I have a number of thoughts sparked by today's brief newsletter:
First, every time I hear someone say that the absurdly restrictive abortion bans being implemented are "disappointing" and will ensure GOP election defeats, I see the many, many women who are suffering right now because of the loss of crucial medical care in the midst of extreme health threats. For those of us who've suffered complications of pregnancy, miscarriages, and other frightening and devastating reproductive losses, it's horrifying that so many of today's women now also face doctors and other healthcare practitioners whose hands are tied by ill-informed, ambiguous, and anti-medical laws. These laws, dressed up as "saving babies," are based on the underlying suggestion that abortion is slutty birth control. Please just remember the real suffering right now. And work like crazy to turn this around, of course!
Second, I've learned (at least) two things in my years of activism: change happens in tiny increments and change takes time. Women's suffrage took roughly 100 years. Black Americans are still fighting for a level playing field after 400 years.
An example of the tiny ripples of change: postcards. We often write for long-shot candidates who deserve support because of who they are and what they stand for. They often lose. But during the campaign postcards start showing up, volunteers pin them to the wall and feel energized to go knock on some more doors. The results are closer than projected and that gets noticed by the local and state Democratic party, which may then invest a little more the next time. The candidates and their teams may try again, now savvier and a little-better known, their names getting familiar to voters. More folks may volunteer next time, and Democratic/Independent turnout might build. And, importantly, the opposition will need to spend more $$ where they didn't used to.
Finally, and why Robert's newsletter has been so important to me, hope is a choice. That choice requires action.
This is my first comment to your wonderful letters to all of us. When I despair, I think of you and all of your readers who share my desperation, yet share my hopes and dreams for our beautiful country. I try to do my part by keeping informed, listening to those around me and try to educate others who might disagree with what I call gentle firmness.
Thank you to all you true activists who do such more with courage and grit.
Yes the road is tough but together we CAN succeed because we are on the side of truth and justice.
May 20, 2023·edited May 20, 2023Liked by Robert B. Hubbell
I think your assessment of the debt negotiations is absolutely right. I have confidence that President Biden has a plan (I'm rooting for the 14th Amendment myself) and I hope it's as effective as his move in his State of the Union address where he boxed the GOP into committing to leave Social Security and Medicare alone. Seems to me that in one of the debates with TFG, Biden deftly got him to show an affinity for the Proud Boys. I'm looking forward to him addressing the country Sunday.
Robert, enjoy your visit to DC. It's filled with inspiring monuments and memorials that remind us how great our democracy is, and why we must fight to keep it.
The beautiful picture of the White House, across the manicured, expansive south lawn, puts it in its proper perspective: it is not the center of the world; it is a dignified, historical landmark - the residence and office of each currently serving President - but sited under an even more expansive sky and surrounded by trees that outlast the longest serving administrations. That picture does have a calming effect. Thank you .
I believe in the 14th Amendment and the President’s duty to invoke it - I hope he does since it will crystallize his leadership to everyone who stands to lose if the majority in Congress calls the shots... and everyone is EVERYONE.
I like the "losing forward" concept but not the name, as it places too much emphasis on "losing." To me, the idea is closer to "winning in the not-so-long run." As vile and harmful are the anti-human and anti-democracy policies of the MAGA Right, their extremism is building solid, long-term majorities for decency and democracy in the very near future. Politico just reported that 65% of those under f voted for Democrats in 2022, up from 62% in 2020. Of course it is turnout that is crucial, but the trends there are favorable. I haven't seen any polling data on the voting intentions of those in the 18-22 demo, but they must be frightening for any sane Republican. There are such people, but they mostly these days vote Democratic.
We are not winning every battle, but the retrograde actions of nearly every current Republican officeholder are building an ever-larger cadre of young activist voters on whom we can depend in 2024 and all future even-numbered years. When I first started paying attention to politics--at age 13 in 1956--Democrats could still stir up a crowd and get votes by the mere mention of the name Herbert Hoover, more than 25 years after the Great Depression. And I believe that between now and as late as 2050 the mention of the name Donald Trump will have a similar effect, especially if the GOP is so foolish as to nominate him again next year. While the Democrat in me may hope they do, the American patriot in me prays they won't.
