I went to the Alaska fundraiser that Robert moderated Tuesday evening on Zoom. My sister-in-law was watching with me and remarked after that she had no idea how important it is to start really early, but was now convinced by the presentation which included work that had been done in Colorado and New Hampshire over a period of years to turn important seats blue. The match is still available....so any size donation really helps since it is doubled! https://secure.actblue.com/donate/sc907?refcode=match
Loved your slides Robert! The whole presentation was excellent!
Grateful for the calm analysis with a dose of reassurance and optimism. I wanted to let readers know that Markers For Democracy, Downtown Nasty Women, and Team Min have two great guests tomorrow morning. At 10 am ET, we are hosting Ken Grossinger, whose recent book, ART WORKS: How Organizers and Artists are Creating a Better World Together, was published by the New Press in July 2023. https://thenewpress.com/books/art-works I heard Ken speak on a webinar with Rakim Brooks of Alliance for Justice and he was insightful and inspiring. https://www.mobilize.us/dashboard/markersfordemocracy/event/575417/ At 11 am ET, we hosting Zev Shapiro, the Harvard senior who founded TurnUp, a 501(c)(3) non-profit that has become the nation's largest youth-led voter registration and turnout initiative. https://www.turnup.us/about-ushttps://www.mobilize.us/markersfordemocracy/event/575745/ We'll be writing postcards during the Zoom as we always do but you don't need to write postcards to join us. All are welcome!
Applaud the goal of registering young voters. Joined/donated to TurnUP recently but haven’t heard Zev Shapiro before. Thank you for publicizing Friday morning event.
We have had a series of bright, young TurnUp interns from around the country on our Zooms this summer and then someone who hadn't been to our Zooms but knew Zev reached out and said "would you like to host the founder of TurnUp?" I said "Yes! They have the best interns!"
Yes, readers should like and restack every day, post on social media and share with friends. I tell every Democrat I know that Todays Edition is a must read!
Go to the bottom of the email and you’ll see a heart. Click on that and you’ve “liked” it. To the left of Comment. Then to the right there is a symbol that means “restack.” Just click on that and can share it. If you are on social media you can copy the link to the email/substack and share it so your friends will see it
Time and time again I get overwrought with the state of our politics and a world on fire. Robert constantly reminds us to "follow the North Star, " meaning keep our cool and persevere.
You wrote about the mifepristone ruling. Heather Cox Richardson also wrote about mifepristone today. I was gobsmacked at the rationale of a conservative Judge Ho and encourage all to read Richardson’s column. The argument is that abortion should not be allowed because it intrudes on the joy of a doctor who likes to deliver babies and support families. Judge Ho offers other examples. What struck me was that someone has a right to control others’ behavior merely because the controller should not be robbed of something he/she enjoys. What’s the legal basis for that?
It's bad faith arguing all the way down... Doctors aren't forced to be OBGYN's or support women going through abortions, the 5th circuit wants to ban abortion and always has. People like that want to live in a world where everyone is forced to their viewpoints and their feelings trump reality. They don't really care about doctors or protecting patients.
YES! When I read the part about "Judge" Ho, I was utterly gobsmacked. How astoundingly selfish and ..... well, words fail me. And, right, what legal basis? If it gave him great joy to be a serial killer, would that make it ok for him to kill?
Aug 17, 2023·edited Aug 17, 2023Liked by Robert B. Hubbell
The question concerning the mifepristone case is how far will the conservative Supreme Court justices go in their effort to undo a woman's right to choose as well as undermine interstate commerce and the authority of FDA and other executive branches of government given that we are only 16 months from a presidential election. If they deny the forthcoming appeal or hear arguments and support the Fifth Circuit's ruling, it will be a pyrrhic victory - Republicans will face an even angrier electorate at the polls. Eventually, the Court will be reformed and/or legislation and/or Constitutional Amendment passed that supports a woman's right to choose.
Ho was one of Trump’s first appointees. He is a complete tool. Stood before him in a challenge to Campus Carry that went to the Fifth Circuit. His predisposed biases and ideological rigidity are crystal clear.
