Fabulous newsletter in this early morn, Robert. Biden truly is one helluva leader. His many lessons learned in the years he served in Congress are really a sight to behold. He and a terrific team who obviously come together when they are negotiating, especially with other countries such as Turkey. Erdogan’s hands must have been tied so tightly that he couldn’t object to letting Sweden into NATO. I know we are giving him fighter jets but I never thought I’d see that.
I watched some of the Wray inquiry and i wanted to strangle Matt Gaetz. He is such a young obnoxious punk. No big fan of Wray but thought he handled himself pretty well. Okay, I’ve said enough! 🥱😴
I happened to hear a little bit of the Spanish Inquisition of TFG-appointed Republican Christopher Wray being accused by Louisiana's Mike Johnson (R) where he said:
"Last week, NBC had a poll — only 37% of registered voters now view the FBI positively. 35% had a negative view in 2018. By comparison, 52% of the country had a positive view of the FBI. There's a serious decline in the people's faith. And it's on your watch, sir." He also said, "The American people have lost faith in the FBI."
It struck me that his comments were like the arsonist blaming firefighters for the damage caused by the fire he set. That is what today's Republicans have become - arsonists.
Agreed about Gaetz. A disgusting little excuse for a man. He, Jim Jordan , and now the Tuber-villain are a nasty nest of know nothings. Now they are devouring their own people.
Biden's speech was absolutely wonderful. THAT is what leadership is supposed to sound like. Although the speech was packed with critical ideas, the part that I thought was most important was
THIS:
“[W]e all must summon the common will to…address the existential threat of accelerating climate change. It’s real. It’s serious. We don’t have a lot of time. It is the…single greatest threat to humanity.
“And it’s only by working together that we’ll prevent the worst consequences of climate change from ravaging our future and that of our children and grandchildren."
Every politician, every leader, every campaign staff member - Everyone - should focus on the issue that will determine the future of the our entire species and more importantly, the potential extinction of trillions of other forms of life.
It seems as if we talk about the Climate Crisis when we see flooding and fires. And then we go back to Hunters laptop or Alito's fishing trips. But what is happening to the planet is beyond terrifying. If we read. If we pay attention.
Robert, I look forward to your letter about Florida. The state is a big gainer in population recently. Not what it needs. The Sunshine State challenge is a lot bigger than Miami flooding. It's about an entire ecosystem collapse. It's about pollution literally on an industrial scale. It's about a wet state that will run out of drinking water. It's about red tides and rotting masses of seaweed covering beaches. It's about fetid canals where dead fish rot and manatees starve to death.
Florida is about big ag and big developers buying politicians - and the Earth be damned. In Florida fertilizer (aka money) is more import than God.
The Florida Big Fish rots from the head. Start with DeSantis and work your way down to the sycophantic gills pretending to be lawmakers. Florida residents are getting the selfish and shortsighted world -- economy, climate, culture -- for which they voted.
DeSantis won the governorship by the largest margin in 40 years, more than 19 pts against Crist, in 2022. I totally sympathize with you because you didn't vote for him -- I lived in SC for 5 years and I know what it feels like to be disenfranchised, too. The truth is, FL voters at large unleashed this Ultra-MAGA crazy-train on the state, and now DeSantis is threatening to impose his fascist ideas on all of us. I can't vote him out of FL leadership, but you and your allies can!! I wish you all the best!!!
I dunno what they're gonna do when Hunter's laptop gets swept away in a flood or hurled away in a hurricane or smothered in toxic fumes or..... Indeed, the FL ecosystem collapse is more than alarming. To say nothing of insurers refusing to cover folks in flood-prone, fire-prone areas. It's all the same cloth.
I have been spending this week at the Chautauqua Institution in Chautauqua NY and have listened to several leading speakers like Bill Kristol and Norm Ornstein and others give their opinions about the state and health of our democracy. Most of the speakers have been around the political arena for many many years. Some of the takeaways were that in order to reduce polarization in this country people on all sides must agree on the same set of facts that are true which is the only way there can be meaningful dialogue and a chance for a compromised and agreed to solution. Republican media platforms are continuously promoting half truths and out right lies and thus have polluted the country with the poison that makes bipartisan agreement almost impossible. The challenge and mantra for Democrats is to flood the public with truth and facts. Not all the public but focused groups like young college educated voters and give them an overwhelming reason to register and to vote. The bottom line is in order to make the changes required whether it’s expanding the Supreme Court, or carving out a filibuster or changing abortion or gun legislation we need to have a legislative majority not only in Washington but especially in state governments. The battle for democracy will be fought in the states not in Washington and we must acknowledge this fact and do something about it. Recent legislation in southern states especially around abortion demonstrates why we must focus on and win at the state levels.
Thanks for the report. One question: You write that the speakers said "all sides must agree on the same set of facts that are true." I worry that the statement suggests false equivalencies and "both siderism" that doesn't exist. Did anyone seriously suggest Democrats were refusing to accept the true facts? From where I sit, only one side is refusing to accept the truth.
Jul 13, 2023·edited Jul 13, 2023Liked by Robert B. Hubbell
Judd at Popular Information posted a story about Marie Bartiromo of Fox Not News weaponizing disinformation to sell a parallel story to Trump's alleged (and apparent) treasonous collaboration with Putin and corrupt promotion of his business with foreign governments. Emoluments? What emoluments?
I posted a comment there analyzing this disinformation campaign. It's what we're up against and means we still need to turn out democratic votes in a fight for our lives.
