The split betweeen the red and blue states is made worse by the Electoral College, which weights heavily in favor or Republicans. The Senate with its two Senators per state also gives undue weight to red states with small populations. These states are clinging to their supposed "real America" title opposing immigration, LGBTQ rights, and anything that may help people of color or those they label the undeserving poor. They won't accept expansions of medicaid or enlarging the Snap program , even when the CDC has found that deaths are higher in those states with the lowest rates of insured people. Now they would deny the poor access to abortion even though they have the worst outcomes in maternal health and infant mortality. The split between the red and blue states goes beyond the philosophy of Republicans and Democrats and has now become more a claim of "moral superiority" by both sides. As long as the "exman's" lies control the Republican party, there will be no way to bridge the gap.
The biggest problem with the anti democratic Electoral College is everyone is stuck with their decisions, even when it contradicts the will of the majority. So we get presidents that most don’t want who makes huge decisions that most don’t want, that have ramifications that most don’t want for years, i. e. SCOTUS and other judicial acts. Same for unequal representation of the majority in the Senate. These both seems to be obstacles to democracy that will not be overcome and there are no feasible workarounds. The US is falling in world rankings of democratic countries and is headed off a cliff if things continue in the current direction.
I don't think the sensible plurality in our population is presenting a strong and unified enough voice to make itself heard. Facebook profited from selling ads in the 2016 election that were foreign influences that divided us along ideological lines. They were able to do that because not enough Americans know our own history, that Lincoln at least temporarily overcame the division in our population, by establishing that no one has a right to divide our Union, because that would result in a less perfect Union, or degeneration into the previous Articles of Confederation, that failed to organize our country enough for it to function, which is the reason we went to the US Constitution. A sensible core must know our history, and forcefully, not civilly, reimpose it. It would take a bold face of Democracy to reestablish our Constitutional Republican rights, but if our representatives a shaking n their boots, it can happen, because our military knows our American history.
In response to ur statements about not enough of the population knows American History, I’ve always thought that prior to HS graduation every senior should take & pass the same test that immigrants must pass when applying for citizenship! It’s a difficult test & would show the country where our students are lacking in knowledge of American History, & not the diluted Repub version of American History either!! Results might just be fairly darn surprising!
Angela, Though I recognize that the first step to resolving our problems is to name them, which, in my view, aside from the “moral superiority” bit, you have done brilliantly, my question, with midterms rapidly approaching, is where do we go from here?
We are not the fault for division. The real split is mostly due to racism. The common denominator for 90% of the opposition, even outright racists, is benefits. My former governor, now senator did us a tremendous favor. Rick Scott wants to "sunset" Social Security and Medicare.
Avoid all other wedge issues, the bottom line is that when a Nazi, Fascist Trump cultist or fellow traveler is threatened with loss of government benefits, they think twice.
Yes, I agree that this tsunami of a backlash is fueled by racism and also sexism. All of these vicious regressions are intentionally designed to cut off and reverse all progress that has been made for people of color, for diversity, for women and LGBTQ+ people. And again, I agree with you that the immediate priority is to register Democrats and get people to the polls to support candidates up and down the ballot.
Divide and Rule! Said “Smokin’ Joe” Stalin. Liberate the states! It worked well for the ganja libertarians who legalized dope. The more stoned we are, the less likely we are to think of anything but Ben and Jerry’s.
And free-wheeling states’ rights will last until the Second Coming of the Donald. Then, we will have Federal Order.
Add to that, the fact that now we have a Supreme Court majority that is prejudicial in favor of "states' rights". Isn't it surreal how the political parties of the Civil War have switched their values today? The Democrats who were proslavery, are now PRO-FREEDOM while the Republican who were Pro-Freedom are now proslavery. I use the word slavery to mean "unreasonable control". I know, there are some who would challenge me to define reasonable. I agree with the definition given in the Webster Dictionary. A large portion of our Society today from all political leanings, have loss all senses of what it means to be reasonable (FAIR). Therefore, there is no room for compromise.
Daniel, I believe Dems already outnumber the Repubs in registrations, but the problem is getting them & Independents to vote @ every election!! The harder the Repubs make it to vote in Red states, the less likely minorities, women & Independent voters will be to fight those hurdles & that’s exactly what they are hoping for! The Dem’s messaging must include some reference to fighting thru these obstacles! I sure enjoyed voting by mail for the very first time in 2020 but can not do so for the primaries here in KY! I hope something changes for the Nov election but I won’t be holding my breath!
I live in the Fascist state of Florida where we have to overcome years of voter suppression and outright fraud. We no longer outnumber them. When Voter Forward and similar groups ask me why people should vote, I say to fight Fascism. I do my part 24/7. https://www.fieldteam6.org/
You are right about Kentucky. I know Kentucky has an enthusiasm problem. UofL is one of my alma maters. I have known McConnell since '70 and worked for Elaine Chao for 8 years when she wan Secretary of Labor. Some of my Facebook friends still live there and I hear from them daily. I heard Black Lung cases for many years and still hear from some of the people involved. In Eastern Kentucky 80% of the population live on government benefits but vote against themselves. They must know that McConnell and Rand Paul openly despise them and will not protect their benefits.
Daniel, Fair or not, politics largely is perception, and, although Republicans have no ideas aside from those arising from greed and self-serving impulses, their strategy of running on divisiveness, far too often, wins them elections. Conversely, Democrats largely seem to want to dodge the divisive culture wars rather than fighting and winning them, a mistake, in my view, considering the public largely is on the side of the Democrats on issues like book banning, or teaching history, or the like.
In the alternative, Democrats frequently are quoted as saying, “We’re not going to deal with that stuff; we’re going to focus on kitchen table issues.” Though that might sound good, in the past 15 months, Democrats haven’t been able to extend the child tax credit or lower prescription drug costs or improve childcare or raise the minimum wage to $15…, legislation that actually would make people’s lives easier and would be counter-inflationary.
Because further down in this thread, I have posted what I view as a partial answer for redressing the foregoing unfulfilled campaign promises, I won’t repeat said proposals here. However, I would note, in response to your final remark, that I imagine most, if not all, who comment on these daily Substacks also are writing postcards, phone banking, text banking, and the like. Though these actions are necessary, they are not sufficient. Whether we’re fighting for causes we believes are right and just and moral, or lending our voices to our Party’s messaging strategies, our engagement in all matters, big and small, is critically important.
I agree with your analysis of the electoral college. I think we need to establish that our constitution requires fair representation for all, and require the number of electors per state in both the senate and house to be mathematically proportionate to state population, but it would require a bold face of democracy to force red states to capitulate, giving us our rights in our constitutional republic which guarantees protection of vulnerable blue states, that are getting sodomized when were not in the mood, by unfair red state over representation. Lincoln established that no one has a right to divide our union, so traitors should be dealt with conclusively, not civilly, which does not work any better than it did with our half assed civil war. My internet experience leads me to believe that the generals may be more attuned to that fundamental patriotic orientation, on the treason issue, than some would think.
It is amazing to me how many of us cling fiercely to the archaic and undemocratic Electoral College, almost as though it was (and is) a given. In every single other election in every single democratic fair-and-free nation in the world, the national popular vote determines winners and losers. Citizens of other countries often think it odd that the US turns to such a fundamentally un-democratic procedure to determine the "leader of the free world." In a world as advanced technologically as ours has become, there is even less of a viable rationale to cling onto the Electoral College as somehow evening the score and upholding "democracy at its finest." I think we should seriously and finally consider the idea that, if we can deliver a national popular election result as quickly and accurately as we now do, it is well past time to turn to a system which was never anything but an obstacle. One of the initial ideas behind the Electoral College was that it would prevent ill-informed common men from going off the rails and electing someone totally unsuited to the job; didn't we already do that with an Electoral College in 2016?
We can no longer believe that the Electoral College will provide any form of fair representation bec it is outmoded & essentially useful only for rigging purposes! I believe the solution is a National Popular Vote compiled by counties & then states. Get rid of gerrymandered districts as they aren’t useful for anything besides a way to cheat. State & National candidates would have to campaign in most counties & all states making no state any more important than another! Forget about those labels of swing state, rust belt states, etc. Candidates will be forced to campaign with town halls & rallies with less ad buying needed! We need a complete overhaul of the election process to remove potentials for rigging, buying ur electors with campaign funds! In the days of fast Vote tabulations, why are electors even needed? We don’t live in the days of the Pony Express!!!
Small states would finally be graced by visits from candidates & not be called fly over states any longer. KY actually had Trump visits but I think it was mostly bec of McConnell. The Pandemic created a different style of campaigning & I really enjoyed watching televised Town Halls from different parts of the country. I don’t see why they can’t record Town Halls & put them on YouTube so u can re-watch when u want to! That can reach a lot of people as long as they are kept informed!
If anything is going to change for the better, we need to switch to a parliamentary system with multiple parties and proportional representation. Since this will never happen I don’t see much hope.
After reading your comment, I would despair. However, none of us knows beyond certainty what will happen tomorrow, let alone further down the road. We just can't declare that something will or won't happen as the future is not knowable. (At least i don't think so. Or maybe I don't know the future as well as you.) I do know that we have had multiple parties in the past and we currently have multiple parties, some to no effect, some with a minor role. In terms of major parties, we currently have one that operates within the boundaries and laws provided by the Constitution and our legal precedents and one that prefers to ignore the Constitution and go with rule by an oligarchic autocrat (who is also severely impaired ny narcissism and mental illness.) We desperately need a viable party that will return to the rule by law and forego the rule by person idea that is calling the shots. I do think that, if labor unions continue to gain strength, there may be an opening there to return to a more democratic society but I do not know that this will occur. I wish I had your certainty to declare what will or won't happen but, really, I don't have a clue. I do know that the Constitution and its amendments provides a framework for a just and equitable society
I meant that I can’t see it happening in the current political environment or even in my lifetime. I’m dual Canadian/Californian and will probably leave the US next year for a better democracy, depending on how the November election goes.
Good luck in finding "a better democracy!" I have lived a total of five years in other democratic nations (Denmark and Norway) and, while such nations may have been better in some respects, they were not as inclusive, exemplary, or free in others. (I have recently done some study of Canadian indigenous peoples and would assure you that the Ottawa federal government's approach to such indigenous nations is not that different from the US approach. This does not mean that I am all-informed on democracy in Canada or anywhere else, in Denmark or Norway. No, it just means that all societies aiming for "a better democracy" tend to confront serious challenges, mainly because individual citizens want all the freedoms democracy invites and offers without the hard and constant work involved in social engagement and sticking by the rules on the books. (Right now, we are not doing a particularly good job of vigilance and safeguarding our rule of law, mainly because a good many of us are insisting on the rule of a single (demented) person and will do battle and stage coups for the benefit of that person, completing overlooking the obvious incompetence and personal and intellectual flaws of that individual.) I have concluded that there is probably no such thing as "a better democracy" as democracy is based on the consent of the governed and the governed tend to be willy-nilly and self-seeking in the extreme. We need leaders who are primarily interested and concerned with making all our lives better and what we are getting are people interested in wealth and power for themselves. But this is the situation everywhere in the world so you may have trouble finding "a better democracy." If we have met the enemy and it turns out to be us, that will be true no matter where we go in the world.
I understand much of your argument and agree that the indigenous residential schools in Canada were horrific. Canada is coming to terms with it’s past crimes though. Personally I prefer their parliamentary form of government which makes room for more diverse and inclusive voices. I prefer Canadian New Democrats or Greens to the US Dems, because progressives have a louder voice. These are my personal opinions and I understand there will be disagreement which is not a bad thing in an inclusive society.
So true, although I read a tweet recently that made a different comment. To someone's mention of possible Civil War, the tweeter replied that it isn't so easy now because affiliation isn't so clearly split along geographical lines.
I live in MA, with a GOP governor, surrounded by a lot of "red" people. Also, with a terminated pension, high state taxes, and inflation, I'm thinking of selling my house and moving to my RV lot in the FL Keys. But...FL!!! Except most people I know in the Keys are "blue" or "chartreuse" or something other than "red" (Perhaps they should split to become, as they say, the "Conch Republic.")
My point is, I'm not sure things are so well defined. In my experiences, this modern war is inflicting a lot of pain within states as well as between them, and even between family members.
But maybe that's not new. I grew up in MA but remember my TN grandma talking about the pain of families with a son in each Civil War army. I see current real estate maps showing migration from high-tax/blue states to low/red. I read tweets by young folks claiming they're going to change things, suggesting they don't agree with surrounding politics. (But then, my generation said that yet produced Trump.)
Being blue in an allegedly blue state, I'm all for seeing those nasty, costly red folks cecede -- until I think about being financially forced to move to FL. Maybe things are seldom as simple as they seem. Or, as we taught at the airline in diversity training, the stereotyping of people rarely works well. One of the most striking things about living for 36 years at flight levels is seeing so clearly, every work day, that there are no border lines painted down there on the ground.
All of that, for me, makes the current political situation feel even more tangled and scary. If the high-cost luxury of living blue causes me to have to move to FL, the gates might slam shut and trap me in red. Not just me. It's not only poor red people; what about the poor blue souls trapped now in red hell?
The data on how far blue and red are moving apart are striking. Yes, there's some blue in red states and some red in blue states; so-called "purple" areas do exist. And of course a few states remain "swing" states. But the overall divide is sharpening and hardening. A key potential connector is the non-college working class, which is why I keep harping on the necessity for Democrats to strengthen unions and aim their message at this key group -- which used to be the core of the Democratic Party.
See my comments how to "blue" red states. I agree but many of the red states were Confederate states that never accepted that they lost a war. Like Trump, they would not concede.
I was in Vietnam when troops were caught stealing selector switches to turn M-14s and M-16s into automatic weapons for use in the race war at home. 1967. Lived through "massive resistance" and represented school districts in school busing cases. Teacher strikes. Was personally threatened for "humanizing education," vilified as a federal employee, accused by the Federalist Society of being a deep state elite. They asked Trump to eliminate my job and give it to a loyal hack. https://www.nytimes.com/2017/11/23/opinion/conservatives-weaponize-federal-courts.html
Young people trend 70% (and tenants do too) and if you professors get them out to vote you can save this country. https://www.fieldteam6.org/
Maybe you can convince a sugar daddy to relocate some Democrats to red states. The population of Wyoming is less than any of the major cities of California. The two Dakotas combined have a population of 1,670,324, slightly less than Idaho.
Under Clinton, the Democrat party abandoned its New Deal principles and embraced corporate America. Now, we have two parties beholden to corporate America. The Democrats can't strengthen unions, as you suggest, because corporate America won't let them. They can't nominate a progressive for President because Jamie Dimon say no. Clinton proudly "ended welfare as we know it". What was created in its stead is worse. Clinton began the de-industrialization of the US. There were pitifully few preparations for this. Focusing on union and the non-college working class are good ideas but would require the Democratic party to turn away from corporate America. I doubt that is going to happen.
