Looks like Robert and Heather Cox Richardson are both giving us extremely scary letters tonight based on very different aspects of today's news. A double whammy. Sounds like we have six months to get this straightened out in the 2022 election. The keys seem to be independents and getting out the vote. Time to go Code Red White and Blue to Save America for the decent people who are the majority. My first step is reading "Viking Economics" by George Lakey on how the Scandinavians have achieved prosperity and well being for all through equality. They solved the income disparity problem and we must do the same. We have to stop the fissures of income disparity becoming chasms of poverty for most of us. There are answers to this but we have to be creative. As Einstein said "We cannot solve our problems with the same thinking we used when we created them." Time to think outside what's about to box us in. We, the good, decent, innovative People, all of us this time!
Oh, Robert. That is THE quote of our times: " If you want to see the real America, it is not on your television screens but in the faces of your friends, neighbors, and complete strangers who have come together to advance the common good." I'm going to start saying precisely that to many friends, neighbors and complete strangers. Thank you!
May 19, 2022·edited May 19, 2022Liked by Robert B. Hubbell
I appreciate the linked articles more than you can imagine.
A lot of people don't want to admit the far-right has limits to what is can realistically do. This is because they feel that saying "they can't do that" will make people feel too complacent.
I fully understand the threat of people like Mastriano and the Secretary of State candidates. They want to sew division, spread lies and turn a blind eye to violence. 1/6 is an example of this.
But unless the election is extremely razor thin, they can't just magically throw away all the Dem ballots. We have had the 2000 presidential election stolen as well as the 2002 Alabama governor election. Both were super razor thin. They may be able to overturn elections in these scenarios, but even 2020 didn't have steal-able margins. It is still dangerous that they could steal super close elections, and it is indeed a severe threat to democracy.
But if enough people vote against the GOP (their policies will be unpopular even if they do get in), there is only so much the far-right can do. Blue wave years would absolutely still be possible. We will never truly be doomed as long as there are people who believe in Democracy.
And if the GOP tries to openly overturn the popular vote, they will expose themselves by doing something completely unprecedented. This is why several bills that would have allowed legislatures to overrule the popular vote have not passed. They talk big, and are a major threat, but they are paper tigers at heart.
We must prepare for a situation where Dems lose in 2022. We cannot afford to tell people that "all is lost" or "democracy has fallen" or "it will be impossible for Democrats to win, so there's no use voting." This country is far more diverse and larger than Hungary, and there have been several examples in history where the people have the final say. The GOP's policies have nowhere near the support Hungary's Fidez party does in its country. They will not be able to sustain a country under their rules, and the moment they go after more popular things like contraception, gay marriage, social security and medicare, the less likely they will be able to suppress and rig votes. Even this crooked supreme court rejected Trump's election fraud nonsense.
America in the early 1900s was a far-right autocracy with women banned from voting and Jim Crow laws that were so much worse than anything today. If that could be defeated, we can do anything.
I'm not saying "everything is fine and it's not that bad." I'm saying "even if things do get worse, there is still hope." It is more dangerous to suggest "all will be lost and we're all doomed," than to tell people the truth and encourage them to keep fighting.
The GOP is facing a shrinking base of religious, older voters. The younger generations will take over. I felt renewed hope when Cynthia Lummis was booed at Wyoming State University for spewing anti-trans rhetoric. These are the people who are going to save us in the end.
We cannot lose faith no matter what happens. We WILL win, even if it takes decades (I suspect less with the way the GOP is conducting themselves). It is absolutely a scary time, and things will get worse before they get better. But I'm tired of dooming. I intend to make the most of my life and continue to believe in a better future.
As a Jew, I’d like to comment on Christian nationalism. It should always be written as “Christian” nationalism—from where I sit, there is nothing Christian about it. The true Christians I’ve met—some of the best people I’ve known—have very little in common with those who would hijack the faith of Jesus and use it for their personal gratification and empowerment. We should make that clear at every opportunity.
"If you want to see the real America, it is not on your television screens but in the faces of your friends, neighbors, and complete strangers who have come together to advance the common good."
