C when my placenta died and pregnancy ended at 5 months. What if that had not been possible. Back then the neonatal care was not at the sophistication of today. It was a horrific enough experience without having to carry the dead pregnancy to term.
There are real life consequences to the choices our elected officials are making. I do not even want to get into the Economy that is rigged for the top 1%.
Susan ; Pregnancy is more complicated than just bringing it to term. There are many women who have had experiences similar to what you had. It is not as simple as some think. Women have even died in childbirth, It stlll happens today, with all the technology. I am sorry that you had that experience.
long time ago. just grateful there was a treatment for me. That is why I support a woman's choice
So scary and sad! Nobody should trivialize women's lives or liberty.
I sure hope you are right, Prof. Reich. I just want to add the quote of a catholic nun (in 2004, I believe) that sums up the essence of the hypocrisy inherent in the "pro-life" crowd. Most of your readers have probably seen this quote. "I do not believe that just because you’re opposed to abortion, that that makes you pro-life. In fact, I think in many cases, your morality is deeply lacking if all you want is a child born but not a child fed, not a child educated, not a child housed. And why would I think that you don’t? Because you don’t want any tax money to go there. That’s not pro-life. That’s pro-birth. We need a much broader conversation on what the morality of pro-life is.”
Eugene Abravanel ; What about the child's happiness? And nobody who is 'pro life' talks about the happiness and health of the woman who is pregnant.