I can see how that fits in. On a map showing housing growth around Boston, the South has grown the fastest lately by far. Education levels here are lower, trades people are in extremely short supply, charging very high rates, and probably out-earning many college grads. All trades people I've met drive F250 or F350 pickups and vote red. With construction and related services booming, their ranks are growing rapidly in this blue state. Many more high schoolers are wondering why bother with college when there are so many jobs, and they can make so much money without higher education. Trump gave those red folks permission to be louder, and they are. A local college dropped liberal arts in favor of nursing courses. Liberal arts and humanities teach empathy, compassion, tolerance, etc.-- Democratic traits. It does seem we're headed in a bad direction even in this blue state. The Supreme Court might wake up a few liberals, one hopes. My personal experience of a union is that it was as corrupt as the company and did its members at least as much damage. It refused the company's request to hire women, promotes blatant age discrimination, helped to terminate our pensions, etc. Still, I know what unions are supposed to do, so I hope others are better. But I think a solution must involve reducing corporate power and government corruption. With GOP anti-voter laws and unpunished insurrection, the colors of votes soon may not matter. I see we'll be losing our governor. One wishes you might return to Boston and sort out this state before it turns purple.
Unfortunately, you're comment on how unions effectively undermined they're own mission in times past is well taken. That's because the members necessarily reflect the prejudices of their social environment - and character flaws. Neither does being a union member automatically imbue >anyone< with a sense of social justice and public virtue, nor prevent them from being hardcore bigots. Some union members can experience from their own peers as much, and sometimes worse abuse than the union is supposed to prevent from their employers in the first place. Of course, that's a local union leadership issue. And who becomes local union leaders? Of course, they're personally flawed members of the local reflecting the prejudices and bigotries of their social environment. Future union leadership should deign to understand that and move to correct it. Not only do they need to protect the membership from the excesses of management, but they need to discourage the membership from being at each others' throats for >any< perceived reason. It gives canny supervisors and union busters more than enough ammunition to dismantle >any< union.
My father was a union organizer in Pittsburgh in the 1930s. He told me that workers unwilling to join the United Steelworkers would be harassed and even physically roughed up if they failed to join the union. Soon the president of that union was accepting bribes from the steel companies — booze and women — and, as my dad said, “Sold the workers down the river.” My father made the mistake of complaining. His reward: getting removed from the list of industrial workers (those who in 1941 could not be drafted into the military thanks to their status in a key industry). Once removed from the protected list, he was drafted into WW2. So, yes, unions can be as corrupt as employers.
Yes, there were corrupt unions because anything that gets too powerful can easily be corrupted because some people LOVE power and will do nearly anything to get it and keep it. My dad was in the Retail Clerks Union which saved our family. Before the union came in, wages were terrible, and it would not have been possible to raise a family on them. The medical coverage the union worked for covered my eye surgeries and other needs of the family, not possible without the union. Members of unions as well as employees of companies need to be aware of what is going on and what they will tolerate. R.Sheets
But MA and FL aren't your only choices :-). NC is purple now, can use all the Blues it can get, has all the seasons, plus mountains and coast, and is way cheaper than the northeast. Let's start by having Blue people move to swing states. I've been in the Carolinas for 34 years, and at first had a hard time meeting any non-Christian Democrats like myself, but things have changed a lot, in the urban centers anyway.
I am a bird watcher from Dallas & often visit rural Texas. Rural Texans vote red because they watch Fox "News", as well as the propaganda from local TV stations & newspapers, which are largely owned by rich conservatives. They also hear "cheap grace theology" every Sunday, as well as on TV practically every day of the week. If Texas changes, it will be because of the smart, energetic campaign of Beto. If Beto loses, I fear Texas will not turn blue, until this generation of Texans die. Just like Max Planck said, "this is how a new scientific truth advances". Not by changing the minds of scientists, but their eventual deaths, & the advance of a new generation.
The poor blue souls trapped now in red hell are agonizing. Homelessness is growing here in Florida. I transferred to with my job from Ohio to Fort Lauderdale Florida in 1984. In 2016 shortly after I retired, I moved to Orlando. When I moved to Florida, I found that although Florida did not have state income tax, the cost of living was much higher than Ohio. Many of the local jobs were geared to tourism. These jobs are low paying, yet housing was expensive, corporate welfare was thriving at the expense of the working class. Teachers and Nurses were leaving because income was not keeping up with cost of living. The state of Florida has serious problems attracting teachers for public schools which includes universities. Homelessness is on the increase. I am talking about people that are working. Florida may not have individual taxation, but it certainly doesn't do very much for the working class even when the funds are Federal funds. It does the bear minimum. The people that do well in Florida are those with good paying jobs, the retired with good pensions and/or wealthy. My observation is if you do not have a well-paying career, a good business or have money, Florida is not the place to live in. Read the Sun Sentinel from Fort Lauderdale, Miami Hearld, or the Orlando Sentinel. Reading these papers will give you some picture of what is happening here. Florida does not have much of a safety net were you to start having financial problems. Reading the newspaper will open your eyes to some of the political shenanigans going on here. I found that the best thing Florida has to offer is the SUNSHINE, while in the north you hardly see the sun during the WINTER.
We see quite a bit of sun in MA winters. My solar panels supply almost all of my electricity. We get tax breaks on solar that apparently FL doesn't, despite all of their sun, be because their corporations don't approve of encouraging homeowners to help the environment, so I read. I'm the treasurer if a FL corporation, so I do see a bit about politics there. MA has its issues as well. All states do, no doubt, probably because politics tends toward corruption and corporations rule.
The down side in MA for me is $12k property tax plus 5+% state income tax plus excise and sales taxes. The city has high paying jobs. The southern suburbs don't, but we still have the same taxes. Property tax used to be deductible, but to give his wealthy friends a tax cut and to punish high-tax blue states, Trump ended that deduction. Seems there's no place to escape corporate and political greedy claws these days.
In my humble opinion, Texas is very much like Florida. Public schools, affordable health care, & poor infrastructure (e.g. power grid) are some of the biggest problems. Moreover, many jobs do not pay a living wage.
Benjamin, thank you for highlighting this. Mo, I read your commentary twice and was stunned when I saw the "terminated pension." My first thought was, "can they do that?!" I am So Sorry that happened to you. I also think that is a violation of some kind, or should be. Good grief!
You don't have to be poor to be trapped. I'd live - and have before - in the Philly museum district in a high-rise studio flat, but can't afford it, so I live in a blue part of the >gray< state where I was born. I live as well as I care to here - in a modest home, without dinner out, tickets to "the game" and other frills some would kill and die for - but simply couldn't avoid living under a bridge in Philly.
Professor, Though I agree “we’re [seemingly] becoming two versions of America,” I’m not convinced this split is as pervasive as it might appear. Imagine, for example, when the budget reconciliation plan (BBB) failed to pass, that, instead of near-deafening silence, a stronger, tougher Biden had gone to West Virginia, and also to the red parts of Mississippi and Alabama, and to other states and said, “This is what we have tried to deliver and these folks have voted against it.” Simply stated, Democrats have to be willing to engage in war. One can’t play fair with people who don’t play fair. 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.”
Imagine the impact if everyday people across the country were asked, “Who do you want here—somebody who doesn’t want to cut the price of insulin or those who do”? What about the child tax credit? Affordable, quality childcare? Universal Pre-K? Investments in housing? In elder care? In climate? My point, and note I haven’t covered what Biden and the Party have accomplished, is that Democrats (contrary to Republicans who have no ideas aside from those arising from greedy and self-serving impulses) have an extraordinary narrative if only they would deliver it.
And they need to be delivering that message on FOXNews regularly. Pete Buttigieg does a great job when he goes on, and so did Bernie when he went during the 2020 primaries. They need to train for it and do it, because that audience is never hearing their point of view.
@Barbara. I happen to think your suggested messaging would be very effective. Again, we only need a few percent of former Trump voters to come over to sensible beliefs and sensible policies to be assured of a Democratic majority in Congress. That in itself is not a cure all, but way better than the way Manchin and Sinema can feather their nests by playing the gridlock.
Benjamin, I appreciate the validation, but would add that my top priority is to excite the base and to pick up Independents. In my view, we need overwhelming turnout to offset the increasing changes in state election rules that will change who can be in charge, how votes are counted, and how they’re certified.
@Barbara Jo. Yes! I am working the precinct for Katy Porter. It's a blue district now, after the re-districting, so we need to attract all the Democrats and those who are tired of the lies and shenanigans from the Republicans.
William, My understanding, despite the seeming contradiction that West Virginia is turning increasingly red, is that the top issues for voters include jobs, healthcare, childcare, housing, and tax reform. It further is of note that the United Coal Miners Union is eager for worker training programs that would allow for a transition from fossil fuels to clean energy.
Then it's a classic case of them voting against what they want. They lionize Manchin who stands against most of that and when Biden offers those things, they call him a socialist.
William, My understanding is that Manchin’s prospects for re-election in 24 are questionable. I repeatedly hear, admittedly anecdotal, that he is losing the confidence of his base in a state growing increasingly red.
Is Biden capable of delivering "an extraordinary narrative"? Recently, he shot himself in the foot during a speech lambasting the Republicans with the line "This MAGA crowd is really the most extreme political organization that's existed in recent American history". This line became the speech headline with the rest of his points mostly ignored by the media. Tucker Carlson and the right wing media machine then showcased the video of him saying this line as an example of "What Biden and the Democrats think of Red State people" over and over. Biden should focus on presenting a positive message about Democrat ideas for improving the lives of the American people and stay away from a negative attack message which the right wing media is very capable of twisting to their own benefit.
Tim, Please note my comment, intended to indicate we’re not hopelessly polarized, centers on a “stronger, tougher Biden” with a remarkable narrative that represents the interests of a broad range of voters. If Biden, as you suggest, is not the appropriate spokesperson for the sort of rhetoric I’m proposing, then I say the Dems damn well better serve up highly valued alternatives.
Professor, maybe the problem is people like me? When my brothers and cousins, or neighbors, start spewing right wing tropes, lies and bigotry I forget that they are the victims of manipulation by moneyed interests controlling media messaging, and they are the victims of global capital and corporations who really are stripping away the possibility for a dignified middle class lifestyle for broad swaths of American workers. This dual action, reality of the stripping away AND their blaming the problem on "the left", immigrants, Americans of color and "woke" culture results in large numbers of Americans actually not understanding their real economic and social interests. But people like me too often blame the victims. I think they are stupid, uneducated, racist, xenophobic and some of them are fanatically religious, still hewing to long-discounted belief structures.
But I'm wrong to think of them as permanently fitting that profile; true, they too often act like that these days. But that is not the real person acting - it is the twisted simulacra they are living which is inverting the humanity they could each have if they too could be "woke". So I want to quit blaming and vilifying the victims - they are the victims (as we all are to some extent) of the malicious manipulation of culture and economics by the owners of global capital, oligarchs, authoritarians and moneyed interests in this country who have somehow convinced themselves AND their victims that someone else, something else is responsible for their problems.
Let's be gentle and forgiving of our Red State friends. Let's keep our focus on the real sources of problems in our country. Let's overcome the institutional barriers to Democratic majorities in government. Let's legislate relief for the problems in Red States and our country whether or not a minority of folks believe that equal rights, fair taxation, social safety nets, environmental activism and aggressive regulation of corporations are in their real interests.
Mmm... "gentle and forgiving" - but not forgetful: choosing to vote for Donald Trump - whether a "party first" vote or anything else - is still a choice; people who don't take their most sacred civic duty seriously aren't interested in bipartisanship, have nothing to offer with respect to compromise, and will only betray those tender feelings at the first opportunity (as they are active participants in *perpetrating* victimization!).
@Rishi. Good point. I don't see any reason to be either forgiving or gentle with people like Tucker Carlson and Steve Bannon. These people are near criminals. Or they are criminals. Briefly, Red States and big parts of urban industrial areas are being stripped of productive work opportunities by the actions of global capital driving investment to low tax, low labor cost venues overseas. The people who have traditionally been part of the rising middle class now see themselves under employed, unemployed and they see their communities "hollowing out". These folks have a real complaint. But these same folks are being manipulated by the liars who carry the water for the very corporations who are stripping out these communities; they are being coached to blame their problems on immigrants, people of color, the "left" whatever that means to them, and in some cases baby-eating progressives. This last part is that part that makes me feel sorry for them. Their ignorance and lack of education is being cynically exploited by Tucker Carlson (more generally by the Murdochs, the Kochs etc).
Benjamin, you are always thoughtful, well-thought out and thorough but I have not found that "lack of education" is why people are exploited by Carlson and the right wing. I have been stunned over recent years how many highly educated people are marinating their brains on Fox, Newsmax, etc. If I believe anything, I absolutely don't believe this is a scourge of the "uneducated." Yes, ignorant people are an easy marks. But the self coercion is complicated by one's view of their life's disappointments (easy to blame "the other) professionally and financially, longterm functional depression today in so many people from the enormous dislocation of neo-liberal policies. Just look at the level of inequality today. My lifetime doesn't remember tent cities like we have today. Many people will not meet the standard of living their parents had, MY parents (!) and I'm 76. The so-called "middle class" isn't so middle class today, they have lost tremendous financial ground. The NYT just did an article that lamented newly minted college graduates and professional people are now finding housing in TRAILER PARKS. Everyone, poorly educated, educated, so, so many people can easily be co-opted, "cynically exploited" by the people you write eloquently about. My question is, how do we turn this massive ship in a different direction?
@Claire. Your comments make so much sense to me! ...and I don't like to be cynical... But did you ever think that when somebody is obviously educated, intelligent and informed but still spewing garbage, maybe that person is a part of the problem? I believe that they ARE and they are not a target either for my sympathies or hopes of getting through to them.
TOTALLY! I completely agree. I don't think for a nanosecond that intelligent, educated people are "targets" or being unwittingly used by the right wing hate media. In fact, it is precisely because of the people I know very well over many years that has stunned me and forced me to see how lacking in decency, empathy, and their selfishness has allowed this terrible moment in our history to emerge. They're racist, nasty, greedy, self-centered, opportunistic and they completely deserve our disdain.
It might help you understand what's happening if you divide ol' Tweety's freex into two categories: the hustlers & the hustled. Many of ol' Tweety's supporters know a good con when they see one. Ol' Tweety's nothing if not a con artist. The hustlers will hustle the gullible following ol' Tweety's lead. The inflection point is belief, and the believers have been being hustled by their preachers for years. Rev Jim Jones and Applewhite were laboratory experiments in social science. The gullible are susceptible to "magical thinking," and that's the leverage of the hustle. Patriotism is another. Gun freaks fancy themselves patriots. Give 'em their guns and they'll elect you every time.