"Fox and the GOP are mounting a full-on disinformation campaign. Look at the pieces of this. Make up an allegation and show it on news media that are credible to those who either want to believe or who will pay attention because they’re afraid of the government -- a fear stoked over many years. Repeat and embellish to draw in more credulous people. Launder the stink of the story by interviewing powerful enabler politicians.
Now you’ve got a perfectly symmetrical story to Trump’s alleged treasonous collaboration and corruption by Putin. Stoke distrust in the U.S. legal system so that it can be kneecapped for now and totally corrupted if Trump is re-elected. And of course if you scare people who are already credulous and outraged, they will vote out of fear. We had better beat this or we are done as a democracy. (Added for this post: We also need to sue Fox into the ground and prosecute everyone who broke the law or continues to do so to help an ongoing coup.)
The kicker is that fighting a baseless allegation repeats its exposure. And, you can’t prove a negative when it’s embellished to cast distrust against anyone who will challenge it.
This isn’t just Fox being the equivalent of The National Enquirer and the like. It’s a full on attack on truth and democracy."
The joint being made was unless both parties define the challenge or problem based on the same set of facts no meaningful discussion or agreement can be ever achieved because there is no starting point. People can disagree on solutions and approaches but the problem they are trying to solve has to be agreed upon. You can’t solve the challenge of climate change if you deny there is a problem to begin with.
I don't know how you and your Managing Editor do it, Robert. I recommend a new title for your newsletter: "Today's Edition Newsletter: The H&H Factor (Horror and Hope!)"
Sounds like Future Crunch is a wonderful complement to Jessica Craven's Extra! Extra! posts every Sunday. Love her!
This is true. But if Dems can keep moving forward with Biden's "bottom up - middle out" economic paradigm, the GOP madness will fall on more and more deaf ears.
I would like to expand on a comment I submitted last week in your issue, "how hot is it?". I referred to a letter to the editor I had recently submitted, which was in opposition to a letter I had read in our local paper that same day.
This writer had debunked a previous letter which had apparently expressed optimism about the future of solar energy in New York. Although I had not read the earlier letter myself, I had seen other articles about this issue which supported such optimistic claims. I was especially frustrated by the more recent letterwriter's calling such claims "dangerous" and suggesting that we would be better off by continuing to stay with our conventional energy sources, i.e fossil fuels.
I have written several letters to the editor on different issues over my 81 years. I have never gotten a response giving me information which might allow me to write a stronger letter. So I was surprised this past Monday to get a response from an editor at the paper. She sent me a link to the essay by Doctor Perez which had expressed optimism about the future of solar energy in New York. She suggested I might want to read the guest essay and to then revise my letter.
I gladly spent several hours writing a new letter after reading the excellent essay by Dr Perez who is far more than a concerned citizen. Along with other credentials, he is the head of Solar Energy at SUNY Albany's Atmospheric Sciences Research Center. He does a great job of providing information in line with his stated goal of clarifying common misconceptions about several issues related to solar energy.
I submitted my revised letter after 6:00 p.m. on Monday night. On Tuesday morning it appeared on syracuse.com., followed by another letter from a writer who talks about his own experience using solar panels in central New York.
I learned from my sister in Canada and from my children in other states that they could access my letter, even though they do not subscribe to the paper. So anyone interested in doing so should be able to go to syracuse.com letters to read my letter. More importantly, there is a link in the first paragraph of my letter to Dr Perez's excellent essay on solar energy.(There is also a link to the letter in which the writer calls such claims dangerous.)
I totally understand why people might prefer to do this [stay with fossil fuels]. It would be more convenient and more familiar. But what I, along with many others, believe is that this is no longer a real choice. Our choice is actually between staying addicted to fossil fuels and believing the misinformation promoting them, or making difficult but ultimately better choices which could halt the continuing destruction of the planet.
Thank you so much Pam. I appreciate it. In this case I also benefited from the fact that the mainstream media is finally waking up to the importance. I believe I got that invitation because they wanted to put my letter in and make it even stronger. That would not have happened last year unfortunately.
The simplest answer to your question is to contribute to the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC.com) and the Democratic Legislative Campaign Committee (DLCC.com). I give monthly. (Warning: Your immediate reward will be an endless stream of emails asking for money, few if any of which will acknowledge that you actually have given. This is one area where Democrats do not do better than Republicans.).
Hey, Jon. I unsubscribed from DCCC after hearing that the down ballot candidates pretty much get the "leftovers" from donations. Now, I use the States Projects and donate directly to a candidate.
Yes, agree, and it was unsettling to get an email that totally disregarded that you already just donated.
I avoid entreaties from the DCCC and its Senatorial counterpart. In my opinion, Democratic party organizations have been supremely ineffectual at everything political aside from bombarding people like me with emails pleading for money.
I view contributing to them as ratholes for money.
Indeed, Lynell, I have hesrd of The States Project, and follow The States Project with Focus For Democracy. The States Project must be addressing the funding Legislatures issue, correct? Thank you for the reminder!
Jul 13, 2023·edited Jul 13, 2023Liked by Robert B. Hubbell
The GOP is desperate to win in 2024 so they can hang on to their neoliberal economic paradigm and go back to enacting policies that redistribute income to the top at the expense of the rest of us. This paradigm is fast being flushed by Biden's successful reintroduction of the demand side economy, the traditional Democratic approach (forgotten by some recent Democratic administrations). Yes, expect the GOP to descend into further madness in an effort to halt their slide. However, this time it will only hasten their trip to the political wilderness. Landslide 2024 is coming! Keep in mind, government creates the macroeconomy.