The old adage about "giving someone enough rope to hang himself" is still apt-with regard to any hidebound politician (in this case, reactionary Republicans).
Totally agree about NC. I called the 5 Republicans who promised last November they would NOT further restrict NC abortion from 20 weeks and asked them to not override our Governor’s veto. I called the next day when they did asking them how could we believe them in 2024 when they break their campaign promise and hopefully will vote them out, especially Tricia Cothan who had an abortion, promised to uphold NC abortion rights and changed parties shortly after being elected as a Dem! She definitely will be voted out. This abortion vote will increase Dem votes up and down the ballot! We will
The unfair representation in the Senate is killing us, but on a National level we must keep our eye on the big picture. It’s still roughly 30% Hard Right and 30% Hard Left with roughly 40% in the middle, where all the action is.
I don’t see any way the Republicans can win in 2024 no matter who they put up. They’ve got nothing. The middle may have been willing to take a flying leap back in 2016, but once they saw what we all knew to be true, they couldn’t hold their noses in 2020. It’s even worse now, and everyone else who goes up against him either gets chewed up and spit out or doesn’t hold a candle, as difficult as that might seem.
So let’s stay positive, stick together, resist when we can, speak up and out, and educate and support our kids.
What a beautiful, inspiring, peaceful photo. I'm struck by just how SMALL the White House looks from this angle! Very large for a home, of course, even a plantation style home! But still so much smaller compared to the visual I have in my head for the heart of our country.
I really like the "Losing Forward" concept. I've seen other stories, particularly in the scientific/research community, that talks about celebrating failures! The idea is that know you know that a particular idea has failed, you can learn from that, and put your energy into another idea that hopefully will move the research/concept forward. Of course, we can never celebrate a "failure" that harms our planet or the health of women girls, pregnant people, or the LGBT community, not to mention BIPOC and other marginalized communities, but we can use those losses as a learning experience and to steel our resolve to continue the fight. It will be like a slingshot -- the farther backward our society is pulled, the harder the forward trajectory will inevitably be. Forward!!
Robert: Thanks once again for a superb reality check message. Your thoughts only highlight how easy it is to lose sight of the big picture, to not see the forest for the trees. We need to recognize, and remind ourselves how far we've come in the past couple of years, through the combined efforts of millions of fine citizens who are more than willing to follow the truth. You shine the bright light of democratic principles. Thank you!
Glad to know you all are enjoying your stay in Washington, D.C. - my hometown!
On a side note, and hopefully relevant, seems the Pentagon made a "slight" accounting error on its recent shipment of weapons to Ukraine. "The Pentagon has overestimated the value of the weapons it has sent to Ukraine by at least $3 billion — an accounting error that could be a boon for the war effort because it will allow the Defense Department to send more weapons now without asking Congress for more money." Hurry, DOD, and send those weapons before the R's discover this mistake!
I am happy to report that unified progressive voters in Newberg, Oregon have replaced 5 of 7 members of its reactionary school board. The outgoing board forbade the support for LGBTQ students and posting of Black Lives Matter materials at school. It fired, without cause, an excellent superintendent who believed the restrictions to be unconstitutional, the courts supported his stand. Efforts to recall the 2 most egregious members failed two years ago. As Robert said above, we failed in order to succeed. Keep up the good fight! Carol Wingate
As many of you know, New College of Florida held an alternate graduation ceremony because the school chose a Covid denier doctor as the keynote speaker. The speaker at the alternate ceremony was the great Maya Wiley. Her commencement speech quoted the late Martin Luther King who said the night before he was assassinated that it was only in the dark that we could see the stars. She told the graduates that they were the stars in the darkness of today’s intolerance. I think that those words also apply to all of us who continue to do the work to save our democracy.
