Thank you again for an enlightening newsletter and useful suggestions. Ellie Kona and I are moderators (along with one other person) of a small but mighty activist group. We've been encouraging activism with concrete suggestions for a year now and your newsletter makes us stronger. Yesterday I mentioned several "targets" for phone/letter campaigns. The first one is the retiring Republicans. They are: Richard Burr of NC, Pat Toomey of PA, Rob Portman Ohio, Richard Shelby Alabama and Roy Blunt of Missouri. Give them the opportunity to be remembered as a statesman. If you are in any of those states especially, contact them and spread the word throughout your networks and your social media. We can do this!!!
I was unaware of McConnell’s empty threat that clearly indicates how fearful he is that 50 Senators actually might sign on to some version of filibuster reform. However, I write because it’s my understanding that Schumer plans to bring both VRAA and the Freedom to Vote Act to the floor for a vote. I emphasize this point because, while VRAA is important legislation that would reinstate pre clearance, it is not preemptive and therefore could not overturn voter suppression and nullification state laws that already have passed. Conversely, the Freedom to Vote Act that Manchin helped draft, whose provisions provide the necessary safeguards against both voter suppression and election subversion, would supersede state law in conflict with any of its stipulations. To clarify, unlike VRAA, the Freedom to Vote Act would overturn the voter restriction/ nullification bills GOP controlled state legislatures unilaterally already have passed. I hope this clarification is useful.
Jan 11, 2022·edited Jan 11, 2022Liked by Robert B. Hubbell
Thank you for this morning's thoughtful optimism, Robert, and for some good laughs! I listened to your podcast with Jason Berlin yesterday and it was such an inspiration. He is really a force of nature working for the good. Thanks for giving him a voice to speak to your readers. The political group I belong to, Seniors Taking Action, is partnering with Field Team 6 in writing post cards to swing states. We are based in NY, but have members from all over the U.S. If any Hubbell readers would like to join us, please contact us at https://seniorstakingaction.org/
I don't think there will be a civil war in the manner of the American Civil War in the time of Lincoln. The MAGATs don't have the infrastructure or the will to wage something like this. We may have something that resembles Northern Ireland, where petty grievances and prejudices are solved by bombings, assassinations, and acts of violence that may or may not be punished. We have a real problem with far-right infiltration of the police and military. That needs to be addressed if we are ever to go forward.
Last night, Heather Cox Richardson's Substack reader Barbara noted that of the two voting protection bills, Manchin's Freedom to Vote Act is actually the only one that will protect against the wave of state voting restrictions and manipulation set up.
I will be very happy to see the last of Madison Cawthorn. He is an irritating embarrassment. I blame the editors and owners of the news corporations for their tacky headlines, as well as the writers, just as I blame donor corporations “who” continue to contribute to members of the sedition caucus. BTW, what has happened to End Citizens United? are we doomed to forever end having money control politics?
Compliment by letter writing or phone call each of the seven republican senators who voted to impeach Trump. Ask each of them to support the voting rights act coming up on MLK day. Their names are Murkowski, Burr, Cassidy, Romney, Sasse, Toomey, and Collins. By joining support for this act their names will be remembered in glory together with the January 6th Capitol policemen as ones who saved our democracy.
Thank you a million times over, once again. I donate regularly to Schiff. As for the civil war chat -- you are correct. The news media is consistently irresponsible.
Just want to thank you again for continuing to include links to actions. I am sharing those links with some large groups I am in and peope are using them. They are also following you now!
Robert, so amazing that thousands of readers responded to your request to send letters to corporate donors to the sedition caucus! That is a testament to you and the community and gives me hope for collective grassroot activism.
What a terrific idea it is to try to disqualify NC Rep. Cawthorn under the “ insurrection “ provision of the 14th Amendment! The 34 page Complaint in this effort filed before the NC State Board of Elections is very well done and is well worth reading. (It is also chilling.) Thank you, Robert, for bringing this to our attention.
“As the deadline approaches for Senator Schumer’s effort to force a vote on the filibuster, Mitch McConnell countered with a threat intended to send Democrats reeling. In a statement to the Wall Street Journal (of course), McConnell threatened that if Democrats decrease the threshold to begin debate on a bill from 60 to 51 votes, Republicans will bring bills to the Senate floor that have bipartisan support. Horrors!”