Democrats are their own enemies by not continually repeating the incredible Le accomplishments. What is wrong with ten. Great writing Robert , great writing!
YES, Marlene! Many times I've wondered why they don't just ask for help from The Lincoln Project. I've never heard a good explanation for why Democrats refuse to repeatedly broadcast and magnify their many great accomplishments. At this point it's a wonder they haven't run out of sources for the bushel baskets they insist on using to "hide their lights." So frustrating with so much on the line!
Methinks Epps is going to need to win his defamation suit against Fox so he'll have funding for his defense in the pending insurrection indictment. Talk about weird pattern...
And I cheer on Ruby Freeman and Shaye Moss in their suit against Guilliani!!!! From The Atlantic article, it's rather rich that his political advisor casts their efforts as "...an effort to harass, intimidate and embarrass Mayor Rudy Giuliani ... part of a larger effort to smear and silence Mayor Giuliani for daring to ask questions, and for challenging the accepted narrative." Accepted by whom, dimwit? Oh yeah, a bunch of other dimwits. For some reason, though, I take a bit of solace in knowing that Judge Howell is on the case.
Hope the Russian general isn't taking a rest too close to a window. The rest of your news is a good way to start the day 🤗 the ever proverbial economy (looove Simon Rosenburg's charts), NATO, murder rates down (!), Turkey (?!), and of course POTUS. And, ok ok, I signed up for David Pepper's event Tuesday. 😉
Thank you, Robert, for your affirming and positive support of President Biden. Personally I never take this man for granted and continue to be thrilled by his steady and sage approach, not only to our country's woes, but to the woes of so much of the world. Rising above the noisy and greedy fray can't be easy but he seems to do so, on a daily basis, with aplomb. No one is perfect but I am grateful everyday that he is our president.
And I learned a new word today, thanks to your column: "opprobrium." This is the ideal descriptor of the GOP as it continues to implode.
RE: "The new analyses regarding turnout in 2022 are no reason to panic," before poring over any more election-cycle analyses, readers might want to reflect on the Democrats' decades-long abandonment of rural and working class Americans. To this end, I highly recommend reading, "Dirt Road Revival: How to Rebuild Rural Politics and Why Our Future Depends On It" by Chloe Maxmin and Canyon Woodward. The book (gifted to me by a friend in Buffalo) confirms suspicions I've held since at least 2016. It includes both an unsparing analysis of the Dem's loss of ex-urban America and how the 20-something co-authors won races in deeply red counties in Maine. Rather than linking to Amazon, here's the book's website: https://www.dirtroadrevival.com/
Hi, Paul. Thanks for the recommendation. I will order the book today and read it. But I have a few questions based on my review of the publisher's summary.
How, exactly, have Democrats "abandoned" rural America? The issues cited in the book summary include the following: "The authors explore rural healthcare, economic struggle, brain drain, aging communities, whiteness and racism, education access, broadband, Big Agriculture."
On those issues, which side have the Democrats been on? On those issues which side have Republicans been on?
Have Democrats attempted to deny Medicaid to the rural poor? Have Democrats engaged in race-based voter suppression? Have Democrats tried to deny food aid to families living in poverty? Have Democrats tried to privatize education by funding white, Christian, parochial schools at the expense of public schools? Have Democrats favored Big Agriculture over people by dismantling environmental protections and allowing Big Agriculture to poison streams, rivers, lakes, and the land? Or have the Republicans done all those things?
The book sells itself as an indictment of the "Democratic Party focus[ing] for too long on the interests of elite leaders." Just who are those "elite leaders"? I hope the book names names. And what are the "elite interests"? Are those "elite leaders" criticized for focusing on the issues in the cities? Is that an illegitimate emphasis when 85% of Americans live in urban settings?
And I hope the authors take an unblinking look at racism in rural America and explain how that is the fault of "Democratic elites."
Finally, I wonder if the authors explain why Black Americans living in rural areas overwhelmingly support the Democratic Party, while white Americans in rural areas do not. How is it possible that two groups living in the same rural area have such different party loyalties? Could it have something to do with issues not controlled by "Democratic elites" but, instead, by the fear of white Americans in rural areas that their privileged place is society is threatened by changes that no party controls?
I will read the book with interest to see if it addresses those questions.
You make excellent points. But you overlook the contempt that so many ‘progressives’ so often express toward rural areas. “Flyover country” is a prominent, but not the only example; to get a flavor of this, remember Hillary Clinton’s infamous “deplorables” remark, and try reading Comments in WaPo articles.
People who are denigrated don’t react favorably toward their denigrators.
Hi, Michael. Can you link to an instance of a progressive expressing contempt for rural areas?
I worry that the notion of "progressive contempt" toward rural areas is a trope promoted by the right wing. Progressives in this and the last session of Congress fought for broadband access in rural areas, Medicaid expansion, food aid, energy subsidies for homes, child care for working parents, ensuring clean water. All of those initiatives benefit rural areas.
Republicans opposed all of those measures, and more.
My request for a link to progressives expressing contempt toward rural areas is a sincere one. I hope you can educate me on this subject, because if it is an issue, I would like to address it in the newsletter. Thank you.
First, I am a Canadian, albeit one who was partly educated in the US (MBA), and who spent part of his career working there. But I am avowedly liberal in my politics and acutely aware of the outsize impact trends and events in America have on our country.