On the other hand, here is >my< brand of patriotism:
>Never< trust a politician who tells you how to pray, and >never< trust a preacher who tells you how to vote.
Claire, I think you’ve hit on a key point here. People are upset because their expectations are being thwarted and instead of trying to improve the world they’re wallowing in blame. This includes educated people. Sometimes even I find myself in denial that life has become so much more difficult for just about everyone than it used to be. It’s as if someone has put a giant roadblock in front of every route. My rudimentary knowledge of history tells me that this is much more likely to change because of a black swan than anything else, but my experience also tells me that concerted effort over long periods can also work. (This is what the disgusting right has done.) I also wonder whether once the disgusting right has gone too far things will change. Surely denying people their rights, their money, their health, and their lives has to have some effect.
Paula, so you see this too? American life has changed, (with perhaps the exception of very rich people), for EVERYONE on many different levels; healthcare, education, housing, childcare, employment/labor constraints, I could go on and on. The "black swan", of course, you are so right. I'm starting to believe that the white nationalist, Christian right has finally gone too far. I keep seeing Lindsay Graham saying (before he became a Trump sycophant) that Trump would "blow the GOP up." Watching the right wing be the dog that caught the car he was chasing would be amusing if not so terrifying. Did the Christian right/GOP Russian wing believe that they had tenderized (like beating your meat with a wood hammer) the masses so well that when you pulled from under them a 50 year right the proverbial sh__ wouldn't hit the fan? This "swan" moment, you so brilliantly noted, may be here. The future doesn't look great, yet, but we may be in a much better world than we can know. Fingers crossed!
Oh yes, I see it. I haven’t wanted to accept it but I do. However I agree:if the right gets everything they want they’ll face enormous blowback. Tyranny always begets rebellion. It’s too bad they don’t study history.
Benjamin R. Stockton. So how many of the Trumpers rely entirely on government benefits for survival?
I've been arguing that an object lesson would be if guilty 1/6 insurrectionists lose all their government benefits. VA, military retirement Social Security, Medicare Black Lung, etc
5 U.S. Code § 8312 - Conviction of certain offenses
(a)An individual, or his survivor or beneficiary, may not be paid annuity or retired pay on the basis of the service of the individual which is creditable toward the annuity or retired pay, subject to the exceptions in section 8311(2) and (3) of this title, if the individual—1 (C)section 2381 (treason), 2382 (misprision of treason), 2383 (rebellion or insurrection), 2384 (seditious conspiracy), 2385 (advocating overthrow of government), 2387 (activities affecting armed forces generally), 2388 (activities affecting armed forces during war), 2389 (recruiting for service against United States), or 2390 (enlistment to serve against United States), of chapter 115 (relating to treason, sedition, and subversive activities) of title 18;
@Daniel. Yes, in harsher times we used to take rights away from those we didn't agree with. And yes, Red States in general "take" more than they "give". But I still can't see criminalizing "stupid".
I remember from several decades back, when the wank-publicans were bellyaching about "welfare mothers," insinuating the old racist trope that said mothers were inner-city blacks. As it turned out, when they got their way and seriously curtailed welfare benefits, the people most severely damaged were white Appalachian unwed mothers. Just a stroll down memory lane, here.
Cuomo used words to that effect out loud directed at McConnel's "blue state bailouts" bullshit.
Look what happened to him! And the wank-publicans bellyache about "cancel culture!" Hell! If Cuomo runs for prez, >I'll< still vote for him! Whatever his shortcomings, he's not even in the same league as most of the current Capitol Hill wank-publicans. The word "backbone" comes to mind!
The action is the bean count. "they are stupid, uneducated, racist, xenophobic and some of them are fanatically religious, still hewing to long-discounted belief structures." IS WHAT THEY DO. All the kukbaya is not relative to the question.
My first thought after reading today's newsletter was that what's going on in the country doesn't feel at all like a benign separation, like that of an unhappily married couple not wanting to go through a divorce. I also am not at all optimistic like Robert that this will end up being less like a civil war and more like Brexit. I think the potential for violence is very real, particularly after watching what happened January 6th. But as you point out it's always important to understand the big picture at play, who's behind the curtains pulling the levers. How far will they let this play out? And now that it's in motion, could they even stop it if they wanted to? It's a dangerous "game" they're playing, and we'll be the ones continuing to suffer the consequences, those they intended and especially those they did not!
Ironically, that's exactly what we are. For proof, read Sam Harris' "Free Will." If still not convinced, listen to Dr. Derk Pereboom's college lectures on YouTube. And do a little research on your own. (I can add other book titles, if interested.)
"You can do what you wish, but you can't choose what you wish."
~ Arthur Schopenhauer
"Everything is determined, the beginning as well as the end, by forces over which we have no control. It is determined for the insect as well as the star. Human beings, vegetables, or cosmic dust, we all dance to a mysterious tune, intoned in the distance by an invisible piper."
~ Albert Einstein
"Men think themselves free inasmuch as they are conscious of their volitions and desires, and never even dream, in their ignorance, of the causes which have disposed them so to wish and desire."
~ Benedict Spinoza
It's disconcerting for most of us to realize that we're meat puppets, but evolution formed us to exist and think in such a way that we believe that we're free. Even though we're not, we are nonetheless legally responsible for all our actions, even if we're not morally or ethically so. Finally, you figure out that it doesn't matter either way, because nothing is going to change except maybe attitudes, to wit, yes, he's a compulsive thief, but he can't stop himself. We can feel more forgiveness with the understanding that all things are determined, including me writing this and you reading it. And whether you accept or reject free will is determined.
@DZK. You always ask loaded questions! LOL I have listened to some folks who will admit they don't really believe what they are spewing. My grandmother recommended mouth=soap=wash...
Almost missed your reply! Glad I didn't. Indeed, I >do< like exploring the conundra of life! (Yes. I know "conundra" isn't a word. It >should< be. <But I'm not above coining new words, either!>) If Wanker Carlson is allowed to "just ask questions," I'm demanding equal time! LOL! Besides, it's an inherent implication of all religions that threaten some kind of retribution - divine or otherwise - if you don't believe in "the one true god" or "the one true faith." It's inherent in the religious doctrine of "free will" as well. Of course, those very believers would use what they believe as mitigation of their excesses. Maybe I >should< wash my mind out with soap. It's been sullied by shit like that for a lifetime! LOL! ];-)>
Jefferson said a democracy requires an educated public. We've watch for years as the public has become less and less educated which makes them more and more susceptible to propaganda.
Thank you Benjamin. I live in a Red area within a Blue state. I participate in my community and try to be of maximum service. I ask questions and try to understand another point of view. I ask for clarification, question when someone uses "all" "everyone" "they". I say who specifically in a curious voice. I also try to delve deeper into their position, again with curiosity If they are open will add in what I know with examples and research. I do not shame. This is a hard and taxing way to interact with people but does have rewards. I maintain my friendships with people who are different and can grow myself.
@Susan. I don't know you, but I can almost see that sad, curious look that you give them. But don't give up - I think they learn more from that than any direct confrontation!
Excellent comment, as usual, but expand, if you would, on your contention that we Americans are being manipulated "by the owners of global capital, oligarchs, authoritarians and moneyed interests in this country." You may well have more information than I do on that possibility.
Specifically, do you think that they are an organized group of Big Dogs who are running an evil scam on the whole world for their own enrichment and empowerment? Kind of a Mafia of movers-and-shakers? That may be the case, of course; but I just can't see them being that clubby, e.g., I don't think that Elon Musk gets together with Jeff Bezos and the Waltons and decides their group's geopolitical-financial strategy and tactics for the next quarter. In short, in my view, selfishness and greed exist, but its practitioners (or victims) are not a secret government skullduggering to swallow the world for their collective benefit; they're lone wolves, by and large. Am I wrong? Is there a Bilderberg Group-type conspiracy going on, working against the common man, trying to divert us with wedge issues whilst they carry off the wealth in plain sight? Are humans that complex, that devious, that cunning, that consistently and energetically selfish?
@James. Thank you for the question. I really appreciate your perspective! In my view the way the oligarchs act is similar to the way a run on the bank can happen. Lots of self-interested individuals separately decide on the same act. However, there is evidence that there is also lots of collusion on things like price setting. There are groups put together that solicit many corporations for "donations" to create bad science (tobacco, big oil, big pharm are all served by organizations that strive to undermine real science). The oil-producing cartels visibly and unashamedly collude on price-setting. So, I don't think there is anything like a global organization driving politics and government policies; however the imperatives of capitalism itself motivates many individual wealthy people and corporations to behave in ways that are not in the interests of the public. Regulating capitalism, partly via tax policy as envisioned by Adam Smith, is a main purpose of government by the people, in my view.
Just as a small example of price-setting, my father-in-law, a big hitter in Dallas in the last century, told me that the liquor dealers in town got together every Tuesday and set the prices for their products for the upcoming week. (That town was rife with J.R. Ewings: Remember the famous incident where the public found out that the Board of Regents [or whatever their group was, a member of which was our then-current governor, Bill Clements] at S.M.U. would hire attractive hookers to show interested student athletes around campus, enticing them to enroll at said university. The hookers were given S.M.U. credit cards to spend on their "clients." Sheesh, a Christian university! Later Bill Clements said snidely, "Well, there was no Bible around when we did that," as if that somehow makes it all right. I could go on and on: Even cutthroat Yankee businessmen were aghast at the business practices they found in Dallas.)
And, yes, a well-regulated capitalism with a big, broad, and deep social safety net seems the way to go. Dr. Reich has recently shown us the greedy practices of Big Oil that can happen without government oversight and some measures to control its blatant gouging. Sadly, everyday Republicans, deluded by the allure of the many benefits of absolute freedom, are against all government involvement and unions. Granted, they just want to be left alone, but that attitude, of course, indirectly plays right into the hands of the powers-that-be.
I don't see how we can ever get America's head above water, but we must nonetheless continue to try. Such efforts at least give us a few breaths of oxygen now and then, which must be accepted as success. For instance, America looks to be regressing on abortion rights, i.e., a woman being able to control her own body; but we had it for some 50 years. The struggle continues.
I agree. They don't have to get together and plot. I've been making the point that the dictators of the world are working against Biden, not by getting together and planning but they have a common interest.
Notice how all the strongmen, Putin, Xi, Modi, Un, Erdogan and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman are working against Biden. I believe they want Trump back. If Trump or one of his copies becomes president, he will move quickly to become a dictator. Trump never realized how much power a president has but now they all know and they know how to use it. None of them want a strong NATO.
If Trump or a mini Trump gets elected, he will destroy NATO. You may not like NATO but, without it, those countries have little protection. If we have dictators heading all the major powers, believe me, it won’t be good for the world. And eventually, they’d turn on each other.
If dictators are running all the powerful countries, they are then free to create whatever world they want. I remember a Tommy Tomorrow cartoon when W was president. It showed W, Cheney and Rumsfeld in black suits and dark sunglasses and one says what should we do today. Another answers, whatever we want to.
In answer to your last question, yes humans are very complex, can be very devious and cunning and can be very selfish. Ask an experienced phycologist. I have come across people that are criminals and their thinking is such that the only person they care about is themself. That is, it! I would venture to say that there are businessmen that are out there not trying to purposely hurt someone else, but when they totally put their self-interest above all, there will be some people that will be a casualty as a result of their actions. Let's take Elon Musk, do you think he is not working with wealthy businessmen and/or governments in other countries. Do you think governments in other countries cannot put business pressure on him? He has business dealings in China and other countries. Businessmen are interested in getting the highest possible return on their investment. Do you think businessmen get together in person or via proxy to develop plans to have legislation passed that will benefit them or to accomplish other goals? Businessmen do not want to govern a country, at least not directly, they want to get good business deals any way they can. Many time unscrupulously.
I, too, have a very low opinion of businessmen, despite having been one myself for decades. Basically, it's just people trying to survive and thrive if possible; they often hate their jobs, so they pass on their animosity, as humans will, in various ways, certainly toward the customers and even their partners.
I consider Elon Musk, Bill Walton, Jeff Bezos, etc., to be mixed bags: They do some helpful things, like start a huge company employing thousands, and some hurtful things, like not paying a living wage to their employees, the very people who made them rich. But we're all flawed to some degree; some are just worse than others.
Read the book Dark Money if your really want the source of information but some how not thinking you care that much. Read Our Revolution by Bernie Sanders if you want the information that catches you up to all information you claim you have not heard, but some how not thinking you care that much.
Benjamin, I couldn’t just click “like” without noting how touched I was by the sensitive, let alone insightful, issues you felt obligated to raise followed by your call for deeply felt, and, in my view, sorely needed remedies.
Benjamin, Having just read more recent postings on this thread, I was struck by how artfully you extended the portrayal of a base, typically stereotyped as mostly male, white, cisgendered, heterosexual, and Christian, also as victims of modernity’s unevenly distributed opportunity and prosperity.
@Barbara Jo. I'm reading through the layers of your observations. I want to clarify that I'm not pointing to modernity as the particular culprit in our political problems. I sense you're up on the questions about how apes like us live in these highly constructed contexts with our highly abstracted social interactions (easy to hate someone you don't have to look at or be in the presence of). Deep deep topic there! But no - I'm saying that there are elements in society who have money and lack morals. I'm not saying all moneyed people lack morals, empathy, respect for law and the rest. I am saying that too many people who lack those things have the money to act on their ultimately malevolent and evil designs. My optimistic side believes we humans can handle modernity. My pessimistic side wonders if we can tame the tendency of capitalism to reward the unscrupulous.
Benjamin, I write with a brief word regarding your closing remark. I would submit that capitalism, unless wedded to social democratic institutions that regulate and contain its excesses, is not very good at equitable distribution. Hence, my reason for pressing Senate Democrats to advance whatever budget reconciliation measures can get support from 50 Senators to present to voters as a down payment with more to come if Dems can retain the House and pick up at least 2 Senate seats.