I am so grateful that Fani Williams is who she is, where she is, at this point in time. The attacks on the election system and those working it in Fulton County were targeted racism which got very personal, very fast, with lasting harmful affects for many. I sincerely hope that none of the cases are allowed to move to the Federal court. They should stay were they are....where the crimes were the most deeply felt. That's Justice.
I have to admit that I was sucked in by the AP/NORC poll headline yesterday that said only 54% of voters wouldn't vote for TFG. With the deluge of news lately and the repetitive incessant chatter among talking heads speculating about things, the first impression of a misleading headline is hard to dispel. We have to resist being sucked in by clickbait headlines.
That being said, it's still mind-boggling that tens of millions of supposedly sentient and intelligent voters think that TFG's actions are just fine, and that he should be given the keys to the White House again.
It's pretty likely that TFG will be convicted of something significant, but not as certain that he'll serve time in prison. Maybe when he's convicted, instead of an ankle bracelet, he can be fitted with a nice collar, and a PetSafe invisible fence can be installed around the White House.
I hope you mean a PetSafe invisible fence around Mar-a-Lago, not the White House. Unless it's to keep him out. We have to make sure he never enters again.
Aug 17, 2023·edited Aug 17, 2023Liked by Robert B. Hubbell
Fani Willis is going to nail Trump. And he so deserves it.
If you have the time and even if you don't, it's well worth it to spend an hour with Mary Trump and her cohorts as they discuss her uncle's predicament. They're smart and funny!
I have to admit that I'm uncomfortable with the identification of Fani Willis as "the black woman." Can we call her the District Attorney of Fulton County?
As I was reading Today’s Edition and drinking my coffee I felt like Robert provided a tutorial on the various indictments and court cases and provided all of us with in-depth knowledge and an understanding of the nuisances of the law. The challenge seems to be that the average voter is not exposed to this quality of information and insight and unfortunately relies on the cherry picked media interpretation and explanations. Joyce Vance mage an interesting comment today when she said that the George Floyd televised trial brought home to many viewers the reality of what happened to him and the how the police behaved. The Georgia RICO trial being televised will change some voters opinions and I hope the indictments are not transferred to a Federal Court. I also hope that if Trump decides to surrender during the Republican debates the media does not give him the wall to wall coverage he is looking for.
That is exactly what I think. Many people are focused on their families - feeding them, clothing them, keeping them cool now, and many other things that affect them on a daily basis. If this trial is televised, I hope that enough of those people will watch, as they did the January 6th hearings which I think began the process of reflection on Trump's behavior. Millions of people watched those hearings.
I also hope that the mainstream media does not do what they did before the 2016 election, which was to give Trump's campaign so much oxygen that we were fed all of his lies on a daily basis. I had to stop watching the News because I couldn't stomach what I was hearing and seeing!
Polling, let me ask you about polling. I started my political activism in 1972, working for George McGovern. In all the years since, I have only been contacted by a Political Pollster once, and when I identified as a Democrat, they hung up.
The point is, after 71 years, there is no other poll that has ever contacted me? Where do the dredge up the "samples" that are designed to produce predicted results? Polling is an inexact and fraudulent science fit only for click bait.
Excellent question. Some polls are "online." Respondents seek out the poll. (The opportunity for manipulation is manifest.) Others are run by partisan groups with stable sets of respondents. (Same comment re manipulation.) Almost no one answers their landline anymore (or cell phones). Getting high quality polling data is really hard and is subject to manipulation.
Read HCR's post that included the opinion issued by Judge Ho on the 5th Circuit ruling; it's infuriating!!! That a Judge would rhapsodize on the pleasure and expectations of the doctor over the needs and wishes of his women patients, and then compare that to viewing animals sent my anger into the stratosphere!