Maximin and Canyon’s takedown of the Democratic Party has little to do with its positions and everything to do with its fecklessness at converting those positions into electoral success.
I’m glad you’re going to read the book—it’s only 155 pp—because IMO it really speaks to the two (or maybe more) completely different political styles needed to engage the divides that characterize America today.
But, unlike a lot of exercises in navel-gazing, I found this book really made the case—complete w references—that the Dems have failed to take their case to ex-urban America.
If I do have a concern, it’s around whether the retail model this high-energy twosome developed is scalable. Today’s world—at least to this 77-year-old—seems full of smart people who avoid hard, detailed work.
Okay, I think we just started a different conversation. I reacted to your comment that "Democrats had abandoned" rural America. So I now understand we are not talking about Democratic positions to rural America, but "everything to do with its fecklessness at converting those positions into electoral success." In other words, Maximin and Canyon criticize Democrats for not being more successful in winning in votes. That is different than "abandoning" rural America.
I will read the book. But an "n" of one (or two) is a small sample size. Could it be the authors simply had a better candidate than the Republicans in that district?
Re abandon, tomato, tomahto. IMO, the authors make a very good case that the Dems have given up on trying to win back rural America in any serious way. Instead they’ve been big-footing promising local campaigns with out of-touch consultants and relying on one-size-fits-all strategies, literature filled with inside-the-beltway pitches, and focus on policies instead of values. I agree and acknowledged that scaling the authors’ approach will be challenging, but to me it’s the logical (maybe only?) way to be successful at winning back rural voters. Maxmin and Woodward have launched a non profit aimed at replicating their approach, so we’ll get to see if it can be done. Meanwhile, although I know lawyers love to argue, I’m ready to move on. Please, just read the book. And thanks again for this wonderful newsletter.
While "less may be more", today's NL was a robust read! It is deeply worrying that the sadistic GOP does not receive the opprobrium it has "earned". Partly due to failures of the media, "mainstream" or other, but also from other entrenched, societal sources such as corporate advertising and religious extremism. Millions in US apparently need/choose to believe [ and act accordingly] that the emperor does have clothes, and the clothes are dysfunctional, dystopian propaganda/fantasies. "Anything but the truth", so it seems.
Terrific, especially on Biden's most recent accomplishments re NATO, and Sweden and Ukraine. The best pres of my lifetime (as I keep saying) and more wind at our backs!
As a Floridian and member of Citizens Climate Lobby, I look forward to tomorrow's newsletter about insurers leaving FL because of climate change. The state's elected leaders are fighting measures to help mitigate climate change and to help Floridians deal with it. Governor DeSantis just turned down $377 million in free federal energy-efficiency money despite Florida suffering ever-hotter temperatures. Households would have received hundreds of $ in rebates for purchasing energy-efficient appliances, resulting in reduced greenhouse gas emissions AND reduced energy bills. The funding earmarked for Florida came from both the Inflation Reduction Act and the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. DeSantis also recently signed a law forbidding makers of electric vehicles to sell directly to consumers - with the exception of Elon Musk's Tesla and a few other companies who were already selling directly. Politicians here call themselves environmentalists by addressing flooding, because that causes immediate economic damage, but they regard climate change as a "woke" issue.
Fabulous newsletter in this early morn, Robert. Biden truly is one helluva leader. His many lessons learned in the years he served in Congress are really a sight to behold. He and a terrific team who obviously come together when they are negotiating, especially with other countries such as Turkey. Erdogan’s hands must have been tied so tightly that he couldn’t object to letting Sweden into NATO. I know we are giving him fighter jets but I never thought I’d see that.
I watched some of the Wray inquiry and i wanted to strangle Matt Gaetz. He is such a young obnoxious punk. No big fan of Wray but thought he handled himself pretty well. Okay, I’ve said enough! 🥱😴
Of course, you are speaking metaphorically about Matt Gaetz . . . . but he is an obnoxious punk, and worse.
But, of course!
I happened to hear a little bit of the Spanish Inquisition of TFG-appointed Republican Christopher Wray being accused by Louisiana's Mike Johnson (R) where he said:
"Last week, NBC had a poll — only 37% of registered voters now view the FBI positively. 35% had a negative view in 2018. By comparison, 52% of the country had a positive view of the FBI. There's a serious decline in the people's faith. And it's on your watch, sir." He also said, "The American people have lost faith in the FBI."
It struck me that his comments were like the arsonist blaming firefighters for the damage caused by the fire he set. That is what today's Republicans have become - arsonists.
Agreed about Gaetz. A disgusting little excuse for a man. He, Jim Jordan , and now the Tuber-villain are a nasty nest of know nothings. Now they are devouring their own people.
Biden's speech was absolutely wonderful. THAT is what leadership is supposed to sound like. Although the speech was packed with critical ideas, the part that I thought was most important was
THIS:
“[W]e all must summon the common will to…address the existential threat of accelerating climate change. It’s real. It’s serious. We don’t have a lot of time. It is the…single greatest threat to humanity.
“And it’s only by working together that we’ll prevent the worst consequences of climate change from ravaging our future and that of our children and grandchildren."
Every politician, every leader, every campaign staff member - Everyone - should focus on the issue that will determine the future of the our entire species and more importantly, the potential extinction of trillions of other forms of life.