“Wait, what? Isn’t that how democracy is supposed to work? If a majority of Senators agree that a bill should be brought to the floor for debate, it should be brought to the floor for debate. That is exactly what Democrats want for the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act. The fact that Republicans might be able to secure support from a few Democrats to debate other bills—like the XL pipeline—is no excuse for allowing voting rights to languish. There is no chance that the House will approve the XL pipeline, and no chance that President Biden will sign any such bill. So, the only thing that Mitch McConnell is threatening is that centrist Democratic Senators will be forced to take “tough positions” on controversial bills. The GOP Minority Whip, Senator John Thune, said as much in statements reported in The Hill, saying, ‘There could be some really hard votes for Democrats.’”
Democratic Senators might be forced to take tough votes? Yes, bring them on! Let’s also see how Republicans fair taking tough votes. That’s what being a legislator in a democracy should be all about.
Bring those tough votes on! I’ve got my popcorn ready to watch those votes.
I believe you have not given Prof. Walter a fair analysis. The over arching issue dividing Americans, she says, is white fear of losing the control whites have had since independence. As the inevitable (whites become a minority) happens the Republicans are doing all they can to hold onto power . The civil war will not be between states but a guerilla action under no central control instigated by racist white terrorists attempting to “save” their country from non-whites. Already a sizable percentage of Republicans believe resorting to violence is justified because the presidential election was “stolen”. It is indeed a very volatile situation fed by Trump, Brannon, Fox News and Facebook.
A colleague in a local school system, who admits to being "tired and burnt-out", told me last week that she is in favour of dissolving the Union and letting all fifty states become independent. That ludicrous state of affairs is not going to happen, but such fever dreams are disturbingly more common than one might expect. There will be no civil war, outside of the fan fiction of some political commentators, yet we may see an uptick in "lone wolf" or small militia acts of violence designed to incite such an event.
Thank you again for an enlightening newsletter and useful suggestions. Ellie Kona and I are moderators (along with one other person) of a small but mighty activist group. We've been encouraging activism with concrete suggestions for a year now and your newsletter makes us stronger. Yesterday I mentioned several "targets" for phone/letter campaigns. The first one is the retiring Republicans. They are: Richard Burr of NC, Pat Toomey of PA, Rob Portman Ohio, Richard Shelby Alabama and Roy Blunt of Missouri. Give them the opportunity to be remembered as a statesman. If you are in any of those states especially, contact them and spread the word throughout your networks and your social media. We can do this!!!
I was unaware of McConnell’s empty threat that clearly indicates how fearful he is that 50 Senators actually might sign on to some version of filibuster reform. However, I write because it’s my understanding that Schumer plans to bring both VRAA and the Freedom to Vote Act to the floor for a vote. I emphasize this point because, while VRAA is important legislation that would reinstate pre clearance, it is not preemptive and therefore could not overturn voter suppression and nullification state laws that already have passed. Conversely, the Freedom to Vote Act that Manchin helped draft, whose provisions provide the necessary safeguards against both voter suppression and election subversion, would supersede state law in conflict with any of its stipulations. To clarify, unlike VRAA, the Freedom to Vote Act would overturn the voter restriction/ nullification bills GOP controlled state legislatures unilaterally already have passed. I hope this clarification is useful.
Thank you for this morning's thoughtful optimism, Robert, and for some good laughs! I listened to your podcast with Jason Berlin yesterday and it was such an inspiration. He is really a force of nature working for the good. Thanks for giving him a voice to speak to your readers. The political group I belong to, Seniors Taking Action, is partnering with Field Team 6 in writing post cards to swing states. We are based in NY, but have members from all over the U.S. If any Hubbell readers would like to join us, please contact us at https://seniorstakingaction.org/
I don't think there will be a civil war in the manner of the American Civil War in the time of Lincoln. The MAGATs don't have the infrastructure or the will to wage something like this. We may have something that resembles Northern Ireland, where petty grievances and prejudices are solved by bombings, assassinations, and acts of violence that may or may not be punished. We have a real problem with far-right infiltration of the police and military. That needs to be addressed if we are ever to go forward.
