108 Comments
Mar 3, 2023·edited Mar 3, 2023Liked by Robert B. Hubbell

Thank you for your fiery description of DeSantis! Not many commentators are willing to speak so bluntly about DeSantis and his threat to America. You listed even more reasons to deprive him of power and keep him from becoming a candidate for President. Now we have to figure out why so many Floridians and other Republicans support him with votes, money, and publicity. Those people are a threat as well. Is there a way to persuade them that they deserve better and that they won't like being ruled by a demagogue?

Expand full comment
Mar 3, 2023·edited Mar 3, 2023Liked by Robert B. Hubbell

My point exactly - it is not Ron DeSantis that is the threat to America, but rather those who support (or will) support him.

I never imagined enough Americans would support an egotistical, misogynst scumbag like Trump, but now it is hard NOT to imagine enough Americans supporting an egotistical, hate-filled scumbag like DeSantis. But with the Murdoch/Fox News (along with all of the other right wing-nut) propaganda machines spewing out lies and hate in Goebbelesque fashion and a racist Electoral College system disguised as equitable, we now know that the worst can happen.

Add to this the folks who, as Charlie Sykes writes in today's Morning Shots, "stay in the room" thinking they are doing more good by quietly "controlling" the fascist-in-chief or propaganda machine than openly opposing the lies and hate, and you have the recipe for another Trump-like disaster of even greater proportions.

So the question is how can we prevent these twin forces of power and hate from further corrupting our Democracy? With the hard work we're doing . . . governing, postcard writing voters, registering voters, writing op-eds and the list goes on. We can do this!

Expand full comment
Mar 3, 2023Liked by Robert B. Hubbell

As a friend pointed out to me a few years ago, the Florida license plate, rather than "Sunshine State" should say "I've Got Mine State". DeSantis' had been a perfect promoter of individual freedom supercedes social responsibilities. We need to convince Republicans nationally the reverse is true.

Expand full comment

Leo Leonard is supporting DeSantis and was just given 1.6 billion, yes

1.6 billion, to back Republicans in

coming races. It's all quite legal

unfortunately.

Expand full comment
Mar 3, 2023·edited Mar 5, 2023

(Leonard Leo of the Federalist Society for clarity)...I found this about that donation: https://www.cnn.com/videos/politics/2022/08/22/marble-freedom-trust-conservative-dark-money-leo-trump-lead-griffin-dnt-vpx.cnn

Expand full comment

Also Politico has a good report on

Leonard/Kelly Conway/dark money=

1.6 billion/Federalist.

Expand full comment

Here’s the link to the Politico article: https://www.politico.com/news/2023/03/01/dark-money-leonard-leo-judicial-activism-00084864

Expand full comment

Thank you Barbara and Angela. For some

reason I seem to be

unable to copy & paste links into Substack.

Expand full comment
founding
Mar 3, 2023Liked by Robert B. Hubbell

Once again you have rung the bell to hold fast to what is true and real to establish our views on direction. DeSantis does not represent the “United States “, nor does he desire to. We must be vigilant in our thoughts to rule out “personal agendas” and SPEAK UP for what we really believe -what defines our history and how we got here. No shame, no coverups- just truth and pride to push on. THANKS!

Expand full comment

I love it when you get 'feisty!!' I can't imagine where we/I would be without the amazing reporting done by people like you!! It has empowered so many of us ... we can have hope .. and confidence .. as we tackle the biggest fight of our lives! xx's

Expand full comment

Masterful, courageous takedown of that little Hitler, Ron DeSantis. Bold, passionate writing in defense of the Constitution and the moral norms of civil society is what being an American is all about. That same democratic spirit saturates the posts of Heather Cox Richardson as well, and that's why I hit those subscription paid buttons every time they appear. And your "fiery description" of DeSantis, to borrow Laurie Caplan's phrase, is why I'm hitting the "Upgrade to founding" button this morning. Your newsletter is a brilliant beacon of Truth guiding us through the thick fog of fascist GOP propaganda.

Expand full comment
Mar 3, 2023·edited Mar 3, 2023Liked by Robert B. Hubbell

The MAGA GOP is abandoning American principles of liberal democracy and fully embracing illiberalism. Viktor Orban has become the de facto leader of the Republican Party. DeSantis is a poster boy of Orban's political playbook.

What we view as civil liberties and constitutional rights, the "Orbanese" cast as depravity and vulgar decay of our culture. Our focus on "the common good" is viewed as a deep state corruption. Our tolerance for free thinking, open intellectual debate and academic freedom is twisted into leftist extremism.

