Entitlements - that's what the GOP calls Social Security. Never mind that every worker pays into Social Security for decades. I guess when you pay into it for that long one is "entitled" to expect a return on that investment in their future well-being. The real entitlements are the loop holes for the wealthy and the starvation of the IRS so that taking too many "entitlements" is never detected by audits. And, let's not forget the entitlements of the corporations, after all they are considered "people" by the Supreme Court so they should pay taxes like other tax paying citizens. Anyone paying even a dollar of taxes is paying more than the sum total of sixty of the largest corporations in the world making billions and trillions of dollars pay. Their profit isn't shared with the workers who are treated like expendable serfs rather than the significant contributors to profit they are. We, the People, all of us sharing the wealth this time!
Jan 9, 2023·edited Jan 9, 2023Liked by Robert B. Hubbell
This evening I watched the MSNBC documentary "Love and the Constitution" on Representative Jamie Raskin's perspective as a member of the Judiciary Committee and the Lead Manager for the second impeachment spanning the three years 2018 through 2020. This is a beautiful portrait of the man and an excellent depiction of the events of the last three years of DT's presidency. Just beautiful and filled with love and what it means to do something meaningful and right with one's life and renews one's faith in what our government and democracy can ... and will .... be again. We, the People, all of us doing what is right this time and all the time.
If the past week in Congress is viewed as a pro football matchup, the Democrats were the Kansas City Chiefs and the Republicans the Chicago Bears. Our team has, for far too long, ascribed superpowers to this ragged bunch of right-wing zealots, given their total willingness to lie--and their utter shamelessness when caught. Robert Hubbell continues to wisely assure his readers that GOP "victories" have been fairly few and even those have come at a considerable cost in terms of future voter support. This was never more glaringly apparent than listening to Kevin McCarthy's truly pyrrhic "victory" speech late on Friday, followed by Leader Hakeem Jeffries's brilliant "concession" speech. It was an exciting revelation to hear Cong. Jeffries list the reasons why voters will support Democrats--and why they will reject MAGA Republicans. His was true eloquence, but presented in down-to-earth cadences that assure our party that we have a sterling new leader.
We will, over the next two years, need to repel constant attempts by the ever-so-slightly empowered House Republicans to make their case to the American public. But I have no doubt that we will succeed in doing so. Better still, each false allegation, each phony investigation, each ludicrous attempt to impeach a member of the Biden administration for imaginary failings will only cement the view among the MAJORITY of voters that these shrill demagogues are incapable of actually governing. Fortunately, a Democratic Senate and the Biden administration will prevent any of their dingbat ideas from even coming close to enactment.
Another terrific post -- thank you. I was struck by the description of Trump's election as "accidental." By chance I had just finished watching the 2017 documentary "Trumping Democracy: Real Money, Fake News, Your Data" before reading the post. The film makes clear that Trump's election was anything but accidental. Rather, it was carefully engineered and paid for by Robert Mercer, who, no longer plagued by the annoyances of campaign financing law and reporting requirements, initially had funded Ted Cruz to the tune of $5 million, to set him up to be the accessible and controllable face of far-right extremism going forward. But seeing that Cruz couldn't sustain his momentum and Trump was gaining traction in co-opting the Republican party, Mercer dumped the Texan and started backing the fat orange thing from New York.
With Mercer's money and through the efforts of Bannon and Conway (who were already in Mercer's orbit), Cambridge Analytica, and others (including the complicit Facebook), the disinformation and voter manipulation machinery went into high gear, especially micro-targeting exactly the right subset of vulnerable, susceptible voters in Michigan, Wisconsin, and Pennsylvania. And the rest, unfortunately, is history...
Bravo to your comments tonight Robert with the caveat that we could have won thehouse of representatives With a national campaign and a national spokesman about what the Republicans were about to do. It was lost in a handful of races that were winnable.
I am looking for a sober analysis of the weakness of the Democratic national committee and national party and how to correct such weakness so that we do not lose seats in California and New York again.
I agree with much that you say—but Democrats are NOT “The loyal opposition.” We are the party in power, controlling the presidency and the Senate. While it will be difficult to deal with the House Republicans, much can still be accomplished—consider how much was accomplished by President Obama with both houses controlled by Republicans. Or all the bipartisan bills passed in the last two years. We need to move forward, not just oppose.
