What a wonderfully inspirational and sustaining concept for all of us on Team Democracy: Stagger our breathing, take a breath while others carry the note. Thank you, Lisa Herrick of 31st Street Swing Left, and Robert and Jill for your forum!
Robert, I agree with your conclusion: "Biden will lose support among some groups no matter what he does regarding Israel’s war on Hamas. Given that truth, he should do what he believes is right . . . and accept the political consequences." What I don't understand is why some people think that this is a static situation. It's anything but. Was it wrong or unwise for Biden and Blinken to support a long time ally, Israel, after they were viciously attacked by Hamas? Only a militant supporter of Hamas would be expected to think that. But after the killing of over 13,000 and the wounding of over 35,000 Palestinians, many of them children, and no clear assessment of how many Hamas leaders have been killed, if any, it's now time for Biden and Blinken to reassess the U.S. position. We shouldn't support Israel in making sitting ducks of the very Palestinians they advised to go to South Gaza to escape their attacks in the North. To do so would be unconscionable. Israel's plan to attack Southern Gaza is morally reprehensible. Having said that, war is hell. It's horrific. But we should understand, it is also fluid.
It's interesting to note that Bruni isn't the only one in the MSM who suddenly realizes what fascism means. We shall see.
As for Robert Kagan, he's one of the leading NeoCon dumbbells - one of those who was just *certain* the Iraqis would meet us with flowers in 2003. He was also wrong regarding his predictions of how Ukraine would go in 2012.
" It is Trump or democracy, Biden or fascism. The choice is that simple. And that stark." Trump has been announcing his plans for creating a fascist government. Ignoring those plans resemble Israel ignoring Hamas's identified by intelligence staff for the attack that occurred on October 7.
We need to take seriously the people who intend to destroy us. Court rulings and convictions against Trump are part of what is needed. Resources committed to defeating his campaign for the presidency and the campaigns of every Republican politician who supports him. Len Lubinsky. Len's Political Notes https://lenspoliticalnotes.com
Well-meaning people keep making the mistake of confusing Hamas for rational actors. They are not. They have one goal: drive the Jews out of Israel. And any ceasefire or humanitarian pause will be seen as a chance to re-arm. A long-term cease fire will be a chance to build more tunnels and collect more rockets. Not to feed and house their people. Again, they are not rational actors.
It should not need repeating but many on the Left seem to have forgotten what "Never Again" means and why the State of Israel is so important to Jews. So let me remind you:
During World War 2, no country would take in the Jews of Europe. Not the US, not the UK, not France. No one. The Brits would not even let them into Palestine.
And so the Germans and their allies were able to kill six million Jews. Because those Jews had nowhere to go. (Hitler's initial preference was to drive them out rather than kill them.)
"Never Again" means we will never again be without a state, never again without a homeland that will take us in when the world turns against us (as it always does.)
That means Israel took in almost 1 million Jews who were expelled from Arab countries in the late 1940s/early 1950s. (the equivalent of the US taking in around 150 million people today.). And that 300,000 Shoah survivors from the Displaced Persons camps arrived in the middle of the War of Independence when four Arab armies were attacking the country.
That means Israel airlifted 50,000 Yemeni Jews in 1949 during Operation Magic Carpet
And airlifted around 50,000 Ethiopian Jews--14K in just one 36 hour period--during Operations Solomon, Joshua and Moses in 1984-85.
That means Israel took in over 1.5 million Soviet Jews in the 1990s-- again, to put that in US terms, the equivalent of around 100 million people.
And it's why every American Jew I know has made the calculation in the past month as to what relocating to Israel would look like if the rampant Jew Hatred we see from the so-called Progressive Left and the Extreme Right becomes more widespread and the situation in the US becomes untenable.
I'll leave you with this video from this week's City Council meeting in Oakland, where speaker after speaker spewed Jew Hate and the notion that Israel had invented the entire Octber 7th massacre was viewed as a rational interpretation of events: https://x.com/yashar/status/1729630529199432095?s=20\
Thanks for your comments on Kagan's article, I got about halfway through and gave up but thought I might have been missing a point.
