I have been writing FT6 postcards to women in NC-01, the only swing district the recent GOP gerrymander left us. Considering the nut job the GOP primary voters choose to run for Governor in Nov., we desperately need the voice of these currently unregistered women or NC will be just like AZ except that the law will be new, not circa 1864. If you are trying to choose a FT6 campaign, please consider this NC campaign.
I think it's because those who fail to acknowledge that reality do so because they perceive it as a threat to their own "superiority." They see equality as relative or conditional.
I felt hopeful when Barack Obama was elected, that we might set our racist past aside. I was WRONG! Then came the ugliness of the Tea Party and following that the absolute horror of Donald Trump and Trumpism. tRump has had enablers to help him along the way. MoscowMitch enabled the takeover of the high court. Bill Barr had his interpretation of the Mueller report. Then there were impeachments that could have removed the cancer of Trump. Imagine having an aggressive cancer and deciding that you don't want treatment, even though treatment could save your life. Our current reality boggles the mind.
I so agree with you about the enablers. But please lose the conflation of the evil former president and a secondary sex characteristic that is often very attractive on both genders that has been celebrated in sculpture and paintings. If it really diminished the former guy, I'd be fine with it, but it just looks silly.
The beauty of a democratic republic is that the whole is much greater than the sum of its parts. The unfortunate reality is as you suggest - the "haves" think the only way they can keep what they have is to keep it from others.
The abortion forced birth issue is also very much a men’s issue. As a father of daughters and a son I do not want them to be forced to bring a child into this world that they don’t want or are unable to be a good parent to.
We hear much about the outrageous forced birth in cases of incest, rape and when the life of the fetus or mother are at risk, but let me say it clearly, I don’t want people forced to bring a child into the world that they don’t want because of a sexual encounter or poor birth control.
As a society we do harm to ourselves when we have unwanted births.
Per the UN, forced birth is a crime against humanity. And the body autonomy argument is simple: either you have body autonomy or you don't. If you don't, what's to stop the government from forcing you to have an abortion, or a sterilization; to surrender a kidney, blood, bone marrow or a piece of your liver? Nothing. Even dead people have body autonomy. It's one of our civil rights--now only men have it.
And the religious issue is this: If the S CT justices were Jehovah's Witnesses whose religion forbids them from accepting a blood transfusion, and they ruled that none of us could get blood transfusions, how is that any different then the religious beliefs they are forcing upon us?
Because the structural political empowerment of the conservative minority prevents us from electing leaders who have the power to implement the policies the majority of Americans want. Reading Steven Levitsky's new book, The Tyranny of the Minority, put it all together for me. While I knew all the elements he cited, from gerrymandering to a non-representative Senate, seeing the cumulative consequences of the outsized power given to non-urban conservatives was gobsmacking. America has the least representative democracy among all modern democracies. Levitsky spells it out, shows how it happened, and outlines what we need to do. It won't be fast, but if we don't start organizing to amend these problems, it will never happen. it took almost 100 years of organizing before women won the vote. But without all those years of work, it wouldn't have happened. First we re-elect Biden. Then we get started on this grand project to help America become the effective multiracial democracy many of our ancestors worked so hard to advance.
Even as Republicans continue to systematically eliminate access to abortion, their efforts are being thwarted by a network of providers who mail abortion pills to ALL 50 states. Pregnant people need to know that pills are safe, accessible, low cost, and sometimes free—and they can get all the information they need through Plan C (https://www.plancpills.org/).
Get in some good trouble! If you live in a red state (or will be visiting one), order stickers from Plan C and paste them everywhere. Public bathrooms, of course—in a location where a person sitting on the toilet will see it (on the side of the toilet paper dispenser, for example, where it might not be easily seen—and removed--by someone cleaning the bathroom). In airports and at bus stops, on phone poles outside clubs and coffee shops, in music venues, in schools, in Target dressing rooms. Use your imagination. Give them to teenagers and have them distribute them wherever they go. Include men’s bathrooms.
If you live in a blue state, have stickers delivered to supportive friends or relatives who live in red states. And, of course, their usefulness isn’t limited to red states. Abortions can be hard to come by in blue states, too.
Stick(er) it to the man! Pregnant people can’t wait till November for the tide to turn.
Thank you. It’s so important that people know that the abortion pill network—which operates both above- and underground—is well supplied and ready to help.
Thanks for the supportive energy. Happily, you can channel that fantasy by publicizing Plan C! Pregnant people in blue states who lack the resources to access brick and mortar clinics need to know that help can be delivered right to their door.
Thank you for the Plan C info. I am moving to a red state and will be driving across the country posting stickers everywhere I go. I'll also continue to do that within my state.
I hope the White House has polled the term “the right to choose.”Because I think this term is weak and has done damage to reproductive liberties over these past decades. Even though polls show Americans support abortion I think it’s important to explain that it was legalized by activism from a coalition of Christian ministers and conscientious doctors, because women in abusive relationships must be able to determine their own fate and end pregnancies that are not in their own best interest, and that of children that they may already have, or may want to have in the future. Making abortion illegal, practically guarantees an increase in child abuse; taking care of children is hard, physically and emotionally. It is not natural for women and too many women act out their frustration on their children. These facts are hard to face, but every person who deals with abused women and children knows them.