A great summation of this historic event that Republicans will want to forget as soon as possible. I may be prejudiced but it seems to me that Democrats are a much kinder gentler people that Republicans, at least as far as the political parties go. Thy seem to have more compassion, more empathy where it comes to others who are struggling. Trump has always appeared to me to be angry, mean spirited, cold, unfeeling, vindictive, and he attract to him others like that. Maybe McCarthy will surprise us and suggest a pay cut or reduced pension for members of Congress and a cut in their medical benefits before initiating a cut for the poor and elderly. Yeah, right!
Since the elections in November I have been taking some serious flack for my optimistic attitude concerning this 2023 House of Representatives. Just yesterday I was soundly called out for my "positive platitudes" concerning this Republican House. I have also been soundly called out for "sticking my head in the sand" when I called for less addiction to the media whipping up one more of the same story designed to get clicks.
Now I see commenters and Mr. Hubbell preaching the same. Yay!
There is a better way to live than going through the day kicking and screaming over the latest thing a Republican has said.
Jan 9, 2023·edited Jan 9, 2023Liked by Robert B. Hubbell
After failing in our attempt to urge seemingly “moderate,” establishment Republicans, who already had signaled a willingness to work with like-minded people across the aisle, to join with centrist Democrats to find a consensus Speaker, a thoughtful Robert Reich Substack subscriber wrote (I mostly am paraphrasing): Whether or not we accomplish a stated goal, we have no choice but to renew our resolve to be diligent, continuing to form alliances where we can, and working together to heal our fractured society and our struggling democracy.
I imagine others here also might have invested in the two sides giving their votes to a mutually agreeable alternative, who, in return, would have rejected Kevin McCarthy’s bid for Speaker and would have raised public awareness that a cross-party coalition were possible.
Based on the foregoing, I would note, while attempts to improve conditions typically proceed incrementally, it is impossible to foretell precisely when any of our endeavors will reach critical mass, suddenly producing powerful results. Moreover, I would be remiss were I not also to underscore, in late December, that fellow Reich subscriber, replying to one of my comments, wrote, “Don’t convince yourself that it’s all futile, or it most certainly will be.”
Jan 9, 2023·edited Jan 9, 2023Liked by Robert B. Hubbell
What we have been witnessing from the GOP over the past several decades amounts to a slow-motion coup of the elites, the ultimate goal of which is to replace democratic government serving an ever expanding middle class with a corporate and billionaire autocracy. With the January 6th insurrection, the real aim of the GOP exploded into view, as they resorted to desperate fascist measures to stop what they feared (correctly) would be a very popular Democratic Party agenda under President Biden, an agenda where the middle class in this country would again make gains at the expense of the wealthy like they had during the New Deal era. Under Trump and with the reactionary Supreme Court finally cemented, the GOP was on the precipice of installing the autocracy of their dreams. Thankfully they failed in the 2020 election and on January 6th of 2021. Now starting on January 6th 2023 with their new House slim majority (achieved with dubious means), the GOP is again using desperate means to get America and its government back under the control of the wealthy minority. They are now making their aims more clear about gutting the social safety net, eradicating regulatory agencies, and undermining the bargaining power of workers. We must not let the Democrats make any deals with this anti-democratic and illegitimate organization, the GOP.
The most important statement in Today’s Edition is the fact that the Republican controlled House cannot pass legislation with out the Democratic Senate and President Biden’s approval. Somewhere in this world there is a time when the domestic terrorists of the Republican Party antics will be totally ineffective and will turn voters off and I think we are close to that time. Robert is right the comparison between McCarthy and Jeffries is stark and the American voters will see this and hopefully get the message.
I am having difficulty understanding why it matters if a single member can move to vacate the chair. That is just a motion, right? And the Ds have a vote, right? And even if the Ds did not have a vote, the "Freedom Caucus" and its ilk are in the small minority among Rs, right? And if such a motion were ever to succeed we would be back to another speaker vote, right? I am tending to think that if they want to spend their time with such motions that may be preferable to noxious investigations. Perhaps another reader can explain what I am missing here.
The much ballyhooed “investigation” of ongoing criminal and national-security proceedings will go nowhere, because it will be a clear (and intentional) violation of the separation of powers. Also, some of the “investigators” will be actual or potential subjects of DOJ probes, and hardly in a position to investigate those who are looking into their activities.
I wouldn't go conflating the Benghazi hearings with what the Republicans will attempt regarding J6. For one thing, the Conservative Entertainment Complex (CEC) was not as highly developed as it now is. Faux Snooze may not have broadcast any coverage of the J6 Committee, but that will be very different with this committee.
Remember that anything and everything these guys will do in the next two years will have the full-throated support of the CEC propagandists. Unlike the way Democrats were treated by the DC Press Corpse and the New York Times.
