Speaking of Arizona, I just received the following urgent email from the States Project:
An unexpected and urgent situation has come up in Arizona.
The Democratic state senate candidate in Legislative District 22, Rep. Diego Espinoza, who was running unopposed in the November election, suddenly dropped out of the race to take a lobbying job without giving notice to the party.
This seat was supposed to be an easy Democratic win, and we don't want it to fall into Republican hands due to this unforeseen situation. This alone could allow the AZ state senate to remain majority Republican
It's too late to get Mr. Espinoza’s name off the ballot, so there has to be an urgent, coordinated effort to educate Democratic voters NOT to vote for him, but instead to WRITE IN the new Democratic candidate's name: Dr. Evangeline Diaz, a former school principal and chair of her local planning and zoning commission. She has been vetted by the States Project’s on-the-ground partner in Arizona, the Arizona Democratic Legislative Campaign Committee.
The States Project needs to raise an additional $50,000 for this write-in campaign in Arizona by September 27th (this Tuesday!) to make sure that there are new resources for this unexpected district in play — and it’s crucial that this effort not siphon resources from the other Arizona campaigns we’re supporting. These dollars will go to write-in explainer mailers, digital communications, and a field team to educate voters in the district about what needs to be done on their ballots.
Sep 26, 2022·edited Sep 26, 2022Liked by Robert B. Hubbell
As for the GOP “Commitment to America,” I noted, that whenever Republicans seek to represent the interests of a broad range of voters situated between the extremes, they serve up nouns, rarely, if ever, verbs. I encourage people to contrast the GOP listing from Robert’s newsletter which includes “against inflation,” “for energy independence,” “against crime,” “for healthcare,” and “in favor of constitutional liberties” with the Democratic legislative agenda which includes 1) cutting the price of insulin for non-Medicare recipients, 2) extending the child tax credit, 3) providing affordable, quality childcare and universal Pre-K, 4) making investments in housing, in elder care, in expanded ACA subsidies, in climate, and more. I easily could go on, but I presume people get the point.
To be clear, I underscore this comparison to amplify, counter to the cursory GOP so-called platform, that despite repeated frustrations and I dare say failures over the past nearly two years, the record of Democratic legislative initiatives undoubtedly shows there have been serious discussions with serious people engaged in an honest effort to arrive at compromises invariably aimed at improving life for tens and tens of millions of people. The next time Biden intimates what could get done with 2 more Senators, he needs to amplify some of these initiatives.
Thank you, Robert, and let's keep talking up the issues to turn into actions to influence the Independents and the Reconsidering Republicans!
As Robert wrote, "The most efficient and effective remedy is for Arizona Democrats to take control of the legislature and repeal both Section 13-603 and the just-passed 15-week abortion ban. (Republicans currently hold a 2-seat majority in the state Senate and a 3-seat majority in the state House of Representatives.)"
That brings us back to The States Project. In addition to being the source of draconian laws, state legislatures are uniquely critical this year to set the stage for whether or not the 2024 presidential election will be free and fair. If you haven't already, then now is the time to join in contributing our small donations. (Thank you to those who have--now spread the word and tell a friend!) The States Project does the research to determine which good candidates can most effectively be funded to tip the state legislature to a Democratic majority, or to keep one in danger. Arizona is on the list!
Here is a feminist update of an inspiring quote by RFK:
"Each time a PERSON stands up for an ideal, or acts to improve the lot of others, or strikes out against injustice, THAT PERSON sends forth a tiny ripple of hope…to build a current which can sweep down the mightiest walls of oppression and resistance."
McCarthy's "Commitment to America" is so patently a wolf in sheep's clothing that it's hard to imagine anyone with an IQ above 90 buying it. Unless what I learned about the bell curve decades ago has been debunked, our country is being influenced by people who are appealing to the least able to understand what they are up to. I wonder at our ability to overcome the reality that people who simply can't understand the issues are being manipulated by very smart, evil people with misguided religious agendas. The Arizona magic trick has thus gotten traction. It reminds me, in a sick, sad way of the terrorists who think God is asking them to kill people in His name. Maybe the bell curve tells us a lot about the evil in this world.
