Robert, you hit the nail on two heads here! First, how different the picture is the criminal conspiracy is with DT as the center of the violence. The key paradigm shift for me was in the words "They're not there to hurt me." My impression had been that DT was cowardly to not go to the Capitol. Now I see how essential it was in his mind to be the kingpin of the criminal conspiracy and lead the violence and overthrow the government. It also is very painful to think of the bloodshed that would probably have resulted. Members of Congress and a lot of their staffs would have been killed or seriously injured. In a perverse way we could have been perhaps a bit too lucky and not fully appreciate the full horror like we did on 9/11. Second, on Dobbs, hell yes women and their many supporters are now on the offensive. We're going to put on our Super Girl capes and make it so clear that no one is going to take our rights away from us you'll see all the leaders on the other side standing in our way snivel off to cower in a corner. No one. Their little moment of triumph is going to be very short lived. My dream is that patriarchy now dies and is replaced by true egalitarianism where every person is respected just because they exist and our differences are valued and celebrated. We,the People, all of us this time! Each and every one of us.
Excellent newsletter! Especially while fighting Covid. If you can do that, we can rise above whatever burdens we face to do the same.
Thank you for your brilliant observation that, by reversing Roe v. Wade in Dobbs, Scotus didn't just eliminate a Constitutional right for the first time; it converted a Constitutional right into a felony. All your readers need to pass this excellent observation along to those Democrats campaigning in their states, as this point should be hammered home from tomorrow through the elections next November. Your words exquisitely capture the enormity of Scotus's appalling Dobbs decision. No wonder its favorability rating has fallen to an all-time low of 25%.
While pondering how I most productively could focus my response to Today’s Edition Newsletter, I settled upon drafting a cautionary tale relative to Democratic leadership that I believe demands our immediate attention.
Be it the failure, this past winter, to pass the Budget Reconciliation package (BBB) because Democratic leadership couldn’t whip 50 Senate votes, or to pass federal voter protection safeguards because Dems didn’t have the votes to overcome a filibuster or get a filibuster carve-out, Democrats, to date, have not articulated a plan to fight back.
Six months later, Congress, again, appears to lack the votes, this time, to restore the protections of Roe v. Wade as federal law. And, as before, we’re told, that if the Dems, this fall, can just hold the House and pick up at least 2 Senate seats, they can get this done.
In my view, just telling people to vote as their sole guidance when their party already controls both Houses of Congress and the White House is just not enough and massively undersells the immediate urgency of the current state of affairs, whether near historic inflation or sectarian transformation of the egalitarian and democratic ideals embedded in our founding documents.
Returning to abortion rights as an iterative example, if Dems are intent on galvanizing voters, they need, in the short-term, to enact concrete actions: 1) increasing access to at-home abortion pills, 2) attempting to repeal the Hyde Amendment, which prohibits federal funds for paying for abortions, 3) expanding abortion clinics on Native and federal land, and 4) providing resources to travel out of state for care. In short, given that the public largely is on the side of the Dems, the most important thing for Dems is to propose something. They need to show they’re trying, for example, to give people more than some version of some elusive number of years we maybe can get enough people on the Court.
As a Michigan resident, I am starting to feel a little better about last week's Supreme Court decision to end Roe v. Wade. Oh, I definitely despise it, but some of my fellow Michiganders have already been circulating petitions for a ballot proposal to go on November's ballot that would make abortion legal in the Michigan Constitution. If it passes I don't believe the state legislature can change it. There are already enough petition signatures (400,000) to put this proposal on the fall ballot, but they're collecting extras just to make sure. The women I know are angry, or should I say furious, about the Supreme Court decision, and are not going to let this go. I think this ballot proposal has a good chance of passage. If it passes, and it holds up (I'm sure there would be court challenges, but it wouldn't be that easy to undo), perhaps it can be a model for the rest of the country. Go, Michigan!
I'm quite put out with an article in the Washington Post saying a smoking gun has not yet been provided. What? If I know a group is armed and following my direction ("my people") and I send them to the Capitol then why is it necessary that I go with them or even that I intend to do so? When someone hires a killer to do away with their business partner, they rarely go along to see the deed done but they are still as guilty as the person who pulls the trigger.