Entitlements - that's what the GOP calls Social Security. Never mind that every worker pays into Social Security for decades. I guess when you pay into it for that long one is "entitled" to expect a return on that investment in their future well-being. The real entitlements are the loop holes for the wealthy and the starvation of the IRS so that taking too many "entitlements" is never detected by audits. And, let's not forget the entitlements of the corporations, after all they are considered "people" by the Supreme Court so they should pay taxes like other tax paying citizens. Anyone paying even a dollar of taxes is paying more than the sum total of sixty of the largest corporations in the world making billions and trillions of dollars pay. Their profit isn't shared with the workers who are treated like expendable serfs rather than the significant contributors to profit they are. We, the People, all of us sharing the wealth this time!
This evening I watched the MSNBC documentary "Love and the Constitution" on Representative Jamie Raskin's perspective as a member of the Judiciary Committee and the Lead Manager for the second impeachment spanning the three years 2018 through 2020. This is a beautiful portrait of the man and an excellent depiction of the events of the last three years of DT's presidency. Just beautiful and filled with love and what it means to do something meaningful and right with one's life and renews one's faith in what our government and democracy can ... and will .... be again. We, the People, all of us doing what is right this time and all the time.
If the past week in Congress is viewed as a pro football matchup, the Democrats were the Kansas City Chiefs and the Republicans the Chicago Bears. Our team has, for far too long, ascribed superpowers to this ragged bunch of right-wing zealots, given their total willingness to lie--and their utter shamelessness when caught. Robert Hubbell continues to wisely assure his readers that GOP "victories" have been fairly few and even those have come at a considerable cost in terms of future voter support. This was never more glaringly apparent than listening to Kevin McCarthy's truly pyrrhic "victory" speech late on Friday, followed by Leader Hakeem Jeffries's brilliant "concession" speech. It was an exciting revelation to hear Cong. Jeffries list the reasons why voters will support Democrats--and why they will reject MAGA Republicans. His was true eloquence, but presented in down-to-earth cadences that assure our party that we have a sterling new leader.
We will, over the next two years, need to repel constant attempts by the ever-so-slightly empowered House Republicans to make their case to the American public. But I have no doubt that we will succeed in doing so. Better still, each false allegation, each phony investigation, each ludicrous attempt to impeach a member of the Biden administration for imaginary failings will only cement the view among the MAJORITY of voters that these shrill demagogues are incapable of actually governing. Fortunately, a Democratic Senate and the Biden administration will prevent any of their dingbat ideas from even coming close to enactment.
Another terrific post -- thank you. I was struck by the description of Trump's election as "accidental." By chance I had just finished watching the 2017 documentary "Trumping Democracy: Real Money, Fake News, Your Data" before reading the post. The film makes clear that Trump's election was anything but accidental. Rather, it was carefully engineered and paid for by Robert Mercer, who, no longer plagued by the annoyances of campaign financing law and reporting requirements, initially had funded Ted Cruz to the tune of $5 million, to set him up to be the accessible and controllable face of far-right extremism going forward. But seeing that Cruz couldn't sustain his momentum and Trump was gaining traction in co-opting the Republican party, Mercer dumped the Texan and started backing the fat orange thing from New York.
With Mercer's money and through the efforts of Bannon and Conway (who were already in Mercer's orbit), Cambridge Analytica, and others (including the complicit Facebook), the disinformation and voter manipulation machinery went into high gear, especially micro-targeting exactly the right subset of vulnerable, susceptible voters in Michigan, Wisconsin, and Pennsylvania. And the rest, unfortunately, is history...
Bravo to your comments tonight Robert with the caveat that we could have won thehouse of representatives With a national campaign and a national spokesman about what the Republicans were about to do. It was lost in a handful of races that were winnable.
I am looking for a sober analysis of the weakness of the Democratic national committee and national party and how to correct such weakness so that we do not lose seats in California and New York again.
I agree with much that you say—but Democrats are NOT “The loyal opposition.” We are the party in power, controlling the presidency and the Senate. While it will be difficult to deal with the House Republicans, much can still be accomplished—consider how much was accomplished by President Obama with both houses controlled by Republicans. Or all the bipartisan bills passed in the last two years. We need to move forward, not just oppose.