Aug 17, 2023·edited Aug 17, 2023Liked by Robert B. Hubbell
"If we can beat Trump a second time (and we have every reason to believe we can), we will be done with him." Hmmm, yes, he will be beaten, and I predict it will be by 10 million votes or more, and hopefully a landslide in the damnable Electoral College. But, we know what the "screaming baby" will do the morning after (or more likely, night of) the election..."I won and Democrats cheated...fraud...fake news...blah, blah, blah." The real key is whether his "boy who cried wolf" nonsense will finally be recognized for what it is. While we certainly won't get the MAGA-head diehards to accept reality, will that number shrink? Will an incontrovertible majority of Republicans acknowledge TRUTH and REALITY?
I am confident that President Biden will be reelected, that we will take back the House, and we will be able to have a final four years of the Biden presidency that is as productive as his first two years were. But, at best, I can only "HOPE" that after he is soundly defeated AGAIN that "we will be done with him."
Sage advice to keep calm and carry on, Robert! Hard though it is when reading about the Republicans and their fight against equality, women, and truth. Thanks for your newsletters and advice!
Lack of standing does not seem to be an impediment to the Supreme Court taking a case and deciding an issue, as we saw in the web design case of June 2023. The facts in that case were purely hypothetical as in the mifepristone case.
There will always be a core of far right Republicans who believe Trump did nothing wrong, but there is a very discrete segment of Republicans who believe what did was illegal. There is a “delta” percentage of Republicans (about 15-20%) who are now being challenged in the wake of the Georgia and J6 indictments to shed their partisan mind and to vote for the democratic nominee despite their past staunch political affiliation with a party that has totally lost its integrity and identity.
Historian Jon Meacham addressed this delta of Republican voters on MSNBC several days ago in the wake of the Georgia indictments being unsealed. While not wanting to sound like an alarmist, Meacham said that the preservation of American democracy might very well depend upon this bloc of voters shedding their predisposition to pull the Republican lever in the voting booth and instead vote with their conscience against a man who tried to steal an election.
It all depends on whether they will change the way they vote when it comes down to it. In Nov 2024, are they still going to select party over country? Are they going to believe in conspiracy theories and fear, or are they going to want stability and vote to defend democracy. Polls are indicators but don't mean much to me, because there are a lot of people that definitely think Trump broke the law but when the rubber meets the road they'll still vote for him. Similar to 2020.
Don’t forget Independents. Too much commentary focuses exclusively on Democrats and Republicans, ignoring the fact that Independents are approximately as numerous as either. The coming election(s) may be decided by Independents.
This attempt by DirtBag and the GOP to have his longevity indexed to public opinion needs to be much more forcefully beaten back by Democrats everywhere. First of all there is ample evidence that this man is not suitable for the Presidency--by even the loosest of standards. Moreover the voting public is entitled to know through judicial processes if the man is judged to have committed crimes that disqualify him in the public's eye for the job. Therefore, we need speedy trials so the voters have all the information they need to make a sensible decision in the 2024 Federal election. They can and will make an important decision in November 2024, but to suggest that they do not need the information provided by these court proceedings is nonsensical and must be pointed out continuously as such by those of us who have not drunk the Kool-Aid.
RE: “No news is good news.” Maybe it’s because we’re past the age of craving circuses, but my wife and I have decided that when there’s not a lot in the news about an elected official, he/she is probably doing a good job. Re the lack of media credit for Biden’s accomplishments, sadly, frustration w the media—like the poor—will always be with us. We just need to get over it.
Today’s column notes that Democrats have a tough time getting their stories headline-worthy coverage. Agreed, our #1 “story” is the overwhelming success of Biden’s programs. Agreed, too, that many journalists do not credit Biden’s successful initiatives. Inflation Reduction Act, and many more, while the opposition tear them down, simultaneously taking credit in their home districts.
Time for us to tell a new story. (Barbie’s new story is selling overwhelmingly!). My network and I, coast to coast, discuss our fear that the November, 2024 election, 14 months away, can be titled and sold as “Democracy or Trump,” not a scare tactic, for Trump has shown us how he would rule.