Reading Dobbs is like seeing the Supreme Court throw all in with the “own the libs” crowd. Honestly, I don’t even know how constitutional law professors will teach the cases coming out of this court. Apparently, the ‘law’ is going to be whatever cultural grievance the right has and can get in front of the court.
Bless you and please don’t write if you are truly exhausted. Sleep is a great healer. We will all be here to listen and comment when you recover.
I listened on Monday with a group of neighbors. We, too, felt the KEY discovery was his knowledge of and plans for violence. “‘they are not here to hurt me” ! If that doesn’t define his intentions, I don’t know what does! Giuliani knew it when he bragged to Hutchinson about it as he left the White House that night. Trump was going to enter Congress and I bet declare Martial Law as he created complete chaos. The National Guard was standing by. Who cares if he threw a plate at a wall? We should care that he was ready to destroy our democracy and encourage carnage in our Capitol in order to stay in power. I’m calling lots of newspapers tomorrow and ask them to focus on THAT! We are in real trouble if the mainstream press can’t relearn critical thinking and reporting. I’m so curious-do you send your blog to any editors at NYT or WP?
Despite being in "COVID fog," you came up with a slogan Democrats should repeat over and over as we head to the midterms: "Reclaim full citizenship for women!"
Brilliant, powerful newsletter! Thank you for the inspiration. The journalistic practice of rendering credibility to those who refuse to testify in court is a significant catalyst for our political polarization. How to discourage news media distortions is a challenge we also must address.
THANKS Robert for continuing to write in the face of Covid. Glad you are getting better day by day. Your ability to distill things and provide analysis, political realism, and a constant theme of "can do it" is what we need. Peace and Courage.
TFG has been strangling the GOP for years. The Dobbs decision is a dramatic squeeze of the throat. The GOP is about to become a zombie party. Robert's assessment that we Democrats have been energized by Dobbs is well said - but I actually think it understates the bullwhip effect it will have. I think this Gilead Court has headed down a path of destruction that will in the short term create much pain and suffering. But in the longer run will be the death knell of Lincoln's big tent party which has been hollowed out by a con man.
Mick Mulvaney's statements are evidence of the rats leaving the ship. The fact that Mulvaney would distance himself from TFG is huge. Keep in mind this is the guy who was a "Chief of Staff" for the monster. This is the guy who as director of the OMB was given the task of disassembling the Consumer Protection Bureau. This is the guy whose buddies in the House were Meadows and Jordan. But he crossed TFG and was sent to Ireland. There are thousands of people like him who were berated, embarrassed, publicly humiliated, had their careers crushed, their money stolen by TFG. The weakness of TFG is now apparent and the other wolves in the pack will either abandon him or have him for supper.
And...when rats start running down the ropes to the wharf, they are not doing it out of principle. They simply don't want to drown ... with the Captain of the Ship. Many more will be flushed out. Let's not make heroes out of them. But we can smile a little bit as we see them scurry about seeking safety.
Now our goal must be the incineration of a fascist, racist, misogynistic, totalitarian political party that has lost all credibility as a legitimate organ of democracy and decency. Those Republicans who want leave the ship and actually have a political philosophy worthy of public attention should form a new party that starts with stating facts - not "alternative facts" and lies. A "New Conservative Party" could legitimately discuss the size of government, fiscal policy, infrastructure, tax reform, immigration reform, poverty, education, public health, climate, energy and trade policies...you get my drift. Important stuff that can lead to improving the lives of Americans. Such a party could promote democracy here and abroad.
The Republican Party itself is A LIE. It has built itself around a liar. It is doomed as a legitimate entity.
May you continue to heal quickly and fully. Thank you for being a voice of truth, fact, accountability and hope in this dark time. May we not let our anger consume us, rather may we transform it to bold courage, compassionate love, and unwavering resolve that achieves a Democracy that works for and protects all.
OFF TOPIC; The Emmett Till Foundation has uncovered a decades old Court record ( an unserved warrant ) & has revealed the identity of a Co-conspirator who targetted Emmett. Murder does not have a statute of limitations. Update the warrant with the Co-conspirator's admissions over the years & serve it.