I have a number of thoughts sparked by today's brief newsletter:
First, every time I hear someone say that the absurdly restrictive abortion bans being implemented are "disappointing" and will ensure GOP election defeats, I see the many, many women who are suffering right now because of the loss of crucial medical care in the midst of extreme health threats. For those of us who've suffered complications of pregnancy, miscarriages, and other frightening and devastating reproductive losses, it's horrifying that so many of today's women now also face doctors and other healthcare practitioners whose hands are tied by ill-informed, ambiguous, and anti-medical laws. These laws, dressed up as "saving babies," are based on the underlying suggestion that abortion is slutty birth control. Please just remember the real suffering right now. And work like crazy to turn this around, of course!
Second, I've learned (at least) two things in my years of activism: change happens in tiny increments and change takes time. Women's suffrage took roughly 100 years. Black Americans are still fighting for a level playing field after 400 years.
An example of the tiny ripples of change: postcards. We often write for long-shot candidates who deserve support because of who they are and what they stand for. They often lose. But during the campaign postcards start showing up, volunteers pin them to the wall and feel energized to go knock on some more doors. The results are closer than projected and that gets noticed by the local and state Democratic party, which may then invest a little more the next time. The candidates and their teams may try again, now savvier and a little-better known, their names getting familiar to voters. More folks may volunteer next time, and Democratic/Independent turnout might build. And, importantly, the opposition will need to spend more $$ where they didn't used to.
Finally, and why Robert's newsletter has been so important to me, hope is a choice. That choice requires action.
(Here endeth the sermon! Sorry.)
This is my first comment to your wonderful letters to all of us. When I despair, I think of you and all of your readers who share my desperation, yet share my hopes and dreams for our beautiful country. I try to do my part by keeping informed, listening to those around me and try to educate others who might disagree with what I call gentle firmness.
Thank you to all you true activists who do such more with courage and grit.
Yes the road is tough but together we CAN succeed because we are on the side of truth and justice.
I think your assessment of the debt negotiations is absolutely right. I have confidence that President Biden has a plan (I'm rooting for the 14th Amendment myself) and I hope it's as effective as his move in his State of the Union address where he boxed the GOP into committing to leave Social Security and Medicare alone. Seems to me that in one of the debates with TFG, Biden deftly got him to show an affinity for the Proud Boys. I'm looking forward to him addressing the country Sunday.
Robert, enjoy your visit to DC. It's filled with inspiring monuments and memorials that remind us how great our democracy is, and why we must fight to keep it.
The beautiful picture of the White House, across the manicured, expansive south lawn, puts it in its proper perspective: it is not the center of the world; it is a dignified, historical landmark - the residence and office of each currently serving President - but sited under an even more expansive sky and surrounded by trees that outlast the longest serving administrations. That picture does have a calming effect. Thank you .
I believe in the 14th Amendment and the President’s duty to invoke it - I hope he does since it will crystallize his leadership to everyone who stands to lose if the majority in Congress calls the shots... and everyone is EVERYONE.
I like the "losing forward" concept but not the name, as it places too much emphasis on "losing." To me, the idea is closer to "winning in the not-so-long run." As vile and harmful are the anti-human and anti-democracy policies of the MAGA Right, their extremism is building solid, long-term majorities for decency and democracy in the very near future. Politico just reported that 65% of those under f voted for Democrats in 2022, up from 62% in 2020. Of course it is turnout that is crucial, but the trends there are favorable. I haven't seen any polling data on the voting intentions of those in the 18-22 demo, but they must be frightening for any sane Republican. There are such people, but they mostly these days vote Democratic.
We are not winning every battle, but the retrograde actions of nearly every current Republican officeholder are building an ever-larger cadre of young activist voters on whom we can depend in 2024 and all future even-numbered years. When I first started paying attention to politics--at age 13 in 1956--Democrats could still stir up a crowd and get votes by the mere mention of the name Herbert Hoover, more than 25 years after the Great Depression. And I believe that between now and as late as 2050 the mention of the name Donald Trump will have a similar effect, especially if the GOP is so foolish as to nominate him again next year. While the Democrat in me may hope they do, the American patriot in me prays they won't.
The old adage about "giving someone enough rope to hang himself" is still apt-with regard to any hidebound politician (in this case, reactionary Republicans).