Time to tell a new story, authored by those who understand what that means, understand because they have lived this option, this alternative “style’ of governing. Time for a nationwide movement by those who have lived under autocratic regimes. Those who came to the United States, fleeing dictators and the chilling playbook from which they rule, the playbook from which Trump has demonstrated he would act.
An AP story recently covered people who lived during Hitler’s Holocaust, noting: “ 240,000 survivors are still alive, living in Europe, Israel, the U.S. and elsewhere.” The moral philosophy emanating from that period is “Never Again.” Never again victimization, massacres, genocide. Headline in an NPR article by Scott Simon, speaks of “The Failed promise of Never Again,” the final sentence: ”Whether in Bosnia, Rwanda, Xinjiang, Bucha, Kharkiv or Mariupol, Never Again" seems to happen again and again.”
Today’s list of dictators includes Maduro, Duterte, Lukashenko, Mugabe, Erdogan, Bashar al-Assad, Omar al-Bashir and Trump’s buddy, Putin. Other nations are today positioned to increase that list.
White House leadership will find the right persons to lead the movement, identify the people, and design the strategic outreach. Our way of life is often referred to as “an experiment.” If we do not in fourteen months confirm our devotion to the experiment, it could become a hopeless attempt, a failed experiment. Let us hear from those who chose democracy, fleeing autocracy, tell their tales...on TV, in newspapers, on social media. They, at one time, as most Americans do now, thought “it” couldn’t happen, then lived the reality that it could and did.
I went to the Alaska fundraiser that Robert moderated Tuesday evening on Zoom. My sister-in-law was watching with me and remarked after that she had no idea how important it is to start really early, but was now convinced by the presentation which included work that had been done in Colorado and New Hampshire over a period of years to turn important seats blue. The match is still available....so any size donation really helps since it is doubled! https://secure.actblue.com/donate/sc907?refcode=match
Loved your slides Robert! The whole presentation was excellent!
Thanks for joining the call. Pinning your note to the top!
Grateful for the calm analysis with a dose of reassurance and optimism. I wanted to let readers know that Markers For Democracy, Downtown Nasty Women, and Team Min have two great guests tomorrow morning. At 10 am ET, we are hosting Ken Grossinger, whose recent book, ART WORKS: How Organizers and Artists are Creating a Better World Together, was published by the New Press in July 2023. https://thenewpress.com/books/art-works I heard Ken speak on a webinar with Rakim Brooks of Alliance for Justice and he was insightful and inspiring. https://www.mobilize.us/dashboard/markersfordemocracy/event/575417/ At 11 am ET, we hosting Zev Shapiro, the Harvard senior who founded TurnUp, a 501(c)(3) non-profit that has become the nation's largest youth-led voter registration and turnout initiative. https://www.turnup.us/about-us https://www.mobilize.us/markersfordemocracy/event/575745/ We'll be writing postcards during the Zoom as we always do but you don't need to write postcards to join us. All are welcome!
Pinning to the top and will promote tonight. Okay?
Applaud the goal of registering young voters. Joined/donated to TurnUP recently but haven’t heard Zev Shapiro before. Thank you for publicizing Friday morning event.
We have had a series of bright, young TurnUp interns from around the country on our Zooms this summer and then someone who hadn't been to our Zooms but knew Zev reached out and said "would you like to host the founder of TurnUp?" I said "Yes! They have the best interns!"
I wish every Democrat in the land could read your daily advice. So inspiring and encouraging, to me at the least.
Yes indeed, I agree, and not just Democrats.
We just need to keep spreading the word!
Yes, readers should like and restack every day, post on social media and share with friends. I tell every Democrat I know that Todays Edition is a must read!
What does "restack" mean, and how do I do it? I am very much out of my depth on Substack.
Go to the bottom of the email and you’ll see a heart. Click on that and you’ve “liked” it. To the left of Comment. Then to the right there is a symbol that means “restack.” Just click on that and can share it. If you are on social media you can copy the link to the email/substack and share it so your friends will see it
I gave it a try, thanks. Hopefully it worked.
Time and time again I get overwrought with the state of our politics and a world on fire. Robert constantly reminds us to "follow the North Star, " meaning keep our cool and persevere.