Robert, you hit the nail on two heads here! First, how different the picture is the criminal conspiracy is with DT as the center of the violence. The key paradigm shift for me was in the words "They're not there to hurt me." My impression had been that DT was cowardly to not go to the Capitol. Now I see how essential it was in his mind to be the kingpin of the criminal conspiracy and lead the violence and overthrow the government. It also is very painful to think of the bloodshed that would probably have resulted. Members of Congress and a lot of their staffs would have been killed or seriously injured. In a perverse way we could have been perhaps a bit too lucky and not fully appreciate the full horror like we did on 9/11. Second, on Dobbs, hell yes women and their many supporters are now on the offensive. We're going to put on our Super Girl capes and make it so clear that no one is going to take our rights away from us you'll see all the leaders on the other side standing in our way snivel off to cower in a corner. No one. Their little moment of triumph is going to be very short lived. My dream is that patriarchy now dies and is replaced by true egalitarianism where every person is respected just because they exist and our differences are valued and celebrated. We,the People, all of us this time! Each and every one of us.
Excellent newsletter! Especially while fighting Covid. If you can do that, we can rise above whatever burdens we face to do the same.
Thank you for your brilliant observation that, by reversing Roe v. Wade in Dobbs, Scotus didn't just eliminate a Constitutional right for the first time; it converted a Constitutional right into a felony. All your readers need to pass this excellent observation along to those Democrats campaigning in their states, as this point should be hammered home from tomorrow through the elections next November. Your words exquisitely capture the enormity of Scotus's appalling Dobbs decision. No wonder its favorability rating has fallen to an all-time low of 25%.
Thanks again, as always, for all you do!
While pondering how I most productively could focus my response to Today’s Edition Newsletter, I settled upon drafting a cautionary tale relative to Democratic leadership that I believe demands our immediate attention.
Be it the failure, this past winter, to pass the Budget Reconciliation package (BBB) because Democratic leadership couldn’t whip 50 Senate votes, or to pass federal voter protection safeguards because Dems didn’t have the votes to overcome a filibuster or get a filibuster carve-out, Democrats, to date, have not articulated a plan to fight back.
Six months later, Congress, again, appears to lack the votes, this time, to restore the protections of Roe v. Wade as federal law. And, as before, we’re told, that if the Dems, this fall, can just hold the House and pick up at least 2 Senate seats, they can get this done.
In my view, just telling people to vote as their sole guidance when their party already controls both Houses of Congress and the White House is just not enough and massively undersells the immediate urgency of the current state of affairs, whether near historic inflation or sectarian transformation of the egalitarian and democratic ideals embedded in our founding documents.
Returning to abortion rights as an iterative example, if Dems are intent on galvanizing voters, they need, in the short-term, to enact concrete actions: 1) increasing access to at-home abortion pills, 2) attempting to repeal the Hyde Amendment, which prohibits federal funds for paying for abortions, 3) expanding abortion clinics on Native and federal land, and 4) providing resources to travel out of state for care. In short, given that the public largely is on the side of the Dems, the most important thing for Dems is to propose something. They need to show they’re trying, for example, to give people more than some version of some elusive number of years we maybe can get enough people on the Court.
As a Michigan resident, I am starting to feel a little better about last week's Supreme Court decision to end Roe v. Wade. Oh, I definitely despise it, but some of my fellow Michiganders have already been circulating petitions for a ballot proposal to go on November's ballot that would make abortion legal in the Michigan Constitution. If it passes I don't believe the state legislature can change it. There are already enough petition signatures (400,000) to put this proposal on the fall ballot, but they're collecting extras just to make sure. The women I know are angry, or should I say furious, about the Supreme Court decision, and are not going to let this go. I think this ballot proposal has a good chance of passage. If it passes, and it holds up (I'm sure there would be court challenges, but it wouldn't be that easy to undo), perhaps it can be a model for the rest of the country. Go, Michigan!
I'm quite put out with an article in the Washington Post saying a smoking gun has not yet been provided. What? If I know a group is armed and following my direction ("my people") and I send them to the Capitol then why is it necessary that I go with them or even that I intend to do so? When someone hires a killer to do away with their business partner, they rarely go along to see the deed done but they are still as guilty as the person who pulls the trigger.
Reading Dobbs is like seeing the Supreme Court throw all in with the “own the libs” crowd. Honestly, I don’t even know how constitutional law professors will teach the cases coming out of this court. Apparently, the ‘law’ is going to be whatever cultural grievance the right has and can get in front of the court.
Bless you and please don’t write if you are truly exhausted. Sleep is a great healer. We will all be here to listen and comment when you recover.