Do we need James Carville to come back and restate the issue as "It’s fascism, stupid" so that everyone understands. Apparently Trump’s own words aren't clear enough. Glad to see that Bruni is teachable though. Maybe some of his NYT colleagues will follow along.
Thank you again (and again) Robert The effort you put in to help us keep our sanity and remain effective is an appreciated gift to all of us. I read Jessica regularly. "Don't know what to do? Here's what you CAN do, and maybe this or this." She is great It is hard to remain focussed.
Thank you for commenting on Robert Kagan's piece in the WAPO. I just wrote this in the comments section of the piece (13K+ comments!) and also sent it as a "letter to the editor", something I have started to do thanks to the suggestions that you and your readers have made. "This piece is absolute drivel and Robert Kagan is just a fear mongerer. He is looking at the odds of a Trump dictatorship in a vacuum, having not considered the results of every election since 2016, which have repudiated Trump/MAGA politics. He is ignoring the growing backlash against incompetent representatives like Lauren Boebart and MTG and the very successful grass roots efforts to GOTV for 2024 - just as they did in 2018, 2020, and 2022. Democrats and the Biden Administration are not the feckless bunch he has portrayed them to be. Kagan has developed the parting of the Red Sea theory of a Trump march to the White House. Wrong. MAGA Republicans are a vocal minority. How many of them showed up to rally in Florida when Trump went to court for his indictment? Very few. MAGA Republicans are learning that following Trump's direction leads straight to a jail sentence. Please, WAPO, give us some insightful opinion pieces backed with thoughtful analysis of the full picture of what is happening as we head toward the 2024 elections. This is pure fantasy."
I highly recommend that, when talking to friends, family, or larger groups, we make this an election not just about democracy but about FREEDOM. Celinda Lake says that is the word that motivates Americans the most. Especially when you talk about having freedoms “taken away.” Lake pointed out in one of her presentations that humans are hardwired to not want things taken away from them. So if we frame it as “Donald Trump wants to take away your freedoms” that is something most Americans will react to strongly and viscerally. “Democracy” as a word is more abstract. Freedom to vote, freedom to love who you want, freedom to start a family when or if you want, freedom to be safe from gun violence, freedom to read what you want, these are things everyone understands, and no one wants to lose.
As someone who travels in several circles largely dominated by people who say they can’t vote for Biden in 24, I’ve never had a more potent rejoinder than “A vote is a chess move, not a valentine” (Rebecca Solnit). Thank you Robert for a most effective rhetorical tool that has changed more minds than any other device I’ve enlisted.
I agree with Robert completely. Unless a miracle candidate appears, if we don’t all vote for Biden, we are done. And I ask people to imagine what our daily lives as citizens in a dictatorship might look like. Especially we Liberals or lead organizers. Being stalked, jailed, disappearing without word? Biden is the only present way out and he is actually a strong but I guess just too humble and unassuming, boring person to cut through our entertainment drenched minds. Maybe he could pick up a chainsaw and wield it at his next speech? I hear that has worked elsewhere.
Robert..I signed up for your burnout webinar but care for my ancient mom precluded watching. Is it available on recording? Is there a link? I would love to experience it.
I’m betting on all of. In my county we’ve worked endlessly for 8 years and our stellar leaders are all exhausted. But no one is bailing for 2024. I know we are not even close to alone out there. And we’re smart and steadfast and we are the grownups all over this country who will rein in the insanity amongst our fellow voters. I know I’m not alone.
Off-topic: I've been advising readers to let editors know if their editorial policy is off-kilter. It's worth the effort, because sometimes the message gets through. As evidence, I offer this, the letters column in NYT:
I suggest you read all of the letters (they are terrific), but this particular comment is directed to one appearing under the heading, "Biden's meeting with Muslim Americans." You may notice that the writer shares his name with me, but the important point is that sometimes editors do pay attention. Actually, I hope that this one may be a signal that the prevailing winds in editorial suites are changing.