I agree the phrase “the right to choose” is somewhat vague and not impactful enough. There has to be a more powerful way to say to say this, although I have not come up with a better one...yet. I am sure other more creative people than me can find the key.
I’ve been phone banking with Sister District since 2018. We changed our messaging away from the “right to choose” to more direct language that includes the word “abortion” particularly after Dobbs.
Check out this map for the Congressional races in Arizona, the two State Supreme Court Justices who voted for the abortion ban and are up for re-election and links to the ballot measure that would put abortion rights in the state constitution. https://arcg.is/1fqeSX
I’ve signed up to attend the town hall with Field Team 6 on Wednesday, Apr 10, 2024. Are you free to join me? Use this link to sign up: https://mobilize.us/s/E5DAXt
Thank you, Deepak, for this piece of information. I live in Arizona and am just aghast. I live in the purple section in the north. And I am very frustrated because there we have in our region two MAGA extremists in the US Congress--Eli Crane and Andy Biggs. I'm frustrated because NO ONE is talking about getting them out! Both are up for re-election. Both have weak, gentle Democrats opposing them. Crane and Biggs are both multi-millionaires with weird sources of riches: Biggs won $10m in a lottery (really?); Crane made millions making bottle openers out of bullets (really?) (or maybe Donald Trump's TV-show financiers gave them each $5m...). Can we spend some of the Democratic budget on intense media campaigns to get them out? Can we send talented national organizers to trumpet how bad they are and get voters to replace them? I have little time but much passion--what can I do? The local Democrats, when I asked them, were totally uninterested, focusing exclusively on a) the presidency; b) the wonderful Ruben Gallego; and c) changing the state legislature.
📣Republicans want to take away a women’s right to health care!
Massive Medicare fraudster Rick Scott supports: draconian abortion bans,Florida’s refusal to expand Medicaid, and abolishing ACA. ( Florida is #1 for ACA enrollees)
Roevember is coming. We have much work to do to turn the tide blue!🌊
The GOP is so out of control this may benefit democracy and our rights through a reaction to their true intents. We must use the examples of Trump , Arizona and Alabama as our rallying cry for the vote this year. Thanks Robert!
As to the decision of the Arizona Supreme Court, "the immediate result is horrible for women and men in Arizona." True. In the long run, it might very well be a blessing in disguise. It serves as another reminder to the electorate in Arizona and beyond what is at stake in November.
It is also a reassuring signal that the evangelical and anti-democratic MAGA fanatics in all their frenzy are simply incapable to lay a bit lower until November in order to not endanger their goal to fool enough people to make it to or past 270 votes in the Electoral College.
How ironic that a movement basically based on lies and distortion should in the end fail because it can't or won't hide the truth about its ultimate goals and intentions. Another nice example for this is Rita Palma making the case for RFK Jr. as the best bet to elect trump. Here is the clip:
RFK Jr.’s candidacy scares me. It’s not that he’s a strong candidate; he’s not and is, in fact, wackadoodle (technical term), but he is a chaos candidate, and like all chaos candidates, they are impossible to predict. Current polling shows that he’s drawing more from Democrats than Republicans despite most of his positions aligning more with MAGA than Biden’s coalition. I expect that's more to do with name recognition than anything else, but I'm unsure how to combat that. Currently, he’s polling at about 13% higher than any independent or third-party candidate since Ross Perot. I honestly feel very optimistic about Democrats chances in November, but the chaos candidates do pose a threat that is non-linear and tough to fight.
Dean, I share your anxiety. I will be extremely anxious until Biden and Harris are sworn in for their second terms.
But I recommend ignoring ALL polls. They are meaningless. They are most often based on tiny samples. Their techniques are suspect. They are headline grabbing click bait. And even if there was some truth to them, they represent a snapshot in time as well as "sentiments" that shift - especially as more evidence of the Republican Extremism is revealed. The AZ decision is horrible. But it's another campaign gift.
Hillary was "polling" at over 70% - just days before the Trump upset. The polls said Dewey would beat Truman. The list is long.
Bill Alstrom, I get it. I've worked in polling in the past, and indeed, a lot of it is suspect, but I do think it can be informative even if it’s not predictive. If polling is showing RFK Jr. at 13%, I'm guessing it’s closer to 9%, but that's too high. That's why I call these third-party actors “chaos candidates.” They bring uncertainty and unpredictability to elections. It makes it very difficult for campaigns to strategize against, which is where my worry lies. Voters are unlikely to get in the voting booth and switch their intention to vote for Biden to Trump, but if they're particularly cynical that day, they very well may go third-party in a pique of disgust. I don't like that kind of uncertainty.
Dean, perhaps I've missed it, but I don't recall seeing a single POSITIVE post from you saying what you are doing to help reelect Biden and defeat the MAGA movement. Every single post is all about your anxiety about the upcoming election - polling, third party candidates hurting Biden, the Gaza situation and the protest vote in MI, etc.
I have said this before - perhaps even directed to you - but you can't roll up your sleeves (to do the necessary work), if you are too busy wringing your hands.
