Speaking from Australia, I am of the opinion that every MAGA Republican candidate should be made to visit the American cemetery on Omaha Beach, as I have done, and walk among the graves of the kids who gave their lives to protect the world from the very policies the GOP is espousing. America once believed in saving the world for all that was good, and was a beacon for all nations who aspired to a just and compassionate society. Where has that light gone?
Snuffed out by the LOVE of Money, Power & Prestige, when human beings had the best option of creating a ‘good society’. Instead they devoured their earth and each other.
You are right. When a lowlife like Blake Masters is running even with someone like Mark Kelly and a fraud like Oz has just overtaken Fetterman, we are in serious trouble. But we are doing it to ourselves.
William, yeah, that's the hard part, having one party nominating scummy folks for offices they are neither qualified for nor have the interest in except for the power and money it will bring them means we have really sunk pretty low as a nation. This whole mess has been brewing for decades and we just kept ignoring it or trying to stand against it, but with too little effort. I think we believed our democracy would somehow work it out. We forgot that stressed-out, overworked, resentful people would not have the energy or desire to work anything out because, of course, those people and all the rest of us are the democracy. Now we pay for our neglect.
William Masters : Oz and others like him should not be on the ballot! They cannot make an oath to uphold the Constitution and the rule of law. Period. We have lousy vetting for candidates. Especially for Presidential candidates.
Our electorate is ignorant, has not learned about how the government operates, is mainly too young to remember WWII and is enraptured with “stars”. Entertainment and being in the news is theit measure of competence. What can we expect!?
underfunded public education has been carefully choreographed for decades to dumb down the populace and then add in FB, Twitter, etc. and BOOM we are a living Idiocracy
Hey Seeking Reason, you are right about Republicans passing on whatever it is they are trying to do. They used to claim some kind of high position regarding family, but I never saw it. Their idea of family has always been beyond patriarchal, Father ruling over the baby factory and its products, doing whatever he wanted to the other family members with impunity. Then, they claimed it was god's will.
As Dr. Reich would say, utter rubbish! We the people could not even get traction on our objections to that Republican image because Republicans had the money and media to pump the nonsense everywhere and still do. I keep reading and hearing stories about the conservative youth movement which should be an oxymoron. Youth are not supposed to be conservative! They have not collected enough knowledge to want to conserve anything yet, but in their drive for power while young, a subset of American youth will be brainwashed to believe the MAGA crap and eventually be totally corrupted by it. Their parents will be soooo proud!
No. If Republicans win, it is because not enough Democrat voters cast a ballot. Democrat voters are THE MAJORITY! But Democrat voters are also lazy, apathetic, or both. If Republicans win, it is the Democrat voters who are to blame. FACE UP TO IT! Even if you live in a Red state, if you vote BLUE, get out and vote. Your ability to vote depends on YOU! VOTE BLUE!
It's true! The wealthiest and the most powerful have made the policies, and stolen the power and wealth; not the women and workers and the poor! Helped by 'Justice' that is not Justice at all,, but bought and paid for evil!
Sorry, Seeking Reason, we cannot put all the blame on the Republicans. Too many Democrats got caught up in the me first movement of the 80's to throw all the blame to the other side.
Fay Reid ; The republicans have gotten the lion,'s share of corporate largesse. The way money flooded the campaign process, anyone wanting to run had to have money and plenty of it just to get on the stage. Then, the corrupted 'Supreme' court gave the wealthy full reign with Citizens United'. End of story.
Yes Vicki, a bunch of folks here would choose destruction rather than a terrific society that has a place for all kinds of people with all kinds of skills, talents, and abilities to contribute. That is just nuts!
Nicholas, You don’t understand MAGA. They would call it a hoax by Democrats. Like many, you are thinking like a logical, sympathetic human. These are racist monsters. They don’t want Democracy, they want to terrorize and control at all costs!
Seeking Reason, you are on the right track when it comes to some of the most virulent of the MAGAs. I think most are just followers who think they like what Trump and Kump are doing, but they are exhausted cowards for the most part. They like the big talk and the pumping up of the emotions, but don't realize they would lose a lot if their crew ever really got even more power than they already have. Trump cares nothing for them except as he can u se them.
I don't even understand their obsession. Drumpf wouldn't even want their company on a normal day. He is literally disgusted by jeans and t-shirt crowds. The blue-collar workers who end up with rough hands and oil stained fingernails wouldn't usually be able to get within a foot of him. Could you imagine him shaking hands with a man who was just delivering a calf on a farm?! Even after he washed his hands he'd never be there! Or talking with an Emergency Services worker after a major trauma? Or someone who does the laundry in a nursing home?? There's no way! My favorite thought is, a large percentage of these obsessed folks seem to be the kind who could stop in a tavern and watch a football game, or grab a pizza with the family type. Do you really think he would spend a second in their favorite bars?? And the vaccine for covid, he tells everyone is so scary...and then he gets it anyway!! Wait, I thought it was so bad for you?! Once, an older man fell in his club and was bleeding and his only concern was the FLOOR the man's blood was getting on.
I just don't understand what they think he's "fighting" for. He had to be told what, "pro-life" meant....so he probably never cared about that. I just don't understand....
People have preconceived notions. They "let" him in their homes via TV. He is a CELEBRITY, of course he tells the truth! These people are the former students who were taught to 'just believe'. Do what you're told, question nothing. Be good little children. Who were taught silence and obedience were more important than questioning and analyzing. Having taught them so well, how can we question them now?
I commend Australia. It had the ALP and Scott Morrison, and changed. It suffered the Hobart Massacre, and chose to do things differently. My God, won’t America just TRY?
Small point: Morrison headed the LNP. Anthony Albanese heads the ALP (Australian Labor Party), now in government. Morrison was a fan of Trump and thought he could be a sort of mini MAGA. He was a laughing stock.
that's a good thought but I don't think it would have any meaning to them. Look how the are responding to a 82 year old man being attacked with a hammer.
It made me want to throw up hearing about people laughing at that. I’m in my eighties and it’s a weird thing that happens when you are in your eighties. After eight decades of bring sturdy , you find you are not as sturdy and you become increasingly (gasp) fragile. The appalling thing is they call themselves Christians. They would be among those 13 year old Jesus was throwing out of the temple. Makes me want to vomit.
I'm hoping that those who are not horrified at the attack on an 82 year old are in the minority. This is a mid term election. There may be time to see just what the numbers are and how many are that hateful and /or brainwashed. It may not be too late to illuminate some facts. Pull back the curtain.
Thank you Nicholas. Your suggestion of MAGAs visiting Omaha Beach or the many cemeteries where Americans are laid to rest in Europe is a really good one, but I honestly don't think the MAGAs want to think or work that hard. I also doubt their ability to be changed. From what I have noticed when I hear them interviewed (rarely effective interviews because they usually say they love what Trump has been doing but can't or won't name one thing). They seem to like their racism, misogyny, xenophobia, and homophobia and cling to them as though those elements are just who they are. It would also help if they read about the Holocaust or about what it is like for people living in dictatorships, but they won't. They somehow think that if something like a dictatorship happens here, they will be at the top of it. They haven't realized yet that the leaders of MAGA have only contempt for their rank and file and will abuse them too when they are no longer of any use. As much as I have read about dictatorships, I just can't see the lure of it for anyone but the folks at the very top and perhaps, their most elite soldiers.