It seems as if we talk about the Climate Crisis when we see flooding and fires. And then we go back to Hunters laptop or Alito's fishing trips. But what is happening to the planet is beyond terrifying. If we read. If we pay attention.
Robert, I look forward to your letter about Florida. The state is a big gainer in population recently. Not what it needs. The Sunshine State challenge is a lot bigger than Miami flooding. It's about an entire ecosystem collapse. It's about pollution literally on an industrial scale. It's about a wet state that will run out of drinking water. It's about red tides and rotting masses of seaweed covering beaches. It's about fetid canals where dead fish rot and manatees starve to death.
Florida is about big ag and big developers buying politicians - and the Earth be damned. In Florida fertilizer (aka money) is more import than God.
The Florida Big Fish rots from the head. Start with DeSantis and work your way down to the sycophantic gills pretending to be lawmakers. Florida residents are getting the selfish and shortsighted world -- economy, climate, culture -- for which they voted.
We all did not vote for him!! And we do not deserve this.
DeSantis won the governorship by the largest margin in 40 years, more than 19 pts against Crist, in 2022. I totally sympathize with you because you didn't vote for him -- I lived in SC for 5 years and I know what it feels like to be disenfranchised, too. The truth is, FL voters at large unleashed this Ultra-MAGA crazy-train on the state, and now DeSantis is threatening to impose his fascist ideas on all of us. I can't vote him out of FL leadership, but you and your allies can!! I wish you all the best!!!
I dunno what they're gonna do when Hunter's laptop gets swept away in a flood or hurled away in a hurricane or smothered in toxic fumes or..... Indeed, the FL ecosystem collapse is more than alarming. To say nothing of insurers refusing to cover folks in flood-prone, fire-prone areas. It's all the same cloth.
When the Florida ecosystem collapses, the *rest of the US* will be hit with demands ghat *we* finance massive remedial projects.
That’s already happening for those of us in Florida and California. We’ve always supported other states and get little back.
I have been spending this week at the Chautauqua Institution in Chautauqua NY and have listened to several leading speakers like Bill Kristol and Norm Ornstein and others give their opinions about the state and health of our democracy. Most of the speakers have been around the political arena for many many years. Some of the takeaways were that in order to reduce polarization in this country people on all sides must agree on the same set of facts that are true which is the only way there can be meaningful dialogue and a chance for a compromised and agreed to solution. Republican media platforms are continuously promoting half truths and out right lies and thus have polluted the country with the poison that makes bipartisan agreement almost impossible. The challenge and mantra for Democrats is to flood the public with truth and facts. Not all the public but focused groups like young college educated voters and give them an overwhelming reason to register and to vote. The bottom line is in order to make the changes required whether it’s expanding the Supreme Court, or carving out a filibuster or changing abortion or gun legislation we need to have a legislative majority not only in Washington but especially in state governments. The battle for democracy will be fought in the states not in Washington and we must acknowledge this fact and do something about it. Recent legislation in southern states especially around abortion demonstrates why we must focus on and win at the state levels.
Thanks for the report. One question: You write that the speakers said "all sides must agree on the same set of facts that are true." I worry that the statement suggests false equivalencies and "both siderism" that doesn't exist. Did anyone seriously suggest Democrats were refusing to accept the true facts? From where I sit, only one side is refusing to accept the truth.
Judd at Popular Information posted a story about Marie Bartiromo of Fox Not News weaponizing disinformation to sell a parallel story to Trump's alleged (and apparent) treasonous collaboration with Putin and corrupt promotion of his business with foreign governments. Emoluments? What emoluments?
https://substack.com/inbox/post/134626028
I posted a comment there analyzing this disinformation campaign. It's what we're up against and means we still need to turn out democratic votes in a fight for our lives.
"Fox and the GOP are mounting a full-on disinformation campaign. Look at the pieces of this. Make up an allegation and show it on news media that are credible to those who either want to believe or who will pay attention because they’re afraid of the government -- a fear stoked over many years. Repeat and embellish to draw in more credulous people. Launder the stink of the story by interviewing powerful enabler politicians.
Now you’ve got a perfectly symmetrical story to Trump’s alleged treasonous collaboration and corruption by Putin. Stoke distrust in the U.S. legal system so that it can be kneecapped for now and totally corrupted if Trump is re-elected. And of course if you scare people who are already credulous and outraged, they will vote out of fear. We had better beat this or we are done as a democracy. (Added for this post: We also need to sue Fox into the ground and prosecute everyone who broke the law or continues to do so to help an ongoing coup.)
The kicker is that fighting a baseless allegation repeats its exposure. And, you can’t prove a negative when it’s embellished to cast distrust against anyone who will challenge it.
This isn’t just Fox being the equivalent of The National Enquirer and the like. It’s a full on attack on truth and democracy."
The joint being made was unless both parties define the challenge or problem based on the same set of facts no meaningful discussion or agreement can be ever achieved because there is no starting point. People can disagree on solutions and approaches but the problem they are trying to solve has to be agreed upon. You can’t solve the challenge of climate change if you deny there is a problem to begin with.
I don't know how you and your Managing Editor do it, Robert. I recommend a new title for your newsletter: "Today's Edition Newsletter: The H&H Factor (Horror and Hope!)"
Sounds like Future Crunch is a wonderful complement to Jessica Craven's Extra! Extra! posts every Sunday. Love her!
Robert, I’m afraid I must disagree with you. You suggest that the Republicans are descending into madness. Not so. They got there a while ago.