Exactly!! And all the editors and journalists. What are they thinking?!!!
You wrote about the mifepristone ruling. Heather Cox Richardson also wrote about mifepristone today. I was gobsmacked at the rationale of a conservative Judge Ho and encourage all to read Richardson’s column. The argument is that abortion should not be allowed because it intrudes on the joy of a doctor who likes to deliver babies and support families. Judge Ho offers other examples. What struck me was that someone has a right to control others’ behavior merely because the controller should not be robbed of something he/she enjoys. What’s the legal basis for that?
https://open.substack.com/pub/heathercoxrichardson/p/august-16-2023?utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web
It's bad faith arguing all the way down... Doctors aren't forced to be OBGYN's or support women going through abortions, the 5th circuit wants to ban abortion and always has. People like that want to live in a world where everyone is forced to their viewpoints and their feelings trump reality. They don't really care about doctors or protecting patients.
I did read this. It’s well worth reading for those who haven’t. Ho’s reasoning is beyond absurd and screams misogyny.
Ho was sworn in by accused sexual harasser Clarence Thomas in Harlan Crow’s library. That says it all.
YES! When I read the part about "Judge" Ho, I was utterly gobsmacked. How astoundingly selfish and ..... well, words fail me. And, right, what legal basis? If it gave him great joy to be a serial killer, would that make it ok for him to kill?
The question concerning the mifepristone case is how far will the conservative Supreme Court justices go in their effort to undo a woman's right to choose as well as undermine interstate commerce and the authority of FDA and other executive branches of government given that we are only 16 months from a presidential election. If they deny the forthcoming appeal or hear arguments and support the Fifth Circuit's ruling, it will be a pyrrhic victory - Republicans will face an even angrier electorate at the polls. Eventually, the Court will be reformed and/or legislation and/or Constitutional Amendment passed that supports a woman's right to choose.
Exactly. They don't know when to quit.
Doctors are supposed to serve their patients first and foremost. Judge Ho should resign. As PhillyT says, directly below...
Ho was one of Trump’s first appointees. He is a complete tool. Stood before him in a challenge to Campus Carry that went to the Fifth Circuit. His predisposed biases and ideological rigidity are crystal clear.
I am so grateful that Fani Williams is who she is, where she is, at this point in time. The attacks on the election system and those working it in Fulton County were targeted racism which got very personal, very fast, with lasting harmful affects for many. I sincerely hope that none of the cases are allowed to move to the Federal court. They should stay were they are....where the crimes were the most deeply felt. That's Justice.
I think autocorrect made a mistake. "Williams" should be "Willis"
I have to admit that I was sucked in by the AP/NORC poll headline yesterday that said only 54% of voters wouldn't vote for TFG. With the deluge of news lately and the repetitive incessant chatter among talking heads speculating about things, the first impression of a misleading headline is hard to dispel. We have to resist being sucked in by clickbait headlines.
That being said, it's still mind-boggling that tens of millions of supposedly sentient and intelligent voters think that TFG's actions are just fine, and that he should be given the keys to the White House again.
It's pretty likely that TFG will be convicted of something significant, but not as certain that he'll serve time in prison. Maybe when he's convicted, instead of an ankle bracelet, he can be fitted with a nice collar, and a PetSafe invisible fence can be installed around the White House.
I hope you mean a PetSafe invisible fence around Mar-a-Lago, not the White House. Unless it's to keep him out. We have to make sure he never enters again.
Didn’t you all *really* mean an invisible fence around his Twitter and “Truth” Social accounts?
Fani Willis is going to nail Trump. And he so deserves it.
If you have the time and even if you don't, it's well worth it to spend an hour with Mary Trump and her cohorts as they discuss her uncle's predicament. They're smart and funny!
https://marytrump.substack.com/p/the-start-of-a-new-era
And thank you Robert for the opportunity to donate to a good cause--907--and another great Today's.
I have to admit that I'm uncomfortable with the identification of Fani Willis as "the black woman." Can we call her the District Attorney of Fulton County?