Worry is wasted energy - as Simon Rosenburg always says "Do More, Worry Less".
I have done postcards, text banking, and countless donations to political causes. I analyze because that’s how my mind works. I've worked in politics in the past, and I have a pretty good understanding of it. I do question campaign strategy because I think those are things we should all think about. I am bullish on this election and have stated it many times, but that doesn't mean that I can't ask questions and wonder how obstacles can be overcome. I read Simon Rosenberg daily and have recommended his Substack to people who think like me but aren't as optimistic. If people are posting here, I just assume we are all doing our small part; I don't know what me stating what I do adds to the discussion. Robert is a great cheerleader; I'm grateful for him and look forward to his Substack every morning. I believe I offer something meaningful to the discussion, but if others think I don't, I’ll stop commenting.
Dean, don't stop thinking about tomorrow. And writing about today and tomorrow.
The work needs to get done and we can't let worry stop the work. but a little worry can motivate even greater work.
In Fall 2016 too many of us worked too little and worried even less. Right now I am seeing not enough worry in too many of my liberal friends or not enough belief that their worry should be turned into meaningful action. It's as though they've already bought their lottery ticket and their waiting until November to see if they are winners. Trump is out motivating his folks -- if worry motivates work, please worry, but don't let it lead to despair. I'm using my worry to activate my work so my and the nation's coin flip in November will land with democracy up. Go, Biden, sink it swish
From what I’d read, polls very close to the election showed opinion turning toward Truman. For a variety of reasons, their results weren’t broadcast widely.
We can't assume they will fail, Stephan, as you know! We have to double our efforts and win huge majorities in both houses, and elect Biden in a landslide. Don't forget that the Republicans have Putin and others working against us. Knowing they can't win honestly, they are devising dishonest ways to re-elect a dictator!
It isn’t ALL Trump’s doing. The responsibility lies with Leonard Leo, The Federalist Society, and the other billionaires who pull Trump’s strings. Trump really doesn’t care about abortion. The rest of the responsibility lies with the extremist Supreme Court. That’s why I want you to join me in sending the court post cards or letters telling them that we don’t trust them to defend democracy, especially the 2024 election.
Emails and petitions vanish into cyberspace. But if they get 300 to 3,000,000 post cards we can get the press and TV to talk about how the American people feel that the courts that were supposed to protect us are now seen as a danger to American freedom and democracy. They have become isolated, arrogant, extreme, and corrupt.
Please excuse my repeated posts but the courts could be the deciding factor in the election. We have to call them out!
An MD I follow said this re: Arizona's 1864 law. "What was medicine like in 1864? Not great. This was before germ theory. Before antibiotics. No pre-science law should have any say today. Insanity."
Your healthcare and the healthcare of your family and loved ones would be in the hands of your gerrymandered legislature if Trump is President. Democrats need to make reproductive rights the key issue in the 2024 election. Watch how Republicans respond and their opinions about the Arizona decision and remind them of their previous comments and positions. Never before has a party given the other party a single issue that will win the election. Let’s take advantage of it.
Stephen - Reproductive rights, for sure. But also health care in general - Medicare, Medicaid and the ACA.
For instance, I am one of the millions of Medicare folks who are and will be saving tens of thousands of dollars each (Not hyperbole, as JB would say. I'll share my actual numbers if you're interested) because of the features in the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 that enabled Medicare to negotiate prescription costs, placed caps on yearly out-of-pocket expenses and limited the amount that Part D insurance premiums can be raised.
After the insulin cost containment was implemented, ten additional high-cost drugs were added to the negotiating list to take effect in 2023 and 2024. It's scheduled to continue that way each year until 2027.
Also, "CBO estimates that the drug pricing provisions in the law will reduce the federal deficit by $237 billion over 10 years (2022-2031)" kff.org
I genuinely fear what will happen if Biden and the Dems lose control of this.
I am also aware, Angela, because I take a drug that currently costs $400 a month. It is not a choice whether I can take this drug or not. I am as dependent on it as insulin users are dependent on their drugs. Next year, hopefully, there will be a limit of $2000 per year of out-of-pocket expenses for all Americans if Biden is re-elected. That will save all of us who take expensive drugs, some even more expensive than mine, significant money.
Thank you for speaking up, Kathleen. We who are effected by this and those who may be sooner than they think, are a significant number who need to be sharing and cheering this monumental legislation.
My drug is list-priced by Pfizer at over $14,000 / month. Absurd!! With the negotiated price and my Part D insurance it was adjusted to near $3,325 / month. My out-of-pocket cost is now $0 / month from April until the end of the year because of the IRA out-of-pocket cap and because I've crossed into the newly defined "catastrophic" phase. Next year that should kick in even sooner.
Pretty soon we're talking about real dollars, aren't we?!
In addition to the links I entered above, Jessica Craven's 4/8 Chop Wood, Carry Water entry highlighted in her "Spread the Word!" section research and publishing about this topic that CAP Action has done. Yet another organization worth supporting for their work on this topic and many others.
