The misleading narrative of Democratic disunity.

August 5, 2026

As primaries in five states conclude on Tuesday evening, the leading narrative in the political press is that the Democratic Party is in crisis and disarray. Why? According to political commentators, it is because members of the Democratic Party disagree over the best path forward and are asking voters to decide between candidates advocating competing visions of the path to victory.

I remember the good old days when candidates campaigned for votes based on their policies. We used to call that “democracy.” Now, pundits use words like “disunity,” “division,” “chaos,” and a “fight for the future of the Democratic Party” to describe a process that is more commonly known as “a primary.”

It could be otherwise. Democratic candidates could seek votes based on which candidate is the most willing to debase themselves to win the approval of a narcissistic megalomaniac, adjudicated sexual abuser, convicted felon. The pundits think that it is just swell for the Republican Party to replace the very notion of political discourse with a cult of personality. But those same pundits descend into apoplexy when Democrats dare to admit disagreement and vigorous debate over ideas.

Are the contests between “progressives” (sometimes Democratic Socialists of America) and “moderates” important and instructive? Yes! But they are a sign of a healthy party trying to figure out what voters want. Rather than saying that the “progressive” or “centrist” candidate won, the correct framing is that voters chose a candidate who promoted policies relevant to voters in that district.

When voters speak, their parties and political commentators should listen.

If voters in different parts of the country choose candidates who promote different policies, that is a natural state of affairs for a nation as vast and diverse as the United States. Those differences are not a sign of disunity but instead demonstrate that the Democratic Party is a broad, tolerant, and inclusive coalition.

Will there be disappointment, frustration, resentment, and hard feelings over the outcomes of some races? Yes, because everyone involved in those contests is human. But again, natural human emotions are not a sign of dysfunction but a sign of life in the only party fighting to save democracy.

Senate Judiciary Committee advances Blanche’s nomination to the full Senate.

The Senate Judiciary Committee voted 12-10 to advance the nomination of Todd Blanche to the full Senate for a final vote on confirmation. See CBS News, Senate Judiciary Committee advances Blanche’s nomination for attorney general.

Senator John Cornyn capitulated to Trump when Blanche provided illusory promises that the $1.8 billion weaponization fund would not proceed. Cornyn gave a pathetic excuse for his capitulation, saying

Well, there’s nothing we could do to rein in the president when he said he likes the fund and he wishes it still exists. But the fact of the matter, it’s dead, and that’s all we could do under these circumstances.

Talk about Profiles in Cowardice! Of course, there is something that the Article I branch of the government can do to rein in Trump. It can pass a law that prohibits any compensation for those convicted of crimes related to the assault on the Capitol on January 6. But that would require Cornyn and his fellow Republicans to do their jobs—something that they gave up trying to do long ago.

And Cornyn is flat out wrong when he says, “it’s dead.” To the contrary, Blanche rescinded his order implementing the fund but did not repeal the settlement agreement that creates the fund and authorizes the payments. For a detailed explanation of the gaping legal loopholes in Todd Blanche’s disingenuous statements issued on Sunday, see Philip Rotner in The Bulwark, Don’t Believe Todd Blanche About Trump’s Slush Fund From Hell.

Rotner begins,

Don’t be fooled by the weasel-worded statements that Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche posted on the Department of Justice website and tweeted out late Sunday night. They are clearly intended to give a false impression that a stake has finally been driven into the fund’s heart. It hasn’t.

Rotner parses the language of Blanche’s statement regarding the slush fund and concludes,

If Senators Cornyn and Tillis are too dense to understand the difference between “not operative” or “not moving forward,” on the one hand, and “dead forever,” on the other, then maybe Trump stumbled on something true by branding them as no longer fit to be senators.

There is more to the analysis, so I recommend Rotner’s article in full for your review.

The vote on Blanche will take place sometime in the next few days, so there is still time to prevent his confirmation. And there are even more reasons than ever to do so. New reporting in Politico says that Blanche promised a conservative Christian organization, Intercessors for America, that he would work to make the Dobbs decision “the law of the land” in every single state. See Politico, Blanche assures anti-abortion supporters that Dobbs will be ‘permanent in every single state’.

Although just how Blanche would extend Dobbs to every state is unclear, since the essence of the holding is that “the people’s representatives” get to decide what law applies in their states. According to a recording of the call by Blanche, he suggested that the DOJ would attempt to block telehealth prescriptions and the use of the mail for delivery of medication to prevent women from accessing abortion healthcare.

Having an unelected, unaccountable, and corrupt Attorney General pledge to extend Dobbs to every state is the opposite of “allowing the people’s representatives” to decide the question for their respective states.

