"I'm not gonna yield, but I'm coming to you right now," he said. And then the U.S. Representative from the Great State of Maryland went all "Jim Jordan" on the U.S. Representative from Texas as he proceeded to rosin up his bow and played our U.S. Constitution like the Stradivarius that it is. Strap in, everybody, Seabiscuit has War Admiral in his sights and he will not be bested:
Robert, another great column with welcome perspective. I want to make a point about your comment on media bias. I’m speaking from the point of view of someone who toiled in the journalistic vineyards for three decades, mostly for Business Week.
A recent poll shows that 4 out of 10 Americans are not engaging with news coverage largely because it’s so relentlessly negative that it’s hard to take. The old journalism mantra is that it is the job of journalists to afflict the comfortable and comfort the afflicted. Journalists seem to have forgotten the second part, which can lead to positive stories about what’s being done to comfort the afflicted. The mantra isn’t the problem. It remains a noble calling. The emphasis and execution are the issue.
Were I asked, I would say that reforming the Electoral Count Act would not be among the top 5 things we need to do to address the complex challenges facing our voting systems today. To be clear, absent comprehensive voter protection safeguards, I worry that Republicans at the local and state levels simply won’t include all the ballots in the certified results, which comes way before we get to counting electors in the chambers of the House and Senate.
I largely base my concerns on Democracy Docket Founder Marc Elias’s portrayal of a Republican election subversion plan he expects will be enacted as early as this fall. Admittedly, Elias is not suggesting that Republican election officials are laying the groundwork blatantly to declare their candidates the winner whether or not the candidate wins enough votes. He views the Republican election subversion plan as more sophisticated than that. Instead, Elias anticipates that Republicans will use “false allegations of fraud as a pretext to remove ballots from the vote totals and then certify those incomplete results.”
Though I don’t doubt that when litigation ensues, Elias and his team will mount arguments whose conclusions can be nailed to the post with confirming evidence, I am not as confident that our courts will stand for the beacons of democracy that we need them to be.
Concern over Big Lie candidates winning primaries. I saw where Democratic organizations are supporting the more extreme candidate hoping they will be easier to beat. I personally abhor that. I’m risk averse and don’t want to take the chance that they win. Similarly, I always want the best leader of each party nominated for President. What a shame that went south in 2016. Here is more information on what Democrats are doing:
Does anyone know if Josh Hawley figured in the planning or execution of the January 6 insurrection? Is he still a prominent right-wing leader? Is he involved in the ongoing right-wing attempts to sabotage the 2022 and 2024 elections? Are there other GOP politicians besides the usual suspects that we should keep an eye on?
This is almost petty but it annoys me every time the news reports that Congress “certifies” the Electoral College votes. The correct word is “confirm”. The votes have already been certified by the Electoral College and Congress meets so those votes can be confirmed. I’m happy that there is a bill to clarify Congress’s role in our election but disgusted that Manchin gets credit for this after obstruction of the John Lewis Voting Act that went much further in protecting voting
Let us not forget that in the last two presidential elections Trump lost the popular vote twice and the electoral vote once. His viability as a candidate is far less now than it was then. He retains the authoritarian caucus. I recently read that many people are born with authoritarian tendency. I suppose they have always been there and always will be. Some cannot think for themselves.
You got to know when to say "yes". The "Electoral Count Act" is a first step, but a useful step, in making firmer boundaries around our voting process. I do hope the more progressive factions in the Dems don't sacrifice the good for the perfect.
The plaintiff in Moore v Harper is the Speaker of the NC House of Representatives. This independent legislature theory is bogus because it doesn’t include the next part of the text saying Congress can determine rules regarding elections. Tim Moore is a power hungry corrupt politician whose actions damage NC and the country. He is trying this frivolous lawsuit to see if the corrupt court will let it stick to the wall. He has no good intentions here. He is part of the group who brought the power grabbing HB2 bathroom bill to a vote in the dead of night. These regressive Republicans are out to HURT people; the next group could be yours.
Glad to hear some hope in today's letter. We just have to be like the "little train that could", "I think I can I think I can". At a recent Gay event we recruited a good numbers of new voters and convinced some 17 year olds to register and to register for Vote By Mail, preparing them for 2024 participation. Need to convince even those on our "side" to make sure they vote and not give in to negative thoughts.
Ahmen to the comments on Trump’s current “powers”. Even tho as Liz Cheney said, Trump’s a 76 yr old man not an impressionable child, he’s also not a constant winner. And today his losses are mounting!
Jul 21, 2022·edited Jul 21, 2022Liked by Robert B. Hubbell
How often do we need to say that politics is the art of the possible? It is possible, now, to amend the Electoral Count Act in modest, but worthwhile ways. Can Democrats say, “No-brainer?”
But nobody mentions the reason why so many republicans buy the bull Schitt. Rupert Murdoch spews crap 24/7. While reading your suggestions for reading people who slice and dice the current situation, I understand the allure of the sound bites. Don’t buy them but, oh, so tempting for the cult and those whose brains are busy surviving.
