Sep 27, 2022·edited Sep 27, 2022Liked by Robert B. Hubbell
Airheaded bimbo Sinema, a legend in her own mind, doesn't realize Republicans would NEVER reinstate the filibuster for judicial appointments, since that would mean they couldn't keep putting Federalist Society morons like "Lucy" Cannon on the bench - she got R votes only and it wasn't 60.
Sinema's going to get a (metaphorical) baseball bat to the face when Ruben Gallegos takes her on in 2024. Right now she is underwater 20 points in Arizona with Democrats, 18 points with Independents and 12 with Republicans - if she thinks there is a Republican in Arizona who will vote for a bisexual former Green moron ex-Democrat, she's even more delusional than she acts like she is.
In 2025 she can go back to studying winemaking in Sonoma full-time.
Speaking of Arizona and keeping democracy, in case you missed this alarm last night...
The States Project reports:
* Rep. Diego Espinoza won his primary election for the District 22 Senate seat, then withdrew from the race without notifying the party to take a lobbying job. He was running unopposed in the general election, meaning he would have easily won in November. So this seemingly safe seat is now in danger of a flip.
* Rep. Espinoza will be the only candidate on the ballot, but any votes cast for him won't count. We must mount a write-in campaign.
* Voters need to understand not to vote for Espinoza and to write in Dr. Evangeline Diaz instead.
* Dr. Diaz is a former school principal and former chair of her town’s planning and zoning commission. Our partners on the ground in Arizona have aligned behind her for this seat.
* Republicans didn't get anyone on the ballot in this district, so they will also run a write-in candidate.
* Early voting starts in AZ on October 12, so this campaign needs support to start reaching voters immediately.
* Bottom line: What we thought was a safe Democratic seat is now at risk in a chamber where flipping just one seat would shift enough power to end rightwing control and protect Arizona’s electoral votes from being stolen in 2024.
What we can do: Raise an additional $50K for Arizona in the next week.
Here are 2 States Project Giving Circles focused on raising funds specifically for Arizona. Our small donations add up to a powerful force!
Unfortunately timing is everything. Here in Florida where my wife and I are barely south of the “cone of probability” regarding the hurricane’s eye, we will likely have some extreme rain and wind gusts because we’re on the strong side of this huge hurricane. But the bigger threat is that this emergency will put our Governor DeSantis (Ugh!) on tv non-stop and give him free campaign time, because he is, after all, the state’s CEO. Meanwhile his opponent, Charlie Crist, former Governor, resigned-to-run Congressman, former State Attorney General and more, can say little and do nothing, without authority to direct efforts. So a storm looming to cause harm and pain will only move votes to an authoritarian who has extreme ambitions to be an extremist President. And if Trump prevails because the courts will decide he had executive privilege and a pass, the precedent will be set, the ground fertile, for the country to become another Fascist State. Once that happens we will have a 20% chance to return to a democracy, according to recent history. No matter your state, donate to Charlie Crist For Governor of Florida. It’s in your own best interest!
Robert, I for one appreciate the fundraising ask for Barnes and Fetterman. It is hard to know where one’s dollars will be most impactful, and getting an ask from someone who is thoughtful, knowledgeable, and trustworthy is most welcome. I do have one ask of my own. Often when I give to a candidate, I then start getting daily solicitations for additional gifts. I find this off-putting, and I believe the Democratic Party has hurt itself more than it has helped itself with its strategy of fundraising bombardment. If there is anything you can do to see that these two important candidates don’t fill up our inboxes, that would be doubly appreciated. Meanwhile, I have made my gift (though I can’t attend).
Thank you for tonight's newsletter, Robert. I especially appreciated your discussion about the Italian election. Rachel Maddow's take on the election starting with the rise of Mussolini and ending with Giorgia Meloni's victory was rather depressing. Your explanation of how Ms. Meloni managed to win this election shed a totally different light on the situation.
I suspect that Sinema’s problem is one of narcissism: She found she loved being the center of attention. Remember her weird smiles when exiting those meetings with Biden. Of course Mitch will eat her alive while she basks in her own mirror. SAD.
I’m a little surprised that you didn’t comment on last weeks MoRon DeSantis’s incredulous comment that “America was first to think slavery was wrong”. In the words of Warden Norton…..”Ron, how can you be so obtuse”.
Obviously DeSantis has never heard of William Wilberforce.
And Ron, what about the US Constitutions 3/5ths clause ( in Article 1 ) which guaranteed that members of the House and Senate would have a majority of slave owners as congressional lawmakers and guaranteed the US Federal Government could not abolish international slave trade till at least 1808 ( and maybe not even then).
And Ron, what about Article 4 which prevented amending the 3/5ths clause and also allowed new territories and states to OWN slaves.