Robert, thank you for the reminder to sustain ourselves (analogous to putting on one's oxygen mask first then checking on the rest of one's family) and for your consistent and constant encouragement and plain speaking about what's happening and what we can do about it. You and Jill are greatly appreciated!
Talk about distorted media reporting on Joe Biden's policies. I just read today's "Daily Beast", normally a good source on news beyond the headlines, and was shocked by an item on a Biden action that completely misrepresented what the administration is trying to do. In October, Biden proposed the elimination of "junk fees". These are charges that show up unexpectedly on everything from bank statements to hotel bills to concert tickets. The vast majority of consumers are in favor of getting rid of these types of charges, or at the very least their full disclosure at the time of transaction. The "Daily Beast" has interpreted this proposal as a direct political attack by Biden on Donald Trump and his hotel business. The headline, totally misleading, reads "Joe Biden Wants to Abolish the Fees Trump Charges at His Resorts". The author calls the policy an "explicit election attack". That is just not true. Once again, the media misinterprets a popular Biden proposal in the least favorable light.
I have sent Jessica Craven’s quote on “ Hope” to many of my friends because it is so appropriate. We cannot lose hope because we are making headway everyday. The endless appeals and attack behavior and gag order violations are wearing thin with Americans and I think they are losing their appeal and effect. If you want a great dose of “ hope” watch the Newsom /DeSantis debate last night. Newsom has become the surrogate for Biden. https://www.cnn.com/2023/11/30/politics/desantis-newsom-debate-fox-hannity/index.html
What a wonderfully inspirational and sustaining concept for all of us on Team Democracy: Stagger our breathing, take a breath while others carry the note. Thank you, Lisa Herrick of 31st Street Swing Left, and Robert and Jill for your forum!
Robert, I agree with your conclusion: "Biden will lose support among some groups no matter what he does regarding Israel’s war on Hamas. Given that truth, he should do what he believes is right . . . and accept the political consequences." What I don't understand is why some people think that this is a static situation. It's anything but. Was it wrong or unwise for Biden and Blinken to support a long time ally, Israel, after they were viciously attacked by Hamas? Only a militant supporter of Hamas would be expected to think that. But after the killing of over 13,000 and the wounding of over 35,000 Palestinians, many of them children, and no clear assessment of how many Hamas leaders have been killed, if any, it's now time for Biden and Blinken to reassess the U.S. position. We shouldn't support Israel in making sitting ducks of the very Palestinians they advised to go to South Gaza to escape their attacks in the North. To do so would be unconscionable. Israel's plan to attack Southern Gaza is morally reprehensible. Having said that, war is hell. It's horrific. But we should understand, it is also fluid.
It's interesting to note that Bruni isn't the only one in the MSM who suddenly realizes what fascism means. We shall see.
As for Robert Kagan, he's one of the leading NeoCon dumbbells - one of those who was just *certain* the Iraqis would meet us with flowers in 2003. He was also wrong regarding his predictions of how Ukraine would go in 2012.
" It is Trump or democracy, Biden or fascism. The choice is that simple. And that stark." Trump has been announcing his plans for creating a fascist government. Ignoring those plans resemble Israel ignoring Hamas's identified by intelligence staff for the attack that occurred on October 7.
We need to take seriously the people who intend to destroy us. Court rulings and convictions against Trump are part of what is needed. Resources committed to defeating his campaign for the presidency and the campaigns of every Republican politician who supports him. Len Lubinsky. Len's Political Notes https://lenspoliticalnotes.com
And in the several hours since you wrote this, Hamas violated the cease fire and sent rockets flying into Israel and the war is on again.
https://www.timesofisrael.com/israel-terror-groups-renew-combat-in-gaza-hamas-violated-the-ceasefire/
[EDITED TO ADD this clip from NBC News this afternoon where SoS Blinken confirms that it was indeed Hamas that broke the truce. https://youtu.be/wYh5ZsYXOD0?si=VJMk-uYBqzULrPht]
Well-meaning people keep making the mistake of confusing Hamas for rational actors. They are not. They have one goal: drive the Jews out of Israel. And any ceasefire or humanitarian pause will be seen as a chance to re-arm. A long-term cease fire will be a chance to build more tunnels and collect more rockets. Not to feed and house their people. Again, they are not rational actors.