As a proud Berkeley science PhD who has run a farm in Kansas and taught university environmental science classes (my husband teaches evolution) for the past 30 years, I would caution everyone about imagining our part of the country as a monolithic "red state". After all, we have a woman Democrat in the governor's mansion (Laura Kelly) and a wonderful progressive (and decidedly not white, male or old) Democrat on our Congressional delegation (Sharice Davids). Kansas was the battleground for Brown v. Board of Education not because this state was the most opposed to segregation, but because the lawyers new that the state would not mount a strong fight in court. No one has given more to the the cause of access to safe abortion than Dr. Tiller. Our state Supreme Court ruled in 2019 that the right to abortion is protected by our state constitution. Kansas has a proud tradition of being the "Free State", and the town of Lawrence was the site of one of the bloodiest massacres of the Civil War (the Border Wars can't be forgotten around here). I think that restricting Berkeley faculty from traveling to Kansas is exactly the wrong thing to do - we need to stay engaged and learn more about each other, not reinforce the isolation on both sides. While yes we have a struggle with LGBTQ+ rights, we also elected Sharice Davids to Congress and have a university (Kansas State) that regularly wins national awards for its campus programs to support LGBTQ+ student life. It isn't simple here. I lived in California for many years, and encountered much more overt racism and misogyny in inland and northern parts of California than I have in any part of Kansas, even though I work largely with students and communities of color. My neighbors in my rural county are a farmer who immigrated from Kenya and a family with four adopted Korean children. Mixed race families are common and very much loved in our community. So please don't assume that voting patterns define the values of everyone in a "red" or a "blue" state. It is much more complicated, and hence, more hopeful, than that. As they say, we have a democracy if we can hold onto it - and Kansans are definitely in a fight to hold onto their rights. We need everyone's support to do so.
My theory is that if a lot of Democrats moved to supposedly red states we would outnumber them. Kansas has a history of panic when Blacks left in fear of massacre. History of Sundown Towns. Lynching. What would happen if their progeny returned? Should they have a claim for damages?
In 2020 Trump got 56%' I estimate it will take at least 100,000 Democratic votes to offset the Republicans. Jerry Moran is a cult member who epitomizes the trouble with Kansas.
What if 100,00 Democrats moved to Kansas? If not from safe states like California, from places headed to Fascism like Oklahoma and Texas?
I was just making a quick comment on the role of Kansas in history. It seems to "rhyme" a bit. I just wasn't thinking of "likes" - as frequently happens. Thanks for the link, though. There! I gave it a like!
I see more accuracy in Richard's words when taken in the context of "among our politically charged populous". Media is a product that has captured a large audience, many of whom don't even know their own true opinions or have =yet to form any. They are sounding boards of what surrounds them and makes their numbers swell during elections. Speaking to people directly I find your outlook more accurate. At the grass roots level we agree on most issues as a whole. There are a few thick and dividing lines, but that's the stuff we are supposed to be working on and would be if not distracted by the big money politics.
Rolling general strikes until we get all this nonsense to stop. Not until we get something we want done, no, just getting them to stop what they are doing now. An overwhelming number of voters turned out in the last election, but it was still only 65% of the voting public. Republicans and democrats alike need to keep it that way because if the other 35% turns out to vote the campaign funding may no longer help to support the current system. We need the news to be truthful and election day to be a holiday that prohibits employers from having anyone on the clock who has not voted that day. Do these two things and we may actually be able to vote properly for good leaders. If not, it will at least give others a try and not allow for institutional careerists to camp in government for long.
People aren't as divided as it looks. Only those politicized, but they are not the majority, and most of them believe what they do because they are lied to in the media on both sides. We need to fix the government by breaking ti with rolling general strikes. Let it be that nothing will get done if they don't take care of the people's business first. And I would also point out that this Roe v Wade undoing is the result of 50 years of violent acts against abortion clinics & doctors. Exposing the lie that is our history of peaceful demonstration. So fight and cause violence for half a century until the Supreme Court gives you your way...
Watch videos on the insurrection and tell me they want lower taxes. They had been instructed to overthrow the government. Watch the movie Schindler’s list and realize we are at war now as we speak. Your optimism is sweet but totally a fantasy. Intellectualizing is good for classroom and writing books but it does nothing for what is headed our way. Pacifism is not the answer. Encouraging the masses to assert themselves is the way. A brutal confrontation is needed with fascist dictators. I served in the military and this time it’s your turn. You’re at war.
Having left teaching for an early retirement this year, I've been giving a lot of thought as to how to join the fight in the mid-terms. For now, I've been engaging all the workmen who come to the house (phone people, HVAC guy, termite guy, etc.) with a very short plea to consider voting Blue. I start by asking if they have kids and if they were happy with the education the kids are receiving. They invariably are. I ask how many times kids reported that their teacher pushed political views on them, and they open their eyes wide and say that it never happened. Then I tell them that our SC General Assembly has spent weeks debating five CRT bills that insult and attack teachers, and have finished by not giving teachers a raise or any other reason to stay in the profession. I literally beg them to consider voting Blue if they want other kids in our state to have any type of education. All of this is done pretty quickly, and is in no way combative, and I laugh while I'm doing it and say, "Hey, I know I'm asking a guy named Jimmy who lives in in York to consider voting Blue and that that's about the longest shot in the world, but that's how desperate I am to see some change in our state," and they laugh. And then we move on to other things. I'm honing my skills of engagement with the other side. We all need to be doing this now, in the spring, so we'll be ready to make a difference as we approach the elections.
That squares with my reply to another post here concerning the role of education. You're talking about how the confederates are moving to neutralize and remedy the problem of education.
Hmmm. I suspect, hope, that this is a bit exaggerated. I have property in TN. Over the past few years I’ve been; assessing, working with builders, architects, Airbnb folks, meeting regular people. I’ve found the ideological divide is driven by politics not the average folks. The growth in the Red states by people moving around the country to less expensive locations is likely diluting the extremism and hopefully will expand the melting pot of ideology over time.
I too have concerns about the radical ideology and I’m watching the local politics in a newsletter called Lookout TN before I make the leap from CA.
( funny writers btw I’d post the link but it’s long.)
I’m hoping the younger folks will get out and vote out the extreme political folks, run for office and then perhaps our great United States will find away to self identify with a bit less of a sharp divide.
the fear of red states for anything -- everything -- that does not conform to an extremely narrow, white, male, authoritarian view of how the world should be will not go away soon. it's rather like families where some family members are control freaks and others are more laid back, but ALL family members avoid contact with each other because they are sick of all the arguing and fighting over every little thing. i assume at least some of those families manage to mend their differences and get back together? it would be interesting to learn how they managed this and see if this can be reproduced within the nation itself? (that said, i fear that a huge crisis to the family, like a cancer diagnosis or a random shooting of one or more family members, is what it took to finally heal the rift -- which bodes ill for america itself.)
We had a 7-year rift in our family, over nothing, really, that ended when my brother called my sister and simply invited her to Thanksgiving. She said she'd love to come, and we all just carried on from there as if nothing had happened, and it was never discussed. I do think that we in this country need to just walk away from all of our incomprehension of how people supported Trump, etc., and just try to reunite and move forward. We are too bitter and even hateful toward the other side, and nothing good can come of that. (This does not apply to Jan. 6, btw.)
Good point about the fear. Also, everything from abortion rights, interracial marriage, LGBT, gender equality, and "family values" - and even the economics of poverty - *seems* to ultimately point back toward profound sex hang-ups. Yet during the pandemic, they've been making a big, idiotic issue accusing those observing recommended health & safety protocols of "being afraid" and "hiding in the basement."
well, yes, it could be profound sex hang-ups, but i think the underlying issue is the overwhelming desire to control others because these authoritarians are afraid these "others" are "up to something" or because these authoritarians are afraid these "other" people (women, ethnic minorities, LGBTQ+, foreigners/immigrants, etc.) have some secret agenda to destroy the society and the power that they (the authoritarians) want to maintain at all costs.
In the views of several commentators and at least one historian (Heather Cox Richardson, author of "How the South Won the Civil War"), power over the non-white, non-male and non-rich majority is the big motivator of the minority, who fight to secure the filibuster and Senate veto of progressive judicial nominees, to legitimize de facto segregated schools, and many other means of marginalizing people, like LGBTQs, and BIPOCs. And a Supreme judge like Alito, who resorts to legal norms of a 17th-century English aristocrat to deny the right to abortion. And all such originalists who do not want to think and act past the 18th century. Such power does tend to corrupt. Nevertheless, we in the majority can fight for freedom with decency; and with patience.
well, if i was pregnant -- right now -- with a family member's or my rapist's child, i'd seek an abortion PRONTO and patience would factor NOWHERE into that equation.
I view that control thing a primal expression of the sex thing. It all has to do with reproduction, feeding, & housing offspring in service to "living on." Sufficient, though, we agree that both the sex thing and control thing are involved.
I think education should help. The red people are against what’s good for most people. It’s not apples and pecans. One side is obviously cruel and unfair. We can’t just be civil while narrow-minded, ignorant people run things.
The "narrow-minded ignorant people" running things have noticed that, as well, and are moving toward modifying their curricula to neutralize education.
You won't find a way for red and blue to amicably coexist. Trying to handle the country's business will become a never-ending series of state governments trying to get one up on each other, vying for favor, like spoiled children. Ignored in this new stupidity will be the big picture, things like America's place on the world stage, the welfare of those unfortunate enough to be born with disabilities, the fact that systemic racism is actively encouraged and the continued legalized theft of dollars from the dwindling working class as it is pulled from them in higher prices and or taxes before it is sent up the line to make others super rich. I absolutely do not encourage violence but let history guide you. Revolutions start exactly like this.
My husband read a news story from his tablet a few weeks ago that Massachusetts was receiving more new residents from Texas and California. I did not ask him for the source, but thought it may have been climate related. I would not want to live in Texas. California is expensive, and has had the wildfires and drought. I'm wondering where there would be accurate information of trends of 'migration' from and to states that are blue and red.
There has been a ton of migration from the Northeast and Midwest to the mid-Atlantic states since I moved to the Carolinas in 1988. This is largely what has turned NC Purple. What I see now, in SC, is people from the Northeast who have Red politics moving here to be with people who share those views! Not all of them, of course, but many. Very disheartening.
My daughter, who married a Baptist, is living in SC temporarily. Her husband is graduating from Navy school soon and hopes to live in VA. He will be a nuclear engineer on an aircraft carrier.
Our two-party, winner-take-all political system is the root of our problems. Here is a somewhat tortured analogy:
In sailboat racing there is, or was, a tactic called downspeed tacking. (Tacking, is changing direction while traveling upwind and tacking slows sailboats.) In a tacking duel two boats tack furiously back and forth until one or the other, and often both, come nearly to a complete stop. But one boat may have gained a slight tactical advantage over the other.
Downspeed tacking only works in a race between two boats though because any additional competitors would sail right past both of them.
Since we have a two-boat race here downspeed tacking works, to the detriment of our country. Our two political parties engage in a duel of negativity, each framing the other as bad for our country. Both are right. Another, less negative party could sail past both of them.
I just don't get it. I'm reading elsewhere that the Democrats are going to get clobbered in the fall because they haven't delivered on campaign promises "when they have had the power to do so."
But build back better failed because the REPUBLICAN controlled Senate blocked it. True, a couple of Democrats In Name Only (DINOS) didn't help, but they are not THE Democratic Party, but outliers. Why can't voters be shown to see that the answer is not to turn to Republicans, but elect more Democrats?
And why hasn't the infrastructure bill, now law, gotten off the ground thereby creating good paying jobs? If the Republicans get back in the drivers seat of power, nothing by way of public policy will be done to address Climate Change-Global Warming. They still want to pretend that it's a hoax. If you missed the three-part series by Frontline on "Big Oil" then by all means get it "On Demand."
They should be careful what they wish for. If the Repugnicans get into power they’ll make the country completely unlivable. And then who will they be able to blame?
Thanks so much. While in the past voters have too often shot themselves in the FOOT, I now fear they may be about to shoot themselves in both FEET, mostly over inflated consumer prices that the executive branch has very, very little control over. The Commerce Department's report that Corp profits are the highest in 70 (seventy) years tends to support Professor Reich's view that, to a great extent, inflation is the result of greed. Current American motto: In Greed We Trust.
Still, I remember vividly the 1948 election. In the run-up thereto, Truman's opposition (Dewey) was predicted by the press and pundits to win dramatically, but Truman won in the end. Likewise, this leaked opinion may work in our favor in the fall and Democratic Party Leaders appear to be roused to actually DEFEND our democracy, such as it is.
I fervently hope everybody with mindsets like yours and mine will come off the couch and contribute time, energy, and, yes, money if possible to electing true Democrats to both chambers of Congress so that meaningful legislation can be passed. The republicans must be made to understand that only naming a Post Office after somebody's cousin is not governing.
It' not hyperbole to say that, in the coming election, democracy and , indeed, civilization itself is hanging in the balance.
The split betweeen the red and blue states is made worse by the Electoral College, which weights heavily in favor or Republicans. The Senate with its two Senators per state also gives undue weight to red states with small populations. These states are clinging to their supposed "real America" title opposing immigration, LGBTQ rights, and anything that may help people of color or those they label the undeserving poor. They won't accept expansions of medicaid or enlarging the Snap program , even when the CDC has found that deaths are higher in those states with the lowest rates of insured people. Now they would deny the poor access to abortion even though they have the worst outcomes in maternal health and infant mortality. The split between the red and blue states goes beyond the philosophy of Republicans and Democrats and has now become more a claim of "moral superiority" by both sides. As long as the "exman's" lies control the Republican party, there will be no way to bridge the gap.
The biggest problem with the anti democratic Electoral College is everyone is stuck with their decisions, even when it contradicts the will of the majority. So we get presidents that most don’t want who makes huge decisions that most don’t want, that have ramifications that most don’t want for years, i. e. SCOTUS and other judicial acts. Same for unequal representation of the majority in the Senate. These both seems to be obstacles to democracy that will not be overcome and there are no feasible workarounds. The US is falling in world rankings of democratic countries and is headed off a cliff if things continue in the current direction.
I don't think the sensible plurality in our population is presenting a strong and unified enough voice to make itself heard. Facebook profited from selling ads in the 2016 election that were foreign influences that divided us along ideological lines. They were able to do that because not enough Americans know our own history, that Lincoln at least temporarily overcame the division in our population, by establishing that no one has a right to divide our Union, because that would result in a less perfect Union, or degeneration into the previous Articles of Confederation, that failed to organize our country enough for it to function, which is the reason we went to the US Constitution. A sensible core must know our history, and forcefully, not civilly, reimpose it. It would take a bold face of Democracy to reestablish our Constitutional Republican rights, but if our representatives a shaking n their boots, it can happen, because our military knows our American history.
In response to ur statements about not enough of the population knows American History, I’ve always thought that prior to HS graduation every senior should take & pass the same test that immigrants must pass when applying for citizenship! It’s a difficult test & would show the country where our students are lacking in knowledge of American History, & not the diluted Repub version of American History either!! Results might just be fairly darn surprising!
Angela, Though I recognize that the first step to resolving our problems is to name them, which, in my view, aside from the “moral superiority” bit, you have done brilliantly, my question, with midterms rapidly approaching, is where do we go from here?