Ellie K. did indeed beautifully define where the action is with her phrase "at the margins and intersections." I think It's clear to a growing number of Americans that the Republican Party is a revolutionary force with an agenda intended to destroy the last remnants of our anemic democracy and install a fascist regime. That's a fact, not hyperbole. The GOP "commitment" to America is to turn WE, The People into lackeys for the corporate oligarchy and worse. More and more people I meet are beginning to understand that salient point thanks to great substack.com publications like The Chris Hedges Report, Today's Edition Newsletter, and Heather Cox Richardson's Letters from an American . My feeling is that there's a growing army of reasonable people informed by the truth out there in TV Land that will resist the Republican assault at the polls this November. Like the first American revolution in 1776, this one seems to be a guerrilla war, fought as has always been the case in such conflicts, from the "margins and intersections." We did it in 2020 when we disposed of Trump, and we can do it again. And perhaps then we will be able to finally throw off the shackles of subservience to Mammon and build a truly democratic society organized for the benefit of all the people, not just a corrupt cabal of war mongers money grubbers. A las Barricadas!
It is very interesting that the Arizona law was to protect women from violence. The new dedication to controlling her body instead shows how far off course solutions are to 'real' problems.
Abortion is going to be one of the deciding issues in the primary but we cannot assume that it will drive women out to vote. The key is to drive turnout period because a lot of different demographics groups have a big stake in our future. At the end of the day the question really is “ can we trust Republicans at all levels of government to adhere to the constitution; obey the rule of law and protect the rights of all individuals in our country?”. The election is about trust which is defined as a firm belief in the reliability; truth, ability or the strength of someone to do the right thing. The question need to ask is “ Can we trust Republicans. “ ? Past history has given us the answer.
I am increasingly attending various events that result in my conversing with voters leading up to the midterm elections on November 8th. Among the many questions I am asked is "With all that is going on in America today dividing politics, what do I believe is the most important issue and why?"
My response to them is always along the following lines:
That is a great question, and I can understand why you would ask. Certainly, there is so much happening that we are asked to think about, and many find it challenging to find candidates with whom they can agree on everything. So what are the most important issues that should determine who to support and how to vote?
I believe it comes down to the simple issue of kindness versus cruelty. When you think about every issue, you can generally find this helps to distinguish the positions of those whom you will be asked to choose amongst. Who is advocating kindness toward others and who is advocating cruelty? If you believe kindness toward others is better than cruelty, the choice should be an easy one. So I ask people to make a list of important issues with two columns - kindness and cruelty. Then go down the list issue by issue for the candidates and decide who is on the side of kindness and who is on the side of cruelty.
Most of us do not have enough "policy" knowledge or real experience to judge the merits of particular policies. But we can generally distinguish between kindness and cruelty pretty easily. This approach can help people distinguish between approaches to solving our societal challenges.
It has been my experience that people who advocate and choose kindness over cruelty are inherently better at solving the challenges we face. They may not always get it right at first, but will generally persist until they get it figured out. People who advocate cruelty on the other hand always just make the challenges more difficult.
1. Denver Riggleman is not just a former committee staffer, he is a former Congressman from Virginia. He lasted a single term. He was replaced by current Congressman Bob Good -- not in a primary, but in a district convention.
2. It will be a challenge to win the Arizona House. There are several Legislative Districts where Democrats have proposed only one candidate where two candidates for two slots are possible.
The republican's "plan" is nothing but a list of old talking points. Their actual agenda, which you listed, is not something they'll own up to just yet by including it in their plan. Scott, Johnson, Graham, et al, have laid the groundwork though. If enough seniors were aware of their intentions, they'd be voting against republicans in droves.
I am so glad that you have chosen the term "reproductive liberty". I myself prefer "bodily autonomy for all people" to change the focus to a more encompassing reality than just abortion. The republicans do not intend to stop at abortion.