Thank you, Angela. I am on Medicare, and so that is why my drug is not thousands of $$$ out-of-pocket for me, probably. I will not reach the catastrophic level until November! And this amount is a hardship for me. It is absolutely immoral for the prices of medicine to be so high that people have to choose between feeding their children or buying their medicine. I am not quite in that situation, but many are.
Hard to say I "like" what you are saying, but I certainly do appreciate your words and sentiment. I am fortunate not to be in that situation either - though we worked long and hard for many years and were careful with our money so that we would not be. Sadly, you're correct - too many are strapped by exorbitant medical costs.
My other crusade related to Medicare is the life-long late enrollment penalties that are imposed. Here are some details below. I'll save climbing on my soapbox for another day.
I got burned by Humana for (according to them!) being one day late in enrolling for Part D coverage. I wasn't. The penalty money goes to Medicare, but it's the insurance company who decides that you should pay for eternity.
If a person on Medicare who is (or might someday be) dealing with any number of serious medical issues requiring this level of pharmaceuticals has no other reason to support the re-election of the Biden administration, what has been accomplished through just this piece of the Inflation Reduction Act alone should earn their vote.
I have been writing postcards into NV CD-1 (Schweikert) for several weeks, pointing out that he is a MAGA Republican who supports a national abortion ban. I will have another 30 ready to go later this week. I can't help thinking the message is being reinforced by the AZ Supreme Court Decision.
The far right is drunk with their new power and inspired by the ongoing successes in Congress, courts and legislatures. One is driven to believe that there is a major hangover coming…
Arkansas, Nebraska,South Dakota Florida and Arizona are states that are expected to have abortion rights enshrined in their state constitution on the ballot in November. Please do what you can to help even in the red states.
Florida might be vulnerable to campaign ads about Medicare, since there’s a large elderly population. Re-read posts by Kathleen and Angela, just above here.
And how did we get here? Well it took decades of course. But a huge accelerant to Gilead was "RedMap". Do you remember? It provided the leadership behind extreme gerrymandering efforts and was provided oxygen by Citizens United. Takes less than 5 minutes for one perspective:
As a Texan who has lived under this repressive, cruel state government philosophy for multiple years now, it doesn’t take long for the conversation to transition from “abortion” or even “reproductive rights” to “healthcare access.” The fact is that Texas women are being denied standard of care healthcare in ways that harm their health, render them infertile, and even cause death. The fact that this is gynecological care is important, but equally important is that Texans are prohibited from receiving healthcare considered standard in our time.
I don’t believe I saw a link to HCR’s letter. I will paste that link below. Excellent history lesson.
"In every election after 2016 (and most before), women have carried democracy on their backs."
Why do we have to keep doing this -- again and again and again ?
Why can we not move forward into a better tomorrow for everyone?
Millions of unregistered women nationally trend heavily Democratic. Register Democrats -- save Democracy.
https://www.fieldteam6.org/mission
I have been writing FT6 postcards to women in NC-01, the only swing district the recent GOP gerrymander left us. Considering the nut job the GOP primary voters choose to run for Governor in Nov., we desperately need the voice of these currently unregistered women or NC will be just like AZ except that the law will be new, not circa 1864. If you are trying to choose a FT6 campaign, please consider this NC campaign.
https://fieldteam6.herokuapp.com/getting_started <-- FT6 postcard link
https://www.realmarkrobinson.com/ <-- NC GOP gubenatorial candidate in his own words
At the FT6 summit last month, 11,00 new Democrats were registered in NC in one day.
👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻
Great - I was sorry to miss the summit, but I had a prior volunteer commitment.
We are, Daniel!
I think it's because those who fail to acknowledge that reality do so because they perceive it as a threat to their own "superiority." They see equality as relative or conditional.
I felt hopeful when Barack Obama was elected, that we might set our racist past aside. I was WRONG! Then came the ugliness of the Tea Party and following that the absolute horror of Donald Trump and Trumpism. tRump has had enablers to help him along the way. MoscowMitch enabled the takeover of the high court. Bill Barr had his interpretation of the Mueller report. Then there were impeachments that could have removed the cancer of Trump. Imagine having an aggressive cancer and deciding that you don't want treatment, even though treatment could save your life. Our current reality boggles the mind.
I feel exactly as you do JennSH from NC
I so agree with you about the enablers. But please lose the conflation of the evil former president and a secondary sex characteristic that is often very attractive on both genders that has been celebrated in sculpture and paintings. If it really diminished the former guy, I'd be fine with it, but it just looks silly.
Equality is never part of the discussion.
Therein lies the problem.
It’s a zero some game for some people: if you get something, that means that they have nothing.
The beauty of a democratic republic is that the whole is much greater than the sum of its parts. The unfortunate reality is as you suggest - the "haves" think the only way they can keep what they have is to keep it from others.
Absolutely true, Bob!
The abortion forced birth issue is also very much a men’s issue. As a father of daughters and a son I do not want them to be forced to bring a child into this world that they don’t want or are unable to be a good parent to.
We hear much about the outrageous forced birth in cases of incest, rape and when the life of the fetus or mother are at risk, but let me say it clearly, I don’t want people forced to bring a child into the world that they don’t want because of a sexual encounter or poor birth control.
As a society we do harm to ourselves when we have unwanted births.