We are not the fault for division. The real split is mostly due to racism. The common denominator for 90% of the opposition, even outright racists, is benefits. My former governor, now senator did us a tremendous favor. Rick Scott wants to "sunset" Social Security and Medicare.
Avoid all other wedge issues, the bottom line is that when a Nazi, Fascist Trump cultist or fellow traveler is threatened with loss of government benefits, they think twice.
Meanwhile register more Democrats. Outnumber them. https://www.fieldteam6.org/
Yes, I agree that this tsunami of a backlash is fueled by racism and also sexism. All of these vicious regressions are intentionally designed to cut off and reverse all progress that has been made for people of color, for diversity, for women and LGBTQ+ people. And again, I agree with you that the immediate priority is to register Democrats and get people to the polls to support candidates up and down the ballot.
Thanks.
We are returning to “states’ rights” and shedding the idea of Federal control. This time, no shooting needed.
Divide and Rule! Said “Smokin’ Joe” Stalin. Liberate the states! It worked well for the ganja libertarians who legalized dope. The more stoned we are, the less likely we are to think of anything but Ben and Jerry’s.
And free-wheeling states’ rights will last until the Second Coming of the Donald. Then, we will have Federal Order.
I sure hope u r making a joke!!
LOL well said.
Add to that, the fact that now we have a Supreme Court majority that is prejudicial in favor of "states' rights". Isn't it surreal how the political parties of the Civil War have switched their values today? The Democrats who were proslavery, are now PRO-FREEDOM while the Republican who were Pro-Freedom are now proslavery. I use the word slavery to mean "unreasonable control". I know, there are some who would challenge me to define reasonable. I agree with the definition given in the Webster Dictionary. A large portion of our Society today from all political leanings, have loss all senses of what it means to be reasonable (FAIR). Therefore, there is no room for compromise.
Daniel, I believe Dems already outnumber the Repubs in registrations, but the problem is getting them & Independents to vote @ every election!! The harder the Repubs make it to vote in Red states, the less likely minorities, women & Independent voters will be to fight those hurdles & that’s exactly what they are hoping for! The Dem’s messaging must include some reference to fighting thru these obstacles! I sure enjoyed voting by mail for the very first time in 2020 but can not do so for the primaries here in KY! I hope something changes for the Nov election but I won’t be holding my breath!
I live in the Fascist state of Florida where we have to overcome years of voter suppression and outright fraud. We no longer outnumber them. When Voter Forward and similar groups ask me why people should vote, I say to fight Fascism. I do my part 24/7. https://www.fieldteam6.org/
You are right about Kentucky. I know Kentucky has an enthusiasm problem. UofL is one of my alma maters. I have known McConnell since '70 and worked for Elaine Chao for 8 years when she wan Secretary of Labor. Some of my Facebook friends still live there and I hear from them daily. I heard Black Lung cases for many years and still hear from some of the people involved. In Eastern Kentucky 80% of the population live on government benefits but vote against themselves. They must know that McConnell and Rand Paul openly despise them and will not protect their benefits.
Daniel, I just picked up your reply and will respond when I get home later tonight.
Daniel, Fair or not, politics largely is perception, and, although Republicans have no ideas aside from those arising from greed and self-serving impulses, their strategy of running on divisiveness, far too often, wins them elections. Conversely, Democrats largely seem to want to dodge the divisive culture wars rather than fighting and winning them, a mistake, in my view, considering the public largely is on the side of the Democrats on issues like book banning, or teaching history, or the like.
In the alternative, Democrats frequently are quoted as saying, “We’re not going to deal with that stuff; we’re going to focus on kitchen table issues.” Though that might sound good, in the past 15 months, Democrats haven’t been able to extend the child tax credit or lower prescription drug costs or improve childcare or raise the minimum wage to $15…, legislation that actually would make people’s lives easier and would be counter-inflationary.
Because further down in this thread, I have posted what I view as a partial answer for redressing the foregoing unfulfilled campaign promises, I won’t repeat said proposals here. However, I would note, in response to your final remark, that I imagine most, if not all, who comment on these daily Substacks also are writing postcards, phone banking, text banking, and the like. Though these actions are necessary, they are not sufficient. Whether we’re fighting for causes we believes are right and just and moral, or lending our voices to our Party’s messaging strategies, our engagement in all matters, big and small, is critically important.
I agree with your analysis of the electoral college. I think we need to establish that our constitution requires fair representation for all, and require the number of electors per state in both the senate and house to be mathematically proportionate to state population, but it would require a bold face of democracy to force red states to capitulate, giving us our rights in our constitutional republic which guarantees protection of vulnerable blue states, that are getting sodomized when were not in the mood, by unfair red state over representation. Lincoln established that no one has a right to divide our union, so traitors should be dealt with conclusively, not civilly, which does not work any better than it did with our half assed civil war. My internet experience leads me to believe that the generals may be more attuned to that fundamental patriotic orientation, on the treason issue, than some would think.
It is amazing to me how many of us cling fiercely to the archaic and undemocratic Electoral College, almost as though it was (and is) a given. In every single other election in every single democratic fair-and-free nation in the world, the national popular vote determines winners and losers. Citizens of other countries often think it odd that the US turns to such a fundamentally un-democratic procedure to determine the "leader of the free world." In a world as advanced technologically as ours has become, there is even less of a viable rationale to cling onto the Electoral College as somehow evening the score and upholding "democracy at its finest." I think we should seriously and finally consider the idea that, if we can deliver a national popular election result as quickly and accurately as we now do, it is well past time to turn to a system which was never anything but an obstacle. One of the initial ideas behind the Electoral College was that it would prevent ill-informed common men from going off the rails and electing someone totally unsuited to the job; didn't we already do that with an Electoral College in 2016?
And 2000.
We can no longer believe that the Electoral College will provide any form of fair representation bec it is outmoded & essentially useful only for rigging purposes! I believe the solution is a National Popular Vote compiled by counties & then states. Get rid of gerrymandered districts as they aren’t useful for anything besides a way to cheat. State & National candidates would have to campaign in most counties & all states making no state any more important than another! Forget about those labels of swing state, rust belt states, etc. Candidates will be forced to campaign with town halls & rallies with less ad buying needed! We need a complete overhaul of the election process to remove potentials for rigging, buying ur electors with campaign funds! In the days of fast Vote tabulations, why are electors even needed? We don’t live in the days of the Pony Express!!!
Small states would finally be graced by visits from candidates & not be called fly over states any longer. KY actually had Trump visits but I think it was mostly bec of McConnell. The Pandemic created a different style of campaigning & I really enjoyed watching televised Town Halls from different parts of the country. I don’t see why they can’t record Town Halls & put them on YouTube so u can re-watch when u want to! That can reach a lot of people as long as they are kept informed!
If anything is going to change for the better, we need to switch to a parliamentary system with multiple parties and proportional representation. Since this will never happen I don’t see much hope.
After reading your comment, I would despair. However, none of us knows beyond certainty what will happen tomorrow, let alone further down the road. We just can't declare that something will or won't happen as the future is not knowable. (At least i don't think so. Or maybe I don't know the future as well as you.) I do know that we have had multiple parties in the past and we currently have multiple parties, some to no effect, some with a minor role. In terms of major parties, we currently have one that operates within the boundaries and laws provided by the Constitution and our legal precedents and one that prefers to ignore the Constitution and go with rule by an oligarchic autocrat (who is also severely impaired ny narcissism and mental illness.) We desperately need a viable party that will return to the rule by law and forego the rule by person idea that is calling the shots. I do think that, if labor unions continue to gain strength, there may be an opening there to return to a more democratic society but I do not know that this will occur. I wish I had your certainty to declare what will or won't happen but, really, I don't have a clue. I do know that the Constitution and its amendments provides a framework for a just and equitable society
I meant that I can’t see it happening in the current political environment or even in my lifetime. I’m dual Canadian/Californian and will probably leave the US next year for a better democracy, depending on how the November election goes.
Good luck in finding "a better democracy!" I have lived a total of five years in other democratic nations (Denmark and Norway) and, while such nations may have been better in some respects, they were not as inclusive, exemplary, or free in others. (I have recently done some study of Canadian indigenous peoples and would assure you that the Ottawa federal government's approach to such indigenous nations is not that different from the US approach. This does not mean that I am all-informed on democracy in Canada or anywhere else, in Denmark or Norway. No, it just means that all societies aiming for "a better democracy" tend to confront serious challenges, mainly because individual citizens want all the freedoms democracy invites and offers without the hard and constant work involved in social engagement and sticking by the rules on the books. (Right now, we are not doing a particularly good job of vigilance and safeguarding our rule of law, mainly because a good many of us are insisting on the rule of a single (demented) person and will do battle and stage coups for the benefit of that person, completing overlooking the obvious incompetence and personal and intellectual flaws of that individual.) I have concluded that there is probably no such thing as "a better democracy" as democracy is based on the consent of the governed and the governed tend to be willy-nilly and self-seeking in the extreme. We need leaders who are primarily interested and concerned with making all our lives better and what we are getting are people interested in wealth and power for themselves. But this is the situation everywhere in the world so you may have trouble finding "a better democracy." If we have met the enemy and it turns out to be us, that will be true no matter where we go in the world.
I understand much of your argument and agree that the indigenous residential schools in Canada were horrific. Canada is coming to terms with it’s past crimes though. Personally I prefer their parliamentary form of government which makes room for more diverse and inclusive voices. I prefer Canadian New Democrats or Greens to the US Dems, because progressives have a louder voice. These are my personal opinions and I understand there will be disagreement which is not a bad thing in an inclusive society.
You are right!
So true, although I read a tweet recently that made a different comment. To someone's mention of possible Civil War, the tweeter replied that it isn't so easy now because affiliation isn't so clearly split along geographical lines.
I live in MA, with a GOP governor, surrounded by a lot of "red" people. Also, with a terminated pension, high state taxes, and inflation, I'm thinking of selling my house and moving to my RV lot in the FL Keys. But...FL!!! Except most people I know in the Keys are "blue" or "chartreuse" or something other than "red" (Perhaps they should split to become, as they say, the "Conch Republic.")
My point is, I'm not sure things are so well defined. In my experiences, this modern war is inflicting a lot of pain within states as well as between them, and even between family members.
But maybe that's not new. I grew up in MA but remember my TN grandma talking about the pain of families with a son in each Civil War army. I see current real estate maps showing migration from high-tax/blue states to low/red. I read tweets by young folks claiming they're going to change things, suggesting they don't agree with surrounding politics. (But then, my generation said that yet produced Trump.)
Being blue in an allegedly blue state, I'm all for seeing those nasty, costly red folks cecede -- until I think about being financially forced to move to FL. Maybe things are seldom as simple as they seem. Or, as we taught at the airline in diversity training, the stereotyping of people rarely works well. One of the most striking things about living for 36 years at flight levels is seeing so clearly, every work day, that there are no border lines painted down there on the ground.
All of that, for me, makes the current political situation feel even more tangled and scary. If the high-cost luxury of living blue causes me to have to move to FL, the gates might slam shut and trap me in red. Not just me. It's not only poor red people; what about the poor blue souls trapped now in red hell?
The data on how far blue and red are moving apart are striking. Yes, there's some blue in red states and some red in blue states; so-called "purple" areas do exist. And of course a few states remain "swing" states. But the overall divide is sharpening and hardening. A key potential connector is the non-college working class, which is why I keep harping on the necessity for Democrats to strengthen unions and aim their message at this key group -- which used to be the core of the Democratic Party.
See my comments how to "blue" red states. I agree but many of the red states were Confederate states that never accepted that they lost a war. Like Trump, they would not concede.
I was in Vietnam when troops were caught stealing selector switches to turn M-14s and M-16s into automatic weapons for use in the race war at home. 1967. Lived through "massive resistance" and represented school districts in school busing cases. Teacher strikes. Was personally threatened for "humanizing education," vilified as a federal employee, accused by the Federalist Society of being a deep state elite. They asked Trump to eliminate my job and give it to a loyal hack. https://www.nytimes.com/2017/11/23/opinion/conservatives-weaponize-federal-courts.html
Young people trend 70% (and tenants do too) and if you professors get them out to vote you can save this country. https://www.fieldteam6.org/
Maybe you can convince a sugar daddy to relocate some Democrats to red states. The population of Wyoming is less than any of the major cities of California. The two Dakotas combined have a population of 1,670,324, slightly less than Idaho.
Hostile takeover.
Under Clinton, the Democrat party abandoned its New Deal principles and embraced corporate America. Now, we have two parties beholden to corporate America. The Democrats can't strengthen unions, as you suggest, because corporate America won't let them. They can't nominate a progressive for President because Jamie Dimon say no. Clinton proudly "ended welfare as we know it". What was created in its stead is worse. Clinton began the de-industrialization of the US. There were pitifully few preparations for this. Focusing on union and the non-college working class are good ideas but would require the Democratic party to turn away from corporate America. I doubt that is going to happen.
I can see how that fits in. On a map showing housing growth around Boston, the South has grown the fastest lately by far. Education levels here are lower, trades people are in extremely short supply, charging very high rates, and probably out-earning many college grads. All trades people I've met drive F250 or F350 pickups and vote red. With construction and related services booming, their ranks are growing rapidly in this blue state. Many more high schoolers are wondering why bother with college when there are so many jobs, and they can make so much money without higher education. Trump gave those red folks permission to be louder, and they are. A local college dropped liberal arts in favor of nursing courses. Liberal arts and humanities teach empathy, compassion, tolerance, etc.-- Democratic traits. It does seem we're headed in a bad direction even in this blue state. The Supreme Court might wake up a few liberals, one hopes. My personal experience of a union is that it was as corrupt as the company and did its members at least as much damage. It refused the company's request to hire women, promotes blatant age discrimination, helped to terminate our pensions, etc. Still, I know what unions are supposed to do, so I hope others are better. But I think a solution must involve reducing corporate power and government corruption. With GOP anti-voter laws and unpunished insurrection, the colors of votes soon may not matter. I see we'll be losing our governor. One wishes you might return to Boston and sort out this state before it turns purple.
Unfortunately, you're comment on how unions effectively undermined they're own mission in times past is well taken. That's because the members necessarily reflect the prejudices of their social environment - and character flaws. Neither does being a union member automatically imbue >anyone< with a sense of social justice and public virtue, nor prevent them from being hardcore bigots. Some union members can experience from their own peers as much, and sometimes worse abuse than the union is supposed to prevent from their employers in the first place. Of course, that's a local union leadership issue. And who becomes local union leaders? Of course, they're personally flawed members of the local reflecting the prejudices and bigotries of their social environment. Future union leadership should deign to understand that and move to correct it. Not only do they need to protect the membership from the excesses of management, but they need to discourage the membership from being at each others' throats for >any< perceived reason. It gives canny supervisors and union busters more than enough ammunition to dismantle >any< union.