A great summation of this historic event that Republicans will want to forget as soon as possible. I may be prejudiced but it seems to me that Democrats are a much kinder gentler people that Republicans, at least as far as the political parties go. Thy seem to have more compassion, more empathy where it comes to others who are struggling. Trump has always appeared to me to be angry, mean spirited, cold, unfeeling, vindictive, and he attract to him others like that. Maybe McCarthy will surprise us and suggest a pay cut or reduced pension for members of Congress and a cut in their medical benefits before initiating a cut for the poor and elderly. Yeah, right!
Since the elections in November I have been taking some serious flack for my optimistic attitude concerning this 2023 House of Representatives. Just yesterday I was soundly called out for my "positive platitudes" concerning this Republican House. I have also been soundly called out for "sticking my head in the sand" when I called for less addiction to the media whipping up one more of the same story designed to get clicks.
Now I see commenters and Mr. Hubbell preaching the same. Yay!
There is a better way to live than going through the day kicking and screaming over the latest thing a Republican has said.
After failing in our attempt to urge seemingly “moderate,” establishment Republicans, who already had signaled a willingness to work with like-minded people across the aisle, to join with centrist Democrats to find a consensus Speaker, a thoughtful Robert Reich Substack subscriber wrote (I mostly am paraphrasing): Whether or not we accomplish a stated goal, we have no choice but to renew our resolve to be diligent, continuing to form alliances where we can, and working together to heal our fractured society and our struggling democracy.
I imagine others here also might have invested in the two sides giving their votes to a mutually agreeable alternative, who, in return, would have rejected Kevin McCarthy’s bid for Speaker and would have raised public awareness that a cross-party coalition were possible.
Based on the foregoing, I would note, while attempts to improve conditions typically proceed incrementally, it is impossible to foretell precisely when any of our endeavors will reach critical mass, suddenly producing powerful results. Moreover, I would be remiss were I not also to underscore, in late December, that fellow Reich subscriber, replying to one of my comments, wrote, “Don’t convince yourself that it’s all futile, or it most certainly will be.”
What we have been witnessing from the GOP over the past several decades amounts to a slow-motion coup of the elites, the ultimate goal of which is to replace democratic government serving an ever expanding middle class with a corporate and billionaire autocracy. With the January 6th insurrection, the real aim of the GOP exploded into view, as they resorted to desperate fascist measures to stop what they feared (correctly) would be a very popular Democratic Party agenda under President Biden, an agenda where the middle class in this country would again make gains at the expense of the wealthy like they had during the New Deal era. Under Trump and with the reactionary Supreme Court finally cemented, the GOP was on the precipice of installing the autocracy of their dreams. Thankfully they failed in the 2020 election and on January 6th of 2021. Now starting on January 6th 2023 with their new House slim majority (achieved with dubious means), the GOP is again using desperate means to get America and its government back under the control of the wealthy minority. They are now making their aims more clear about gutting the social safety net, eradicating regulatory agencies, and undermining the bargaining power of workers. We must not let the Democrats make any deals with this anti-democratic and illegitimate organization, the GOP.
Thanks so much for your letter tonight!
The most important statement in Today’s Edition is the fact that the Republican controlled House cannot pass legislation with out the Democratic Senate and President Biden’s approval. Somewhere in this world there is a time when the domestic terrorists of the Republican Party antics will be totally ineffective and will turn voters off and I think we are close to that time. Robert is right the comparison between McCarthy and Jeffries is stark and the American voters will see this and hopefully get the message.
I am having difficulty understanding why it matters if a single member can move to vacate the chair. That is just a motion, right? And the Ds have a vote, right? And even if the Ds did not have a vote, the "Freedom Caucus" and its ilk are in the small minority among Rs, right? And if such a motion were ever to succeed we would be back to another speaker vote, right? I am tending to think that if they want to spend their time with such motions that may be preferable to noxious investigations. Perhaps another reader can explain what I am missing here.
The much ballyhooed “investigation” of ongoing criminal and national-security proceedings will go nowhere, because it will be a clear (and intentional) violation of the separation of powers. Also, some of the “investigators” will be actual or potential subjects of DOJ probes, and hardly in a position to investigate those who are looking into their activities.
Wow. Thank you. That resulted in my upgrading to a paid subscriber.
I wouldn't go conflating the Benghazi hearings with what the Republicans will attempt regarding J6. For one thing, the Conservative Entertainment Complex (CEC) was not as highly developed as it now is. Faux Snooze may not have broadcast any coverage of the J6 Committee, but that will be very different with this committee.
Remember that anything and everything these guys will do in the next two years will have the full-throated support of the CEC propagandists. Unlike the way Democrats were treated by the DC Press Corpse and the New York Times.