Oh, and Ron, have you read the Dred Scot v Sanford and the Prigg v Pennsylvania SCOTUS cases heard by the infamous Robert Taney.
I’m commenting today because I do not know if I will have power tomorrow. My family, including their two LARGE dogs have evacuated from their Zone A house and come to ours. We are in the “cone of certainty “ but don’t know how badly we will be affected. My thanks to generous Ellie Kona who sent us a battery back up and weather radio yesterday.
I wanted to comment on Italy’s election. With my Italian heritage, I have followed this election with worry. Italians seem to have forgotten the atrocities of Fascist Italy. There is a terrific book “Under the light of the Italian Moon” by Jennifer Anton. The book is written from the perspective of her grandmother, a mid wife in Italy. She describes how, at first, the Italians thought Mussolini would be good for the country. Then reality set in. People were killed and stripped of their dignity. It is historical fiction to some extent, but solidly based on information from her ancestors. I encourage you to read it and get an understanding of how things devolve quickly. It is a real lesson for us here and now.
I feel no sympathy for a whining Manchin (and please, what is he doing on the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee?). As to Sinema: Who isn't aware that she is out for herself? Females can be grifters, too.
When you look at the state of the rest of the world, with a very few exceptions, we need to remind ourselves how lucky those of us living in the US are. We can blow it, or we can save it. It strikes me that our government is flawed but that the media, writ large, is making daily mountains out of mole hills. We need to get back to voting for the best, most honest candidates of either party. We need to stop thinking about the latest political outrage or scandal or anything Trump related. Don't be seduced by political opportunists like MJT, McCarthy, Gaetz and anyone closely associated w Trump. He was and is our Berlusconi and, more than anything, he cares about himself, his ratings, his supposed wealth, and his guests and patrons at Mar-a-Lago. He doesn't care about us.
Todays Edition was significant to me because Robinson is right on the money about Republicans “ performative revenge” mantra. Listen to the comments being made starting with “ when we take over the House and Senate we are going to impeach Biden , eliminate the IRS agents etc, pure revenge a Trump standard operating procedure. A major foundational issue keeping this country from coming together is the overriding almost fanatical Republican manta of “owning the libs”. Revenge is more important than governing and developing meaningful legislation.
Kevin McCarthy a few days ago asked the question “ Are you better off today than you were 2 years ago?” Most Americans are better off because they have a government that is working for them and providing a stable foundation that supports in most part the services and programs that meet the needs of all Americans. What the Democrats have not done effectively is convince the American voters that they are better served and their rights protected with a Democratic government. Voters need to see and feel a comparison between a Democratic approach to government and the revenge politics of Republicans.
The first section of your essay, 13 paragraphs (and yes I am OCD enough to have counted and detail-challenged enough to have counted wrong) kept me shaking my head in confusion. I simply couldn't follow what you were saying. I have become pretty familiar with your writing that, although occasionally a little disorderly due to enthusiasm, is never completely unreadable. So. Mindful of my aging brain, I took a breath and a break, had a cup of tea, and read it again.
Mr. Hubbell, these paragraphs are, indeed, incomprehensible, for one reason only. The situation is completely without any logical sequence of events and ideas and responses that makes even a minimum amount of sense.
This is one of the great and possibly permanent harms these last years have done to the citizenry of our United States. Even those of us accustomed to an often intuitive application of critical thinking skills, are finding more and more often that critical thinking, even sequenltial thinking, is not only not intuitive but has become laborious and sometimes impossible.
Aside from problems of aging, Mr. Hubbell, I am dazzled with confusion by your essay because the circumstances you describe are dazzlingly confusing.
I so appreciate your fine efforts. When we stop trying, we are truly and utterly defeated.
Nothing to add . . . just to appreciate and emphasize some things Robert has said so well today:
"The filibuster is an anti-democratic tool of obscene proportions."
"That mercenary attitude has enforced unyielding party discipline but has also led the GOP over a moral precipice as it mindlessly supports the greatest criminal ever to occupy the presidency."
Since Robert likes TAFM, allow me to announce there is a long analysis of Fratelli d'Italia and the failure of the organized left in Italy to deal with income inequality and deindustrialization (and the same situation in France, Sweden, and most of the rest of Western Europe and the US).
And Fratelli d'Italia is only as "non-fascists" as Meloni wants to say it is. As with everything else on the Right anywhere, look at what they do, don't worry about what they say.
Airheaded bimbo Sinema, a legend in her own mind, doesn't realize Republicans would NEVER reinstate the filibuster for judicial appointments, since that would mean they couldn't keep putting Federalist Society morons like "Lucy" Cannon on the bench - she got R votes only and it wasn't 60.