Whereas the GOP has historically provoked "social issues" to fuel their political platforms, they had functioned within the boundaries of our democratic system. With this new aggressiveness, disregard for majority rule and creating an alternative fantasy state of reality, an underbelly shrill of violent intolerance pulsates beneath their extreme rhetoric.

The DOJ is now our protective bulwark, insisting that our laws be respected and extremism that threatens our constitutional order must be contained. The evidence could not be clearer and the call to action obvious.

Expand full comment
Mar 3, 2023·edited Mar 3, 2023

The whole Alt-Right thing about depravity and vulgar decay is a hoot. Wasn't it DJT who, in February, 2016, told an audience (including minor children) in Portsmouth, NH, that companies moving overseas to avoid U.S taxation "can go f***k themselves"? Were there not several instances of insurrectionists defecating and urinating in the U.S. Capitol, on Jan. 6, 2021?

Expand full comment

The entire alt-right drips with red hot hypocrisy. Their contempt and rage of the basic fabric of rights and liberties imbedded in our DNA and cherished through our history is trampled by these barbarians in the blink of an eye. They must be held accountable and contained.

Expand full comment
founding
Mar 3, 2023·edited Mar 3, 2023Liked by Robert B. Hubbell

Dear Robert and Community,

To those of you in the Los Angeles area, heartfelt condolences on the loss of a ‘voice for the voiceless,’ Bishop David O’Connell. (Truly a loss felt near and far.)

For those of you who may be unaware, Bishop David lost his life, tragically, to gun violence while sleeping at home in Hacienda Heights on February 18.

I am hardly one to write of his life, though perhaps like some of you over these last days, I have learned that Bishop Dave was an Irish-born priest who came to the US more than forty years ago to serve those on the margins, working with and on behalf of the poor, street gangs, the forgotten. He was known as a peacemaker, a beloved servant.

Last night, I watched the live-streamed Vigil Mass that took place at the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels in Los Angeles. During the homily, Cardinal Roger Mahony spoke of how the pastor didn’t visit elected officials alone; he invited members of the community to go with him, to “raise their voices,” to have a voice.

At the close of the Mass, Bishop Dave’s niece read a poem by the Irish poet, philosopher and theologian, John O’Donohue:

On the Death of the Beloved

~ By John O’Donohue

“Though we need to weep your loss,

You dwell in that safe place in our hearts

Where no storm or night or pain can reach you.

Your love was like the dawn

Brightening over our lives,

Awakening beneath the dark

A further adventure of color.

The sound of your voice

Found for us

A new music

That brightened everything.

Whatever you enfolded in your gaze

Quickened in the joy of its being;

You placed smiles like flowers

On the alter of the heart,

Your mind always sparkled

With wonder at things.

Though your days here were brief,

Your spirit was alive, awake, complete.

We look toward each other no longer

From the old distance of our names;

Now you dwell inside the rhythm of breath,

As close to us as we are to ourselves.

Though we cannot see you with outward eyes,

We know our souls gaze is upon your face,

Smiling back at us from within everything

To which we bring our best refinement.

Let us not look for you only in memory,

Where we would grow lonely without you.

You would want us to find you in presence,

Beside us when beauty brightens,

When kindness glows

And music echoes eternal tones.

When orchids brighten the earth,

Darkest winter has turned to spring;

May this dark grief flower with hope

In every heart that loves you.

May you continue to inspire us:

To enter each day with a generous heart.

To serve the call of courage and love

Until we see your beautiful face again

In that land where there is no more separation,

Where all tears will be wiped from our mind,

And where we will never lose you again.”

~ To Bless the Space Between Us, A Book of Blessings by John O’Donohue

For those who may be inclined to watch / attend the Funeral Mass of Bishop David O’Connell, Auxiliary Bishop of the Archdiocese of Los Angeles, it will take place on Friday, March 3 at 11AM PT, 2PM ET at the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels in Downtown, LA: https://youtu.be/dCLWupcq39Y

May Bishop David, and all those who have died by gun violence, somehow, call us to action, unwavering, until there is an end to the bloodshed.

An organization I have come to find supportive of this effort is the Newtown Action Alliance: https://www.newtownactionalliance.org/about-index#about-us

At another time, I may share my experience of participating in the #EndGunViolence Lunch & Lobby Sessions with Newtown Action Alliance: https://www.newtownactionalliance.org/endgunviolence-lunch-lobby-days

Síocháin, (Celtic word for Peace)

Jean

Expand full comment
author

Thanks. Although I did not know Bishop O'Connell, several priests in the LA Archdiocese attended the same seminary in Ireland as O'Connell--including our long-time pastor, who knew O'Connell well. That cohort of priests from Ireland came to Los Angeles in the 1970s and served in the poorest, roughest areas of LA for decades and positively affected the lives of tens of thousands of families who would have otherwise been ignored by the social services system. Bishop O'Connell was part of that movement, to his great credit.