Last night, Heather Cox Richardson's Substack reader Barbara noted that of the two voting protection bills, Manchin's Freedom to Vote Act is actually the only one that will protect against the wave of state voting restrictions and manipulation set up.
I will be very happy to see the last of Madison Cawthorn. He is an irritating embarrassment. I blame the editors and owners of the news corporations for their tacky headlines, as well as the writers, just as I blame donor corporations “who” continue to contribute to members of the sedition caucus. BTW, what has happened to End Citizens United? are we doomed to forever end having money control politics?
Compliment by letter writing or phone call each of the seven republican senators who voted to impeach Trump. Ask each of them to support the voting rights act coming up on MLK day. Their names are Murkowski, Burr, Cassidy, Romney, Sasse, Toomey, and Collins. By joining support for this act their names will be remembered in glory together with the January 6th Capitol policemen as ones who saved our democracy.
Thank you a million times over, once again. I donate regularly to Schiff. As for the civil war chat -- you are correct. The news media is consistently irresponsible.
Just want to thank you again for continuing to include links to actions. I am sharing those links with some large groups I am in and peope are using them. They are also following you now!
Robert, so amazing that thousands of readers responded to your request to send letters to corporate donors to the sedition caucus! That is a testament to you and the community and gives me hope for collective grassroot activism.
What a terrific idea it is to try to disqualify NC Rep. Cawthorn under the “ insurrection “ provision of the 14th Amendment! The 34 page Complaint in this effort filed before the NC State Board of Elections is very well done and is well worth reading. (It is also chilling.) Thank you, Robert, for bringing this to our attention.
Yes, total agreement.
“As the deadline approaches for Senator Schumer’s effort to force a vote on the filibuster, Mitch McConnell countered with a threat intended to send Democrats reeling. In a statement to the Wall Street Journal (of course), McConnell threatened that if Democrats decrease the threshold to begin debate on a bill from 60 to 51 votes, Republicans will bring bills to the Senate floor that have bipartisan support. Horrors!”
“Wait, what? Isn’t that how democracy is supposed to work? If a majority of Senators agree that a bill should be brought to the floor for debate, it should be brought to the floor for debate. That is exactly what Democrats want for the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act. The fact that Republicans might be able to secure support from a few Democrats to debate other bills—like the XL pipeline—is no excuse for allowing voting rights to languish. There is no chance that the House will approve the XL pipeline, and no chance that President Biden will sign any such bill. So, the only thing that Mitch McConnell is threatening is that centrist Democratic Senators will be forced to take “tough positions” on controversial bills. The GOP Minority Whip, Senator John Thune, said as much in statements reported in The Hill, saying, ‘There could be some really hard votes for Democrats.’”
Democratic Senators might be forced to take tough votes? Yes, bring them on! Let’s also see how Republicans fair taking tough votes. That’s what being a legislator in a democracy should be all about.
Bring those tough votes on! I’ve got my popcorn ready to watch those votes.
I believe you have not given Prof. Walter a fair analysis. The over arching issue dividing Americans, she says, is white fear of losing the control whites have had since independence. As the inevitable (whites become a minority) happens the Republicans are doing all they can to hold onto power . The civil war will not be between states but a guerilla action under no central control instigated by racist white terrorists attempting to “save” their country from non-whites. Already a sizable percentage of Republicans believe resorting to violence is justified because the presidential election was “stolen”. It is indeed a very volatile situation fed by Trump, Brannon, Fox News and Facebook.
We may be in deep water but you smoothed out the hype and rehtoric. We will prevail
Hi Robert. The senior Senator from New Hampshire is Jeanne Shaheen, not Sheehan. Thanks.
A colleague in a local school system, who admits to being "tired and burnt-out", told me last week that she is in favour of dissolving the Union and letting all fifty states become independent. That ludicrous state of affairs is not going to happen, but such fever dreams are disturbingly more common than one might expect. There will be no civil war, outside of the fan fiction of some political commentators, yet we may see an uptick in "lone wolf" or small militia acts of violence designed to incite such an event.