Not to wear out a boffo line from Uncle Joe, but “DIVIDE AND RULE!” One person is helpless against the Deep Anything. Unions make it a fairER fight.
My father was a union organizer in Pittsburgh in the 1930s. He told me that workers unwilling to join the United Steelworkers would be harassed and even physically roughed up if they failed to join the union. Soon the president of that union was accepting bribes from the steel companies — booze and women — and, as my dad said, “Sold the workers down the river.” My father made the mistake of complaining. His reward: getting removed from the list of industrial workers (those who in 1941 could not be drafted into the military thanks to their status in a key industry). Once removed from the protected list, he was drafted into WW2. So, yes, unions can be as corrupt as employers.
Yes, there were corrupt unions because anything that gets too powerful can easily be corrupted because some people LOVE power and will do nearly anything to get it and keep it. My dad was in the Retail Clerks Union which saved our family. Before the union came in, wages were terrible, and it would not have been possible to raise a family on them. The medical coverage the union worked for covered my eye surgeries and other needs of the family, not possible without the union. Members of unions as well as employees of companies need to be aware of what is going on and what they will tolerate. R.Sheets
But MA and FL aren't your only choices :-). NC is purple now, can use all the Blues it can get, has all the seasons, plus mountains and coast, and is way cheaper than the northeast. Let's start by having Blue people move to swing states. I've been in the Carolinas for 34 years, and at first had a hard time meeting any non-Christian Democrats like myself, but things have changed a lot, in the urban centers anyway.
My best friend lives in FL, and I own the lot there. I know no one in NC. Nice place, though. Visited the Outer Banks recently.
I am a bird watcher from Dallas & often visit rural Texas. Rural Texans vote red because they watch Fox "News", as well as the propaganda from local TV stations & newspapers, which are largely owned by rich conservatives. They also hear "cheap grace theology" every Sunday, as well as on TV practically every day of the week. If Texas changes, it will be because of the smart, energetic campaign of Beto. If Beto loses, I fear Texas will not turn blue, until this generation of Texans die. Just like Max Planck said, "this is how a new scientific truth advances". Not by changing the minds of scientists, but their eventual deaths, & the advance of a new generation.
The poor blue souls trapped now in red hell are agonizing. Homelessness is growing here in Florida. I transferred to with my job from Ohio to Fort Lauderdale Florida in 1984. In 2016 shortly after I retired, I moved to Orlando. When I moved to Florida, I found that although Florida did not have state income tax, the cost of living was much higher than Ohio. Many of the local jobs were geared to tourism. These jobs are low paying, yet housing was expensive, corporate welfare was thriving at the expense of the working class. Teachers and Nurses were leaving because income was not keeping up with cost of living. The state of Florida has serious problems attracting teachers for public schools which includes universities. Homelessness is on the increase. I am talking about people that are working. Florida may not have individual taxation, but it certainly doesn't do very much for the working class even when the funds are Federal funds. It does the bear minimum. The people that do well in Florida are those with good paying jobs, the retired with good pensions and/or wealthy. My observation is if you do not have a well-paying career, a good business or have money, Florida is not the place to live in. Read the Sun Sentinel from Fort Lauderdale, Miami Hearld, or the Orlando Sentinel. Reading these papers will give you some picture of what is happening here. Florida does not have much of a safety net were you to start having financial problems. Reading the newspaper will open your eyes to some of the political shenanigans going on here. I found that the best thing Florida has to offer is the SUNSHINE, while in the north you hardly see the sun during the WINTER.
Too much sun causes skin cancer, and mental illness is contagious! Stay covered in the sun and stay away from the churches - and beer joints!
We see quite a bit of sun in MA winters. My solar panels supply almost all of my electricity. We get tax breaks on solar that apparently FL doesn't, despite all of their sun, be because their corporations don't approve of encouraging homeowners to help the environment, so I read. I'm the treasurer if a FL corporation, so I do see a bit about politics there. MA has its issues as well. All states do, no doubt, probably because politics tends toward corruption and corporations rule.
The down side in MA for me is $12k property tax plus 5+% state income tax plus excise and sales taxes. The city has high paying jobs. The southern suburbs don't, but we still have the same taxes. Property tax used to be deductible, but to give his wealthy friends a tax cut and to punish high-tax blue states, Trump ended that deduction. Seems there's no place to escape corporate and political greedy claws these days.
In my humble opinion, Texas is very much like Florida. Public schools, affordable health care, & poor infrastructure (e.g. power grid) are some of the biggest problems. Moreover, many jobs do not pay a living wage.
@Mo. Sorry about the termination of the pension! Even that is a violation of some kind...
Benjamin, thank you for highlighting this. Mo, I read your commentary twice and was stunned when I saw the "terminated pension." My first thought was, "can they do that?!" I am So Sorry that happened to you. I also think that is a violation of some kind, or should be. Good grief!
You don't have to be poor to be trapped. I'd live - and have before - in the Philly museum district in a high-rise studio flat, but can't afford it, so I live in a blue part of the >gray< state where I was born. I live as well as I care to here - in a modest home, without dinner out, tickets to "the game" and other frills some would kill and die for - but simply couldn't avoid living under a bridge in Philly.
Professor, Though I agree “we’re [seemingly] becoming two versions of America,” I’m not convinced this split is as pervasive as it might appear. Imagine, for example, when the budget reconciliation plan (BBB) failed to pass, that, instead of near-deafening silence, a stronger, tougher Biden had gone to West Virginia, and also to the red parts of Mississippi and Alabama, and to other states and said, “This is what we have tried to deliver and these folks have voted against it.” Simply stated, Democrats have to be willing to engage in war. One can’t play fair with people who don’t play fair. 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.”
Imagine the impact if everyday people across the country were asked, “Who do you want here—somebody who doesn’t want to cut the price of insulin or those who do”? What about the child tax credit? Affordable, quality childcare? Universal Pre-K? Investments in housing? In elder care? In climate? My point, and note I haven’t covered what Biden and the Party have accomplished, is that Democrats (contrary to Republicans who have no ideas aside from those arising from greedy and self-serving impulses) have an extraordinary narrative if only they would deliver it.
And they need to be delivering that message on FOXNews regularly. Pete Buttigieg does a great job when he goes on, and so did Bernie when he went during the 2020 primaries. They need to train for it and do it, because that audience is never hearing their point of view.
I would agree, Janet, particularly the part about “need[ing] to train for it.”
@Barbara. I happen to think your suggested messaging would be very effective. Again, we only need a few percent of former Trump voters to come over to sensible beliefs and sensible policies to be assured of a Democratic majority in Congress. That in itself is not a cure all, but way better than the way Manchin and Sinema can feather their nests by playing the gridlock.
Benjamin, I appreciate the validation, but would add that my top priority is to excite the base and to pick up Independents. In my view, we need overwhelming turnout to offset the increasing changes in state election rules that will change who can be in charge, how votes are counted, and how they’re certified.
@Barbara Jo. Yes! I am working the precinct for Katy Porter. It's a blue district now, after the re-districting, so we need to attract all the Democrats and those who are tired of the lies and shenanigans from the Republicans.
Perfect
Do you realize that Manchin has become more popular because he opposed all those things? He's being seen as some kind of hero.
William, My understanding, despite the seeming contradiction that West Virginia is turning increasingly red, is that the top issues for voters include jobs, healthcare, childcare, housing, and tax reform. It further is of note that the United Coal Miners Union is eager for worker training programs that would allow for a transition from fossil fuels to clean energy.
Then it's a classic case of them voting against what they want. They lionize Manchin who stands against most of that and when Biden offers those things, they call him a socialist.
William, My understanding is that Manchin’s prospects for re-election in 24 are questionable. I repeatedly hear, admittedly anecdotal, that he is losing the confidence of his base in a state growing increasingly red.
Is Biden capable of delivering "an extraordinary narrative"? Recently, he shot himself in the foot during a speech lambasting the Republicans with the line "This MAGA crowd is really the most extreme political organization that's existed in recent American history". This line became the speech headline with the rest of his points mostly ignored by the media. Tucker Carlson and the right wing media machine then showcased the video of him saying this line as an example of "What Biden and the Democrats think of Red State people" over and over. Biden should focus on presenting a positive message about Democrat ideas for improving the lives of the American people and stay away from a negative attack message which the right wing media is very capable of twisting to their own benefit.
But it's true. We know Carlson is going to twist anything Biden says. He will cherry pick words.
Tim, I just picked up your reply and will respond when I get home later tonight.
Tim, Please note my comment, intended to indicate we’re not hopelessly polarized, centers on a “stronger, tougher Biden” with a remarkable narrative that represents the interests of a broad range of voters. If Biden, as you suggest, is not the appropriate spokesperson for the sort of rhetoric I’m proposing, then I say the Dems damn well better serve up highly valued alternatives.
Professor, maybe the problem is people like me? When my brothers and cousins, or neighbors, start spewing right wing tropes, lies and bigotry I forget that they are the victims of manipulation by moneyed interests controlling media messaging, and they are the victims of global capital and corporations who really are stripping away the possibility for a dignified middle class lifestyle for broad swaths of American workers. This dual action, reality of the stripping away AND their blaming the problem on "the left", immigrants, Americans of color and "woke" culture results in large numbers of Americans actually not understanding their real economic and social interests. But people like me too often blame the victims. I think they are stupid, uneducated, racist, xenophobic and some of them are fanatically religious, still hewing to long-discounted belief structures.
But I'm wrong to think of them as permanently fitting that profile; true, they too often act like that these days. But that is not the real person acting - it is the twisted simulacra they are living which is inverting the humanity they could each have if they too could be "woke". So I want to quit blaming and vilifying the victims - they are the victims (as we all are to some extent) of the malicious manipulation of culture and economics by the owners of global capital, oligarchs, authoritarians and moneyed interests in this country who have somehow convinced themselves AND their victims that someone else, something else is responsible for their problems.
Let's be gentle and forgiving of our Red State friends. Let's keep our focus on the real sources of problems in our country. Let's overcome the institutional barriers to Democratic majorities in government. Let's legislate relief for the problems in Red States and our country whether or not a minority of folks believe that equal rights, fair taxation, social safety nets, environmental activism and aggressive regulation of corporations are in their real interests.
Mmm... "gentle and forgiving" - but not forgetful: choosing to vote for Donald Trump - whether a "party first" vote or anything else - is still a choice; people who don't take their most sacred civic duty seriously aren't interested in bipartisanship, have nothing to offer with respect to compromise, and will only betray those tender feelings at the first opportunity (as they are active participants in *perpetrating* victimization!).
@Rishi. Good point. I don't see any reason to be either forgiving or gentle with people like Tucker Carlson and Steve Bannon. These people are near criminals. Or they are criminals. Briefly, Red States and big parts of urban industrial areas are being stripped of productive work opportunities by the actions of global capital driving investment to low tax, low labor cost venues overseas. The people who have traditionally been part of the rising middle class now see themselves under employed, unemployed and they see their communities "hollowing out". These folks have a real complaint. But these same folks are being manipulated by the liars who carry the water for the very corporations who are stripping out these communities; they are being coached to blame their problems on immigrants, people of color, the "left" whatever that means to them, and in some cases baby-eating progressives. This last part is that part that makes me feel sorry for them. Their ignorance and lack of education is being cynically exploited by Tucker Carlson (more generally by the Murdochs, the Kochs etc).
Benjamin, you are always thoughtful, well-thought out and thorough but I have not found that "lack of education" is why people are exploited by Carlson and the right wing. I have been stunned over recent years how many highly educated people are marinating their brains on Fox, Newsmax, etc. If I believe anything, I absolutely don't believe this is a scourge of the "uneducated." Yes, ignorant people are an easy marks. But the self coercion is complicated by one's view of their life's disappointments (easy to blame "the other) professionally and financially, longterm functional depression today in so many people from the enormous dislocation of neo-liberal policies. Just look at the level of inequality today. My lifetime doesn't remember tent cities like we have today. Many people will not meet the standard of living their parents had, MY parents (!) and I'm 76. The so-called "middle class" isn't so middle class today, they have lost tremendous financial ground. The NYT just did an article that lamented newly minted college graduates and professional people are now finding housing in TRAILER PARKS. Everyone, poorly educated, educated, so, so many people can easily be co-opted, "cynically exploited" by the people you write eloquently about. My question is, how do we turn this massive ship in a different direction?
@Claire. Your comments make so much sense to me! ...and I don't like to be cynical... But did you ever think that when somebody is obviously educated, intelligent and informed but still spewing garbage, maybe that person is a part of the problem? I believe that they ARE and they are not a target either for my sympathies or hopes of getting through to them.
TOTALLY! I completely agree. I don't think for a nanosecond that intelligent, educated people are "targets" or being unwittingly used by the right wing hate media. In fact, it is precisely because of the people I know very well over many years that has stunned me and forced me to see how lacking in decency, empathy, and their selfishness has allowed this terrible moment in our history to emerge. They're racist, nasty, greedy, self-centered, opportunistic and they completely deserve our disdain.
Sorry.....not one to mince a word.
It might help you understand what's happening if you divide ol' Tweety's freex into two categories: the hustlers & the hustled. Many of ol' Tweety's supporters know a good con when they see one. Ol' Tweety's nothing if not a con artist. The hustlers will hustle the gullible following ol' Tweety's lead. The inflection point is belief, and the believers have been being hustled by their preachers for years. Rev Jim Jones and Applewhite were laboratory experiments in social science. The gullible are susceptible to "magical thinking," and that's the leverage of the hustle. Patriotism is another. Gun freaks fancy themselves patriots. Give 'em their guns and they'll elect you every time.
On the other hand, here is >my< brand of patriotism:
>Never< trust a politician who tells you how to pray, and >never< trust a preacher who tells you how to vote.
Claire, I think you’ve hit on a key point here. People are upset because their expectations are being thwarted and instead of trying to improve the world they’re wallowing in blame. This includes educated people. Sometimes even I find myself in denial that life has become so much more difficult for just about everyone than it used to be. It’s as if someone has put a giant roadblock in front of every route. My rudimentary knowledge of history tells me that this is much more likely to change because of a black swan than anything else, but my experience also tells me that concerted effort over long periods can also work. (This is what the disgusting right has done.) I also wonder whether once the disgusting right has gone too far things will change. Surely denying people their rights, their money, their health, and their lives has to have some effect.