Yesterday afternoon, near Arizona's Capitol, in Phoenix, a large and robust demonstration showed the world what our state's women think of the latest attempt-by another woman, no less, to corral the lot of them into subservience. It is telling that Kari Lake, among others, is maintaining silence. She really has little choice. Likewise, Rachel Mitchell, the present, appointed Maricopa County Attorney, who is running for a full term in office, is keeping silent. She also has little choice. Of course, the five weeks remaining until the election are an eternity in politics, but the UOP (Unglued Old Party) can't seem to stop exercising its Second Amendment rights on its poor old feet.
This is an over-generalized analysis: In a national vote, regardless of who the candidates are, in general, 40% will be voting Democrat, and 40% will be voting GOP. So that leaves 20% undecided. The winner must get half of the undecided vote, plus one vote to win. For the Democrats to win, ALL registered Democrats must vote and women must vote in huge numbers. Democrats who don't vote (regardless of whether the GOP suppresses their vote, or they don't bother to vote), can cause Democrats to lose.
I'm going to keep harping on two pieces of misinformation that have appeared at least twice in Today's edition:
The electorate (the definition of which is "e·lec·tor·ate "all the people in a country or area who are entitled to vote in an election") is evenly divided. This is NOT the case. Maybe those who show up to vote are evenly divided, which is why GOTV is so crucial. The problem is that the members of the electorate who are young and/or poor have a harder time voting for a number of reasons. In 2016, 100,000,000 members of the electorate DID NOT VOTE.
ALSO: Note that we are in ELECTION SEASON, which began 55 days before Election Day, when early voting started. PEOPLE ARE ALREADY VOTING!!!! People should already be turning out in droves where early voting has started. We need to be aware of this and act accordingly.
Speaking of Arizona, I just received the following urgent email from the States Project:
An unexpected and urgent situation has come up in Arizona.
The Democratic state senate candidate in Legislative District 22, Rep. Diego Espinoza, who was running unopposed in the November election, suddenly dropped out of the race to take a lobbying job without giving notice to the party.
This seat was supposed to be an easy Democratic win, and we don't want it to fall into Republican hands due to this unforeseen situation. This alone could allow the AZ state senate to remain majority Republican
It's too late to get Mr. Espinoza’s name off the ballot, so there has to be an urgent, coordinated effort to educate Democratic voters NOT to vote for him, but instead to WRITE IN the new Democratic candidate's name: Dr. Evangeline Diaz, a former school principal and chair of her local planning and zoning commission. She has been vetted by the States Project’s on-the-ground partner in Arizona, the Arizona Democratic Legislative Campaign Committee.
The States Project needs to raise an additional $50,000 for this write-in campaign in Arizona by September 27th (this Tuesday!) to make sure that there are new resources for this unexpected district in play — and it’s crucial that this effort not siphon resources from the other Arizona campaigns we’re supporting. These dollars will go to write-in explainer mailers, digital communications, and a field team to educate voters in the district about what needs to be done on their ballots.
As for the GOP “Commitment to America,” I noted, that whenever Republicans seek to represent the interests of a broad range of voters situated between the extremes, they serve up nouns, rarely, if ever, verbs. I encourage people to contrast the GOP listing from Robert’s newsletter which includes “against inflation,” “for energy independence,” “against crime,” “for healthcare,” and “in favor of constitutional liberties” with the Democratic legislative agenda which includes 1) cutting the price of insulin for non-Medicare recipients, 2) extending the child tax credit, 3) providing affordable, quality childcare and universal Pre-K, 4) making investments in housing, in elder care, in expanded ACA subsidies, in climate, and more. I easily could go on, but I presume people get the point.
To be clear, I underscore this comparison to amplify, counter to the cursory GOP so-called platform, that despite repeated frustrations and I dare say failures over the past nearly two years, the record of Democratic legislative initiatives undoubtedly shows there have been serious discussions with serious people engaged in an honest effort to arrive at compromises invariably aimed at improving life for tens and tens of millions of people. The next time Biden intimates what could get done with 2 more Senators, he needs to amplify some of these initiatives.