It should not need repeating but many on the Left seem to have forgotten what "Never Again" means and why the State of Israel is so important to Jews. So let me remind you:
During World War 2, no country would take in the Jews of Europe. Not the US, not the UK, not France. No one. The Brits would not even let them into Palestine.
And so the Germans and their allies were able to kill six million Jews. Because those Jews had nowhere to go. (Hitler's initial preference was to drive them out rather than kill them.)
"Never Again" means we will never again be without a state, never again without a homeland that will take us in when the world turns against us (as it always does.)
That means Israel took in almost 1 million Jews who were expelled from Arab countries in the late 1940s/early 1950s. (the equivalent of the US taking in around 150 million people today.). And that 300,000 Shoah survivors from the Displaced Persons camps arrived in the middle of the War of Independence when four Arab armies were attacking the country.
That means Israel airlifted 50,000 Yemeni Jews in 1949 during Operation Magic Carpet
And airlifted around 50,000 Ethiopian Jews--14K in just one 36 hour period--during Operations Solomon, Joshua and Moses in 1984-85.
That means Israel took in over 1.5 million Soviet Jews in the 1990s-- again, to put that in US terms, the equivalent of around 100 million people.
And it's why every American Jew I know has made the calculation in the past month as to what relocating to Israel would look like if the rampant Jew Hatred we see from the so-called Progressive Left and the Extreme Right becomes more widespread and the situation in the US becomes untenable.
I'll leave you with this video from this week's City Council meeting in Oakland, where speaker after speaker spewed Jew Hate and the notion that Israel had invented the entire Octber 7th massacre was viewed as a rational interpretation of events: https://x.com/yashar/status/1729630529199432095?s=20\
Thanks for your comments on Kagan's article, I got about halfway through and gave up but thought I might have been missing a point.
Do we need James Carville to come back and restate the issue as "It’s fascism, stupid" so that everyone understands. Apparently Trump’s own words aren't clear enough. Glad to see that Bruni is teachable though. Maybe some of his NYT colleagues will follow along.
Thank you again (and again) Robert The effort you put in to help us keep our sanity and remain effective is an appreciated gift to all of us. I read Jessica regularly. "Don't know what to do? Here's what you CAN do, and maybe this or this." She is great It is hard to remain focussed.
Thank you for commenting on Robert Kagan's piece in the WAPO. I just wrote this in the comments section of the piece (13K+ comments!) and also sent it as a "letter to the editor", something I have started to do thanks to the suggestions that you and your readers have made. "This piece is absolute drivel and Robert Kagan is just a fear mongerer. He is looking at the odds of a Trump dictatorship in a vacuum, having not considered the results of every election since 2016, which have repudiated Trump/MAGA politics. He is ignoring the growing backlash against incompetent representatives like Lauren Boebart and MTG and the very successful grass roots efforts to GOTV for 2024 - just as they did in 2018, 2020, and 2022. Democrats and the Biden Administration are not the feckless bunch he has portrayed them to be. Kagan has developed the parting of the Red Sea theory of a Trump march to the White House. Wrong. MAGA Republicans are a vocal minority. How many of them showed up to rally in Florida when Trump went to court for his indictment? Very few. MAGA Republicans are learning that following Trump's direction leads straight to a jail sentence. Please, WAPO, give us some insightful opinion pieces backed with thoughtful analysis of the full picture of what is happening as we head toward the 2024 elections. This is pure fantasy."