Fair point. Then what do we call their continued decline? I struggled for the right description. Any suggestions greatly appreciated.
Immolation- unrelenting, hell-bent, protracted, frenzied, MAGA immolation.
Annihilating. Decimating. Obliterating.
Willful ignorance - plain and simple
Maybe not really an answer, but I've said for years that the party is in a death-spiral.
This is true. But if Dems can keep moving forward with Biden's "bottom up - middle out" economic paradigm, the GOP madness will fall on more and more deaf ears.
When might the media catch up (to reality) on these issues?
I would like to expand on a comment I submitted last week in your issue, "how hot is it?". I referred to a letter to the editor I had recently submitted, which was in opposition to a letter I had read in our local paper that same day.
This writer had debunked a previous letter which had apparently expressed optimism about the future of solar energy in New York. Although I had not read the earlier letter myself, I had seen other articles about this issue which supported such optimistic claims. I was especially frustrated by the more recent letterwriter's calling such claims "dangerous" and suggesting that we would be better off by continuing to stay with our conventional energy sources, i.e fossil fuels.
I have written several letters to the editor on different issues over my 81 years. I have never gotten a response giving me information which might allow me to write a stronger letter. So I was surprised this past Monday to get a response from an editor at the paper. She sent me a link to the essay by Doctor Perez which had expressed optimism about the future of solar energy in New York. She suggested I might want to read the guest essay and to then revise my letter.
I gladly spent several hours writing a new letter after reading the excellent essay by Dr Perez who is far more than a concerned citizen. Along with other credentials, he is the head of Solar Energy at SUNY Albany's Atmospheric Sciences Research Center. He does a great job of providing information in line with his stated goal of clarifying common misconceptions about several issues related to solar energy.
I submitted my revised letter after 6:00 p.m. on Monday night. On Tuesday morning it appeared on syracuse.com., followed by another letter from a writer who talks about his own experience using solar panels in central New York.
I learned from my sister in Canada and from my children in other states that they could access my letter, even though they do not subscribe to the paper. So anyone interested in doing so should be able to go to syracuse.com letters to read my letter. More importantly, there is a link in the first paragraph of my letter to Dr Perez's excellent essay on solar energy.(There is also a link to the letter in which the writer calls such claims dangerous.)
thanks, Shelley! Writing letters to the editor is a good way to shape have an impact.
The direct link to the letter is here: https://www.syracuse.com/opinion/2023/07/in-defense-of-solar-energy-development-in-new-york-your-letters.html
The last paragraph to Shelley's letter is this:
I totally understand why people might prefer to do this [stay with fossil fuels]. It would be more convenient and more familiar. But what I, along with many others, believe is that this is no longer a real choice. Our choice is actually between staying addicted to fossil fuels and believing the misinformation promoting them, or making difficult but ultimately better choices which could halt the continuing destruction of the planet.
I appreciate your comment very much, Robert! And thank you not only for putting in the link but even quoting the final part of my letter.
Shelley, Thank you for your persistent effort...and the resulting opportunity you took to move forward the critical discussion on Climate.
Thank you so much Pam. I appreciate it. In this case I also benefited from the fact that the mainstream media is finally waking up to the importance. I believe I got that invitation because they wanted to put my letter in and make it even stronger. That would not have happened last year unfortunately.
A query and a worry.
How can Democrats go about finding funding for State and local candidates -- for all elected leaders.
State Legislatures, for example, districts, are where elections are won and lost, currently.
Democrats needlessly lost the House in 2023.
How can Democrats be LOUDER, to borrow from Simon Rosenberg, re: the need to support candidates at State and local levels.
New York, for example, lost four districts in 2023, and lost the House, where out-of-control GOP (dangerous) authoritarians are in control now.
There’s a buzz about this dilemma -- (not my own original thought.)
Postcards to Voters, Vote Forward, Activate America, and countless other grassroots activists support GOTV for non-National elections.
Special Elections this season are expected to be low turnout elections.
Engaging even more Democratic activists in these GOTV grassroots actions might help.
Any thoughts?
In addition to Lynell’s suggestion:
Movement Voter Project: https://movement.vote/
Run For Something: https://runforsomething.net/
The simplest answer to your question is to contribute to the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC.com) and the Democratic Legislative Campaign Committee (DLCC.com). I give monthly. (Warning: Your immediate reward will be an endless stream of emails asking for money, few if any of which will acknowledge that you actually have given. This is one area where Democrats do not do better than Republicans.).
Hey, Jon. I unsubscribed from DCCC after hearing that the down ballot candidates pretty much get the "leftovers" from donations. Now, I use the States Projects and donate directly to a candidate.
Yes, agree, and it was unsettling to get an email that totally disregarded that you already just donated.
The DCCC is not the best way. Giving directly to local candidates, or giving circles like Markers for Democracy is better.
Hi Lynell! I don’t give any money to the DCCC because of their tactics. I too, give directly to the candidate.
Thanks so much, All, Jon, Kathy, Lynell, for these reminders. I am so immersed in information and writing, forgot to remember.
I avoid entreaties from the DCCC and its Senatorial counterpart. In my opinion, Democratic party organizations have been supremely ineffectual at everything political aside from bombarding people like me with emails pleading for money.
I view contributing to them as ratholes for money.
Nancy, have you heard of The States Project: https://statesproject.org/
Indeed, Lynell, I have hesrd of The States Project, and follow The States Project with Focus For Democracy. The States Project must be addressing the funding Legislatures issue, correct? Thank you for the reminder!