That would certainly lead to another kind of shocking behavior on his part.
I love the visual! 😂
As I was reading Today’s Edition and drinking my coffee I felt like Robert provided a tutorial on the various indictments and court cases and provided all of us with in-depth knowledge and an understanding of the nuisances of the law. The challenge seems to be that the average voter is not exposed to this quality of information and insight and unfortunately relies on the cherry picked media interpretation and explanations. Joyce Vance mage an interesting comment today when she said that the George Floyd televised trial brought home to many viewers the reality of what happened to him and the how the police behaved. The Georgia RICO trial being televised will change some voters opinions and I hope the indictments are not transferred to a Federal Court. I also hope that if Trump decides to surrender during the Republican debates the media does not give him the wall to wall coverage he is looking for.
That is exactly what I think. Many people are focused on their families - feeding them, clothing them, keeping them cool now, and many other things that affect them on a daily basis. If this trial is televised, I hope that enough of those people will watch, as they did the January 6th hearings which I think began the process of reflection on Trump's behavior. Millions of people watched those hearings.
I also hope that the mainstream media does not do what they did before the 2016 election, which was to give Trump's campaign so much oxygen that we were fed all of his lies on a daily basis. I had to stop watching the News because I couldn't stomach what I was hearing and seeing!
Polling, let me ask you about polling. I started my political activism in 1972, working for George McGovern. In all the years since, I have only been contacted by a Political Pollster once, and when I identified as a Democrat, they hung up.
The point is, after 71 years, there is no other poll that has ever contacted me? Where do the dredge up the "samples" that are designed to produce predicted results? Polling is an inexact and fraudulent science fit only for click bait.
Excellent question. Some polls are "online." Respondents seek out the poll. (The opportunity for manipulation is manifest.) Others are run by partisan groups with stable sets of respondents. (Same comment re manipulation.) Almost no one answers their landline anymore (or cell phones). Getting high quality polling data is really hard and is subject to manipulation.
Read HCR's post that included the opinion issued by Judge Ho on the 5th Circuit ruling; it's infuriating!!! That a Judge would rhapsodize on the pleasure and expectations of the doctor over the needs and wishes of his women patients, and then compare that to viewing animals sent my anger into the stratosphere!
"If we can beat Trump a second time (and we have every reason to believe we can), we will be done with him." Hmmm, yes, he will be beaten, and I predict it will be by 10 million votes or more, and hopefully a landslide in the damnable Electoral College. But, we know what the "screaming baby" will do the morning after (or more likely, night of) the election..."I won and Democrats cheated...fraud...fake news...blah, blah, blah." The real key is whether his "boy who cried wolf" nonsense will finally be recognized for what it is. While we certainly won't get the MAGA-head diehards to accept reality, will that number shrink? Will an incontrovertible majority of Republicans acknowledge TRUTH and REALITY?
I am confident that President Biden will be reelected, that we will take back the House, and we will be able to have a final four years of the Biden presidency that is as productive as his first two years were. But, at best, I can only "HOPE" that after he is soundly defeated AGAIN that "we will be done with him."
Sage advice to keep calm and carry on, Robert! Hard though it is when reading about the Republicans and their fight against equality, women, and truth. Thanks for your newsletters and advice!
Lack of standing does not seem to be an impediment to the Supreme Court taking a case and deciding an issue, as we saw in the web design case of June 2023. The facts in that case were purely hypothetical as in the mifepristone case.
Good point!
There will always be a core of far right Republicans who believe Trump did nothing wrong, but there is a very discrete segment of Republicans who believe what did was illegal. There is a “delta” percentage of Republicans (about 15-20%) who are now being challenged in the wake of the Georgia and J6 indictments to shed their partisan mind and to vote for the democratic nominee despite their past staunch political affiliation with a party that has totally lost its integrity and identity.