This disclosure should put reproductive health rights on the ballot for every GOP member of Congress who is running for re-election—especially for Susan Collins, who put Brett Kavanaugh on the Supreme Court.

Speaking of Senator Susan “I am concerned” Collins, she has announced that she will vote against Todd Blanche’s confirmation. Sadly, her announcement suggests that Blanche has enough votes without Collins to be confirmed. But, just in case other GOP Senators decide to vote against Blanche, he can afford to lose only two more votes. Here’s why:

Mitch McConnell is not expected to vote in the Senate ever again. With Collins’ vote against Blanche, the tally is 48 – 51. If one more GOP Senator votes against Blanche, the total is 49 against, 50 in favor, and Blanche is confirmed because a majority of the Senators “present and voting” will have voted for his confirmation. If two more GOP Senators vote against Blanche, the vote will be 50 to 49. Blanche’s confirmation is defeated because a majority of the Senators present and voting will have voted against his confirmation.

In short, one more GOP defection and Blanche will be confirmed; two more GOP defections and Blanche’s confirmation will be defeated.

Per Democracy Docket, the Texas GOP has backed down from a scheme to suppress the vote in the 2024 midterm elections after a wave of voter outrage.

Per Democracy Docket, Republicans were on the verge of drastically reducing the number of voting locations in a major Texas battleground county, including cutting early voting locations on college campuses.

Democracy Docket reports:

But that all changed at the last moment, when Republican officials were faced with a massive backlash from outraged voters who packed the meeting room — and two overflow rooms — to demand that their voting locations remain open.

See Democracy Docket, GOP backs down from suppression scheme in Texas after voter outrage.

Something is happening in Texas, and it is not good for the GOP. The people are taking back their state, which has been under minority rule for decades.

The people of Missouri vote decisively against the Republican legislature’s attempt to curtail the initiative process.

Republicans in the Missouri legislature grew weary of the people of Missouri using the initiative process to enact progressive legislation, including protection of abortion rights, legalization of marijuana, and a minimum wage increase. So, Republicans in the Missouri legislature proposed a constitutional amendment to make it harder for the people of Missouri to use the initiative process to enact progressive legislation and amend the state Constitution. New restrictions would have required that a majority in each of the state’s 8 congressional districts vote in favor for an initiative to pass.

On Tuesday, Missouri voters rejected the Republican legislature’s attempt to curtail the initiative process. And they did so by an overwhelming margin of 83% to 16%! See Missouri Independent, Missouri voters reject income tax phaseout, initiative petition changes.

Something is happening in Missouri, and it is not good for the GOP.

Concluding Thoughts.

After a 7-hour drive home through California’s Central Valley, I am calling an audible to end the newsletter early. As we drove through Bakersfield, CA, the temperature rose to 110°F, and yet there were workers in the fields picking crops that feed America! (California’s Central Valley produces 25% of America’s table food and is responsible for 8% of US agricultural production. See USGS, California’s Central Valley.)

Temperatures of 110°F are not uncommon during summer months in Bakersfield, but the long-term trend for average temperatures is increasing. Since 1895, average daytime temperatures in the San Joaquin Valley have increased by about 1.5 degrees, while nighttime temperatures have increased by about 2.5 degrees. See Western Regional Climate Center, Desert Research Institute, Air Temperature Data (2022).

The impact of climate change on food production in the San Joaquin Valley is a serious concern for America’s food supply. But there is another casualty: summer as a season of renewal and reflection. See Rebecca Solnit, The Guardian, We launched a war on nature. Now we are in a climate war zone.

Solnit writes,

It’s as if we launched a war against nature, and that has turned place after place into something that resembles a war zone. The climate movement is a peace movement, a movement to end this war and its casualties.

We often talk about what climate change has wrecked in terms of what’s material, tangible, structures lost to fire, flood, or sea level rise, trees dying, species threatened, glaciers melting in warmer weather. But summer was an immaterial treasure and joy that belonged to all of us.

When I speak to grassroots groups, I always get this question: “Where are the young people?” While there are many responses to the question, one answer is, “They are involved in the climate movement; if we want them to join us, we must make climate protection one of our priorities.”

The proliferation of data centers has made the threat of climate change tangible and personal in a way that discussions of sea-level rise have not. (Not a criticism of discussing sea level rise as an indicator of climate change.) In communities across America, the intersection of political corruption, corporate greed, AI, water scarcity, energy costs, and climate change has created common cause between environmentalists and pro-democracy activists. Joining forces is a win-win proposition for everyone who cares about the future of our democracy and our planet.

Talk to you tomorrow!

