Freeing ourselves from “Twitter time.”

December 21, 2021

          [Audio version of newsletter here ]

          The media was filled with pointless stories about the “real” reason that negotiations broke down between the White House and Joe Manchin. Ignore them. Manchin is engaged in damage control to explain why he favored coal over kids. He spent months refusing to identify which provisions of the bill he would support and which he would oppose. Instead, he imposed an arbitrary price tag and told Democrats to make the hard choices themselves so that he could evade responsibility. His surrogates are now floating silly stories about hurt feelings that have no place in discussions about the health and well being of tens of millions of Americans.

          Manchin went to the trouble of releasing an official statement justifying his refusal to support the Build Back Better bill. He cited cost, inflation, and an alleged attempt to reshape society. Manchin’s economic arguments have always been weak (at best) and deceitful (at worst). The day after Manchin cited economic arguments for his ambush of the bill, the investment banking firm of Goldman Sachs downgraded its outlook for the U.S. economy for the next three quarters because of Manchin’s refusal to support Build Back Better.  See Business Insider, “Joe Manchin Cost US $60 Billion by Tanking Build Back Better: Goldman Sachs.”

          There are also unsourced reports that suggest Manchin’s opposition was motivated by unflattering and offensive views of Americans who live in poverty. Unless the sources reveal themselves and go on the record about Manchin’s alleged comments, we should not spread rumors. But Manchin has gone on the record to say that as a condition to elevating children out of poverty, Congress should impose work and education requirements on parents and require parents to “make some effort” before receiving benefits for their children. Such stereotypes have an ugly and damaging history. See CNBC, “Economists say adding a child tax credit work requirement would harm the neediest kids.”

          We should not stew in anger and frustration over Manchin’s political sabotage. Instead, we should channel those feelings into action steps. By doing so, we may change the political outcome; more importantly, we will change our ourselves. Do something this week to re-engage or increase your engagement. For a few suggestions on how to do so, read on!

Action steps you can take this week.

          A reader who is a member of Indivisible Santa Barbara sent a copy of the chapter’s monthly newsletter, Indivisible Santa Barabara Newsletter, December 2021. The newsletter is filled with helpful information and resources. If you are looking to connect with others in your community who are helping to defend democracy, readers of this newsletter have high praise for their Indivisible communities. Check out the Indivisible home page here: Indivisible (“We beat Trump; now let’s save democracy.”)

          The Indivisible Santa Barbara newsletter lists national virtual events that you can join this week to help fight disinformation, register voters, and raise voter awareness. These events (and more) are listed in the Indivisible Santa Barabara newsletter, but I include them below to remove any barrier (i.e., excuse) to checking out these great opportunities:

Report Bad Actors with the Common Cause Disinformation Tip Line
Tuesday, December 21, All Day
 
Social Storming with Field Team 6
Wednesday, December 22, 11:00 am - 12:00 pm
 
Join the Indivisible Truth Brigade
Thursday, December 23, All Day
 
Order a Women's March Foundation Voter Registration Kit
Saturday, December 25, All Day

Writing letters to the editor.

          Yesterday, I suggested writing letters to the editors of newspapers as a way of influencing public opinion for the better. In the Comments section to yesterday’s newsletter, reader Cathy (from Texas) posted a letter she sent to Joe Manchin that she then converted into an op-ed she submitted to WaPo, West Virginia Gazette, and USA Today. You should follow Cathy’s lead! If we overwhelm newspapers with positive messages of support for Biden, our views will provide balance to the negativity that fills the editorial pages today. If a letter you submit is published, please send me a link so I can share with other readers. And thank you, Cathy, for taking a positive step in the face of disappointing news. We should all follow your example!

House Select Committee developments.

          If there is a chance that Trump will be held accountable for the events of January 6th, the odds are increasing that it will be the Special Committee that accomplishes that feat. Per the Guardian, Trump is becoming increasingly agitated and concerned that some of his lieutenants are cooperating or invoking the 5th Amendment, rather than following Steve Bannon’s lead of not showing up. See “Why Trump appears deeply unnerved as Capitol attack investigation closes in | The Guardian”

          In a significant development, the Committee is requesting information from GOP Rep. Scott Perry, who appears to have coordinated the attempted firing of the acting Attorney General (Jeffrey Rosenfeld) and appointment of Jeffrey Clark. See Talking Points Memo, “Jan. 6 Panel Asks Member Of Congress For Info For The First Time.” Clark attempted to use the DOJ to persuade state legislatures to withdraw or replace slates of electors selected by popular vote. The request for information by the Committee suggests that it will look to other members of Congress in its investigation, including Jim Jordan, Lauren Boebert, Andy Biggs, and Paul Gosar. Good. That may dissuade other members of Congress from engaging in conspiracies in the future.