Thank you, Robert, and let's keep talking up the issues to turn into actions to influence the Independents and the Reconsidering Republicans!
As Robert wrote, "The most efficient and effective remedy is for Arizona Democrats to take control of the legislature and repeal both Section 13-603 and the just-passed 15-week abortion ban. (Republicans currently hold a 2-seat majority in the state Senate and a 3-seat majority in the state House of Representatives.)"
That brings us back to The States Project. In addition to being the source of draconian laws, state legislatures are uniquely critical this year to set the stage for whether or not the 2024 presidential election will be free and fair. If you haven't already, then now is the time to join in contributing our small donations. (Thank you to those who have--now spread the word and tell a friend!) The States Project does the research to determine which good candidates can most effectively be funded to tip the state legislature to a Democratic majority, or to keep one in danger. Arizona is on the list!
https://statesproject.org/why-states-matter/
https://www.grapevine.org/giving-circle/1XQhnyD/Tending-to-Democracy
Here is a feminist update of an inspiring quote by RFK:
"Each time a PERSON stands up for an ideal, or acts to improve the lot of others, or strikes out against injustice, THAT PERSON sends forth a tiny ripple of hope…to build a current which can sweep down the mightiest walls of oppression and resistance."
McCarthy's "Commitment to America" is so patently a wolf in sheep's clothing that it's hard to imagine anyone with an IQ above 90 buying it. Unless what I learned about the bell curve decades ago has been debunked, our country is being influenced by people who are appealing to the least able to understand what they are up to. I wonder at our ability to overcome the reality that people who simply can't understand the issues are being manipulated by very smart, evil people with misguided religious agendas. The Arizona magic trick has thus gotten traction. It reminds me, in a sick, sad way of the terrorists who think God is asking them to kill people in His name. Maybe the bell curve tells us a lot about the evil in this world.
Robert,
Thank you for an excellent call to action.
If you have not already read it, I would recommend Lucian Truscott's substack column on the Arizona abortion ban
https://luciantruscott.substack.com/p/arizona-reinstates-confederate-era
His is the only analysis I have read that explains that Arizona at that time was a territory of the Confederacy, not of the USA.
Karen Herman, APRN, CNM (retired)
Ellie K. did indeed beautifully define where the action is with her phrase "at the margins and intersections." I think It's clear to a growing number of Americans that the Republican Party is a revolutionary force with an agenda intended to destroy the last remnants of our anemic democracy and install a fascist regime. That's a fact, not hyperbole. The GOP "commitment" to America is to turn WE, The People into lackeys for the corporate oligarchy and worse. More and more people I meet are beginning to understand that salient point thanks to great substack.com publications like The Chris Hedges Report, Today's Edition Newsletter, and Heather Cox Richardson's Letters from an American . My feeling is that there's a growing army of reasonable people informed by the truth out there in TV Land that will resist the Republican assault at the polls this November. Like the first American revolution in 1776, this one seems to be a guerrilla war, fought as has always been the case in such conflicts, from the "margins and intersections." We did it in 2020 when we disposed of Trump, and we can do it again. And perhaps then we will be able to finally throw off the shackles of subservience to Mammon and build a truly democratic society organized for the benefit of all the people, not just a corrupt cabal of war mongers money grubbers. A las Barricadas!
It is very interesting that the Arizona law was to protect women from violence. The new dedication to controlling her body instead shows how far off course solutions are to 'real' problems.
Abortion is going to be one of the deciding issues in the primary but we cannot assume that it will drive women out to vote. The key is to drive turnout period because a lot of different demographics groups have a big stake in our future. At the end of the day the question really is “ can we trust Republicans at all levels of government to adhere to the constitution; obey the rule of law and protect the rights of all individuals in our country?”. The election is about trust which is defined as a firm belief in the reliability; truth, ability or the strength of someone to do the right thing. The question need to ask is “ Can we trust Republicans. “ ? Past history has given us the answer.