Hey, Nancy. I could not find anything more than that the States Projects fund "down ballot" candidates which to me means state legislatures.
Ellie Kona has promoted the Tending to Democracy Giving Circle state project. Many Heather Cox Richardson fans donate to it.
https://www.grapevine.org/giving-circle/1XQhnyD/Tending-to-Democracy
The GOP is desperate to win in 2024 so they can hang on to their neoliberal economic paradigm and go back to enacting policies that redistribute income to the top at the expense of the rest of us. This paradigm is fast being flushed by Biden's successful reintroduction of the demand side economy, the traditional Democratic approach (forgotten by some recent Democratic administrations). Yes, expect the GOP to descend into further madness in an effort to halt their slide. However, this time it will only hasten their trip to the political wilderness. Landslide 2024 is coming! Keep in mind, government creates the macroeconomy.
Democrats are their own enemies by not continually repeating the incredible Le accomplishments. What is wrong with ten. Great writing Robert , great writing!
Yes, Dems messaging just purely sucks. You’d think they would hire the people from The Lincoln Project to give them pointers.
YES, Marlene! Many times I've wondered why they don't just ask for help from The Lincoln Project. I've never heard a good explanation for why Democrats refuse to repeatedly broadcast and magnify their many great accomplishments. At this point it's a wonder they haven't run out of sources for the bushel baskets they insist on using to "hide their lights." So frustrating with so much on the line!
None of the down ballot candidates that the LP supported have won. They talk a good game, but little else.
Methinks Epps is going to need to win his defamation suit against Fox so he'll have funding for his defense in the pending insurrection indictment. Talk about weird pattern...
And I cheer on Ruby Freeman and Shaye Moss in their suit against Guilliani!!!! From The Atlantic article, it's rather rich that his political advisor casts their efforts as "...an effort to harass, intimidate and embarrass Mayor Rudy Giuliani ... part of a larger effort to smear and silence Mayor Giuliani for daring to ask questions, and for challenging the accepted narrative." Accepted by whom, dimwit? Oh yeah, a bunch of other dimwits. For some reason, though, I take a bit of solace in knowing that Judge Howell is on the case.
Hope the Russian general isn't taking a rest too close to a window. The rest of your news is a good way to start the day 🤗 the ever proverbial economy (looove Simon Rosenburg's charts), NATO, murder rates down (!), Turkey (?!), and of course POTUS. And, ok ok, I signed up for David Pepper's event Tuesday. 😉
Thank you, Robert, for your affirming and positive support of President Biden. Personally I never take this man for granted and continue to be thrilled by his steady and sage approach, not only to our country's woes, but to the woes of so much of the world. Rising above the noisy and greedy fray can't be easy but he seems to do so, on a daily basis, with aplomb. No one is perfect but I am grateful everyday that he is our president.
And I learned a new word today, thanks to your column: "opprobrium." This is the ideal descriptor of the GOP as it continues to implode.
From Denialad: donbialostosky.substack.com
The Dems’ House Committee investigated;
Republicans so far have castigated
Responsible witnesses like Chris Wray,
Who answered their “insane” claims yesterday.
Dems interviewed their witnesses before
They brought them forward trying to underscore
The narrative their inquiry had found.
Republicans just swear them in to hound
And interrupt them and berate
And take the opportunity to prate
In hopes Fox News will put them on the air.
Not just unruly members but the chair
Abuse the witness and their privilege
And take the hearing well beyond the edge.
Repeatedly their whistleblowers blow it
And hearings end up with nothing to show. It
Is so “ludicrous” it’s almost funny,
But these jokers are wasting time and money
While matters of importance are ignored.
The other party now must be restored
To power next year so this joke will end.
The House has crucial business it should tend.
RE: "The new analyses regarding turnout in 2022 are no reason to panic," before poring over any more election-cycle analyses, readers might want to reflect on the Democrats' decades-long abandonment of rural and working class Americans. To this end, I highly recommend reading, "Dirt Road Revival: How to Rebuild Rural Politics and Why Our Future Depends On It" by Chloe Maxmin and Canyon Woodward. The book (gifted to me by a friend in Buffalo) confirms suspicions I've held since at least 2016. It includes both an unsparing analysis of the Dem's loss of ex-urban America and how the 20-something co-authors won races in deeply red counties in Maine. Rather than linking to Amazon, here's the book's website: https://www.dirtroadrevival.com/
Hi, Paul. Thanks for the recommendation. I will order the book today and read it. But I have a few questions based on my review of the publisher's summary.
How, exactly, have Democrats "abandoned" rural America? The issues cited in the book summary include the following: "The authors explore rural healthcare, economic struggle, brain drain, aging communities, whiteness and racism, education access, broadband, Big Agriculture."
On those issues, which side have the Democrats been on? On those issues which side have Republicans been on?
Have Democrats attempted to deny Medicaid to the rural poor? Have Democrats engaged in race-based voter suppression? Have Democrats tried to deny food aid to families living in poverty? Have Democrats tried to privatize education by funding white, Christian, parochial schools at the expense of public schools? Have Democrats favored Big Agriculture over people by dismantling environmental protections and allowing Big Agriculture to poison streams, rivers, lakes, and the land? Or have the Republicans done all those things?
The book sells itself as an indictment of the "Democratic Party focus[ing] for too long on the interests of elite leaders." Just who are those "elite leaders"? I hope the book names names. And what are the "elite interests"? Are those "elite leaders" criticized for focusing on the issues in the cities? Is that an illegitimate emphasis when 85% of Americans live in urban settings?