Imagine, if you can, a quiet world, televisions silenced. When I read a sentence like Mr. Hubbell's here, I try to take a minute to be grateful for whatever good instinct urged me, many years ago, to turn off all television news first and, then, gradually, to just stop turning the thing on altogether. The exception is on the weekends when it is essential to watch every available video about every single construction vehicle, and all its parts and functions. I am encouraged to report that there is a seven-year-old who is prepared to rebuild what is being torn down.
I am aware that I am missing a few good shows, but I don't pine for them. The silence here gives me the leisure to listen to the birds and to think without the noise of someone directing me. Words on the page are not television. Words on the page can encourage me to consider. Television blasts my brain with noise that makes the formulation of a single thought very difficult. It makes the path of least resistance attractive.
I believe strongly that President Biden's first words after Charlottesville were wrong and dangerous. What he said, was, "This is not who we. are." As the sun rises over this country's eastern shore, I say, "Yes, it is". Like every other collection of human beings, we are made up of light and darkness. We ignore or deny the darkness at our own peril.
Right now, as this coherent newsletter makes clear, our hope lies in staring this darkness straight in the face and working for the light anyway. Carl Jung calls it our shadow self and is clear that, if we fail to acknowledge and embrace the darkness, it will--not to put too fine a point on it--bite us in the ass.
Actually, I was heartened by this downer of a newsletter. That is because Robert pointed out the illegalities of the PA candidate’s plans. Plus the guy isn’t all that electable. So, between Heather and Robert, we get clear-eyed warnings and information. This is good. Thank you!
Fifty years ago a white man from Utah explained his opposition to abortion to me as such: White people get abortions at a much higher rate than people of color and if abortion is allowed to continue the white race will be overwhelmed. So let us not be ignorant to the fact that the "pro-life' movement has a deep and long lasting stream of white supremacy embedded in it's ranks.
I hear so many Democrats and Never Trumpers complaining about Democratic candidates and language. "He's too far left, she hasn't done anything for me, why do we have to say 'decision' instead of 'choice' now ..." This is what worries me the most — many people still don't seem to understand the threat coming from the right. Conservatives want to dismantle the regulatory state, end abortion, allow unfettered access to guns, suppress the vote and steal elections. If Democrats lose the House, all we'll have is a hellscape of Jim Jordan and investigations into "2020 election fraud!" and "Hunter Biden's laptop!" This will guarantee that people will tune out of politics.
The MAGA playbook, executed so elegantly by the GOP and Tucker Carlson, is Orwell's 1984. Doublespeak is obvious with their self-protective "replacement" mantra that is meant to disguise their efforts to replace everyone who is not white and Evangelical Christian with white, Evangelical Christians. I hope Ben Crum sue's the pants off of Carlson and Fox/Murdoch.
Robert, thank you for calmly identifying the legal issues, the applicable Penn statutes, their application to the issues, and the concluision: Penn voters cannot be disenfranchised period despite the crack in the Liberty Bell.
The Edsall article was incredibly illuminating! But it has perhaps always been this way? I just finished a novel about the Depression and the movement away from the Dust Bowls into California and the animus toward those immigrants who were white and mostly Christian. The religious wars of history. The taking of our country from the Native Americans (though white Christians were the immigrants then). It seems to me that there is always some way that any given person can feel entitled and believe the "other" in inferior.....that African nation that discriminated on the basis of nose size or shape or something like that. Even here in Hawaii where there is no majority race or religion, it's the tourists that are the lesser class to some -- temporary immigrants, if you will. "Born not flown" is a bumper sticker some use to feel superior to those of us who moved here. As you and other say, most Americans are decent and tolerant. But, also as you say, we must assert ourselves because for sure, the forces of dark will assert themselves. Text, write postcards, run for office, work for campaigns, do random acts of kindness -- we need every shoulder to the wheel to overcome that darkness.
That has always been a mystery to me. Fortunately, there have always been Christians like Martin Luther King, Deitrich Bonhoffer, and many others who stayed true to the social justice message.