Per the UN, forced birth is a crime against humanity. And the body autonomy argument is simple: either you have body autonomy or you don't. If you don't, what's to stop the government from forcing you to have an abortion, or a sterilization; to surrender a kidney, blood, bone marrow or a piece of your liver? Nothing. Even dead people have body autonomy. It's one of our civil rights--now only men have it.
And the religious issue is this: If the S CT justices were Jehovah's Witnesses whose religion forbids them from accepting a blood transfusion, and they ruled that none of us could get blood transfusions, how is that any different then the religious beliefs they are forcing upon us?
Because the structural political empowerment of the conservative minority prevents us from electing leaders who have the power to implement the policies the majority of Americans want. Reading Steven Levitsky's new book, The Tyranny of the Minority, put it all together for me. While I knew all the elements he cited, from gerrymandering to a non-representative Senate, seeing the cumulative consequences of the outsized power given to non-urban conservatives was gobsmacking. America has the least representative democracy among all modern democracies. Levitsky spells it out, shows how it happened, and outlines what we need to do. It won't be fast, but if we don't start organizing to amend these problems, it will never happen. it took almost 100 years of organizing before women won the vote. But without all those years of work, it wouldn't have happened. First we re-elect Biden. Then we get started on this grand project to help America become the effective multiracial democracy many of our ancestors worked so hard to advance.
Even as Republicans continue to systematically eliminate access to abortion, their efforts are being thwarted by a network of providers who mail abortion pills to ALL 50 states. Pregnant people need to know that pills are safe, accessible, low cost, and sometimes free—and they can get all the information they need through Plan C (https://www.plancpills.org/).
The Plan C website not only connects people to suppliers--it also provides media kits and stickers (https://www.plancpills.org/social-media-toolkit#IG-with-caption).
Get in some good trouble! If you live in a red state (or will be visiting one), order stickers from Plan C and paste them everywhere. Public bathrooms, of course—in a location where a person sitting on the toilet will see it (on the side of the toilet paper dispenser, for example, where it might not be easily seen—and removed--by someone cleaning the bathroom). In airports and at bus stops, on phone poles outside clubs and coffee shops, in music venues, in schools, in Target dressing rooms. Use your imagination. Give them to teenagers and have them distribute them wherever they go. Include men’s bathrooms.
If you live in a blue state, have stickers delivered to supportive friends or relatives who live in red states. And, of course, their usefulness isn’t limited to red states. Abortions can be hard to come by in blue states, too.
Stick(er) it to the man! Pregnant people can’t wait till November for the tide to turn.
Great Information!
Thanks so much for this information. Will be sending out to everyone I know.
Thank you. It’s so important that people know that the abortion pill network—which operates both above- and underground—is well supplied and ready to help.
If I lived in a red state, I'd be mailing the pills to people in need. I've fantasized about this. I'm in a blue state surrounded by blue states.
Thanks for the supportive energy. Happily, you can channel that fantasy by publicizing Plan C! Pregnant people in blue states who lack the resources to access brick and mortar clinics need to know that help can be delivered right to their door.
Thanks! I will do that!
Thank you for the Plan C info. I am moving to a red state and will be driving across the country posting stickers everywhere I go. I'll also continue to do that within my state.
You rock! Thanks for embracing the mission so wholeheartedly. Wishing you all the best in your new home.
I hope the White House has polled the term “the right to choose.”Because I think this term is weak and has done damage to reproductive liberties over these past decades. Even though polls show Americans support abortion I think it’s important to explain that it was legalized by activism from a coalition of Christian ministers and conscientious doctors, because women in abusive relationships must be able to determine their own fate and end pregnancies that are not in their own best interest, and that of children that they may already have, or may want to have in the future. Making abortion illegal, practically guarantees an increase in child abuse; taking care of children is hard, physically and emotionally. It is not natural for women and too many women act out their frustration on their children. These facts are hard to face, but every person who deals with abused women and children knows them.
I agree the phrase “the right to choose” is somewhat vague and not impactful enough. There has to be a more powerful way to say to say this, although I have not come up with a better one...yet. I am sure other more creative people than me can find the key.
I like the term reproductive freedom.
https://www.offmessage.net/p/trump-cant-wriggle-out-abortion?utm_campaign=email-post&r=1metx&utm_source=substack&utm_medium=email
I hadn't thought of that, but it's a terrific point! Here's an alternative suggestion, but if anyone can improve on it, more power to them!
"Banning abortion guarantees child abuse".
Back when we were campaigning to decriminalize abortion, high schools would invite me to talk about this topic to students. Can you imagine!
That must have been so cool!
https://www.jefftiedrich.com/p/arizonas-forced-birth-fascists-revive?utm_source=post-email-title&publication_id=1162742&post_id=143429542&utm_campaign=email-post-title&isFreemail=false&r=1metx&triedRedirect=true&utm_medium=email
Thanks Lauren! This guy does a hilarious job of skewering Kari Lake et al!
I’ve been phone banking with Sister District since 2018. We changed our messaging away from the “right to choose” to more direct language that includes the word “abortion” particularly after Dobbs.