When Charles de Gaulle asked America to remove its American soldiers from France, Eisenhower politely asked him if he meant only the living, or also the bodies of Americans who died to liberate France. The democracy movement today could do well by understanding Ike. He was our kind of guy.
I "Like Ike" too, but I think you have the wrong person. In 1966 when de Gaulle withdrew France from NATO and ordered all US troops out, Secretary of State Dean Rusk asked him for clarification, "Does your order include the bodies of American soldiers in France's cemeteries?"
I think EVERY American should visit the American cemetery on Omaha Beach. I have been told that French schoolchildren go on field trips to the cemetery to pay their respects and give thanks for what our soldiers did there.
Nicholas. The beacon and light can be seen in the good hard working citizens of the USA. I see them every single day doing many good deeds. Unfortunately our government is bloated and corrupt. Inspite of this, good hard working Americans (not to be mixed up as "deplorables") continue to move forward in a good nation doing good things helping each other.
1) I doubt that self-centered, selfish, greedy people are likely to be affected the same way you were. That would require a sense of empathy and humanity that those candidates pointedly lack. 2) I doubt you or anyone could persuade them to make the trip. ("What's in it for me if I did go there?")
Nicholas Lee Carroll ; That light is still burning in all of us who have had ancestors and family members, alive or deceased, who wear or have worn the uniforms of service to defend American Democracy and all of us who love them. The beacon will be brighter, as soon as this election is over!!
It will be a MUCH more dangerous society if we don't tell people WHY to not vote Republican. We must all be Obama and risk what we can to get those who don't understand what is happening to vote.
@Daniel. Oh, I misunderstood. While I stand by my comments, I now understand you mean lists of voters - here in Katie Porter's campaign we do have lists and addresses to go knock on.
@Daniel. Well, yes. But lists of people who should be politically opposed, criminally prosecuted, civilly litigated. Beyond that, well, we won't go beyond that until "they" start it. Some of these freaked out secessionists should remember what happened the last time they tried to break up the country...
In Florida, we know who has already voted and have lists of Democrats who haven't. When I lived up north, many precinct captains wouldn't work, but we had a "ready reserve" of volunteers to step in.
There are some dark thoughts that I have carried with me in recent years. They center around who we really are in America. How moral are we? How ethical are we? Do we genuinely believe in equity and empathy? Are we still a society, or have we become to self-absorbed to care? Have we devolved into valuing power over freedom? Would we advance our position in society at the expense of our brothers and sisters?
I fear I know the answers to these questions........and I feel helpless to do anything about it.
My greatest uncertainty isn’t so much with the politicians and candidates. I don’t know if enough Americans support democracy and freedom......that is my greatest fear. That has been a profound shock and disappointment for me. I don’t understand who we are anymore.
70% of voters want universal health care. More than that will not tolerate a ban on abortion…even the christian republicans who get their girlfriends pregnant and pay for it without their wives knowing, secretly don’t want access removed.
Tom Johnson, I share your fears. On my calendar for November 9th I have put: Is Democracy 💀?
Right now I feel like the odds are not in its favor, despite Michael Moore's Tsunami of Truths claiming otherwise. Yes, he is logical, but the fever of MAGA is not.
“The essential American soul is hard, isolate, stoic, and a killer. It has never yet melted.”
- D.H. Lawrence
Mark Twain made the same point, it was the subtext in his stories. (Too bad we are shunning him now because in telling the truth he used words that stress us today.)
Tom, Stop buying their televised bullshit. We will NOT allow a takeover. We will confidently vote. WE WILL DECIDE THE ELECTION. Act like a republican, figuratively spit in their faces, yell, GET THE HELL OUT OF OUR WAY! And show who the majority are in this country!
Tom, I share your thoughts. By any religious or spiritual metric that I've studied over the years. we are not a moral or ethical society. Capitalism (which of course I benefit from) thrives only to the extent that labor and resources are free (mining, extraction) or nearly so. This started with the mercantile system in western europe in the 1500s. Euirope plundered the world (southern hemisphere, notably) and that evolved into capitalism.
I don't know what the answer is. Those same spiritual traditions exhort us to work on ourselves first. We can't make peace with anger and greed in our hearts. There can't be peace when anyone is hungry while others gorge themselves into insensate stupefaction.
If we can get through this, Democrats will need a bold, progressive agenda in 2024, a platform of the left. Democrats have been corporate for far too long.
Hear! Hear! Get through this indeed! I live in Minneapolis and I remember about 21 years ago when the Koch Bros went into Wisconsin and placed, their man, t Scott Walker in as governor. Wisconsin up until then was one of the most progressive states in the country. Today they are on the verge of becoming a one party fascist state. There is no question that plutocratic, ruling class money brought us to the brink of living in authoritarianism. This faction of the GOP are cruel. Yes, Michael, if we survive this the Democratic Party needs to change radically.
Wisconsin is one of a handful of states that could become one party/authoritarian governments. Certainly some states already are, Florida, Texas.....I never thought I would see this in the United States. I'm too old to fight it, not too old to move out of the country.
But remember the old “ love it or leave it” slogan. My parents always said never leave, take it back! Make it livable, and lovable by staying and by doing what you are today.... talking. Share the good you have given and taken as an American citizen. Don’t let these rabid cancers take our country.
It was the Clintons that took us here. My own daughter thinks centrist Biden is a lefty. This is because the left has disappeared from the face of the earth, except for a white-haired old codger from Vermont. Our kids have never seen "left." She was a Bernie fan, but she didn't know why.
My wife and I are both 71. We went out canvassing to get out the Democratic vote today in our district, which is very much in play. We were using a voting list that was selected for homes where people don't regularly vote, so our experience may have been skewed. This list of households was emotionally challenging for us, because some of these folks are tuned out. One young person of voting age answered the door and said, "I don't care," and turned us away. A blue collar guy with a big work truck wanted to engage us in conversation but wanted to tell us his thoughts as someone who is "fiscally conservative and socially libertarian, which means, I'm for people doing what they want, but I don't want to pay anything for it." I knew better than to continue that conversation too long, because we wanted to reach those who may be still be deciding their vote. As we finished our conversation with him, a jogger ran by and thanked us for what we were doing. We may have gained a vote from one person who didn't know about our candidates down ballot and was interested in hearing our summary of their positions and taking our literature. At our age, we can't walk these neighborhoods for long. We may be able to eke out a few more votes, and I know that many of us who believe in democracy feel desperate to avoid the possibility of losing a house or senate majority by a few votes. That is a remote possibility, which is why we are out canvassing. But I am also taking a longer view.
If MAGA Republicans flip one or both houses of congress and install their loyalists in national, state and local positions, it will be a mess, but the world won't end. We Democrats are in this position because of much of what Prof. Reich has written about, which is the corruption and inequality in our system.
For the rest of our lives we will live in a world impacted by climate change and the challenge to govern ourselves in the face of that. I've read credible estimates of climate change impacts and believe Vaclav Smil's assessment that we are already committed to 2.3°C global warming. I've read a nightmarish vision of the hardships people will have to endure even at 2°C warming in last weekend's New York Times, but neither of these scenarios predicts human extinction.
In the United States, if that's what it remains, we may need to form new political parties and businesses of shared ownership that learn from the breakdown of what we had earlier. The masses of people would not be happy in an America First one-party system, and that system will rot from its incompetence and corruption. Masses of people have the power and are capable of forming ideas based on goodwill and common sense and will have big problems to solve, but that's how we evolve as a species, through sufferings and the lessons we are able to learn and remember.