I highly recommend that, when talking to friends, family, or larger groups, we make this an election not just about democracy but about FREEDOM. Celinda Lake says that is the word that motivates Americans the most. Especially when you talk about having freedoms “taken away.” Lake pointed out in one of her presentations that humans are hardwired to not want things taken away from them. So if we frame it as “Donald Trump wants to take away your freedoms” that is something most Americans will react to strongly and viscerally. “Democracy” as a word is more abstract. Freedom to vote, freedom to love who you want, freedom to start a family when or if you want, freedom to be safe from gun violence, freedom to read what you want, these are things everyone understands, and no one wants to lose.
As someone who travels in several circles largely dominated by people who say they can’t vote for Biden in 24, I’ve never had a more potent rejoinder than “A vote is a chess move, not a valentine” (Rebecca Solnit). Thank you Robert for a most effective rhetorical tool that has changed more minds than any other device I’ve enlisted.
I agree with Robert completely. Unless a miracle candidate appears, if we don’t all vote for Biden, we are done. And I ask people to imagine what our daily lives as citizens in a dictatorship might look like. Especially we Liberals or lead organizers. Being stalked, jailed, disappearing without word? Biden is the only present way out and he is actually a strong but I guess just too humble and unassuming, boring person to cut through our entertainment drenched minds. Maybe he could pick up a chainsaw and wield it at his next speech? I hear that has worked elsewhere.
Robert..I signed up for your burnout webinar but care for my ancient mom precluded watching. Is it available on recording? Is there a link? I would love to experience it.
I’m betting on all of. In my county we’ve worked endlessly for 8 years and our stellar leaders are all exhausted. But no one is bailing for 2024. I know we are not even close to alone out there. And we’re smart and steadfast and we are the grownups all over this country who will rein in the insanity amongst our fellow voters. I know I’m not alone.
Off-topic: I've been advising readers to let editors know if their editorial policy is off-kilter. It's worth the effort, because sometimes the message gets through. As evidence, I offer this, the letters column in NYT:
https://www.nytimes.com/2023/11/30/opinion/antisemitism-chuck-schumer.html?unlocked_article_code=1.Ck0.2GAM.xN6nADntLtth&hpgrp=k-abar&smid=url-share
I suggest you read all of the letters (they are terrific), but this particular comment is directed to one appearing under the heading, "Biden's meeting with Muslim Americans." You may notice that the writer shares his name with me, but the important point is that sometimes editors do pay attention. Actually, I hope that this one may be a signal that the prevailing winds in editorial suites are changing.
Robert, thank you for the reminder to sustain ourselves (analogous to putting on one's oxygen mask first then checking on the rest of one's family) and for your consistent and constant encouragement and plain speaking about what's happening and what we can do about it. You and Jill are greatly appreciated!
Talk about distorted media reporting on Joe Biden's policies. I just read today's "Daily Beast", normally a good source on news beyond the headlines, and was shocked by an item on a Biden action that completely misrepresented what the administration is trying to do. In October, Biden proposed the elimination of "junk fees". These are charges that show up unexpectedly on everything from bank statements to hotel bills to concert tickets. The vast majority of consumers are in favor of getting rid of these types of charges, or at the very least their full disclosure at the time of transaction. The "Daily Beast" has interpreted this proposal as a direct political attack by Biden on Donald Trump and his hotel business. The headline, totally misleading, reads "Joe Biden Wants to Abolish the Fees Trump Charges at His Resorts". The author calls the policy an "explicit election attack". That is just not true. Once again, the media misinterprets a popular Biden proposal in the least favorable light.
I have sent Jessica Craven’s quote on “ Hope” to many of my friends because it is so appropriate. We cannot lose hope because we are making headway everyday. The endless appeals and attack behavior and gag order violations are wearing thin with Americans and I think they are losing their appeal and effect. If you want a great dose of “ hope” watch the Newsom /DeSantis debate last night. Newsom has become the surrogate for Biden. https://www.cnn.com/2023/11/30/politics/desantis-newsom-debate-fox-hannity/index.html
Bless you, dear one, for this strong, true, much needed, post. xx's