I am increasingly attending various events that result in my conversing with voters leading up to the midterm elections on November 8th. Among the many questions I am asked is "With all that is going on in America today dividing politics, what do I believe is the most important issue and why?"
My response to them is always along the following lines:
That is a great question, and I can understand why you would ask. Certainly, there is so much happening that we are asked to think about, and many find it challenging to find candidates with whom they can agree on everything. So what are the most important issues that should determine who to support and how to vote?
I believe it comes down to the simple issue of kindness versus cruelty. When you think about every issue, you can generally find this helps to distinguish the positions of those whom you will be asked to choose amongst. Who is advocating kindness toward others and who is advocating cruelty? If you believe kindness toward others is better than cruelty, the choice should be an easy one. So I ask people to make a list of important issues with two columns - kindness and cruelty. Then go down the list issue by issue for the candidates and decide who is on the side of kindness and who is on the side of cruelty.
Most of us do not have enough "policy" knowledge or real experience to judge the merits of particular policies. But we can generally distinguish between kindness and cruelty pretty easily. This approach can help people distinguish between approaches to solving our societal challenges.
It has been my experience that people who advocate and choose kindness over cruelty are inherently better at solving the challenges we face. They may not always get it right at first, but will generally persist until they get it figured out. People who advocate cruelty on the other hand always just make the challenges more difficult.
Two thoughts:
1. Denver Riggleman is not just a former committee staffer, he is a former Congressman from Virginia. He lasted a single term. He was replaced by current Congressman Bob Good -- not in a primary, but in a district convention.
2. It will be a challenge to win the Arizona House. There are several Legislative Districts where Democrats have proposed only one candidate where two candidates for two slots are possible.
The republican's "plan" is nothing but a list of old talking points. Their actual agenda, which you listed, is not something they'll own up to just yet by including it in their plan. Scott, Johnson, Graham, et al, have laid the groundwork though. If enough seniors were aware of their intentions, they'd be voting against republicans in droves.
I am so glad that you have chosen the term "reproductive liberty". I myself prefer "bodily autonomy for all people" to change the focus to a more encompassing reality than just abortion. The republicans do not intend to stop at abortion.
Yesterday afternoon, near Arizona's Capitol, in Phoenix, a large and robust demonstration showed the world what our state's women think of the latest attempt-by another woman, no less, to corral the lot of them into subservience. It is telling that Kari Lake, among others, is maintaining silence. She really has little choice. Likewise, Rachel Mitchell, the present, appointed Maricopa County Attorney, who is running for a full term in office, is keeping silent. She also has little choice. Of course, the five weeks remaining until the election are an eternity in politics, but the UOP (Unglued Old Party) can't seem to stop exercising its Second Amendment rights on its poor old feet.
Great summary of the weekend. Despite the ruling in Arizona, this almost felt like we were “taking a breath.” We’ll need the air!
This is an over-generalized analysis: In a national vote, regardless of who the candidates are, in general, 40% will be voting Democrat, and 40% will be voting GOP. So that leaves 20% undecided. The winner must get half of the undecided vote, plus one vote to win. For the Democrats to win, ALL registered Democrats must vote and women must vote in huge numbers. Democrats who don't vote (regardless of whether the GOP suppresses their vote, or they don't bother to vote), can cause Democrats to lose.
Don't forget that the Rethugs are threatening just the ACA and Medicare. They are also threatening Social Security.
I'm going to keep harping on two pieces of misinformation that have appeared at least twice in Today's edition:
The electorate (the definition of which is "e·lec·tor·ate "all the people in a country or area who are entitled to vote in an election") is evenly divided. This is NOT the case. Maybe those who show up to vote are evenly divided, which is why GOTV is so crucial. The problem is that the members of the electorate who are young and/or poor have a harder time voting for a number of reasons. In 2016, 100,000,000 members of the electorate DID NOT VOTE.
ALSO: Note that we are in ELECTION SEASON, which began 55 days before Election Day, when early voting started. PEOPLE ARE ALREADY VOTING!!!! People should already be turning out in droves where early voting has started. We need to be aware of this and act accordingly.