Check out this map for the Congressional races in Arizona, the two State Supreme Court Justices who voted for the abortion ban and are up for re-election and links to the ballot measure that would put abortion rights in the state constitution. https://arcg.is/1fqeSX
And in Florida, two State Supreme Court Justices who voted for our draconian ban are up for a retention vote in November: Justices Sasso and Francis 📣
I’ve signed up to attend the town hall with Field Team 6 on Wednesday, Apr 10, 2024. Are you free to join me? Use this link to sign up: https://mobilize.us/s/E5DAXt
Already did sign up, Daniel. Looking forward to it.
Please let us know of their next meeting. I'm not available today.
https://www.mobilize.us/ft6/?event_type=17&show_all_events=true
Good to know.
Thanks Deepak! You do terrific work and provide valuable information. One of the "justices" is a woman!??! SMH.
Thank you, Deepak, for this piece of information. I live in Arizona and am just aghast. I live in the purple section in the north. And I am very frustrated because there we have in our region two MAGA extremists in the US Congress--Eli Crane and Andy Biggs. I'm frustrated because NO ONE is talking about getting them out! Both are up for re-election. Both have weak, gentle Democrats opposing them. Crane and Biggs are both multi-millionaires with weird sources of riches: Biggs won $10m in a lottery (really?); Crane made millions making bottle openers out of bullets (really?) (or maybe Donald Trump's TV-show financiers gave them each $5m...). Can we spend some of the Democratic budget on intense media campaigns to get them out? Can we send talented national organizers to trumpet how bad they are and get voters to replace them? I have little time but much passion--what can I do? The local Democrats, when I asked them, were totally uninterested, focusing exclusively on a) the presidency; b) the wonderful Ruben Gallego; and c) changing the state legislature.
Team Biden’s latest ad is absolutely heartbreaking and reinforces that abortion is reproductive health care.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wInNjr_9D28
📣Republicans want to take away a women’s right to health care!
Massive Medicare fraudster Rick Scott supports: draconian abortion bans,Florida’s refusal to expand Medicaid, and abolishing ACA. ( Florida is #1 for ACA enrollees)
Roevember is coming. We have much work to do to turn the tide blue!🌊
And yet, Viagra.....the hypocrisy.
The GOP is so out of control this may benefit democracy and our rights through a reaction to their true intents. We must use the examples of Trump , Arizona and Alabama as our rallying cry for the vote this year. Thanks Robert!
The Achilles heel of the right wingers is that they always go too far.
Hey, Robert. Good shot of your latest image of the eclipse. I can see the outline of the moon perfectly!
Nightly News' Lester Holt highlighted this amateur photographer's photo of a lifetime. I thought it worth sharing.
https://www.nbcnews.com/nightly-news/video/amateur-photographer-captures-one-of-eclipse-s-most-stunning-images-208656965813
Great photo! Thank you for sharing.
Very cool picture. It will become iconic. Thanks!
Thank you too, Robert, for sharing all of yours of the full sequence. It was almost like being there for us 87% East coasters.
This latest photo, a harbinger of things to come!
As to the decision of the Arizona Supreme Court, "the immediate result is horrible for women and men in Arizona." True. In the long run, it might very well be a blessing in disguise. It serves as another reminder to the electorate in Arizona and beyond what is at stake in November.
It is also a reassuring signal that the evangelical and anti-democratic MAGA fanatics in all their frenzy are simply incapable to lay a bit lower until November in order to not endanger their goal to fool enough people to make it to or past 270 votes in the Electoral College.
How ironic that a movement basically based on lies and distortion should in the end fail because it can't or won't hide the truth about its ultimate goals and intentions. Another nice example for this is Rita Palma making the case for RFK Jr. as the best bet to elect trump. Here is the clip:
https://twitter.com/cwebbonline/status/1777021184737194221 It should be seen by every American who for one reason or the other is contemplating voting for a third candidate or sitting this one out.
RFK Jr.’s candidacy scares me. It’s not that he’s a strong candidate; he’s not and is, in fact, wackadoodle (technical term), but he is a chaos candidate, and like all chaos candidates, they are impossible to predict. Current polling shows that he’s drawing more from Democrats than Republicans despite most of his positions aligning more with MAGA than Biden’s coalition. I expect that's more to do with name recognition than anything else, but I'm unsure how to combat that. Currently, he’s polling at about 13% higher than any independent or third-party candidate since Ross Perot. I honestly feel very optimistic about Democrats chances in November, but the chaos candidates do pose a threat that is non-linear and tough to fight.
Dean, I share your anxiety. I will be extremely anxious until Biden and Harris are sworn in for their second terms.
But I recommend ignoring ALL polls. They are meaningless. They are most often based on tiny samples. Their techniques are suspect. They are headline grabbing click bait. And even if there was some truth to them, they represent a snapshot in time as well as "sentiments" that shift - especially as more evidence of the Republican Extremism is revealed. The AZ decision is horrible. But it's another campaign gift.
Hillary was "polling" at over 70% - just days before the Trump upset. The polls said Dewey would beat Truman. The list is long.