          In a second development, former Texas Governor and Energy Secretary Rick Perry cannot explain why his cell phone was used to text an early version of the coup plot to Mark Meadows. See CNN, “Analysis: Text believed to be from Rick Perry is smoking gun in Mark Meadows' texts.”  Perry’s long political career has been dogged by unkind rumors about his intellect (“Bush without the brains”). Using a Department of Energy cell phone registered to “Secretary of Energy Rick Perry” to text a coup plot seems consistent with a lack of foresight and situational awareness. Perry denies that he sent the text, but he has no explanation about why it came from his cell phone. Perry should either cooperate or invoke the 5th Amendment. Issuing false denials is always a bad idea.

Republican attacks on education continue.

          For a party that hates it when the government tells people what to do, the Republican party is on an autocratic spree that seeks to turn the government into the “thought police.” Florida Governor Ron DeSantis is introducing a bill that will allow parents to sue teachers if they fail to teach that the founding of the United States “was other than the creation of a new nation based largely on universal principles stated in the Declaration of Independence.” See Popular Information, “DeSantis proposes legislation to let parents sue teachers who tell the truth about U.S. history.” The bill is offensively titled, “The Stop WOKE Act.”

          We should expect a parent to sue a Florida teacher who explains that Jefferson’s declaration that “All men are created equal” applied to white men but not women, slaves, or Native Americans.  Given the low pay, daunting workload, and politicization of curriculum, it is not clear why anyone would teach in Florida under threat of lawsuits from parents. Richard DeSantis is a dangerous autocrat. We must remember that fact and tell others.

          A reader reports that Kentucky is advancing bills that would prohibit teaching history in a way that would make children “uncomfortable.” She is a member of All History Matters, which has formed a coalition with other activist groups in Kentucky to stop the proposed legislation. If you live in Kentucky and want to help, check out All History Matters.

Gavin Newsom publishes op-ed defending Texas-style legislation to limit sales of assault rifles.

          California Governor Gavin Newsom has published an op-ed in the Washington Post defending his proposal to use a Texas-style “vigilante” law to restrict sales of assault rifles. See WaPo, “Opinion: The Supreme Court opened the door to legal vigilantism in Texas. California will use the same tool to save lives.” As I have noted before, undermining the authority of the Supreme Court is a bad idea, no matter how noble the cause. I find Newsom’s op-ed unpersuasive. Newsom denounces the Texas law as outrageous, but then says California should follow suit. Any explanation that involves defending “legal vigilantism” collapses of its own weight.

Concluding Thoughts.  

          Biden has accomplished more in the first eleven months of his presidency than Trump accomplished in four years. But because Biden failed to accomplish even more in those eleven months, political commentators are using words like “collapse,” “failure,” and “disaster” to describe Biden’s first year. The inability of political analysts to see beyond the last twenty-four hours is breathtaking. I suspect that their inability to view developments with a modicum of historical perspective is due to the fact that they spend their lives on Twitter, where the news-cycle is measured in the unit of time required to come up with a reply that is both witty and snarky.

          We shouldn’t fall into the trap of measuring time in tweets. Biden is attempting something ambitious. It took President Obama fourteen months to pass the Affordable Care Act with commanding margins in both the House (255-179) and Senate (59-41). If Biden had even two more votes in the Senate, let alone nine, the Build Back Better bill would have passed six months ago. So, declaring “collapse” and “failure” after eleven months reveals much more about the quality of the analyst making that statement than it does about Biden’s accomplishments.

          So, let’s maintain perspective and free ourselves from Twitter time. We are engaged in serious business, and we shouldn’t trivialize it—or allow others to do so—by forcing arbitrary and unrealistic time frames on ambitious projects. Be patient, keep faith, and maintain perspective.

          Talk to you tomorrow!