Historian Jon Meacham addressed this delta of Republican voters on MSNBC several days ago in the wake of the Georgia indictments being unsealed. While not wanting to sound like an alarmist, Meacham said that the preservation of American democracy might very well depend upon this bloc of voters shedding their predisposition to pull the Republican lever in the voting booth and instead vote with their conscience against a man who tried to steal an election.
Hi, David. Excellent points. I would add that an extra 5 million voters can minimize the outsized effect of the swing voters.
It all depends on whether they will change the way they vote when it comes down to it. In Nov 2024, are they still going to select party over country? Are they going to believe in conspiracy theories and fear, or are they going to want stability and vote to defend democracy. Polls are indicators but don't mean much to me, because there are a lot of people that definitely think Trump broke the law but when the rubber meets the road they'll still vote for him. Similar to 2020.
Don’t forget Independents. Too much commentary focuses exclusively on Democrats and Republicans, ignoring the fact that Independents are approximately as numerous as either. The coming election(s) may be decided by Independents.
Michael, I would agree! Getting out the vote in voting sectors will be crucial.
This attempt by DirtBag and the GOP to have his longevity indexed to public opinion needs to be much more forcefully beaten back by Democrats everywhere. First of all there is ample evidence that this man is not suitable for the Presidency--by even the loosest of standards. Moreover the voting public is entitled to know through judicial processes if the man is judged to have committed crimes that disqualify him in the public's eye for the job. Therefore, we need speedy trials so the voters have all the information they need to make a sensible decision in the 2024 Federal election. They can and will make an important decision in November 2024, but to suggest that they do not need the information provided by these court proceedings is nonsensical and must be pointed out continuously as such by those of us who have not drunk the Kool-Aid.
Yep!!
RE: “No news is good news.” Maybe it’s because we’re past the age of craving circuses, but my wife and I have decided that when there’s not a lot in the news about an elected official, he/she is probably doing a good job. Re the lack of media credit for Biden’s accomplishments, sadly, frustration w the media—like the poor—will always be with us. We just need to get over it.
Stories sell.
Today’s column notes that Democrats have a tough time getting their stories headline-worthy coverage. Agreed, our #1 “story” is the overwhelming success of Biden’s programs. Agreed, too, that many journalists do not credit Biden’s successful initiatives. Inflation Reduction Act, and many more, while the opposition tear them down, simultaneously taking credit in their home districts.
Time for us to tell a new story. (Barbie’s new story is selling overwhelmingly!). My network and I, coast to coast, discuss our fear that the November, 2024 election, 14 months away, can be titled and sold as “Democracy or Trump,” not a scare tactic, for Trump has shown us how he would rule.
Time to tell a new story, authored by those who understand what that means, understand because they have lived this option, this alternative “style’ of governing. Time for a nationwide movement by those who have lived under autocratic regimes. Those who came to the United States, fleeing dictators and the chilling playbook from which they rule, the playbook from which Trump has demonstrated he would act.
An AP story recently covered people who lived during Hitler’s Holocaust, noting: “ 240,000 survivors are still alive, living in Europe, Israel, the U.S. and elsewhere.” The moral philosophy emanating from that period is “Never Again.” Never again victimization, massacres, genocide. Headline in an NPR article by Scott Simon, speaks of “The Failed promise of Never Again,” the final sentence: ”Whether in Bosnia, Rwanda, Xinjiang, Bucha, Kharkiv or Mariupol, Never Again" seems to happen again and again.”
Today’s list of dictators includes Maduro, Duterte, Lukashenko, Mugabe, Erdogan, Bashar al-Assad, Omar al-Bashir and Trump’s buddy, Putin. Other nations are today positioned to increase that list.
White House leadership will find the right persons to lead the movement, identify the people, and design the strategic outreach. Our way of life is often referred to as “an experiment.” If we do not in fourteen months confirm our devotion to the experiment, it could become a hopeless attempt, a failed experiment. Let us hear from those who chose democracy, fleeing autocracy, tell their tales...on TV, in newspapers, on social media. They, at one time, as most Americans do now, thought “it” couldn’t happen, then lived the reality that it could and did.
It is time to confirm our experiment.