Bill Alstrom, I get it. I've worked in polling in the past, and indeed, a lot of it is suspect, but I do think it can be informative even if it’s not predictive. If polling is showing RFK Jr. at 13%, I'm guessing it’s closer to 9%, but that's too high. That's why I call these third-party actors “chaos candidates.” They bring uncertainty and unpredictability to elections. It makes it very difficult for campaigns to strategize against, which is where my worry lies. Voters are unlikely to get in the voting booth and switch their intention to vote for Biden to Trump, but if they're particularly cynical that day, they very well may go third-party in a pique of disgust. I don't like that kind of uncertainty.
Maybe, if we look at the polling in this case as a shot across the bough, it will help us negate it.
Did you read today's Andy Borowitz post? Quite apropos.
Dean, perhaps I've missed it, but I don't recall seeing a single POSITIVE post from you saying what you are doing to help reelect Biden and defeat the MAGA movement. Every single post is all about your anxiety about the upcoming election - polling, third party candidates hurting Biden, the Gaza situation and the protest vote in MI, etc.
I have said this before - perhaps even directed to you - but you can't roll up your sleeves (to do the necessary work), if you are too busy wringing your hands.
Worry is wasted energy - as Simon Rosenburg always says "Do More, Worry Less".
I have done postcards, text banking, and countless donations to political causes. I analyze because that’s how my mind works. I've worked in politics in the past, and I have a pretty good understanding of it. I do question campaign strategy because I think those are things we should all think about. I am bullish on this election and have stated it many times, but that doesn't mean that I can't ask questions and wonder how obstacles can be overcome. I read Simon Rosenberg daily and have recommended his Substack to people who think like me but aren't as optimistic. If people are posting here, I just assume we are all doing our small part; I don't know what me stating what I do adds to the discussion. Robert is a great cheerleader; I'm grateful for him and look forward to his Substack every morning. I believe I offer something meaningful to the discussion, but if others think I don't, I’ll stop commenting.
Dean, don't stop thinking about tomorrow. And writing about today and tomorrow.
The work needs to get done and we can't let worry stop the work. but a little worry can motivate even greater work.
In Fall 2016 too many of us worked too little and worried even less. Right now I am seeing not enough worry in too many of my liberal friends or not enough belief that their worry should be turned into meaningful action. It's as though they've already bought their lottery ticket and their waiting until November to see if they are winners. Trump is out motivating his folks -- if worry motivates work, please worry, but don't let it lead to despair. I'm using my worry to activate my work so my and the nation's coin flip in November will land with democracy up. Go, Biden, sink it swish
“The polls said Dewey would beat Truman.”
From what I’d read, polls very close to the election showed opinion turning toward Truman. For a variety of reasons, their results weren’t broadcast widely.
It may be a tough fight but we can do it if we continue to work together.
We can't assume they will fail, Stephan, as you know! We have to double our efforts and win huge majorities in both houses, and elect Biden in a landslide. Don't forget that the Republicans have Putin and others working against us. Knowing they can't win honestly, they are devising dishonest ways to re-elect a dictator!
It isn’t ALL Trump’s doing. The responsibility lies with Leonard Leo, The Federalist Society, and the other billionaires who pull Trump’s strings. Trump really doesn’t care about abortion. The rest of the responsibility lies with the extremist Supreme Court. That’s why I want you to join me in sending the court post cards or letters telling them that we don’t trust them to defend democracy, especially the 2024 election.
Emails and petitions vanish into cyberspace. But if they get 300 to 3,000,000 post cards we can get the press and TV to talk about how the American people feel that the courts that were supposed to protect us are now seen as a danger to American freedom and democracy. They have become isolated, arrogant, extreme, and corrupt.
Please excuse my repeated posts but the courts could be the deciding factor in the election. We have to call them out!
An MD I follow said this re: Arizona's 1864 law. "What was medicine like in 1864? Not great. This was before germ theory. Before antibiotics. No pre-science law should have any say today. Insanity."
Your healthcare and the healthcare of your family and loved ones would be in the hands of your gerrymandered legislature if Trump is President. Democrats need to make reproductive rights the key issue in the 2024 election. Watch how Republicans respond and their opinions about the Arizona decision and remind them of their previous comments and positions. Never before has a party given the other party a single issue that will win the election. Let’s take advantage of it.
Stephen - Reproductive rights, for sure. But also health care in general - Medicare, Medicaid and the ACA.
For instance, I am one of the millions of Medicare folks who are and will be saving tens of thousands of dollars each (Not hyperbole, as JB would say. I'll share my actual numbers if you're interested) because of the features in the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 that enabled Medicare to negotiate prescription costs, placed caps on yearly out-of-pocket expenses and limited the amount that Part D insurance premiums can be raised.
After the insulin cost containment was implemented, ten additional high-cost drugs were added to the negotiating list to take effect in 2023 and 2024. It's scheduled to continue that way each year until 2027.
Also, "CBO estimates that the drug pricing provisions in the law will reduce the federal deficit by $237 billion over 10 years (2022-2031)" kff.org
I genuinely fear what will happen if Biden and the Dems lose control of this.