And I hope the authors take an unblinking look at racism in rural America and explain how that is the fault of "Democratic elites."
Finally, I wonder if the authors explain why Black Americans living in rural areas overwhelmingly support the Democratic Party, while white Americans in rural areas do not. How is it possible that two groups living in the same rural area have such different party loyalties? Could it have something to do with issues not controlled by "Democratic elites" but, instead, by the fear of white Americans in rural areas that their privileged place is society is threatened by changes that no party controls?
I will read the book with interest to see if it addresses those questions.
Robert,
You make excellent points. But you overlook the contempt that so many ‘progressives’ so often express toward rural areas. “Flyover country” is a prominent, but not the only example; to get a flavor of this, remember Hillary Clinton’s infamous “deplorables” remark, and try reading Comments in WaPo articles.
People who are denigrated don’t react favorably toward their denigrators.
Hi, Michael. Can you link to an instance of a progressive expressing contempt for rural areas?
I worry that the notion of "progressive contempt" toward rural areas is a trope promoted by the right wing. Progressives in this and the last session of Congress fought for broadband access in rural areas, Medicaid expansion, food aid, energy subsidies for homes, child care for working parents, ensuring clean water. All of those initiatives benefit rural areas.
Republicans opposed all of those measures, and more.
My request for a link to progressives expressing contempt toward rural areas is a sincere one. I hope you can educate me on this subject, because if it is an issue, I would like to address it in the newsletter. Thank you.
"I've learned that people will forget what you said. People will forget what you did. But people will never forget how you made them feel."
-- Maya Angelou
Hi Robert.
First, I am a Canadian, albeit one who was partly educated in the US (MBA), and who spent part of his career working there. But I am avowedly liberal in my politics and acutely aware of the outsize impact trends and events in America have on our country.
Maximin and Canyon’s takedown of the Democratic Party has little to do with its positions and everything to do with its fecklessness at converting those positions into electoral success.
I’m glad you’re going to read the book—it’s only 155 pp—because IMO it really speaks to the two (or maybe more) completely different political styles needed to engage the divides that characterize America today.
But, unlike a lot of exercises in navel-gazing, I found this book really made the case—complete w references—that the Dems have failed to take their case to ex-urban America.
If I do have a concern, it’s around whether the retail model this high-energy twosome developed is scalable. Today’s world—at least to this 77-year-old—seems full of smart people who avoid hard, detailed work.
I look forward to your post-read thoughts.
Admiringly, P
Okay, I think we just started a different conversation. I reacted to your comment that "Democrats had abandoned" rural America. So I now understand we are not talking about Democratic positions to rural America, but "everything to do with its fecklessness at converting those positions into electoral success." In other words, Maximin and Canyon criticize Democrats for not being more successful in winning in votes. That is different than "abandoning" rural America.
I will read the book. But an "n" of one (or two) is a small sample size. Could it be the authors simply had a better candidate than the Republicans in that district?
Re abandon, tomato, tomahto. IMO, the authors make a very good case that the Dems have given up on trying to win back rural America in any serious way. Instead they’ve been big-footing promising local campaigns with out of-touch consultants and relying on one-size-fits-all strategies, literature filled with inside-the-beltway pitches, and focus on policies instead of values. I agree and acknowledged that scaling the authors’ approach will be challenging, but to me it’s the logical (maybe only?) way to be successful at winning back rural voters. Maxmin and Woodward have launched a non profit aimed at replicating their approach, so we’ll get to see if it can be done. Meanwhile, although I know lawyers love to argue, I’m ready to move on. Please, just read the book. And thanks again for this wonderful newsletter.
Thank you for the (NOT Amazon) link! The website is inspiring in and of itself - might have to add the book to my collection 😉
Thank you for the link; haven’t ordered it yet but probably will (my bedside table is pretty full just now!)
While "less may be more", today's NL was a robust read! It is deeply worrying that the sadistic GOP does not receive the opprobrium it has "earned". Partly due to failures of the media, "mainstream" or other, but also from other entrenched, societal sources such as corporate advertising and religious extremism. Millions in US apparently need/choose to believe [ and act accordingly] that the emperor does have clothes, and the clothes are dysfunctional, dystopian propaganda/fantasies. "Anything but the truth", so it seems.
Terrific, especially on Biden's most recent accomplishments re NATO, and Sweden and Ukraine. The best pres of my lifetime (as I keep saying) and more wind at our backs!
👍👍
As a Floridian and member of Citizens Climate Lobby, I look forward to tomorrow's newsletter about insurers leaving FL because of climate change. The state's elected leaders are fighting measures to help mitigate climate change and to help Floridians deal with it. Governor DeSantis just turned down $377 million in free federal energy-efficiency money despite Florida suffering ever-hotter temperatures. Households would have received hundreds of $ in rebates for purchasing energy-efficient appliances, resulting in reduced greenhouse gas emissions AND reduced energy bills. The funding earmarked for Florida came from both the Inflation Reduction Act and the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. DeSantis also recently signed a law forbidding makers of electric vehicles to sell directly to consumers - with the exception of Elon Musk's Tesla and a few other companies who were already selling directly. Politicians here call themselves environmentalists by addressing flooding, because that causes immediate economic damage, but they regard climate change as a "woke" issue.
Thanks, Pat. I might just use your comment as my newsletter tonight!