So my attitude is one of doing what we can in the time remaining to us, helping mentor younger political activists, and perhaps I'll host local conversations so we can all better understand and learn about the many factors at play in our current upheaval to become more skilled in addressing it.
With a first career in sales, later in marketing communications and eventually in psychology, I'm more in a mode of needing to draw out conversation among those who are sufficiently open-minded to participate. The maddening part of the cultural resistance we're facing is that you can't sell benefits to someone who fundamentally distrusts your motives or your point of view. Some who aren't sufficiently open are those with right-wing authoritarian or power mad personality traits as described by Altemeyer. There are other ways to look at this. I've been reading about what drives the reactionary state of mind to better understand the defensive argumentativeness that we are encountering. The guy we spoke with who described himself as libertarian was caught up in the type of thinking described in The Rhetoric of Reaction by Albert O. Hirschman, who describes three modes of negativity: perversity, futility and jeopardy. Without going into detail here, the slant of his skepticism skewed toward perversity and futility, where the perverse effect leads to unintended consequences. I'm also interested in social, cultural and economic factors that aren't being addressed by Democrats, as Prof. Reich points out.
I'm thinking beyond this election. Whatever the outcome, I can't effectively motivate anyone if I don't know their concerns, their worldview, and their objections to current messaging.
Your comments make sense. I spend much of my time speaking to young people about the importance of taking part in the political process in order to shape the future of the world they live in. I believe also that people should be careful what they vote for...shiny baubles lose their shine when reality sets in. Although your comments seem prophetic, I still hope our youth who are the citizens of the future are paying attention, and will vote for a pivot toward common sense and unity now. The "mess" will only be harder to correct later.
yes the existential issue of climate change is on the ballot. If Republicans take the house or Senate it will be virtually impossible to reach our climate goals by 2030 and that will be bad beyond measure.this assumes Rs Will hamper efforts to combat climate change. We are out of wiggle room to reach the US goal.
Invite your neighbors, family and associates to small gatherings, regardless of partisanship. Strive for diverse opinion. Eat chocolate chip cookies while you speak to each other and listen to each other. Do this about twice a month. Don't limit the exchange to politics—that's just frosting, if you can afford the sugar. Look for common ground. This is what I wrote to someone who was frazzled over politics the other day. You're saying the same thing.
Yes, this is exactly what I plan and what my activist friends are doing, combined with community service that is non-partisan. In a way, it's a supplement to what we've lost when more people belonged to religious communities or community service organizations. I wouldn't exclude those either. I also like the idea of local progressive leaders meeting for book discussions and messaging ideas.
Professor Reich, you voice unequivocally, the worries of every American who has been paying attention and who knows the true value of Democracy. “It is whether our democracy can endure.” And whether half the country cares enough to Vote for the survival of Democracy, our Democracy.
Never forget Liz Cheney, of whom Lincoln would be proud. She's crossing over, just to save the Republic. Adam Kinsinger. Mitt Romney, where are you? Susan Collins? Susan, how in the world did Trump find a way to blackmail YOU? Are they going after your kids?
Liz Cheney and Adam Kissinger are outstanding models. They are rare birds.
Romney and Collins have no principled identity. Romney is afraid and Collins pretends to be naive, but has used Trumpism to her advantage. Susan has no children to worry about. She said she would run for only two terms, but has become enamored with the money and attention.
I wish you were wrong, but am afraid you are right. The problem stemming almost entirely from the right side of the political spectrum is basically that they built a very wealthy, lucrative, top-down (trickle-down) political system that is teetering on the brink of collapse and they know the only way they can hold it together is a dictator. Just like Putin, a Russian Imperialist, wants to hold the Soviet Empire together. That hope is gone for Russia, but Putin is draining their natural and human resources to get it back. The right think that is a good thing, that Putin is a strong leader, yet they don't seem to realize that winning that battle would mean the end of, well, just about everything. You can't hold a top-heavy building upright if the foundation is weak. Democracy, distributed, people controlled governance, is our foundation. Flickers of it still exist, like the Kansas abortion vote that surprised nearly everyone. That could blaze brighter if given the chance. Young voters (and a few of us old codgers) will support action on climate change, a move to clean energy, LGBTQ rights, a woman's right to choose, housing for the poor, universal pre-K through college education, and universal health care if given the opportunity to say so at the ballet box. Instead Republicans have made it all about "government is the problem" and only "we can fix it", depending on the support of the top heavy wealth class (the 0.01 percent) to make that happen.
“Young voters (and a few of us old codgers) will support action on climate change, a move to clean energy, LGBTQ rights, a woman's right to choose, housing for the poor, universal pre-K through college education, and universal health care if given the opportunity to say so at the ballet box”. And diversity. These are the very advances that have created uncertainty and have therefore frightened those on the right who see their world evolving in front of their eyes. They’re very uncertain and therefore very frightened. They’re reacting in the extreme and pushing a drive to fascism in a desperate effort to restore a simpler time when white men could tell white women what to do. And hold the most to be superior to the black man. They were told it was God‘s will, and in a form of confirmation bias, they believed it. It will take a generation for them to accept the human race as it now exists. In the meantime, we will be at war with the fearful retrograde defenders of the past.
Well said. Can't think of everything at 4:30 am. Yes, they are afraid of diversity, yet it is human and biological diversity that is the basis of ecological stability. Without diversity we founder, lost in a house of mirrors. Can we let this diversity rise to leadership before we kill the planet? Unlikely. My poor white neighbors with their confederate flags and particulate spewing pick-up trucks with gun racks (this is not a parody, it is just down the road) see things differently, and they have more votes in my district.
Bull. These are racist people who have helped destroy this country. I’m sick and tired if excuses for tyrants.
Do you ask that of the black population who have been cheated out of their rights for centuries. Enough with this coddling for these monsters with guns!
Progwoman. Hello. These people have been bitter since they lost the Civil War. Political party has nothing to do with it. And remember: it was the Southern Democrats who vowed over their own dead bodies that the "nigra" would never sit next to their pure white little children in public school. So no -- can't agree that as Democrats we have contributed to their bitterness. Courage for the week ahead!
In 1969 a professor mentioned in passing that the white man’s world is shrinking. I am trying to muster some sympathy for those who find this disturbing new news.
I'll bet money that almost every one of you reading this either have already voted, or will be voting by Tuesday, unless circumstances prevent you from doing so. That's great, well done. But that's not enough. You're here because you're engaged, your concerned, and for the most part, you believe your vote can matter. Many of you probably also live in states or urban areas where a majority tend to vote with a similar political leaning. Some of you may live in places where so many regularly vote Democratic, you vote mainly to satisfy yourself that you've done your part, but you know that your individual vote is already in the strong majority.
But then there's the rest of your fellow citizens. Many of them are discouraged. Many of them are overworked, exhausted, stressed, and trying to keep it together. Many of them don't have a conviction that their vote matters or will change anything. They need your help.
You may be in a place where you know that your one-more-vote among millions who already agree with you and will sweep your state isn't really going to change our country for the better in a measurable way. If you truly want to make your influence actually count, your fellow citizens need you. You're needed to encourage others to vote, especially in other states where tight races mean the difference between someone competent and empathetic ascending to office, or someone beholden to the dark extremes of our society who is all too eager to magnify the anger, malice and lies. The voters there matter even more, because where they are, massive shifts come down to as few as 5 votes per precinct (as was the case in certain states in 2020).