I listened on Monday with a group of neighbors. We, too, felt the KEY discovery was his knowledge of and plans for violence. “‘they are not here to hurt me” ! If that doesn’t define his intentions, I don’t know what does! Giuliani knew it when he bragged to Hutchinson about it as he left the White House that night. Trump was going to enter Congress and I bet declare Martial Law as he created complete chaos. The National Guard was standing by. Who cares if he threw a plate at a wall? We should care that he was ready to destroy our democracy and encourage carnage in our Capitol in order to stay in power. I’m calling lots of newspapers tomorrow and ask them to focus on THAT! We are in real trouble if the mainstream press can’t relearn critical thinking and reporting. I’m so curious-do you send your blog to any editors at NYT or WP?
Despite being in "COVID fog," you came up with a slogan Democrats should repeat over and over as we head to the midterms: "Reclaim full citizenship for women!"
Take care and take rest. I am completing my 3rd week. This is not to be taken lightly-even with 4 shots!
Brilliant, powerful newsletter! Thank you for the inspiration. The journalistic practice of rendering credibility to those who refuse to testify in court is a significant catalyst for our political polarization. How to discourage news media distortions is a challenge we also must address.
THANKS Robert for continuing to write in the face of Covid. Glad you are getting better day by day. Your ability to distill things and provide analysis, political realism, and a constant theme of "can do it" is what we need. Peace and Courage.
TFG has been strangling the GOP for years. The Dobbs decision is a dramatic squeeze of the throat. The GOP is about to become a zombie party. Robert's assessment that we Democrats have been energized by Dobbs is well said - but I actually think it understates the bullwhip effect it will have. I think this Gilead Court has headed down a path of destruction that will in the short term create much pain and suffering. But in the longer run will be the death knell of Lincoln's big tent party which has been hollowed out by a con man.
Mick Mulvaney's statements are evidence of the rats leaving the ship. The fact that Mulvaney would distance himself from TFG is huge. Keep in mind this is the guy who was a "Chief of Staff" for the monster. This is the guy who as director of the OMB was given the task of disassembling the Consumer Protection Bureau. This is the guy whose buddies in the House were Meadows and Jordan. But he crossed TFG and was sent to Ireland. There are thousands of people like him who were berated, embarrassed, publicly humiliated, had their careers crushed, their money stolen by TFG. The weakness of TFG is now apparent and the other wolves in the pack will either abandon him or have him for supper.
And...when rats start running down the ropes to the wharf, they are not doing it out of principle. They simply don't want to drown ... with the Captain of the Ship. Many more will be flushed out. Let's not make heroes out of them. But we can smile a little bit as we see them scurry about seeking safety.
Now our goal must be the incineration of a fascist, racist, misogynistic, totalitarian political party that has lost all credibility as a legitimate organ of democracy and decency. Those Republicans who want leave the ship and actually have a political philosophy worthy of public attention should form a new party that starts with stating facts - not "alternative facts" and lies. A "New Conservative Party" could legitimately discuss the size of government, fiscal policy, infrastructure, tax reform, immigration reform, poverty, education, public health, climate, energy and trade policies...you get my drift. Important stuff that can lead to improving the lives of Americans. Such a party could promote democracy here and abroad.
The Republican Party itself is A LIE. It has built itself around a liar. It is doomed as a legitimate entity.
May you continue to heal quickly and fully. Thank you for being a voice of truth, fact, accountability and hope in this dark time. May we not let our anger consume us, rather may we transform it to bold courage, compassionate love, and unwavering resolve that achieves a Democracy that works for and protects all.
We are still hoping that you will choose to take time off to take of yourself so that you will have an expedient full recovery.
Take care
OFF TOPIC; The Emmett Till Foundation has uncovered a decades old Court record ( an unserved warrant ) & has revealed the identity of a Co-conspirator who targetted Emmett. Murder does not have a statute of limitations. Update the warrant with the Co-conspirator's admissions over the years & serve it.
Brilliant and pithy. Thanks. So glad you are feeling better. Thought-provoking Opinion piece in the NYT about the slow, effective methods the pro-life movement used to get us to this moment. Instructive? https://www.nytimes.com/2022/06/27/opinion/lessons-anti-abortion-movement.html?referringSource=articleShare Thanks as always for keeping my chin off the ground.