Paula, so you see this too? American life has changed, (with perhaps the exception of very rich people), for EVERYONE on many different levels; healthcare, education, housing, childcare, employment/labor constraints, I could go on and on. The "black swan", of course, you are so right. I'm starting to believe that the white nationalist, Christian right has finally gone too far. I keep seeing Lindsay Graham saying (before he became a Trump sycophant) that Trump would "blow the GOP up." Watching the right wing be the dog that caught the car he was chasing would be amusing if not so terrifying. Did the Christian right/GOP Russian wing believe that they had tenderized (like beating your meat with a wood hammer) the masses so well that when you pulled from under them a 50 year right the proverbial sh__ wouldn't hit the fan? This "swan" moment, you so brilliantly noted, may be here. The future doesn't look great, yet, but we may be in a much better world than we can know. Fingers crossed!
The dog caught the car, alright. What's terrifying is that he's now >driving< the damn thing!
Oh yes, I see it. I haven’t wanted to accept it but I do. However I agree:if the right gets everything they want they’ll face enormous blowback. Tyranny always begets rebellion. It’s too bad they don’t study history.
Benjamin R. Stockton. So how many of the Trumpers rely entirely on government benefits for survival?
I've been arguing that an object lesson would be if guilty 1/6 insurrectionists lose all their government benefits. VA, military retirement Social Security, Medicare Black Lung, etc
5 U.S. Code § 8312 - Conviction of certain offenses
(a)An individual, or his survivor or beneficiary, may not be paid annuity or retired pay on the basis of the service of the individual which is creditable toward the annuity or retired pay, subject to the exceptions in section 8311(2) and (3) of this title, if the individual—1 (C)section 2381 (treason), 2382 (misprision of treason), 2383 (rebellion or insurrection), 2384 (seditious conspiracy), 2385 (advocating overthrow of government), 2387 (activities affecting armed forces generally), 2388 (activities affecting armed forces during war), 2389 (recruiting for service against United States), or 2390 (enlistment to serve against United States), of chapter 115 (relating to treason, sedition, and subversive activities) of title 18;
@Daniel. Yes, in harsher times we used to take rights away from those we didn't agree with. And yes, Red States in general "take" more than they "give". But I still can't see criminalizing "stupid".
And as comedian Ron White says: "There just ain't no cure for stupid!"
I remember from several decades back, when the wank-publicans were bellyaching about "welfare mothers," insinuating the old racist trope that said mothers were inner-city blacks. As it turned out, when they got their way and seriously curtailed welfare benefits, the people most severely damaged were white Appalachian unwed mothers. Just a stroll down memory lane, here.
Red states are :takers" Blue states "makers."
Cuomo used words to that effect out loud directed at McConnel's "blue state bailouts" bullshit.
Look what happened to him! And the wank-publicans bellyache about "cancel culture!" Hell! If Cuomo runs for prez, >I'll< still vote for him! Whatever his shortcomings, he's not even in the same league as most of the current Capitol Hill wank-publicans. The word "backbone" comes to mind!
The action is the bean count. "they are stupid, uneducated, racist, xenophobic and some of them are fanatically religious, still hewing to long-discounted belief structures." IS WHAT THEY DO. All the kukbaya is not relative to the question.
My first thought after reading today's newsletter was that what's going on in the country doesn't feel at all like a benign separation, like that of an unhappily married couple not wanting to go through a divorce. I also am not at all optimistic like Robert that this will end up being less like a civil war and more like Brexit. I think the potential for violence is very real, particularly after watching what happened January 6th. But as you point out it's always important to understand the big picture at play, who's behind the curtains pulling the levers. How far will they let this play out? And now that it's in motion, could they even stop it if they wanted to? It's a dangerous "game" they're playing, and we'll be the ones continuing to suffer the consequences, those they intended and especially those they did not!
I share your misgivings. Add a proliferation of gun owners who can't shoot what they're trying to aim at into the mix.
“You have the right to remain stupid. Anything you say may be used to prove that.”
@Steve. LOL! That's what I tell my one brother-in-law...
Great argument. Who’s stupid?
Are we not responsible for what we >choose< to believe? Just wonderin'. Hint: Careful, it's a loaded question.
Cult members are mere automatons.
Ironically, that's exactly what we are. For proof, read Sam Harris' "Free Will." If still not convinced, listen to Dr. Derk Pereboom's college lectures on YouTube. And do a little research on your own. (I can add other book titles, if interested.)
"You can do what you wish, but you can't choose what you wish."
~ Arthur Schopenhauer
"Everything is determined, the beginning as well as the end, by forces over which we have no control. It is determined for the insect as well as the star. Human beings, vegetables, or cosmic dust, we all dance to a mysterious tune, intoned in the distance by an invisible piper."
~ Albert Einstein
"Men think themselves free inasmuch as they are conscious of their volitions and desires, and never even dream, in their ignorance, of the causes which have disposed them so to wish and desire."
~ Benedict Spinoza
It's disconcerting for most of us to realize that we're meat puppets, but evolution formed us to exist and think in such a way that we believe that we're free. Even though we're not, we are nonetheless legally responsible for all our actions, even if we're not morally or ethically so. Finally, you figure out that it doesn't matter either way, because nothing is going to change except maybe attitudes, to wit, yes, he's a compulsive thief, but he can't stop himself. We can feel more forgiveness with the understanding that all things are determined, including me writing this and you reading it. And whether you accept or reject free will is determined.
Totally, wow, well said Daniel..nailed it.
So they're not responsible for what they >choose< to believe in the first place?
In criminal terms, lack the mens rea to know what they are doing. Need medical treatment. Insurance probably covers deprogramming.
Who decides that?
Sometimes a jury. Sometimes a commitment officer. Sometimes a judge in a guardianship proceeding.
@DZK. You always ask loaded questions! LOL I have listened to some folks who will admit they don't really believe what they are spewing. My grandmother recommended mouth=soap=wash...
Almost missed your reply! Glad I didn't. Indeed, I >do< like exploring the conundra of life! (Yes. I know "conundra" isn't a word. It >should< be. <But I'm not above coining new words, either!>) If Wanker Carlson is allowed to "just ask questions," I'm demanding equal time! LOL! Besides, it's an inherent implication of all religions that threaten some kind of retribution - divine or otherwise - if you don't believe in "the one true god" or "the one true faith." It's inherent in the religious doctrine of "free will" as well. Of course, those very believers would use what they believe as mitigation of their excesses. Maybe I >should< wash my mind out with soap. It's been sullied by shit like that for a lifetime! LOL! ];-)>
Jefferson said a democracy requires an educated public. We've watch for years as the public has become less and less educated which makes them more and more susceptible to propaganda.
Thank you Benjamin. I live in a Red area within a Blue state. I participate in my community and try to be of maximum service. I ask questions and try to understand another point of view. I ask for clarification, question when someone uses "all" "everyone" "they". I say who specifically in a curious voice. I also try to delve deeper into their position, again with curiosity If they are open will add in what I know with examples and research. I do not shame. This is a hard and taxing way to interact with people but does have rewards. I maintain my friendships with people who are different and can grow myself.
@Susan. I don't know you, but I can almost see that sad, curious look that you give them. But don't give up - I think they learn more from that than any direct confrontation!
I’m thinking a fantasy. The war has started. They want your blood, not lower taxes. Expunge comes to mind
@Ed. Some of them do. But we only need about 5% of the about 25% to stop being lured into that alternative universe...
Excellent comment, as usual, but expand, if you would, on your contention that we Americans are being manipulated "by the owners of global capital, oligarchs, authoritarians and moneyed interests in this country." You may well have more information than I do on that possibility.
Specifically, do you think that they are an organized group of Big Dogs who are running an evil scam on the whole world for their own enrichment and empowerment? Kind of a Mafia of movers-and-shakers? That may be the case, of course; but I just can't see them being that clubby, e.g., I don't think that Elon Musk gets together with Jeff Bezos and the Waltons and decides their group's geopolitical-financial strategy and tactics for the next quarter. In short, in my view, selfishness and greed exist, but its practitioners (or victims) are not a secret government skullduggering to swallow the world for their collective benefit; they're lone wolves, by and large. Am I wrong? Is there a Bilderberg Group-type conspiracy going on, working against the common man, trying to divert us with wedge issues whilst they carry off the wealth in plain sight? Are humans that complex, that devious, that cunning, that consistently and energetically selfish?
@James. Thank you for the question. I really appreciate your perspective! In my view the way the oligarchs act is similar to the way a run on the bank can happen. Lots of self-interested individuals separately decide on the same act. However, there is evidence that there is also lots of collusion on things like price setting. There are groups put together that solicit many corporations for "donations" to create bad science (tobacco, big oil, big pharm are all served by organizations that strive to undermine real science). The oil-producing cartels visibly and unashamedly collude on price-setting. So, I don't think there is anything like a global organization driving politics and government policies; however the imperatives of capitalism itself motivates many individual wealthy people and corporations to behave in ways that are not in the interests of the public. Regulating capitalism, partly via tax policy as envisioned by Adam Smith, is a main purpose of government by the people, in my view.
Thanks for the quick and on-point reply.
Just as a small example of price-setting, my father-in-law, a big hitter in Dallas in the last century, told me that the liquor dealers in town got together every Tuesday and set the prices for their products for the upcoming week. (That town was rife with J.R. Ewings: Remember the famous incident where the public found out that the Board of Regents [or whatever their group was, a member of which was our then-current governor, Bill Clements] at S.M.U. would hire attractive hookers to show interested student athletes around campus, enticing them to enroll at said university. The hookers were given S.M.U. credit cards to spend on their "clients." Sheesh, a Christian university! Later Bill Clements said snidely, "Well, there was no Bible around when we did that," as if that somehow makes it all right. I could go on and on: Even cutthroat Yankee businessmen were aghast at the business practices they found in Dallas.)
And, yes, a well-regulated capitalism with a big, broad, and deep social safety net seems the way to go. Dr. Reich has recently shown us the greedy practices of Big Oil that can happen without government oversight and some measures to control its blatant gouging. Sadly, everyday Republicans, deluded by the allure of the many benefits of absolute freedom, are against all government involvement and unions. Granted, they just want to be left alone, but that attitude, of course, indirectly plays right into the hands of the powers-that-be.
I don't see how we can ever get America's head above water, but we must nonetheless continue to try. Such efforts at least give us a few breaths of oxygen now and then, which must be accepted as success. For instance, America looks to be regressing on abortion rights, i.e., a woman being able to control her own body; but we had it for some 50 years. The struggle continues.
I agree. They don't have to get together and plot. I've been making the point that the dictators of the world are working against Biden, not by getting together and planning but they have a common interest.
Notice how all the strongmen, Putin, Xi, Modi, Un, Erdogan and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman are working against Biden. I believe they want Trump back. If Trump or one of his copies becomes president, he will move quickly to become a dictator. Trump never realized how much power a president has but now they all know and they know how to use it. None of them want a strong NATO.
If Trump or a mini Trump gets elected, he will destroy NATO. You may not like NATO but, without it, those countries have little protection. If we have dictators heading all the major powers, believe me, it won’t be good for the world. And eventually, they’d turn on each other.
If dictators are running all the powerful countries, they are then free to create whatever world they want. I remember a Tommy Tomorrow cartoon when W was president. It showed W, Cheney and Rumsfeld in black suits and dark sunglasses and one says what should we do today. Another answers, whatever we want to.
In answer to your last question, yes humans are very complex, can be very devious and cunning and can be very selfish. Ask an experienced phycologist. I have come across people that are criminals and their thinking is such that the only person they care about is themself. That is, it! I would venture to say that there are businessmen that are out there not trying to purposely hurt someone else, but when they totally put their self-interest above all, there will be some people that will be a casualty as a result of their actions. Let's take Elon Musk, do you think he is not working with wealthy businessmen and/or governments in other countries. Do you think governments in other countries cannot put business pressure on him? He has business dealings in China and other countries. Businessmen are interested in getting the highest possible return on their investment. Do you think businessmen get together in person or via proxy to develop plans to have legislation passed that will benefit them or to accomplish other goals? Businessmen do not want to govern a country, at least not directly, they want to get good business deals any way they can. Many time unscrupulously.
I, too, have a very low opinion of businessmen, despite having been one myself for decades. Basically, it's just people trying to survive and thrive if possible; they often hate their jobs, so they pass on their animosity, as humans will, in various ways, certainly toward the customers and even their partners.
I consider Elon Musk, Bill Walton, Jeff Bezos, etc., to be mixed bags: They do some helpful things, like start a huge company employing thousands, and some hurtful things, like not paying a living wage to their employees, the very people who made them rich. But we're all flawed to some degree; some are just worse than others.
The answer is YES! Read Anne Applebaum or Timothy Snyder and what's going on with Russian propaganda in the U.S..
Read the book Dark Money if your really want the source of information but some how not thinking you care that much. Read Our Revolution by Bernie Sanders if you want the information that catches you up to all information you claim you have not heard, but some how not thinking you care that much.
Benjamin, I couldn’t just click “like” without noting how touched I was by the sensitive, let alone insightful, issues you felt obligated to raise followed by your call for deeply felt, and, in my view, sorely needed remedies.
Benjamin, Having just read more recent postings on this thread, I was struck by how artfully you extended the portrayal of a base, typically stereotyped as mostly male, white, cisgendered, heterosexual, and Christian, also as victims of modernity’s unevenly distributed opportunity and prosperity.
@Barbara Jo. I'm reading through the layers of your observations. I want to clarify that I'm not pointing to modernity as the particular culprit in our political problems. I sense you're up on the questions about how apes like us live in these highly constructed contexts with our highly abstracted social interactions (easy to hate someone you don't have to look at or be in the presence of). Deep deep topic there! But no - I'm saying that there are elements in society who have money and lack morals. I'm not saying all moneyed people lack morals, empathy, respect for law and the rest. I am saying that too many people who lack those things have the money to act on their ultimately malevolent and evil designs. My optimistic side believes we humans can handle modernity. My pessimistic side wonders if we can tame the tendency of capitalism to reward the unscrupulous.
Benjamin, I write with a brief word regarding your closing remark. I would submit that capitalism, unless wedded to social democratic institutions that regulate and contain its excesses, is not very good at equitable distribution. Hence, my reason for pressing Senate Democrats to advance whatever budget reconciliation measures can get support from 50 Senators to present to voters as a down payment with more to come if Dems can retain the House and pick up at least 2 Senate seats.
@Barbara Jo. We are of a like mind on this!
@Chris. I'm too smart to run for office! LOL Or too dumb! Instead I am working for Katy Porter. She has already proven that she is good at it.