So if you are glad you will vote or have voted, good, be glad. But if you want to make sure you make a difference and can tell others you gave your best, go sign up and encourage those downtrodden fellow citizens of yours in battleground states to go and vote, and get five others to vote with us who otherwise might lose heart and give up. Go search up phone banks and texting campaigns (which you can do from home, privately, through the organizations that have it set up and waiting for you to join), and just give an hour or two to this effort. Tell someone they matter, and encourage them to make sure to vote. Then you can be sure you've made a difference when it really mattered.
Enough! I respect Dr. Reich and I know he is both voicing many of our concerns AND doing what he can to mobilize the Democratic vote. But enough of this hand wringing. So a few lawbreakers get voted in? We will litigate them and sue them. Some idiot won't do her job and certify an election? She will be sued, impeached, litigated. Some of them get away with it? The tide of public opinion will turn against them when it becomes even more obvious what they are doing. What Democrats need to do is play hard ball now to limit the scope of the problem, then play the long game to get ready for the next election, then work hard (even if we are the minority party in Congress) over the next election cycle to block the worst that the criminally insane seditionists and the cynically ambitious traitors try to do. That's it. Ms. Pelosi can freeze up the House and Mr. Schumer can freeze up the Senate. Mr. Biden can block anything that gets through. And then let's hire more comedians to illustrate how crazy, misguided, un-ethical and traitorous they are, and how ridiculous their "policy" ideas are. Let's get Franken back in the Senate as comedian in charge... I wish we could get Will Rogers back too....
Benjamin R. Stockton ; We could use a few laughs. But seriously, it's true : if enough people (real humans) start hurting because they did not vote, or believe In Democracy ; they may hurt enough to fight to get some rights back, and protect the planet. And get rid of crooked 'lawmakers' AND then get even more rights! And a strong , not namby pamby DEMOCRACY!!
@ Laurie. I remember when Obama roasted Trump at the correspondents' dinner. Well deserved when you recall the birther crap that Trump was putting out back then. But yes, making dip shits into laughing stocks will help our morale even if the hard work still needs to be done!
We watched while this slow coup attempt played out. I hope it serves as a VERY ZLONG-LASTING lesson. We cannot allow compromise with fascist leaning republicans! Ever!
President Biden spoke urgently to the nation last night about this very matter, that American democracy teeters on the brink. We must raise the alarm, and share these deep concerns. In the wise words of Yogi Berra, it ain't over 'til it's over. Each of us can work to make sure it ain't over.
Of course democracy is in danger in the USA. Money has and does rule politics in our country for decades. Both parties have been corrupted by big money influence. I held to the hope that the Democrats might " man up" and really tackle this issue and yet they remain silent. There is little hope for democracy as long as money and lies are allowed to rule unchecked. Strict campain finance laws and term limits might give us some hope. Little chance of getting that accomplished as long as there are riches to be garnered through politics.
Actually the bottom line is that we should take down all the crosses in America and replace them with the $ sign. That is what we worship... even those of us who say we don’t.... we do until we stand up and demand change from the Supreme Court to the city clerk!
Much truth to this but a tremendous amount has been done to help people by Democrats only! Not republicans. Our progressives are fighting to make things better. We must get money addressed once we take majority control. No more negotiating with criminal republicans. Block all republican bills introduced until we’re back on track. Be like them, only fighting for justice with as much gusto!
I voted absentee sometime ago, and of course it was straight Democratic.
The concerns you raise for today are real, and you have contrasted them with concerns in the past. Now, you mention McCarthyism and the main concerns of the 50s as beginning things that worried you, at a time when you must have been in grade school. Well, maybe you had alert teachers who guided you; you’ve already mentioned one teacher. When I was in grade school (born in 1945), I certainly was unaware of the real issues. I know you’ve devoted your life to looking at our government and being concerned about how just it has been to everyday people. You know we still don’t have a decent federal minimum wage, or a Violence against Women Act ratification, and so on.
I’m glad you’re calling people out to campaign for true democracy. Thank you.
Republicans ( insurrection ) propagating falsehoods about the electoral process.
Democrats ( Preserve Democracy ) Respect voters' freedom to exercise their lawful rights to register and vote, free from interference, obstruction, or intimidation.
Speaking from Australia, I am of the opinion that every MAGA Republican candidate should be made to visit the American cemetery on Omaha Beach, as I have done, and walk among the graves of the kids who gave their lives to protect the world from the very policies the GOP is espousing. America once believed in saving the world for all that was good, and was a beacon for all nations who aspired to a just and compassionate society. Where has that light gone?
Snuffed out by the LOVE of Money, Power & Prestige, when human beings had the best option of creating a ‘good society’. Instead they devoured their earth and each other.
Unfortunately, I believe you are right. What kind of world are we passing along to the next generation?
We’re not passing it along, Republicans are. Call out the name REPUBLICANS when vetting blame! No dancing around it.
You are right. When a lowlife like Blake Masters is running even with someone like Mark Kelly and a fraud like Oz has just overtaken Fetterman, we are in serious trouble. But we are doing it to ourselves.
William, yeah, that's the hard part, having one party nominating scummy folks for offices they are neither qualified for nor have the interest in except for the power and money it will bring them means we have really sunk pretty low as a nation. This whole mess has been brewing for decades and we just kept ignoring it or trying to stand against it, but with too little effort. I think we believed our democracy would somehow work it out. We forgot that stressed-out, overworked, resentful people would not have the energy or desire to work anything out because, of course, those people and all the rest of us are the democracy. Now we pay for our neglect.
Thank you, Ruth. This is exactly what has been happening since the mid-60's
William Masters : Oz and others like him should not be on the ballot! They cannot make an oath to uphold the Constitution and the rule of law. Period. We have lousy vetting for candidates. Especially for Presidential candidates.
Our electorate is ignorant, has not learned about how the government operates, is mainly too young to remember WWII and is enraptured with “stars”. Entertainment and being in the news is theit measure of competence. What can we expect!?
underfunded public education has been carefully choreographed for decades to dumb down the populace and then add in FB, Twitter, etc. and BOOM we are a living Idiocracy
Right on, Maggie mac!
Send Lincoln Project ads to Republican sites. https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCpYCxV51bykhMY-wSUozQRg
Anecdotally many Republicans here in Baghdad By the Sea are telling me they voted BLUE!!!!
Daniel Solomon ; Good!
Wow! That's terrific news. Hopeful, maybe.
Hey Seeking Reason, you are right about Republicans passing on whatever it is they are trying to do. They used to claim some kind of high position regarding family, but I never saw it. Their idea of family has always been beyond patriarchal, Father ruling over the baby factory and its products, doing whatever he wanted to the other family members with impunity. Then, they claimed it was god's will.
As Dr. Reich would say, utter rubbish! We the people could not even get traction on our objections to that Republican image because Republicans had the money and media to pump the nonsense everywhere and still do. I keep reading and hearing stories about the conservative youth movement which should be an oxymoron. Youth are not supposed to be conservative! They have not collected enough knowledge to want to conserve anything yet, but in their drive for power while young, a subset of American youth will be brainwashed to believe the MAGA crap and eventually be totally corrupted by it. Their parents will be soooo proud!