"I'm not gonna yield, but I'm coming to you right now," he said. And then the U.S. Representative from the Great State of Maryland went all "Jim Jordan" on the U.S. Representative from Texas as he proceeded to rosin up his bow and played our U.S. Constitution like the Stradivarius that it is. Strap in, everybody, Seabiscuit has War Admiral in his sights and he will not be bested:
https://twitter.com/Acyn/status/1549806878389022720?s=20&t=OZe4rvcs6USOzY0lOJjSbg
Robert, another great column with welcome perspective. I want to make a point about your comment on media bias. I’m speaking from the point of view of someone who toiled in the journalistic vineyards for three decades, mostly for Business Week.
A recent poll shows that 4 out of 10 Americans are not engaging with news coverage largely because it’s so relentlessly negative that it’s hard to take. The old journalism mantra is that it is the job of journalists to afflict the comfortable and comfort the afflicted. Journalists seem to have forgotten the second part, which can lead to positive stories about what’s being done to comfort the afflicted. The mantra isn’t the problem. It remains a noble calling. The emphasis and execution are the issue.
Were I asked, I would say that reforming the Electoral Count Act would not be among the top 5 things we need to do to address the complex challenges facing our voting systems today. To be clear, absent comprehensive voter protection safeguards, I worry that Republicans at the local and state levels simply won’t include all the ballots in the certified results, which comes way before we get to counting electors in the chambers of the House and Senate.
I largely base my concerns on Democracy Docket Founder Marc Elias’s portrayal of a Republican election subversion plan he expects will be enacted as early as this fall. Admittedly, Elias is not suggesting that Republican election officials are laying the groundwork blatantly to declare their candidates the winner whether or not the candidate wins enough votes. He views the Republican election subversion plan as more sophisticated than that. Instead, Elias anticipates that Republicans will use “false allegations of fraud as a pretext to remove ballots from the vote totals and then certify those incomplete results.”
Though I don’t doubt that when litigation ensues, Elias and his team will mount arguments whose conclusions can be nailed to the post with confirming evidence, I am not as confident that our courts will stand for the beacons of democracy that we need them to be.
Concern over Big Lie candidates winning primaries. I saw where Democratic organizations are supporting the more extreme candidate hoping they will be easier to beat. I personally abhor that. I’m risk averse and don’t want to take the chance that they win. Similarly, I always want the best leader of each party nominated for President. What a shame that went south in 2016. Here is more information on what Democrats are doing:
https://www.npr.org/2022/06/27/1106859552/primary-illinois-colorado-republican-candidate-democrats-ads
Does anyone know if Josh Hawley figured in the planning or execution of the January 6 insurrection? Is he still a prominent right-wing leader? Is he involved in the ongoing right-wing attempts to sabotage the 2022 and 2024 elections? Are there other GOP politicians besides the usual suspects that we should keep an eye on?
This is almost petty but it annoys me every time the news reports that Congress “certifies” the Electoral College votes. The correct word is “confirm”. The votes have already been certified by the Electoral College and Congress meets so those votes can be confirmed. I’m happy that there is a bill to clarify Congress’s role in our election but disgusted that Manchin gets credit for this after obstruction of the John Lewis Voting Act that went much further in protecting voting
Let us not forget that in the last two presidential elections Trump lost the popular vote twice and the electoral vote once. His viability as a candidate is far less now than it was then. He retains the authoritarian caucus. I recently read that many people are born with authoritarian tendency. I suppose they have always been there and always will be. Some cannot think for themselves.
You got to know when to say "yes". The "Electoral Count Act" is a first step, but a useful step, in making firmer boundaries around our voting process. I do hope the more progressive factions in the Dems don't sacrifice the good for the perfect.
The plaintiff in Moore v Harper is the Speaker of the NC House of Representatives. This independent legislature theory is bogus because it doesn’t include the next part of the text saying Congress can determine rules regarding elections. Tim Moore is a power hungry corrupt politician whose actions damage NC and the country. He is trying this frivolous lawsuit to see if the corrupt court will let it stick to the wall. He has no good intentions here. He is part of the group who brought the power grabbing HB2 bathroom bill to a vote in the dead of night. These regressive Republicans are out to HURT people; the next group could be yours.
Glad to hear some hope in today's letter. We just have to be like the "little train that could", "I think I can I think I can". At a recent Gay event we recruited a good numbers of new voters and convinced some 17 year olds to register and to register for Vote By Mail, preparing them for 2024 participation. Need to convince even those on our "side" to make sure they vote and not give in to negative thoughts.
Ahmen to the comments on Trump’s current “powers”. Even tho as Liz Cheney said, Trump’s a 76 yr old man not an impressionable child, he’s also not a constant winner. And today his losses are mounting!
How often do we need to say that politics is the art of the possible? It is possible, now, to amend the Electoral Count Act in modest, but worthwhile ways. Can Democrats say, “No-brainer?”
Liz Cheney's winning or losing is certainly a canary in the coal mine for the GOP.
Thanks for the update on the ECA reform. Time for another round of letters to my legislators.
You are my sunshine, my only sunshine. We should force people like Garland to speak up more often.
But nobody mentions the reason why so many republicans buy the bull Schitt. Rupert Murdoch spews crap 24/7. While reading your suggestions for reading people who slice and dice the current situation, I understand the allure of the sound bites. Don’t buy them but, oh, so tempting for the cult and those whose brains are busy surviving.