Daily Dose of Perspective

Below is a photo of my dashboard showing the outdoor temperature in Bakersfield, CA., on August 3, 2026.

Pro-democracy protests.

Late afternoon rally are always beautiful in Astoria Oregon. Lots of friendly motorist expressing support for our important message about the signs of corruption.

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Anchorage, AK. Our weekly Sunday Signwaving, about 12 of us. It’s so nice when the sun is out.

Anchorage, AK. A few of us from the weekly signwaving also go on overpasses around town. These two were also takem on August 2, 2026, in Anchorage, Alaska.

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A note from a reader: We, here in Taos, have been protesting every single day without a break from 9 - 10 AM since April 5, 2025.  A few weeks ago, one of our veteran protesters had a car stop at the corner where she was standing with her sign and the Hispanic occupants said they wanted to talk to her.  They drove around the corner, parked and came back.  They said to her, “We have been giving you the finger for over a year now and we want to apologize for doing that.  We have come to realize all of your signs are true.  We are so sorry.”  If anyone thinks their street protests aren’t doing any good, they should hear this very true story and take heart that one little instance like this may be duplicated time and time again all over the country.  

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Concord, California, Indivisible Resisters Contra Costa Saturday rally… 8-1-26

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Michigan.

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Sharon, VT. First Tuesday of every month, in our 2nd year….standing with intrepid protesters across the U.S.

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HUDSON RIVER BRIGADE

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Charlotte North Carolina

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Weekly Immigrant Courtroom Vigil Keepers in Concord CA, organized by im4humanintegrity.org and the UU Church of Berkeley

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Tuesday rally in Easide Oregon 08/04/2026.

Lots of traffic on the 101 in seaside. Always a great place for a rally. Toms of

honks, waves, and thumbs up. Good turnout as usual, Seasides crew always

show up.

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THANK YOU for yesterday’s inspiring message. We all need to be told we are making a difference. Especially today. Blanche moved closer to becoming the Attorney General of the United States. We all know he is working for Trump exclusively although we pay him. Today, our honkers were slow and quiet. We decided people don’t understand this issue. We hope that because they saw the signs they will find out who he is. We do make a difference!

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My front yard/flower bed on a fairly busy road.  Need to get out there and redirect my Morning Glory trying to cover my Hands Off Flag that has been up for 2 years.   We are selling the house this Summer and my signs stay regardless of what realtors suggest.  If a MAGAt doesn’t want to look at house because of my signs, then I will wait for a more acceptable buyer.

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65th Demonstration Today! It was another beautiful morning gathering on the bridge! Thanks to all 35 members and one dog for participating in our 65th demonstration today in Hunterdon County NJ.

My insincere apologies to our MAGA neighbor on who complained that her adult son was awakened at 8.00 a.m. by the honking horns from Rt. 78. Can’t please everyone! 🤣

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NYCD-15/16 Indivisible at Delaney Hall, Newark, NJ. After months of prodding our member of Congress, George Latimer to go to Delaney Hall in Newark, NJ (the closest facility to his district and the location where some of his Bronx/Westchester County residents have been detained), he finally showed up. This past Friday he and Ritchie Torres from NYCD-15 (in the Bronx) took a tour and several of us showed up to express solidarity with the wrongfully detained folks and to thank our members of Congress for responding to our plea.

Congressman Torres released the following statement yesterday

(having learned that a detainee died over the past weekend due to lack of medical treatment:

We are still waiting on George Latimer’s statement. Also, https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/crime/ice-confirms-death-at-new-jersey-s-delaney-hall-detention-center/ar-AA29nbcu

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I’m sending you these photos from my “last known US residence,” the village of Schroon Lake, NY in the Adirondacks, a deep red town. I’d suggested to the Democratic Party of the Town of Schroon that they send you their photos, but they replied that they are too busy and authorized me to send them. I’m proud of their efforts.

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Rooted in Resistance SGV Pasadena, CA

August 4, 2026

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Northern Philly suburbs

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Oakland reminded drivers that our taxes are funding corruption and not out wildfire recovery, UC researchers, etc.

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Silver Spring, MD.  Our group has been standing across the street from the Silver Spring, MD, Tesla dealership every Saturday morning since March, 2025.

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I parked on the fourth floor of the downtown Anchorage parking garage and, looking out, saw this “resistance wall” painted along the wall of a building on Fourth Avenue in Anchorage, Alaska.  It sure expresses a lot of sentiments I agree with.

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I saw this sign in one of your newsletter’s Pro-democracy protest photos and had to make one for myself. Got a lot of great comments from other protestors and a lot of honks at our Brea CA protest tonight. Thank you to the protestor who made it first!!

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