No. If Republicans win, it is because not enough Democrat voters cast a ballot. Democrat voters are THE MAJORITY! But Democrat voters are also lazy, apathetic, or both. If Republicans win, it is the Democrat voters who are to blame. FACE UP TO IT! Even if you live in a Red state, if you vote BLUE, get out and vote. Your ability to vote depends on YOU! VOTE BLUE!
It's true! The wealthiest and the most powerful have made the policies, and stolen the power and wealth; not the women and workers and the poor! Helped by 'Justice' that is not Justice at all,, but bought and paid for evil!
Sorry, Seeking Reason, we cannot put all the blame on the Republicans. Too many Democrats got caught up in the me first movement of the 80's to throw all the blame to the other side.
Fay Reid ; The republicans have gotten the lion,'s share of corporate largesse. The way money flooded the campaign process, anyone wanting to run had to have money and plenty of it just to get on the stage. Then, the corrupted 'Supreme' court gave the wealthy full reign with Citizens United'. End of story.
There is no prestige in any of this. Money and power. Prestige comes with character.
Yes Vicki, a bunch of folks here would choose destruction rather than a terrific society that has a place for all kinds of people with all kinds of skills, talents, and abilities to contribute. That is just nuts!
Many on Tic Tok, other mediums can save us, Please encourage them.
In 2020 some said Taylor Swift had the most influential political influence. 230 million followers. https://www.instagram.com/taylorswift/?hl=en
Nicholas, You don’t understand MAGA. They would call it a hoax by Democrats. Like many, you are thinking like a logical, sympathetic human. These are racist monsters. They don’t want Democracy, they want to terrorize and control at all costs!
Here's how to turn MAGAts. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6RkDtBA5_dc
Tim is right and he is REAL. He speaks as an Ohioan. Send more help! The Drumpf 🦃 s are attempting to bury him.
Seeking Reason, you are on the right track when it comes to some of the most virulent of the MAGAs. I think most are just followers who think they like what Trump and Kump are doing, but they are exhausted cowards for the most part. They like the big talk and the pumping up of the emotions, but don't realize they would lose a lot if their crew ever really got even more power than they already have. Trump cares nothing for them except as he can u se them.
I don't even understand their obsession. Drumpf wouldn't even want their company on a normal day. He is literally disgusted by jeans and t-shirt crowds. The blue-collar workers who end up with rough hands and oil stained fingernails wouldn't usually be able to get within a foot of him. Could you imagine him shaking hands with a man who was just delivering a calf on a farm?! Even after he washed his hands he'd never be there! Or talking with an Emergency Services worker after a major trauma? Or someone who does the laundry in a nursing home?? There's no way! My favorite thought is, a large percentage of these obsessed folks seem to be the kind who could stop in a tavern and watch a football game, or grab a pizza with the family type. Do you really think he would spend a second in their favorite bars?? And the vaccine for covid, he tells everyone is so scary...and then he gets it anyway!! Wait, I thought it was so bad for you?! Once, an older man fell in his club and was bleeding and his only concern was the FLOOR the man's blood was getting on.
I just don't understand what they think he's "fighting" for. He had to be told what, "pro-life" meant....so he probably never cared about that. I just don't understand....
People have preconceived notions. They "let" him in their homes via TV. He is a CELEBRITY, of course he tells the truth! These people are the former students who were taught to 'just believe'. Do what you're told, question nothing. Be good little children. Who were taught silence and obedience were more important than questioning and analyzing. Having taught them so well, how can we question them now?
A better take on the MAGA maggots, Ruth. I agree.
I commend Australia. It had the ALP and Scott Morrison, and changed. It suffered the Hobart Massacre, and chose to do things differently. My God, won’t America just TRY?
Small point: Morrison headed the LNP. Anthony Albanese heads the ALP (Australian Labor Party), now in government. Morrison was a fan of Trump and thought he could be a sort of mini MAGA. He was a laughing stock.
How right you are!
that's a good thought but I don't think it would have any meaning to them. Look how the are responding to a 82 year old man being attacked with a hammer.
It made me want to throw up hearing about people laughing at that. I’m in my eighties and it’s a weird thing that happens when you are in your eighties. After eight decades of bring sturdy , you find you are not as sturdy and you become increasingly (gasp) fragile. The appalling thing is they call themselves Christians. They would be among those 13 year old Jesus was throwing out of the temple. Makes me want to vomit.
I'm with you at being in the eighties and it's true that your body is more fragile.
@William. I wish Mr. Pelosi could have gotten of one good lick... I hope everyone who resorts to violence suffers equal consequences.
I'm hoping that those who are not horrified at the attack on an 82 year old are in the minority. This is a mid term election. There may be time to see just what the numbers are and how many are that hateful and /or brainwashed. It may not be too late to illuminate some facts. Pull back the curtain.
Thank you Nicholas. Your suggestion of MAGAs visiting Omaha Beach or the many cemeteries where Americans are laid to rest in Europe is a really good one, but I honestly don't think the MAGAs want to think or work that hard. I also doubt their ability to be changed. From what I have noticed when I hear them interviewed (rarely effective interviews because they usually say they love what Trump has been doing but can't or won't name one thing). They seem to like their racism, misogyny, xenophobia, and homophobia and cling to them as though those elements are just who they are. It would also help if they read about the Holocaust or about what it is like for people living in dictatorships, but they won't. They somehow think that if something like a dictatorship happens here, they will be at the top of it. They haven't realized yet that the leaders of MAGA have only contempt for their rank and file and will abuse them too when they are no longer of any use. As much as I have read about dictatorships, I just can't see the lure of it for anyone but the folks at the very top and perhaps, their most elite soldiers.
When Charles de Gaulle asked America to remove its American soldiers from France, Eisenhower politely asked him if he meant only the living, or also the bodies of Americans who died to liberate France. The democracy movement today could do well by understanding Ike. He was our kind of guy.
I "Like Ike" too, but I think you have the wrong person. In 1966 when de Gaulle withdrew France from NATO and ordered all US troops out, Secretary of State Dean Rusk asked him for clarification, "Does your order include the bodies of American soldiers in France's cemeteries?"
I think EVERY American should visit the American cemetery on Omaha Beach. I have been told that French schoolchildren go on field trips to the cemetery to pay their respects and give thanks for what our soldiers did there.
Agreed!
Nicholas. The beacon and light can be seen in the good hard working citizens of the USA. I see them every single day doing many good deeds. Unfortunately our government is bloated and corrupt. Inspite of this, good hard working Americans (not to be mixed up as "deplorables") continue to move forward in a good nation doing good things helping each other.
1) I doubt that self-centered, selfish, greedy people are likely to be affected the same way you were. That would require a sense of empathy and humanity that those candidates pointedly lack. 2) I doubt you or anyone could persuade them to make the trip. ("What's in it for me if I did go there?")
Nicholas Lee Carroll ; That light is still burning in all of us who have had ancestors and family members, alive or deceased, who wear or have worn the uniforms of service to defend American Democracy and all of us who love them. The beacon will be brighter, as soon as this election is over!!
trump stood before a cemetery of soldiers and called them “losers”. none of his supporters would feel differently about omaha beach.
Think about this, he called a war hero a loser. He is pathetic.
Even if he and I agreed exactly on policy, how could I admire a man who did such indignities?
Extinguished
internally
Oh so true! Beautiful thought, so well said.
Early voted. Straight Democratic. Thanks for another key insight, Robert.
Same here. And a Republican friend voted straight democrat.
I to voted early, straight Democratic ticket. A first for me.