Sinema's going to get a (metaphorical) baseball bat to the face when Ruben Gallegos takes her on in 2024. Right now she is underwater 20 points in Arizona with Democrats, 18 points with Independents and 12 with Republicans - if she thinks there is a Republican in Arizona who will vote for a bisexual former Green moron ex-Democrat, she's even more delusional than she acts like she is.
In 2025 she can go back to studying winemaking in Sonoma full-time.
Speaking of Arizona and keeping democracy, in case you missed this alarm last night...
The States Project reports:
* Rep. Diego Espinoza won his primary election for the District 22 Senate seat, then withdrew from the race without notifying the party to take a lobbying job. He was running unopposed in the general election, meaning he would have easily won in November. So this seemingly safe seat is now in danger of a flip.
* Rep. Espinoza will be the only candidate on the ballot, but any votes cast for him won't count. We must mount a write-in campaign.
* Voters need to understand not to vote for Espinoza and to write in Dr. Evangeline Diaz instead.
* Dr. Diaz is a former school principal and former chair of her town’s planning and zoning commission. Our partners on the ground in Arizona have aligned behind her for this seat.
* Republicans didn't get anyone on the ballot in this district, so they will also run a write-in candidate.
* Early voting starts in AZ on October 12, so this campaign needs support to start reaching voters immediately.
* Bottom line: What we thought was a safe Democratic seat is now at risk in a chamber where flipping just one seat would shift enough power to end rightwing control and protect Arizona’s electoral votes from being stolen in 2024.
What we can do: Raise an additional $50K for Arizona in the next week.
Here are 2 States Project Giving Circles focused on raising funds specifically for Arizona. Our small donations add up to a powerful force!
https://www.grapevine.org/giving-circle/WXWhrLm/Arizona-Pathfinders
https://www.grapevine.org/giving-circle/adWhPkp/Coast-to-Coast-Giving-Circle
(Remember that Alaskans learned how to spell "Lisa Murkowski" when she was a write-in candidate.)
Please spread this message widely. Thank you for helping!
h/t Adele G.
Unfortunately timing is everything. Here in Florida where my wife and I are barely south of the “cone of probability” regarding the hurricane’s eye, we will likely have some extreme rain and wind gusts because we’re on the strong side of this huge hurricane. But the bigger threat is that this emergency will put our Governor DeSantis (Ugh!) on tv non-stop and give him free campaign time, because he is, after all, the state’s CEO. Meanwhile his opponent, Charlie Crist, former Governor, resigned-to-run Congressman, former State Attorney General and more, can say little and do nothing, without authority to direct efforts. So a storm looming to cause harm and pain will only move votes to an authoritarian who has extreme ambitions to be an extremist President. And if Trump prevails because the courts will decide he had executive privilege and a pass, the precedent will be set, the ground fertile, for the country to become another Fascist State. Once that happens we will have a 20% chance to return to a democracy, according to recent history. No matter your state, donate to Charlie Crist For Governor of Florida. It’s in your own best interest!
Robert, I for one appreciate the fundraising ask for Barnes and Fetterman. It is hard to know where one’s dollars will be most impactful, and getting an ask from someone who is thoughtful, knowledgeable, and trustworthy is most welcome. I do have one ask of my own. Often when I give to a candidate, I then start getting daily solicitations for additional gifts. I find this off-putting, and I believe the Democratic Party has hurt itself more than it has helped itself with its strategy of fundraising bombardment. If there is anything you can do to see that these two important candidates don’t fill up our inboxes, that would be doubly appreciated. Meanwhile, I have made my gift (though I can’t attend).
Thank you for tonight's newsletter, Robert. I especially appreciated your discussion about the Italian election. Rachel Maddow's take on the election starting with the rise of Mussolini and ending with Giorgia Meloni's victory was rather depressing. Your explanation of how Ms. Meloni managed to win this election shed a totally different light on the situation.
I suspect that Sinema’s problem is one of narcissism: She found she loved being the center of attention. Remember her weird smiles when exiting those meetings with Biden. Of course Mitch will eat her alive while she basks in her own mirror. SAD.
Sinema! Tacky, tacky!
Thank you for your fund-raisers. I have supported Fetterman from the beginning, but am no longer able to contribute financially.
I hope all of us can come out of this hurricane alive and well.
Get Out The Vote
I’m a little surprised that you didn’t comment on last weeks MoRon DeSantis’s incredulous comment that “America was first to think slavery was wrong”. In the words of Warden Norton…..”Ron, how can you be so obtuse”.
Obviously DeSantis has never heard of William Wilberforce.
And Ron, what about the US Constitutions 3/5ths clause ( in Article 1 ) which guaranteed that members of the House and Senate would have a majority of slave owners as congressional lawmakers and guaranteed the US Federal Government could not abolish international slave trade till at least 1808 ( and maybe not even then).