Expand full comment

Oh, that poem, Jean. Thank you. ❤️

Expand full comment

He was, indeed, a great man! He was always upfront in IAF and local and regional

grass-root organizations! He was right there supporting the people but was of the ilk, …”never do for someone who can do for themselves…” He would work behind the scenes, supporting; always meeting one on one and striving to develop leaders to advocate for issue’s important in their lives!

Expand full comment
founding

My goodness, MaryAnn, thank you for sharing such a beautiful description of how he walked 'with' the people. I'm reminded of a quality of the saints and martyrs, that of acompañamiento. Sounds like Bishop Dave possessed this quality. My heart is heavy for the loss of this, and of him, in a world so in need of a love so great.

Expand full comment
Comment deleted
Expand full comment
founding
Mar 11, 2023·edited Mar 11, 2023

Several times since reading your comments last week, I have thought of them, as I have on other occasions, including those of this morning. Even beyond your kind responses to me, I find myself drawn to your posts, that is when I notice them.

As to my attentiveness, or lack thereof in life, I didn't know of either of these 'great men' until after their death. It saddens me that I missed out on their offering to the world, and I wonder if my path would be other had I been aware at the time. I suppose I will never know. Though perhaps I can only hope I come to bring my awareness to things and places around me, and within me, that allow me to contribute in a meaningful way.

Thank you for your ongoing thoughtful and inspiring contributions, Janet. And of your post this morning, I am with you in all that you say about Jamie Raskin. I so admire him. And thank heavens you made your way through chemo while working. I cannot imagine.

Seems fitting to say good night with a line or two from a John O'Donohue poem:

"As twilight pervades the belief of night,

May beauty sleep lightly within your heart."

~ For Beauty, by John O’Donohue

To Bless the Space Between Us, A Book of Blessings

Expand full comment
Comment deleted
Expand full comment
founding

Lovely to receive your response, Janet. And I too so adore John O'Donohue. His writings and poetry speak deeply to me as no other. I'm familiar with David Whyte though I don’t know his works as intimately. One of his poems I keep in a special place, 'Self Portrait,' which is very beautiful. As for our possibly knowing one another, maybe through other 'political' forums, i.e., Force Multiplier or Senate Circle? Otherwise, I'm a mindfulness meditation practitioner so maybe while on a virtual retreat? And if none of that applies, you may have sensed my heart belongs to Colorado! In the late 70's, I ventured out from the east coast searching for John Denver, and myself ... and found neither! :) And I join you in your opening and closing note; I share your appreciation for this community, and the gratitude you so thoughtfully express.

Expand full comment
deletedMar 11, 2023·edited Mar 11, 2023
Comment deleted
Expand full comment
founding

How lovely, all that you say here. And a beautiful weekend to you. 🌨

Expand full comment
Mar 3, 2023Liked by Robert B. Hubbell

Excellent analysis 👏 👍 sums up all the people's backs DeSantis has climbed over in his Sunshine 🌞 Reich in an attempt to be the big Honcho like his mortal nemesis, the orange Behemoth 🍊. He is showing that he is perfectly willing to do whatever it takes to steal ol Trumpo's throne 😉, buddying up with the Fox fake news to promote his new book Courage to be Free and take everyone else's while he's at it. Thanks for keeping tabs on the little Napoleon wanna be, hopefully America 🇺🇸 can be his Waterloo in 2024.

Glad to hear that Jack Smith and DOJ are starting to have success with holding those accountable for J6 including El Trumpo 😀 and that he can be held liable for injuries to Capitol police officers and Congressional staff if found guilty. Wonder how 🤔 much all his properties are worth,especially if he has to sell them for the going bankruptcy price instead of inflating their values 🤔 like he has all these years!

Expand full comment

Wondering if Hillary would be able to sue El Trumpo to if it was proven that 🤔 the dirty underhanded tricks pulled by the FBI traitor in the NY office were the main contribution to her losing in 2016 and why Trump's victory caught so many 🤔 people by surprise 😮. Such a shame as I doubt the GOP could of passed that $2 trillion dollar tax cut for the rich, and I wonder if the Ukrainian war would have occurred as Hillary was hell on wheels when it came to dealing with Putin!

Expand full comment

Ooooooo 👏👏👏👏👏

Expand full comment

That’s my hope...if we can’t march Fake45 to prison, then let’s bankrupt him, isolate him

like he has leprosy! Let him have 1 Secret Service person looking after him. Just 1. He will shrivel up and die which I pray I live to witness. His family members, especially Jared, should be in prison for aiding & abetting a foreign nation, and for treason, if it can be proven. So many grifters, so many who are corrupt. Biden is methodically cleaning the house. We have to help him by not letting these manipulating thieves and liars ever get a seat at the table, never ever again!