Don't be anonymous. Tell the world.
Wasn't the right to a secret ballot a thing ? In this scary, dangerous time people should have that privacy.
It will be a MUCH more dangerous society if we don't tell people WHY to not vote Republican. We must all be Obama and risk what we can to get those who don't understand what is happening to vote.
Public record after it's counted though, isn't it?
Thank you. Since you've already voted, what else can you do now to make a difference?
See my post. Immediate Impact Phone Banks with Swing Left https://swingleft.org/event/register/mobilize:513668?s=u&utm_source=google-search&utm_term=tlw_phonebank&utm_campaign=tlw&keyword=democratic%20phone%20banking&gclid=Cj0KCQjwqoibBhDUARIsAH2OpWi_7fk_CU_Ibf8Y68AYub_IyjwDATO8c0lGBWb1KUZu1XIY3ah40CgaAgqoEALw_wcB
spent 2 hrs last ight doing that
@Michael. Knock on doors on election day to ferret out whoever has not yet gone to the polls!
The party should have lists.
@Daniel. Oh, I misunderstood. While I stand by my comments, I now understand you mean lists of voters - here in Katie Porter's campaign we do have lists and addresses to go knock on.
@Daniel. Well, yes. But lists of people who should be politically opposed, criminally prosecuted, civilly litigated. Beyond that, well, we won't go beyond that until "they" start it. Some of these freaked out secessionists should remember what happened the last time they tried to break up the country...
In Florida, we know who has already voted and have lists of Democrats who haven't. When I lived up north, many precinct captains wouldn't work, but we had a "ready reserve" of volunteers to step in.
Ditto, & wait for it... my Republican (dare I say x-Republican) husband too!!
Both my husband and I early voted: straight Democratic!❤️
Same - Voted D to save our democracy.
Bob,
There are some dark thoughts that I have carried with me in recent years. They center around who we really are in America. How moral are we? How ethical are we? Do we genuinely believe in equity and empathy? Are we still a society, or have we become to self-absorbed to care? Have we devolved into valuing power over freedom? Would we advance our position in society at the expense of our brothers and sisters?
I fear I know the answers to these questions........and I feel helpless to do anything about it.
Tom J
Birmingham, Alabama
That is the fear. Knowing we know the answers. Yet hoping. We’ve voted and then there is the long wait. The longest wait.
My greatest uncertainty isn’t so much with the politicians and candidates. I don’t know if enough Americans support democracy and freedom......that is my greatest fear. That has been a profound shock and disappointment for me. I don’t understand who we are anymore.
You are not alone.
Tom, do not give up.
You are the kind of people we need!
Please read Mary Pipher’s book “The Middle of Everywhere”.
Also her” The Shelter of Each Other”
Reading about how other human beings are trying to survive can give us meaning while trying to help each other.
I think you know this. My heart goes out to you as you have stated my own fears and worries.
🥰
70% of voters want universal health care. More than that will not tolerate a ban on abortion…even the christian republicans who get their girlfriends pregnant and pay for it without their wives knowing, secretly don’t want access removed.
Buying in to their propaganda makes them gleeful.
Tom Johnson, I share your fears. On my calendar for November 9th I have put: Is Democracy 💀?
Right now I feel like the odds are not in its favor, despite Michael Moore's Tsunami of Truths claiming otherwise. Yes, he is logical, but the fever of MAGA is not.
You certainly do understand who some of us still are.
“The essential American soul is hard, isolate, stoic, and a killer. It has never yet melted.”
- D.H. Lawrence
Mark Twain made the same point, it was the subtext in his stories. (Too bad we are shunning him now because in telling the truth he used words that stress us today.)
Tom, Stop buying their televised bullshit. We will NOT allow a takeover. We will confidently vote. WE WILL DECIDE THE ELECTION. Act like a republican, figuratively spit in their faces, yell, GET THE HELL OUT OF OUR WAY! And show who the majority are in this country!
Tom, I share your thoughts. By any religious or spiritual metric that I've studied over the years. we are not a moral or ethical society. Capitalism (which of course I benefit from) thrives only to the extent that labor and resources are free (mining, extraction) or nearly so. This started with the mercantile system in western europe in the 1500s. Euirope plundered the world (southern hemisphere, notably) and that evolved into capitalism.
I don't know what the answer is. Those same spiritual traditions exhort us to work on ourselves first. We can't make peace with anger and greed in our hearts. There can't be peace when anyone is hungry while others gorge themselves into insensate stupefaction.
To thine own self be true. Live the changes you want to see in the world.
Courage Tom. Keep the faith that seeking, speaking, and living the truth with great compassion for all as well as we can makes us free.
Tom,
Do not give up! You are what we need.
Please read : “The Middle of Everywhere”, Mary Pipher
Also her, “The Shelter of Each Other”
If we can get through this, Democrats will need a bold, progressive agenda in 2024, a platform of the left. Democrats have been corporate for far too long.
including Campaign Finance Reform, and there are many other steps countries take to remove the influence of money from Politicians
Hear! Hear! Get through this indeed! I live in Minneapolis and I remember about 21 years ago when the Koch Bros went into Wisconsin and placed, their man, t Scott Walker in as governor. Wisconsin up until then was one of the most progressive states in the country. Today they are on the verge of becoming a one party fascist state. There is no question that plutocratic, ruling class money brought us to the brink of living in authoritarianism. This faction of the GOP are cruel. Yes, Michael, if we survive this the Democratic Party needs to change radically.
Wisconsin is one of a handful of states that could become one party/authoritarian governments. Certainly some states already are, Florida, Texas.....I never thought I would see this in the United States. I'm too old to fight it, not too old to move out of the country.
If you're NOT too old to move out of the country, you're NOT TOO OLD TO FIIGHT! I'm 81, and going down (if need be) SWINGIN' FOR THE FENCES!
We have thought this way too Claire.
But remember the old “ love it or leave it” slogan. My parents always said never leave, take it back! Make it livable, and lovable by staying and by doing what you are today.... talking. Share the good you have given and taken as an American citizen. Don’t let these rabid cancers take our country.
Democrats are only different than Republicans by supporting the idea of a democracy. They are employees of corporations also
Ed the non-progressive section, yes. First we save Democracy, then we weed out corporate Dems.
Yep. You said it in a lot less words than I did. (LOL)
By 2024 your vote might be meaningless if republicans do what they say they will.
It was the Clintons that took us here. My own daughter thinks centrist Biden is a lefty. This is because the left has disappeared from the face of the earth, except for a white-haired old codger from Vermont. Our kids have never seen "left." She was a Bernie fan, but she didn't know why.
They are in Norway and Switzerland enjoying progressive trickledown
Amen
My wife and I are both 71. We went out canvassing to get out the Democratic vote today in our district, which is very much in play. We were using a voting list that was selected for homes where people don't regularly vote, so our experience may have been skewed. This list of households was emotionally challenging for us, because some of these folks are tuned out. One young person of voting age answered the door and said, "I don't care," and turned us away. A blue collar guy with a big work truck wanted to engage us in conversation but wanted to tell us his thoughts as someone who is "fiscally conservative and socially libertarian, which means, I'm for people doing what they want, but I don't want to pay anything for it." I knew better than to continue that conversation too long, because we wanted to reach those who may be still be deciding their vote. As we finished our conversation with him, a jogger ran by and thanked us for what we were doing. We may have gained a vote from one person who didn't know about our candidates down ballot and was interested in hearing our summary of their positions and taking our literature. At our age, we can't walk these neighborhoods for long. We may be able to eke out a few more votes, and I know that many of us who believe in democracy feel desperate to avoid the possibility of losing a house or senate majority by a few votes. That is a remote possibility, which is why we are out canvassing. But I am also taking a longer view.