And Ron, what about Article 4 which prevented amending the 3/5ths clause and also allowed new territories and states to OWN slaves.
Oh, and Ron, have you read the Dred Scot v Sanford and the Prigg v Pennsylvania SCOTUS cases heard by the infamous Robert Taney.
And there’s lots more.
( I hope my history is correct ).
I’m commenting today because I do not know if I will have power tomorrow. My family, including their two LARGE dogs have evacuated from their Zone A house and come to ours. We are in the “cone of certainty “ but don’t know how badly we will be affected. My thanks to generous Ellie Kona who sent us a battery back up and weather radio yesterday.
I wanted to comment on Italy’s election. With my Italian heritage, I have followed this election with worry. Italians seem to have forgotten the atrocities of Fascist Italy. There is a terrific book “Under the light of the Italian Moon” by Jennifer Anton. The book is written from the perspective of her grandmother, a mid wife in Italy. She describes how, at first, the Italians thought Mussolini would be good for the country. Then reality set in. People were killed and stripped of their dignity. It is historical fiction to some extent, but solidly based on information from her ancestors. I encourage you to read it and get an understanding of how things devolve quickly. It is a real lesson for us here and now.
I feel no sympathy for a whining Manchin (and please, what is he doing on the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee?). As to Sinema: Who isn't aware that she is out for herself? Females can be grifters, too.
When you look at the state of the rest of the world, with a very few exceptions, we need to remind ourselves how lucky those of us living in the US are. We can blow it, or we can save it. It strikes me that our government is flawed but that the media, writ large, is making daily mountains out of mole hills. We need to get back to voting for the best, most honest candidates of either party. We need to stop thinking about the latest political outrage or scandal or anything Trump related. Don't be seduced by political opportunists like MJT, McCarthy, Gaetz and anyone closely associated w Trump. He was and is our Berlusconi and, more than anything, he cares about himself, his ratings, his supposed wealth, and his guests and patrons at Mar-a-Lago. He doesn't care about us.
Todays Edition was significant to me because Robinson is right on the money about Republicans “ performative revenge” mantra. Listen to the comments being made starting with “ when we take over the House and Senate we are going to impeach Biden , eliminate the IRS agents etc, pure revenge a Trump standard operating procedure. A major foundational issue keeping this country from coming together is the overriding almost fanatical Republican manta of “owning the libs”. Revenge is more important than governing and developing meaningful legislation.
Kevin McCarthy a few days ago asked the question “ Are you better off today than you were 2 years ago?” Most Americans are better off because they have a government that is working for them and providing a stable foundation that supports in most part the services and programs that meet the needs of all Americans. What the Democrats have not done effectively is convince the American voters that they are better served and their rights protected with a Democratic government. Voters need to see and feel a comparison between a Democratic approach to government and the revenge politics of Republicans.
The first section of your essay, 13 paragraphs (and yes I am OCD enough to have counted and detail-challenged enough to have counted wrong) kept me shaking my head in confusion. I simply couldn't follow what you were saying. I have become pretty familiar with your writing that, although occasionally a little disorderly due to enthusiasm, is never completely unreadable. So. Mindful of my aging brain, I took a breath and a break, had a cup of tea, and read it again.
Mr. Hubbell, these paragraphs are, indeed, incomprehensible, for one reason only. The situation is completely without any logical sequence of events and ideas and responses that makes even a minimum amount of sense.
This is one of the great and possibly permanent harms these last years have done to the citizenry of our United States. Even those of us accustomed to an often intuitive application of critical thinking skills, are finding more and more often that critical thinking, even sequenltial thinking, is not only not intuitive but has become laborious and sometimes impossible.
Aside from problems of aging, Mr. Hubbell, I am dazzled with confusion by your essay because the circumstances you describe are dazzlingly confusing.
I so appreciate your fine efforts. When we stop trying, we are truly and utterly defeated.
Nothing to add . . . just to appreciate and emphasize some things Robert has said so well today:
"The filibuster is an anti-democratic tool of obscene proportions."
"That mercenary attitude has enforced unyielding party discipline but has also led the GOP over a moral precipice as it mindlessly supports the greatest criminal ever to occupy the presidency."
Fascism's watchwords: God, fatherland, family.
"Performative outrage" from the GOP.
Since Robert likes TAFM, allow me to announce there is a long analysis of Fratelli d'Italia and the failure of the organized left in Italy to deal with income inequality and deindustrialization (and the same situation in France, Sweden, and most of the rest of Western Europe and the US).
And Fratelli d'Italia is only as "non-fascists" as Meloni wants to say it is. As with everything else on the Right anywhere, look at what they do, don't worry about what they say.