Thank you, Robert, you have stirred me up.

Expand full comment

Bankrupt him? Trump enterprises was found guilt on 17 felony counts recently and they still haven't revoked the ability for his company to work on government contracts.

Expand full comment
Mar 3, 2023·edited Mar 3, 2023Liked by Robert B. Hubbell

I called out DeSantis as a fascist in a comment when the NYT published an op ed about him. The comment was not published. I then wrote a comment lambasting the Times for covering DeSantis in lieu of so many other credible people and reminding them of how they and the other media entities helped elect trump. They published the comment.

We need to push back hard on the media concerning over coverage of DeSantis. I support Mr. Hubbell in resisting obsessing on DeSantis.

Expand full comment
Mar 3, 2023Liked by Robert B. Hubbell

My friend says this about DeSantis: His ambition outgrew his knowledge and humanity.

The only voice I hear consistently calling him out is FL House Representative Anna V. Eskamani. It must be more her courageous voice. FYI I have created a fb group, Women For Florida’s Future. It’s purpose is to build community, be informed, & be ready to mobilize action on proposed legislation or other issues. I welcome you to join. https://m.facebook.com/groups/194467769550364/?ref=share&mibextid=S66gvF. Thanks! Susan Windmiller, Orlando FL.

Ps, thank you Robert for inspiring us to act.

Expand full comment

It's no coincidence that Bolsonaro fled to Florida.

Expand full comment
founding
Mar 3, 2023Liked by Robert B. Hubbell

Your first paragraph on DeSantis could be in a example of work as you apply to be a writer for Stephen Colbert. Bravo. Truth with humor=satire. Another talent you have.

Expand full comment
Mar 3, 2023Liked by Robert B. Hubbell

THAK YOU, THANK YOU ROBERT.

As one of your Florida subscribers who has been writing about the DeSantis threat as a presidential candidate, it's great to have you ring the alarm bell so full throatedly.

Our Republican breatheren are desperately seeking a candidate who appears normal to suburban America but still attracts the MAGA base. For now, DeSantis is their man; a new, more effective guy who would "grow" into the job of the presidency while promoting the hard right agenda. SICK & SCARY.

DeSantis' slogan "Keeping Florida Free" perfectly captures Republican hipocracy. "We're for Freedom! Freedom! Freedom!" as long it's the "Freedom" we like".

Expand full comment
Mar 3, 2023Liked by Robert B. Hubbell

Most have forgotten that DeSantis tried to create his own personal police force in Florida. A group of thugs who would be at his beck and call, able to intimidate and injure and arrest solely at DeSantis’ direction. This idea was fascism at its finest.

Expand full comment

How could this possibly be legal? I’m assuming that’s why he didn’t do it. I’m always amazed at people who act like militias are a thing and not something that’s totally illegal. Trying to create his own SS, good lord. Talk about pushing voters away!

Expand full comment
Mar 3, 2023Liked by Robert B. Hubbell

You, Robert, are an absolute master at describing Ron DeSantis! Your keen descriptors flow . . . like a poem.

May I remind our viewers of what you said about Florida's dangerous governor back on 12/15/22:

"... a small, petty man with limited ability and no conscience."

"...a calculating coward"

And on 1-24-23: "Put simply, DeSantis is ignorant and stupid. . . He is slow on his feet, eager to anger and a one-dimensional checkers player."

Hard to imagine, but he is all of these things. Now let's all stretch and add those "two-inch heels"!

Expand full comment
Mar 3, 2023Liked by Robert B. Hubbell

Your DeSantis expose' is spot on. We live in West Central Florida. DeSantis's "cloak of invisibility" is beginning to fade. His cannibalistic efforts to devour Florida's educational system, Pre K to Universities, began over a year ago with a $10,000 bonus to public school teachers. Instead of inspiring loyalty, he bought it. Grrr!

Expand full comment

As a Florida resident (deep red Pasco County) I have been sounding the DeSantis alarm here and everywhere on a daily basis. Every day I wake up to read a new story of something outrageous that he, or his sycophants, are proposing. The Florida legislature tries so hard to please him that nobody is thinking of the constituents. It is deeply depressing. One reason why he got so many votes is because he has enticed Northern right wingers, such as those who lost their jobs due to not getting vaxxed to come here. Lost your NYPD job? No problem. One to Florida and teach school even if you’re not qualified. Over 500,000 people moved here! And, yes, I am angry that so many Dems stayed home and didn’t vote. I hope and pray that they are now sufficiently alarmed to not do that again.

Expand full comment