If MAGA Republicans flip one or both houses of congress and install their loyalists in national, state and local positions, it will be a mess, but the world won't end. We Democrats are in this position because of much of what Prof. Reich has written about, which is the corruption and inequality in our system.
For the rest of our lives we will live in a world impacted by climate change and the challenge to govern ourselves in the face of that. I've read credible estimates of climate change impacts and believe Vaclav Smil's assessment that we are already committed to 2.3°C global warming. I've read a nightmarish vision of the hardships people will have to endure even at 2°C warming in last weekend's New York Times, but neither of these scenarios predicts human extinction.
In the United States, if that's what it remains, we may need to form new political parties and businesses of shared ownership that learn from the breakdown of what we had earlier. The masses of people would not be happy in an America First one-party system, and that system will rot from its incompetence and corruption. Masses of people have the power and are capable of forming ideas based on goodwill and common sense and will have big problems to solve, but that's how we evolve as a species, through sufferings and the lessons we are able to learn and remember.
So my attitude is one of doing what we can in the time remaining to us, helping mentor younger political activists, and perhaps I'll host local conversations so we can all better understand and learn about the many factors at play in our current upheaval to become more skilled in addressing it.
Thank you for your canvassing. It is the one thing we know for sure can change behavior.
Speak benefits. What do they PERSONALLY lose if Republicans win?
With a first career in sales, later in marketing communications and eventually in psychology, I'm more in a mode of needing to draw out conversation among those who are sufficiently open-minded to participate. The maddening part of the cultural resistance we're facing is that you can't sell benefits to someone who fundamentally distrusts your motives or your point of view. Some who aren't sufficiently open are those with right-wing authoritarian or power mad personality traits as described by Altemeyer. There are other ways to look at this. I've been reading about what drives the reactionary state of mind to better understand the defensive argumentativeness that we are encountering. The guy we spoke with who described himself as libertarian was caught up in the type of thinking described in The Rhetoric of Reaction by Albert O. Hirschman, who describes three modes of negativity: perversity, futility and jeopardy. Without going into detail here, the slant of his skepticism skewed toward perversity and futility, where the perverse effect leads to unintended consequences. I'm also interested in social, cultural and economic factors that aren't being addressed by Democrats, as Prof. Reich points out.
Not much time. I am trilingual and speak fluent benefits.
Why waste time on unproductive dialogue when you can get out Democrats?
I'm thinking beyond this election. Whatever the outcome, I can't effectively motivate anyone if I don't know their concerns, their worldview, and their objections to current messaging.
Your comments make sense. I spend much of my time speaking to young people about the importance of taking part in the political process in order to shape the future of the world they live in. I believe also that people should be careful what they vote for...shiny baubles lose their shine when reality sets in. Although your comments seem prophetic, I still hope our youth who are the citizens of the future are paying attention, and will vote for a pivot toward common sense and unity now. The "mess" will only be harder to correct later.
yes the existential issue of climate change is on the ballot. If Republicans take the house or Senate it will be virtually impossible to reach our climate goals by 2030 and that will be bad beyond measure.this assumes Rs Will hamper efforts to combat climate change. We are out of wiggle room to reach the US goal.
Invite your neighbors, family and associates to small gatherings, regardless of partisanship. Strive for diverse opinion. Eat chocolate chip cookies while you speak to each other and listen to each other. Do this about twice a month. Don't limit the exchange to politics—that's just frosting, if you can afford the sugar. Look for common ground. This is what I wrote to someone who was frazzled over politics the other day. You're saying the same thing.
Yes, this is exactly what I plan and what my activist friends are doing, combined with community service that is non-partisan. In a way, it's a supplement to what we've lost when more people belonged to religious communities or community service organizations. I wouldn't exclude those either. I also like the idea of local progressive leaders meeting for book discussions and messaging ideas.
Benefits!
Professor Reich, you voice unequivocally, the worries of every American who has been paying attention and who knows the true value of Democracy. “It is whether our democracy can endure.” And whether half the country cares enough to Vote for the survival of Democracy, our Democracy.
If only half the country cared as much as it does about suppressing the vote...
I share your anxiety. I am sick to my stomach with worry. Of course, I will vote for Democrats as will all my friends and most of my family.
The Republicans are liars. They have purposely undermined our democracy. The most craven and sickest among them are their leaders.
We need all democrats and all people who have a conscience to vote.
Never forget Liz Cheney, of whom Lincoln would be proud. She's crossing over, just to save the Republic. Adam Kinsinger. Mitt Romney, where are you? Susan Collins? Susan, how in the world did Trump find a way to blackmail YOU? Are they going after your kids?
Liz Cheney and Adam Kissinger are outstanding models. They are rare birds.
Romney and Collins have no principled identity. Romney is afraid and Collins pretends to be naive, but has used Trumpism to her advantage. Susan has no children to worry about. She said she would run for only two terms, but has become enamored with the money and attention.
I wish you were wrong, but am afraid you are right. The problem stemming almost entirely from the right side of the political spectrum is basically that they built a very wealthy, lucrative, top-down (trickle-down) political system that is teetering on the brink of collapse and they know the only way they can hold it together is a dictator. Just like Putin, a Russian Imperialist, wants to hold the Soviet Empire together. That hope is gone for Russia, but Putin is draining their natural and human resources to get it back. The right think that is a good thing, that Putin is a strong leader, yet they don't seem to realize that winning that battle would mean the end of, well, just about everything. You can't hold a top-heavy building upright if the foundation is weak. Democracy, distributed, people controlled governance, is our foundation. Flickers of it still exist, like the Kansas abortion vote that surprised nearly everyone. That could blaze brighter if given the chance. Young voters (and a few of us old codgers) will support action on climate change, a move to clean energy, LGBTQ rights, a woman's right to choose, housing for the poor, universal pre-K through college education, and universal health care if given the opportunity to say so at the ballet box. Instead Republicans have made it all about "government is the problem" and only "we can fix it", depending on the support of the top heavy wealth class (the 0.01 percent) to make that happen.
“Young voters (and a few of us old codgers) will support action on climate change, a move to clean energy, LGBTQ rights, a woman's right to choose, housing for the poor, universal pre-K through college education, and universal health care if given the opportunity to say so at the ballet box”. And diversity. These are the very advances that have created uncertainty and have therefore frightened those on the right who see their world evolving in front of their eyes. They’re very uncertain and therefore very frightened. They’re reacting in the extreme and pushing a drive to fascism in a desperate effort to restore a simpler time when white men could tell white women what to do. And hold the most to be superior to the black man. They were told it was God‘s will, and in a form of confirmation bias, they believed it. It will take a generation for them to accept the human race as it now exists. In the meantime, we will be at war with the fearful retrograde defenders of the past.
Well said. Can't think of everything at 4:30 am. Yes, they are afraid of diversity, yet it is human and biological diversity that is the basis of ecological stability. Without diversity we founder, lost in a house of mirrors. Can we let this diversity rise to leadership before we kill the planet? Unlikely. My poor white neighbors with their confederate flags and particulate spewing pick-up trucks with gun racks (this is not a parody, it is just down the road) see things differently, and they have more votes in my district.