Totally agree about NC. I called the 5 Republicans who promised last November they would NOT further restrict NC abortion from 20 weeks and asked them to not override our Governor’s veto. I called the next day when they did asking them how could we believe them in 2024 when they break their campaign promise and hopefully will vote them out, especially Tricia Cothan who had an abortion, promised to uphold NC abortion rights and changed parties shortly after being elected as a Dem! She definitely will be voted out. This abortion vote will increase Dem votes up and down the ballot! We will
Be loud and proud! Safe travels
The unfair representation in the Senate is killing us, but on a National level we must keep our eye on the big picture. It’s still roughly 30% Hard Right and 30% Hard Left with roughly 40% in the middle, where all the action is.
I don’t see any way the Republicans can win in 2024 no matter who they put up. They’ve got nothing. The middle may have been willing to take a flying leap back in 2016, but once they saw what we all knew to be true, they couldn’t hold their noses in 2020. It’s even worse now, and everyone else who goes up against him either gets chewed up and spit out or doesn’t hold a candle, as difficult as that might seem.
So let’s stay positive, stick together, resist when we can, speak up and out, and educate and support our kids.
Thank you, Robert.
What a beautiful, inspiring, peaceful photo. I'm struck by just how SMALL the White House looks from this angle! Very large for a home, of course, even a plantation style home! But still so much smaller compared to the visual I have in my head for the heart of our country.
I really like the "Losing Forward" concept. I've seen other stories, particularly in the scientific/research community, that talks about celebrating failures! The idea is that know you know that a particular idea has failed, you can learn from that, and put your energy into another idea that hopefully will move the research/concept forward. Of course, we can never celebrate a "failure" that harms our planet or the health of women girls, pregnant people, or the LGBT community, not to mention BIPOC and other marginalized communities, but we can use those losses as a learning experience and to steel our resolve to continue the fight. It will be like a slingshot -- the farther backward our society is pulled, the harder the forward trajectory will inevitably be. Forward!!
Robert: Thanks once again for a superb reality check message. Your thoughts only highlight how easy it is to lose sight of the big picture, to not see the forest for the trees. We need to recognize, and remind ourselves how far we've come in the past couple of years, through the combined efforts of millions of fine citizens who are more than willing to follow the truth. You shine the bright light of democratic principles. Thank you!
Ed Cherlin
Glad to know you all are enjoying your stay in Washington, D.C. - my hometown!
On a side note, and hopefully relevant, seems the Pentagon made a "slight" accounting error on its recent shipment of weapons to Ukraine. "The Pentagon has overestimated the value of the weapons it has sent to Ukraine by at least $3 billion — an accounting error that could be a boon for the war effort because it will allow the Defense Department to send more weapons now without asking Congress for more money." Hurry, DOD, and send those weapons before the R's discover this mistake!
https://apnews.com/article/ukraine-costs-war-russia-weapons-884a9eefe32eee9ec611771cfe2a4642?user_email=806378b779d5bde88e8ed666f74f52e83cc037758b219d4fe0dd4e290601e841&utm_medium=Morning_Wire&utm_source=Sailthru&utm_campaign=MorningWire_May19_2023&utm_term=Morning%20Wire%20Subscribers
“Next week will be wild.”
Scarily familiar. Robert.
So prescient ... and I wish I could have joined the eager group of Robert's Readers in DC!! Enjoy your weekend in the District.
I am happy to report that unified progressive voters in Newberg, Oregon have replaced 5 of 7 members of its reactionary school board. The outgoing board forbade the support for LGBTQ students and posting of Black Lives Matter materials at school. It fired, without cause, an excellent superintendent who believed the restrictions to be unconstitutional, the courts supported his stand. Efforts to recall the 2 most egregious members failed two years ago. As Robert said above, we failed in order to succeed. Keep up the good fight! Carol Wingate
As many of you know, New College of Florida held an alternate graduation ceremony because the school chose a Covid denier doctor as the keynote speaker. The speaker at the alternate ceremony was the great Maya Wiley. Her commencement speech quoted the late Martin Luther King who said the night before he was assassinated that it was only in the dark that we could see the stars. She told the graduates that they were the stars in the darkness of today’s intolerance. I think that those words also apply to all of us who continue to do the work to save our democracy.