For a more complete explanation:
https://www.kff.org/medicare/issue-brief/explaining-the-prescription-drug-provisions-in-the-inflation-reduction-act/#bullet03
and
AARP's slightly less detailed explanation:
https://www.aarp.org/politics-society/advocacy/info-2022/medicare-part-d-changes.html
Pass the word. I've been amazed how few people are aware of this.
Angela I agree because I happen to have a prescription for the highest priced drug on Biden’s list at number one .
Congrats !?! So you already know what those number$ look like. Me too.
I am also aware, Angela, because I take a drug that currently costs $400 a month. It is not a choice whether I can take this drug or not. I am as dependent on it as insulin users are dependent on their drugs. Next year, hopefully, there will be a limit of $2000 per year of out-of-pocket expenses for all Americans if Biden is re-elected. That will save all of us who take expensive drugs, some even more expensive than mine, significant money.
Thank you for speaking up, Kathleen. We who are effected by this and those who may be sooner than they think, are a significant number who need to be sharing and cheering this monumental legislation.
My drug is list-priced by Pfizer at over $14,000 / month. Absurd!! With the negotiated price and my Part D insurance it was adjusted to near $3,325 / month. My out-of-pocket cost is now $0 / month from April until the end of the year because of the IRA out-of-pocket cap and because I've crossed into the newly defined "catastrophic" phase. Next year that should kick in even sooner.
Pretty soon we're talking about real dollars, aren't we?!
In addition to the links I entered above, Jessica Craven's 4/8 Chop Wood, Carry Water entry highlighted in her "Spread the Word!" section research and publishing about this topic that CAP Action has done. Yet another organization worth supporting for their work on this topic and many others.
{chopwoodcarrywaterdailyactions@substack.com}
Vote BLUE if you are now or have any plans to enroll in Medicare!
Thank you, Angela. I am on Medicare, and so that is why my drug is not thousands of $$$ out-of-pocket for me, probably. I will not reach the catastrophic level until November! And this amount is a hardship for me. It is absolutely immoral for the prices of medicine to be so high that people have to choose between feeding their children or buying their medicine. I am not quite in that situation, but many are.
Hard to say I "like" what you are saying, but I certainly do appreciate your words and sentiment. I am fortunate not to be in that situation either - though we worked long and hard for many years and were careful with our money so that we would not be. Sadly, you're correct - too many are strapped by exorbitant medical costs.
My other crusade related to Medicare is the life-long late enrollment penalties that are imposed. Here are some details below. I'll save climbing on my soapbox for another day.
I got burned by Humana for (according to them!) being one day late in enrolling for Part D coverage. I wasn't. The penalty money goes to Medicare, but it's the insurance company who decides that you should pay for eternity.
https://www.aarp.org/content/dam/aarp/ppi/topics/health/coverage-access/millions-of-people-pay-medicare-late-enrollment-penalties-for-life-after-missing-key-deadlines.doi.10.26419-2fppi.00225.001.pdf
https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/retirement/struggling-to-survive-pennsylvania-retiree-slapped-with-lifetime-penalty-for-delaying-medicare-sign-up-when-she-was-too-poor-to-afford-insurance-how-you-can-avoid-this-costly-mistake/ar-BB1k98qI
If a person on Medicare who is (or might someday be) dealing with any number of serious medical issues requiring this level of pharmaceuticals has no other reason to support the re-election of the Biden administration, what has been accomplished through just this piece of the Inflation Reduction Act alone should earn their vote.
I have been writing postcards into NV CD-1 (Schweikert) for several weeks, pointing out that he is a MAGA Republican who supports a national abortion ban. I will have another 30 ready to go later this week. I can't help thinking the message is being reinforced by the AZ Supreme Court Decision.
Activate America has postcard campaigns for CD-1, CD-6 and Ruben Gallego, all on the subject of reproductive freedom. https://www.activateamerica.vote/postcards
The far right is drunk with their new power and inspired by the ongoing successes in Congress, courts and legislatures. One is driven to believe that there is a major hangover coming…
Arkansas, Nebraska,South Dakota Florida and Arizona are states that are expected to have abortion rights enshrined in their state constitution on the ballot in November. Please do what you can to help even in the red states.
Florida might be vulnerable to campaign ads about Medicare, since there’s a large elderly population. Re-read posts by Kathleen and Angela, just above here.
And how did we get here? Well it took decades of course. But a huge accelerant to Gilead was "RedMap". Do you remember? It provided the leadership behind extreme gerrymandering efforts and was provided oxygen by Citizens United. Takes less than 5 minutes for one perspective:
https://www.wbur.org/hereandnow/2016/07/19/gerrymandering-republicans-redmap
As a Texan who has lived under this repressive, cruel state government philosophy for multiple years now, it doesn’t take long for the conversation to transition from “abortion” or even “reproductive rights” to “healthcare access.” The fact is that Texas women are being denied standard of care healthcare in ways that harm their health, render them infertile, and even cause death. The fact that this is gynecological care is important, but equally important is that Texans are prohibited from receiving healthcare considered standard in our time.
I don’t believe I saw a link to HCR’s letter. I will paste that link below. Excellent history lesson.
https://open.substack.com/pub/heathercoxrichardson/p/april-9-2024?r=8vyqy&utm_medium=ios