Vote anyway, Wayne. There are some people who see what you describe above, so they just go fishing on election day.
I have not missed a vote since I worked in Africa. I will vote on Tuesday. I even push my students to vote.
Yes, and we Democrats must ask what we did to contribute to their bitterness.
Bull. These are racist people who have helped destroy this country. I’m sick and tired if excuses for tyrants.
Do you ask that of the black population who have been cheated out of their rights for centuries. Enough with this coddling for these monsters with guns!
I know some people like this and they would be bitter about something regardless.
Progwoman. Hello. These people have been bitter since they lost the Civil War. Political party has nothing to do with it. And remember: it was the Southern Democrats who vowed over their own dead bodies that the "nigra" would never sit next to their pure white little children in public school. So no -- can't agree that as Democrats we have contributed to their bitterness. Courage for the week ahead!
In 1969 a professor mentioned in passing that the white man’s world is shrinking. I am trying to muster some sympathy for those who find this disturbing new news.
People with albinism.
I'll bet money that almost every one of you reading this either have already voted, or will be voting by Tuesday, unless circumstances prevent you from doing so. That's great, well done. But that's not enough. You're here because you're engaged, your concerned, and for the most part, you believe your vote can matter. Many of you probably also live in states or urban areas where a majority tend to vote with a similar political leaning. Some of you may live in places where so many regularly vote Democratic, you vote mainly to satisfy yourself that you've done your part, but you know that your individual vote is already in the strong majority.
But then there's the rest of your fellow citizens. Many of them are discouraged. Many of them are overworked, exhausted, stressed, and trying to keep it together. Many of them don't have a conviction that their vote matters or will change anything. They need your help.
You may be in a place where you know that your one-more-vote among millions who already agree with you and will sweep your state isn't really going to change our country for the better in a measurable way. If you truly want to make your influence actually count, your fellow citizens need you. You're needed to encourage others to vote, especially in other states where tight races mean the difference between someone competent and empathetic ascending to office, or someone beholden to the dark extremes of our society who is all too eager to magnify the anger, malice and lies. The voters there matter even more, because where they are, massive shifts come down to as few as 5 votes per precinct (as was the case in certain states in 2020).
So if you are glad you will vote or have voted, good, be glad. But if you want to make sure you make a difference and can tell others you gave your best, go sign up and encourage those downtrodden fellow citizens of yours in battleground states to go and vote, and get five others to vote with us who otherwise might lose heart and give up. Go search up phone banks and texting campaigns (which you can do from home, privately, through the organizations that have it set up and waiting for you to join), and just give an hour or two to this effort. Tell someone they matter, and encourage them to make sure to vote. Then you can be sure you've made a difference when it really mattered.
Immediate Impact Phone Banks with Swing Left https://swingleft.org/event/register/mobilize:513668?s=u&utm_source=google-search&utm_term=tlw_phonebank&utm_campaign=tlw&keyword=democratic%20phone%20banking&gclid=Cj0KCQjwqoibBhDUARIsAH2OpWi_7fk_CU_Ibf8Y68AYub_IyjwDATO8c0lGBWb1KUZu1XIY3ah40CgaAgqoEALw_wcB
Enough! I respect Dr. Reich and I know he is both voicing many of our concerns AND doing what he can to mobilize the Democratic vote. But enough of this hand wringing. So a few lawbreakers get voted in? We will litigate them and sue them. Some idiot won't do her job and certify an election? She will be sued, impeached, litigated. Some of them get away with it? The tide of public opinion will turn against them when it becomes even more obvious what they are doing. What Democrats need to do is play hard ball now to limit the scope of the problem, then play the long game to get ready for the next election, then work hard (even if we are the minority party in Congress) over the next election cycle to block the worst that the criminally insane seditionists and the cynically ambitious traitors try to do. That's it. Ms. Pelosi can freeze up the House and Mr. Schumer can freeze up the Senate. Mr. Biden can block anything that gets through. And then let's hire more comedians to illustrate how crazy, misguided, un-ethical and traitorous they are, and how ridiculous their "policy" ideas are. Let's get Franken back in the Senate as comedian in charge... I wish we could get Will Rogers back too....
Benjamin R. Stockton ; We could use a few laughs. But seriously, it's true : if enough people (real humans) start hurting because they did not vote, or believe In Democracy ; they may hurt enough to fight to get some rights back, and protect the planet. And get rid of crooked 'lawmakers' AND then get even more rights! And a strong , not namby pamby DEMOCRACY!!
@ Laurie. I remember when Obama roasted Trump at the correspondents' dinner. Well deserved when you recall the birther crap that Trump was putting out back then. But yes, making dip shits into laughing stocks will help our morale even if the hard work still needs to be done!
But Benjamin, I believe that roast also determined Trump to run for president. I remember watching his face and thinking, Uh oh!
The first big lie: "It could never happen here."
We watched while this slow coup attempt played out. I hope it serves as a VERY ZLONG-LASTING lesson. We cannot allow compromise with fascist leaning republicans! Ever!
President Biden spoke urgently to the nation last night about this very matter, that American democracy teeters on the brink. We must raise the alarm, and share these deep concerns. In the wise words of Yogi Berra, it ain't over 'til it's over. Each of us can work to make sure it ain't over.
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Thanks, Daniel! Signed up!
Of course democracy is in danger in the USA. Money has and does rule politics in our country for decades. Both parties have been corrupted by big money influence. I held to the hope that the Democrats might " man up" and really tackle this issue and yet they remain silent. There is little hope for democracy as long as money and lies are allowed to rule unchecked. Strict campain finance laws and term limits might give us some hope. Little chance of getting that accomplished as long as there are riches to be garnered through politics.
Dems tried Legislation to curb campaign spending but it was shot down by Republicans.
Actually the bottom line is that we should take down all the crosses in America and replace them with the $ sign. That is what we worship... even those of us who say we don’t.... we do until we stand up and demand change from the Supreme Court to the city clerk!
When I was in high school and JFK was running for president, it was a scandal that his election campaign had cost more than a million dollars.
Much truth to this but a tremendous amount has been done to help people by Democrats only! Not republicans. Our progressives are fighting to make things better. We must get money addressed once we take majority control. No more negotiating with criminal republicans. Block all republican bills introduced until we’re back on track. Be like them, only fighting for justice with as much gusto!
You're right, I'm right; we're all right. What does this mean?
I voted absentee sometime ago, and of course it was straight Democratic.
The concerns you raise for today are real, and you have contrasted them with concerns in the past. Now, you mention McCarthyism and the main concerns of the 50s as beginning things that worried you, at a time when you must have been in grade school. Well, maybe you had alert teachers who guided you; you’ve already mentioned one teacher. When I was in grade school (born in 1945), I certainly was unaware of the real issues. I know you’ve devoted your life to looking at our government and being concerned about how just it has been to everyday people. You know we still don’t have a decent federal minimum wage, or a Violence against Women Act ratification, and so on.
I’m glad you’re calling people out to campaign for true democracy. Thank you.
Already voted and proud of it! I can only hope we get the massive turnout we need to keep the rising tide of fascism at bay in America.
What are we voting for?
Republicans ( insurrection ) propagating falsehoods about the electoral process.
Democrats ( Preserve Democracy ) Respect voters' freedom to exercise their lawful rights to register and vote, free from interference, obstruction, or intimidation.
Succinct and well said Keith.