Looks like Robert and Heather Cox Richardson are both giving us extremely scary letters tonight based on very different aspects of today's news. A double whammy. Sounds like we have six months to get this straightened out in the 2022 election. The keys seem to be independents and getting out the vote. Time to go Code Red White and Blue to Save America for the decent people who are the majority. My first step is reading "Viking Economics" by George Lakey on how the Scandinavians have achieved prosperity and well being for all through equality. They solved the income disparity problem and we must do the same. We have to stop the fissures of income disparity becoming chasms of poverty for most of us. There are answers to this but we have to be creative. As Einstein said "We cannot solve our problems with the same thinking we used when we created them." Time to think outside what's about to box us in. We, the good, decent, innovative People, all of us this time!
Oh, Robert. That is THE quote of our times: " If you want to see the real America, it is not on your television screens but in the faces of your friends, neighbors, and complete strangers who have come together to advance the common good." I'm going to start saying precisely that to many friends, neighbors and complete strangers. Thank you!
It is what it is.
Let's call it by its proper name.
DEMOCRACY
vs. FASCISM
That is what this election is about.
We cannot beat around the bush.
Biden and the Dems need to win by stating the above over and over and over and over from now till Nov.
I appreciate the linked articles more than you can imagine.
A lot of people don't want to admit the far-right has limits to what is can realistically do. This is because they feel that saying "they can't do that" will make people feel too complacent.
I fully understand the threat of people like Mastriano and the Secretary of State candidates. They want to sew division, spread lies and turn a blind eye to violence. 1/6 is an example of this.
But unless the election is extremely razor thin, they can't just magically throw away all the Dem ballots. We have had the 2000 presidential election stolen as well as the 2002 Alabama governor election. Both were super razor thin. They may be able to overturn elections in these scenarios, but even 2020 didn't have steal-able margins. It is still dangerous that they could steal super close elections, and it is indeed a severe threat to democracy.
But if enough people vote against the GOP (their policies will be unpopular even if they do get in), there is only so much the far-right can do. Blue wave years would absolutely still be possible. We will never truly be doomed as long as there are people who believe in Democracy.
And if the GOP tries to openly overturn the popular vote, they will expose themselves by doing something completely unprecedented. This is why several bills that would have allowed legislatures to overrule the popular vote have not passed. They talk big, and are a major threat, but they are paper tigers at heart.
We must prepare for a situation where Dems lose in 2022. We cannot afford to tell people that "all is lost" or "democracy has fallen" or "it will be impossible for Democrats to win, so there's no use voting." This country is far more diverse and larger than Hungary, and there have been several examples in history where the people have the final say. The GOP's policies have nowhere near the support Hungary's Fidez party does in its country. They will not be able to sustain a country under their rules, and the moment they go after more popular things like contraception, gay marriage, social security and medicare, the less likely they will be able to suppress and rig votes. Even this crooked supreme court rejected Trump's election fraud nonsense.
America in the early 1900s was a far-right autocracy with women banned from voting and Jim Crow laws that were so much worse than anything today. If that could be defeated, we can do anything.
I'm not saying "everything is fine and it's not that bad." I'm saying "even if things do get worse, there is still hope." It is more dangerous to suggest "all will be lost and we're all doomed," than to tell people the truth and encourage them to keep fighting.
The GOP is facing a shrinking base of religious, older voters. The younger generations will take over. I felt renewed hope when Cynthia Lummis was booed at Wyoming State University for spewing anti-trans rhetoric. These are the people who are going to save us in the end.
We cannot lose faith no matter what happens. We WILL win, even if it takes decades (I suspect less with the way the GOP is conducting themselves). It is absolutely a scary time, and things will get worse before they get better. But I'm tired of dooming. I intend to make the most of my life and continue to believe in a better future.
As a Jew, I’d like to comment on Christian nationalism. It should always be written as “Christian” nationalism—from where I sit, there is nothing Christian about it. The true Christians I’ve met—some of the best people I’ve known—have very little in common with those who would hijack the faith of Jesus and use it for their personal gratification and empowerment. We should make that clear at every opportunity.
"If you want to see the real America, it is not on your television screens but in the faces of your friends, neighbors, and complete strangers who have come together to advance the common good."