As a proud Berkeley science PhD who has run a farm in Kansas and taught university environmental science classes (my husband teaches evolution) for the past 30 years, I would caution everyone about imagining our part of the country as a monolithic "red state". After all, we have a woman Democrat in the governor's mansion (Laura Kelly) and a wonderful progressive (and decidedly not white, male or old) Democrat on our Congressional delegation (Sharice Davids). Kansas was the battleground for Brown v. Board of Education not because this state was the most opposed to segregation, but because the lawyers new that the state would not mount a strong fight in court. No one has given more to the the cause of access to safe abortion than Dr. Tiller. Our state Supreme Court ruled in 2019 that the right to abortion is protected by our state constitution. Kansas has a proud tradition of being the "Free State", and the town of Lawrence was the site of one of the bloodiest massacres of the Civil War (the Border Wars can't be forgotten around here). I think that restricting Berkeley faculty from traveling to Kansas is exactly the wrong thing to do - we need to stay engaged and learn more about each other, not reinforce the isolation on both sides. While yes we have a struggle with LGBTQ+ rights, we also elected Sharice Davids to Congress and have a university (Kansas State) that regularly wins national awards for its campus programs to support LGBTQ+ student life. It isn't simple here. I lived in California for many years, and encountered much more overt racism and misogyny in inland and northern parts of California than I have in any part of Kansas, even though I work largely with students and communities of color. My neighbors in my rural county are a farmer who immigrated from Kenya and a family with four adopted Korean children. Mixed race families are common and very much loved in our community. So please don't assume that voting patterns define the values of everyone in a "red" or a "blue" state. It is much more complicated, and hence, more hopeful, than that. As they say, we have a democracy if we can hold onto it - and Kansans are definitely in a fight to hold onto their rights. We need everyone's support to do so.
My theory is that if a lot of Democrats moved to supposedly red states we would outnumber them. Kansas has a history of panic when Blacks left in fear of massacre. History of Sundown Towns. Lynching. What would happen if their progeny returned? Should they have a claim for damages?
In 2020 Trump got 56%' I estimate it will take at least 100,000 Democratic votes to offset the Republicans. Jerry Moran is a cult member who epitomizes the trouble with Kansas.
What if 100,00 Democrats moved to Kansas? If not from safe states like California, from places headed to Fascism like Oklahoma and Texas?
"Bleeding Kansas!"
I notice you didn't hit "like". After the Civil War. they were effectively chased out. https://klcjournal.com/kansas-racist-violence-history/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:Sundown_towns_in_Kansas
I was just making a quick comment on the role of Kansas in history. It seems to "rhyme" a bit. I just wasn't thinking of "likes" - as frequently happens. Thanks for the link, though. There! I gave it a like!
Good to keep in mind about the nature of Blue vs >Gray< states.
Okay, I’ll bite. What’s a gray state? The Confederacy?
Yep! Same thinking, same religion, and wage slaves. (It's cheaper than buying them, housing them, clothing, & feeding them.)
I see more accuracy in Richard's words when taken in the context of "among our politically charged populous". Media is a product that has captured a large audience, many of whom don't even know their own true opinions or have =yet to form any. They are sounding boards of what surrounds them and makes their numbers swell during elections. Speaking to people directly I find your outlook more accurate. At the grass roots level we agree on most issues as a whole. There are a few thick and dividing lines, but that's the stuff we are supposed to be working on and would be if not distracted by the big money politics.
Rolling general strikes until we get all this nonsense to stop. Not until we get something we want done, no, just getting them to stop what they are doing now. An overwhelming number of voters turned out in the last election, but it was still only 65% of the voting public. Republicans and democrats alike need to keep it that way because if the other 35% turns out to vote the campaign funding may no longer help to support the current system. We need the news to be truthful and election day to be a holiday that prohibits employers from having anyone on the clock who has not voted that day. Do these two things and we may actually be able to vote properly for good leaders. If not, it will at least give others a try and not allow for institutional careerists to camp in government for long.
People aren't as divided as it looks. Only those politicized, but they are not the majority, and most of them believe what they do because they are lied to in the media on both sides. We need to fix the government by breaking ti with rolling general strikes. Let it be that nothing will get done if they don't take care of the people's business first. And I would also point out that this Roe v Wade undoing is the result of 50 years of violent acts against abortion clinics & doctors. Exposing the lie that is our history of peaceful demonstration. So fight and cause violence for half a century until the Supreme Court gives you your way...
Watch videos on the insurrection and tell me they want lower taxes. They had been instructed to overthrow the government. Watch the movie Schindler’s list and realize we are at war now as we speak. Your optimism is sweet but totally a fantasy. Intellectualizing is good for classroom and writing books but it does nothing for what is headed our way. Pacifism is not the answer. Encouraging the masses to assert themselves is the way. A brutal confrontation is needed with fascist dictators. I served in the military and this time it’s your turn. You’re at war.
Having left teaching for an early retirement this year, I've been giving a lot of thought as to how to join the fight in the mid-terms. For now, I've been engaging all the workmen who come to the house (phone people, HVAC guy, termite guy, etc.) with a very short plea to consider voting Blue. I start by asking if they have kids and if they were happy with the education the kids are receiving. They invariably are. I ask how many times kids reported that their teacher pushed political views on them, and they open their eyes wide and say that it never happened. Then I tell them that our SC General Assembly has spent weeks debating five CRT bills that insult and attack teachers, and have finished by not giving teachers a raise or any other reason to stay in the profession. I literally beg them to consider voting Blue if they want other kids in our state to have any type of education. All of this is done pretty quickly, and is in no way combative, and I laugh while I'm doing it and say, "Hey, I know I'm asking a guy named Jimmy who lives in in York to consider voting Blue and that that's about the longest shot in the world, but that's how desperate I am to see some change in our state," and they laugh. And then we move on to other things. I'm honing my skills of engagement with the other side. We all need to be doing this now, in the spring, so we'll be ready to make a difference as we approach the elections.
That squares with my reply to another post here concerning the role of education. You're talking about how the confederates are moving to neutralize and remedy the problem of education.
Hmmm. I suspect, hope, that this is a bit exaggerated. I have property in TN. Over the past few years I’ve been; assessing, working with builders, architects, Airbnb folks, meeting regular people. I’ve found the ideological divide is driven by politics not the average folks. The growth in the Red states by people moving around the country to less expensive locations is likely diluting the extremism and hopefully will expand the melting pot of ideology over time.
I too have concerns about the radical ideology and I’m watching the local politics in a newsletter called Lookout TN before I make the leap from CA.
( funny writers btw I’d post the link but it’s long.)
I’m hoping the younger folks will get out and vote out the extreme political folks, run for office and then perhaps our great United States will find away to self identify with a bit less of a sharp divide.
Lookout TN
https://tennesseelookout.com/2022/05/05/commentary-the-road-we-travel-from-the-way-it-is-to-the-way-it-was/?eType=EmailBlastContent&eId=6a284054-e971-45f5-a76f-f15220455047
the fear of red states for anything -- everything -- that does not conform to an extremely narrow, white, male, authoritarian view of how the world should be will not go away soon. it's rather like families where some family members are control freaks and others are more laid back, but ALL family members avoid contact with each other because they are sick of all the arguing and fighting over every little thing. i assume at least some of those families manage to mend their differences and get back together? it would be interesting to learn how they managed this and see if this can be reproduced within the nation itself? (that said, i fear that a huge crisis to the family, like a cancer diagnosis or a random shooting of one or more family members, is what it took to finally heal the rift -- which bodes ill for america itself.)
We had a 7-year rift in our family, over nothing, really, that ended when my brother called my sister and simply invited her to Thanksgiving. She said she'd love to come, and we all just carried on from there as if nothing had happened, and it was never discussed. I do think that we in this country need to just walk away from all of our incomprehension of how people supported Trump, etc., and just try to reunite and move forward. We are too bitter and even hateful toward the other side, and nothing good can come of that. (This does not apply to Jan. 6, btw.)
Good point about the fear. Also, everything from abortion rights, interracial marriage, LGBT, gender equality, and "family values" - and even the economics of poverty - *seems* to ultimately point back toward profound sex hang-ups. Yet during the pandemic, they've been making a big, idiotic issue accusing those observing recommended health & safety protocols of "being afraid" and "hiding in the basement."
well, yes, it could be profound sex hang-ups, but i think the underlying issue is the overwhelming desire to control others because these authoritarians are afraid these "others" are "up to something" or because these authoritarians are afraid these "other" people (women, ethnic minorities, LGBTQ+, foreigners/immigrants, etc.) have some secret agenda to destroy the society and the power that they (the authoritarians) want to maintain at all costs.
In the views of several commentators and at least one historian (Heather Cox Richardson, author of "How the South Won the Civil War"), power over the non-white, non-male and non-rich majority is the big motivator of the minority, who fight to secure the filibuster and Senate veto of progressive judicial nominees, to legitimize de facto segregated schools, and many other means of marginalizing people, like LGBTQs, and BIPOCs. And a Supreme judge like Alito, who resorts to legal norms of a 17th-century English aristocrat to deny the right to abortion. And all such originalists who do not want to think and act past the 18th century. Such power does tend to corrupt. Nevertheless, we in the majority can fight for freedom with decency; and with patience.
well, if i was pregnant -- right now -- with a family member's or my rapist's child, i'd seek an abortion PRONTO and patience would factor NOWHERE into that equation.
I agree with you. Very sorry. Wrote in a rush.
I view that control thing a primal expression of the sex thing. It all has to do with reproduction, feeding, & housing offspring in service to "living on." Sufficient, though, we agree that both the sex thing and control thing are involved.
the "sex thing" is very much an evolutionary point of view, and as an evolutionary biologist, i certainly understand that.
I think education should help. The red people are against what’s good for most people. It’s not apples and pecans. One side is obviously cruel and unfair. We can’t just be civil while narrow-minded, ignorant people run things.
The "narrow-minded ignorant people" running things have noticed that, as well, and are moving toward modifying their curricula to neutralize education.
Agreement! (Education is the only sustainment-)
You won't find a way for red and blue to amicably coexist. Trying to handle the country's business will become a never-ending series of state governments trying to get one up on each other, vying for favor, like spoiled children. Ignored in this new stupidity will be the big picture, things like America's place on the world stage, the welfare of those unfortunate enough to be born with disabilities, the fact that systemic racism is actively encouraged and the continued legalized theft of dollars from the dwindling working class as it is pulled from them in higher prices and or taxes before it is sent up the line to make others super rich. I absolutely do not encourage violence but let history guide you. Revolutions start exactly like this.
My husband read a news story from his tablet a few weeks ago that Massachusetts was receiving more new residents from Texas and California. I did not ask him for the source, but thought it may have been climate related. I would not want to live in Texas. California is expensive, and has had the wildfires and drought. I'm wondering where there would be accurate information of trends of 'migration' from and to states that are blue and red.
There has been a ton of migration from the Northeast and Midwest to the mid-Atlantic states since I moved to the Carolinas in 1988. This is largely what has turned NC Purple. What I see now, in SC, is people from the Northeast who have Red politics moving here to be with people who share those views! Not all of them, of course, but many. Very disheartening.
I've noticed that m'self!
My daughter, who married a Baptist, is living in SC temporarily. Her husband is graduating from Navy school soon and hopes to live in VA. He will be a nuclear engineer on an aircraft carrier.
I know people who are tired of winter. With the embargo and high fuel costs, there may be another reason to move South.
Gosh, what I wouldn’t give to have a winter. We just don’t have them in Southern California. It gets ild really fast.
Paula B. ; I believe it, and often wish I could be in a warm, sunny place when it's very cold and arthritis acts up!
You can have it. I’m tired of sweltering. 🤣
Janet Kay: I guess they want to live in an area where they find kindred spirits.
Oof. And like many separations, it will get messssssyyyy
Our two-party, winner-take-all political system is the root of our problems. Here is a somewhat tortured analogy:
In sailboat racing there is, or was, a tactic called downspeed tacking. (Tacking, is changing direction while traveling upwind and tacking slows sailboats.) In a tacking duel two boats tack furiously back and forth until one or the other, and often both, come nearly to a complete stop. But one boat may have gained a slight tactical advantage over the other.
Downspeed tacking only works in a race between two boats though because any additional competitors would sail right past both of them.
Since we have a two-boat race here downspeed tacking works, to the detriment of our country. Our two political parties engage in a duel of negativity, each framing the other as bad for our country. Both are right. Another, less negative party could sail past both of them.
Couldn’t agree more. We need a cooperative system, not an adversarial one.
We need clearer messaging:
If Democrats win the house and Senate in 2022 (NOT counting Manchin and Sinema)
and keep the house we will abolish the filibuster and pass legislatively:
Voting rights
Abortion rights
Fair taxation of the wealthy
A law overturning "Ctizens United" protecting us from billionaires determining outcomes
Medicare for all including drug pricing negotiations
Child Tax Care Credits
Paid Family leave
A new version of the Glass-Steagall Act limiting possiblity of a repeat of 2008-2009
Protections for labor organizing
and more
If Republicans win the house or Senate we will lose the opportunity for ALL of the above +
I just don't get it. I'm reading elsewhere that the Democrats are going to get clobbered in the fall because they haven't delivered on campaign promises "when they have had the power to do so."
But build back better failed because the REPUBLICAN controlled Senate blocked it. True, a couple of Democrats In Name Only (DINOS) didn't help, but they are not THE Democratic Party, but outliers. Why can't voters be shown to see that the answer is not to turn to Republicans, but elect more Democrats?
And why hasn't the infrastructure bill, now law, gotten off the ground thereby creating good paying jobs? If the Republicans get back in the drivers seat of power, nothing by way of public policy will be done to address Climate Change-Global Warming. They still want to pretend that it's a hoax. If you missed the three-part series by Frontline on "Big Oil" then by all means get it "On Demand."
They should be careful what they wish for. If the Repugnicans get into power they’ll make the country completely unlivable. And then who will they be able to blame?
Thanks so much. While in the past voters have too often shot themselves in the FOOT, I now fear they may be about to shoot themselves in both FEET, mostly over inflated consumer prices that the executive branch has very, very little control over. The Commerce Department's report that Corp profits are the highest in 70 (seventy) years tends to support Professor Reich's view that, to a great extent, inflation is the result of greed. Current American motto: In Greed We Trust.
Still, I remember vividly the 1948 election. In the run-up thereto, Truman's opposition (Dewey) was predicted by the press and pundits to win dramatically, but Truman won in the end. Likewise, this leaked opinion may work in our favor in the fall and Democratic Party Leaders appear to be roused to actually DEFEND our democracy, such as it is.
I fervently hope everybody with mindsets like yours and mine will come off the couch and contribute time, energy, and, yes, money if possible to electing true Democrats to both chambers of Congress so that meaningful legislation can be passed. The republicans must be made to understand that only naming a Post Office after somebody's cousin is not governing.
It' not hyperbole to say that, in the coming election, democracy and , indeed, civilization itself is hanging in the balance.