Imagine, if you can, a quiet world, televisions silenced. When I read a sentence like Mr. Hubbell's here, I try to take a minute to be grateful for whatever good instinct urged me, many years ago, to turn off all television news first and, then, gradually, to just stop turning the thing on altogether. The exception is on the weekends when it is essential to watch every available video about every single construction vehicle, and all its parts and functions. I am encouraged to report that there is a seven-year-old who is prepared to rebuild what is being torn down.
I am aware that I am missing a few good shows, but I don't pine for them. The silence here gives me the leisure to listen to the birds and to think without the noise of someone directing me. Words on the page are not television. Words on the page can encourage me to consider. Television blasts my brain with noise that makes the formulation of a single thought very difficult. It makes the path of least resistance attractive.
I believe strongly that President Biden's first words after Charlottesville were wrong and dangerous. What he said, was, "This is not who we. are." As the sun rises over this country's eastern shore, I say, "Yes, it is". Like every other collection of human beings, we are made up of light and darkness. We ignore or deny the darkness at our own peril.
Right now, as this coherent newsletter makes clear, our hope lies in staring this darkness straight in the face and working for the light anyway. Carl Jung calls it our shadow self and is clear that, if we fail to acknowledge and embrace the darkness, it will--not to put too fine a point on it--bite us in the ass.
And here we are. Voters, Vote!!!
Greetings to all from Norfolk, VA USA
Reality is not on TV. In fact, reality TV shows give Reality a bad name.
The Atlantic has run a few good articles about what's going on in the evangelical church, which has been preaching far-right politics from the pulpit. One interesting read: https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2022/06/evangelical-church-pastors-political-radicalization/629631/
Actually, I was heartened by this downer of a newsletter. That is because Robert pointed out the illegalities of the PA candidate’s plans. Plus the guy isn’t all that electable. So, between Heather and Robert, we get clear-eyed warnings and information. This is good. Thank you!
Fifty years ago a white man from Utah explained his opposition to abortion to me as such: White people get abortions at a much higher rate than people of color and if abortion is allowed to continue the white race will be overwhelmed. So let us not be ignorant to the fact that the "pro-life' movement has a deep and long lasting stream of white supremacy embedded in it's ranks.
I hear so many Democrats and Never Trumpers complaining about Democratic candidates and language. "He's too far left, she hasn't done anything for me, why do we have to say 'decision' instead of 'choice' now ..." This is what worries me the most — many people still don't seem to understand the threat coming from the right. Conservatives want to dismantle the regulatory state, end abortion, allow unfettered access to guns, suppress the vote and steal elections. If Democrats lose the House, all we'll have is a hellscape of Jim Jordan and investigations into "2020 election fraud!" and "Hunter Biden's laptop!" This will guarantee that people will tune out of politics.
The MAGA playbook, executed so elegantly by the GOP and Tucker Carlson, is Orwell's 1984. Doublespeak is obvious with their self-protective "replacement" mantra that is meant to disguise their efforts to replace everyone who is not white and Evangelical Christian with white, Evangelical Christians. I hope Ben Crum sue's the pants off of Carlson and Fox/Murdoch.
Robert, thank you for calmly identifying the legal issues, the applicable Penn statutes, their application to the issues, and the concluision: Penn voters cannot be disenfranchised period despite the crack in the Liberty Bell.
Wonderful as always.
The Edsall article was incredibly illuminating! But it has perhaps always been this way? I just finished a novel about the Depression and the movement away from the Dust Bowls into California and the animus toward those immigrants who were white and mostly Christian. The religious wars of history. The taking of our country from the Native Americans (though white Christians were the immigrants then). It seems to me that there is always some way that any given person can feel entitled and believe the "other" in inferior.....that African nation that discriminated on the basis of nose size or shape or something like that. Even here in Hawaii where there is no majority race or religion, it's the tourists that are the lesser class to some -- temporary immigrants, if you will. "Born not flown" is a bumper sticker some use to feel superior to those of us who moved here. As you and other say, most Americans are decent and tolerant. But, also as you say, we must assert ourselves because for sure, the forces of dark will assert themselves. Text, write postcards, run for office, work for campaigns, do random acts of kindness -- we need every shoulder to the wheel to overcome that darkness.
That has always been a mystery to me. Fortunately, there have always been Christians like Martin Luther King, Deitrich Bonhoffer, and many others who stayed true to the social justice message.