Why do we keep swinging at a pitch that has already been called a strike? You cannot tell people to trust you who are convinced that they are being cheated and lied to. Trump threw that strike. He convinced his tribe that everything they hear from the media or press is fake news. We see over and over that they will reject reason because it is outside of their belief system. The liar’s paradox. When he or his acolytes tell them to drink the Cool Aid, they drink.
How do you invade the belief system of fanatics? How do you stop mass hysteria? Messages from formerly respected leaders simply render them liars (see Anthony Fauci, Barack Obama and Liz Cheney as examples). I think it is a waste of time and energy.
I suggest ‘contain don’t convince’ may be the only answer. We are part of a majority that can hold both houses if we all vote. Let’s keep those who are not under the Republican spell with us as part of a team that wants to defend democracy and improve everyone’s life (through ever-improving healthcare, childcare, environmental protections, justice, etc.).
I would stop swinging at those bygone pitches and focus on one issue at a time, totally fact based. Many independents and on-the-fence Democrats can become committed advocates based on real programs to address income inequality, climate change, child and healthcare, etc. Those programs already exist but are obscured by terrible packaging into heterogeneous blobs of programs.
What might a Robert Hubbell do? One column of each topic with a we/they comparison and how it would affect the reader is to me the only way to switch a few votes but more importantly to create the tools that your readers can use to get the maximum number of people out to vote.
Domestic politics in the U.S. overshadowed by Putin's war in Ukraine? It's not a matter of focus on one or the other. It is a matter of maintaining focus on both because they are intrinsically connected by threats to democratic process, the rule of law, and principles of self determination.
Continuing to make connections maintains individual and public efforts to aid Ukraine, as well as to recognize the multiplying signs of autocracy and fascism in the U.S.--and inspiration to fight them.
Completly agree there was a time when government of the people for the people protected the people from the predations of the oligarchy. It seems sad that many who benefit from union won pensions and social security and medicare are duped by the Putin Republicans and Fox news. The Dems must expose Scotts 11 points for what it is: a Madison Ave created fabric full of twisted holes propagated by a head of a corporation whose thefts from Medicare and Medicaid led to the record fines for the crimes and rewarded hm with a $300 million umbrella. The Foxes have taken over the hen house.
Biden has a strong will but is a fragile commodity and lacks the strength to start barnstorming to reverse the polls. He needs not just a little but a lot of help from his friends - like Obama.
I persist in thinking Biden needs to do something equivalent to the Fireside Chats. As Masha Gessen has pointed out, the key to eliciting support is creating a sense of community. Community trumps policy. So much of what I see from Biden is either behind a lectern or on the fly. I want him to talk to me, person-to-person. He is capable of it, but his handlers aren't setting him up that way.
Years ago I assumed that, since lawyers had gone to law school and passed the bar, they were smart. Then I served on a jury and was quickly disabused of that assumption. Similarly, I have assumed that anyone who runs for Congress is smart (at least savvy and interested enough to understand the law, what they read and more). There goes another assumption, another bubble burst.
We all agree that the media has played an outsized role in omitting all the great things the administration has done, while highlighting "inflation" and other negative items ad nauseum. One person who helped put a spotlight to this was Eric Boehlert who wrote the popular blog "Press Run". Unfortunately, the job he has done will be much harder now as Eric was killed in a tragic bike accident yesterday. Let's honor his legacy by continuing to hold the press accountable in any way we can. https://www.nj.com/news/2022/04/eric-boehlert-media-critic-and-journalist-from-nj-dies-in-bike-accident.html
I agree the Democrats messaging has to be better, louder, and much more aggressive and timely. Most voters like myself are frustrated daily at both the actions and the rhetoric of Republicans in Congress and the constant barrage of lies and racists comments that feels like it is going unchecked and unanswered with the same creditably as the original lies. It’s does not feel like we are adequately fighting back and most importantly voters are believing the lies and misinformation because we are not getting through to them. Jennifer Rubin was right.
I am appalled that Republicans support Putin. Putin is an enemy of the United States. To me, that makes those Republicans and FOX News traitors! I don’t understand why any American citizen would go along with them. It makes me angry.
Sometimes I despair that this is no longer America, Land of the Free and Home of the Brave. My parents and grandparents would not even recognize this country.
We must win all of the upcoming elections and throw those traitors out of office.
Republicans are chipping away at our Constitutional rights.
FOX News is an enemy of our Democracy. It is like having a Russian State Television Station broadcasting in our country. I wish we could shut them down! But we are not Russia, so we can’t shut down a television channel because we don’t like what they are saying.
You continue to argue that the Supreme Court must be expanded in order to counter the current conservative majority and I certainly agree. Could you please walk us through the mechanics of what would be required in order to enact such an expansion? Thank you.
The Putinist Republicans would do well to read Allen Drury's old cautionary tale 'Come Ninevah, come Tyre' to find out what happens when useful tools are no longer needed. There is never more than one seat at the head of a table and right now there are a lot of asses vying to occupy it.
The Democrats will do much better, as you note in conclusion, to get out and get involved in retail politics with the 40 or so percent of us who are disengaged from both parties and figure out how to deliver what is being sought.
The continuing story of Covid is sad but, since the majority of deaths are preventable, no longer anything other than an academic issue for most people. Those of us who are vaccinated and boosted don't need to be persuaded and those who have chosen not to take those simple steps won't be convinced by another 10 or 15 billion in spending. Covid should take its place alongside the flu and other endemic disease risks as a part of life that we approach with respect and the use of common sense.
Having Biden take credit for jobs and employment is fine, as long as account is also taken of the likely effect of the Fed’s proposed interest rate increases between now and November. These are almost certain to cool the economy and turn the job numbers around. By November, no one will remember what numbers were posted in April.
Take action: Indivisibles, Vote Forward, Swing Left, Jessica Cravens actions, Jen Hoffman’s Americans with a Conscience actions, and so many others that Robert has mentioned. Also, act locally!
It’s the only way I channel my outrage at these very disturbed politicians.
Science, Mathematics, and History all have something very important in common - they are fact-based. While we do discover new facts and those sometimes result in reinterpreting what is known and unknown. What remains true is that before we learn new facts or information they were already there to be discovered. No new information or facts are “created,” rather they are discovered or revealed. They were already there just waiting to be found and hopefully not misunderstood or misinterpreted.
The Tyranny of the disciplines mentioned is they care not for one’s ethnicity, political affiliations or leanings, position or place on the “woke spectrum,” or any other personal characteristic. They are independent of all individual beliefs or bias. Why is that one might ask? Well, because they are fact-based, not belief-based. One can choose to believe them or not. One can choose to talk about them with others or not. But it makes no difference in the real fact-based world what one believes or says, facts and truths remain immutable.
It seems however, Conservatives (I use a capital “C” to reinforce their false belief they hold some special version of “Truth”) feel they have their own special set of facts, not beliefs mind you, but a special set of facts understood and apparent only to them. Perhaps that super power is bestowed on them by wearing red hats. In any case, they have not realized the Tyranny of Science, Math, and History … the Tyranny of facts brooks no tolerance of mere beliefs.
It seems, on the other hand, all of us (in their view) misguided liberals fail to understand they have unearthed the knowledge Rosetta stone that unlocks an entirely new reality unhampered by mere facts, freeing beliefs to now replace them.
But you see, the Tyranny of facts is they remain uncaring about one’s beliefs. Gravity is a fact. 2+2 is still equal to 4. And, Biden is still currently the U.S. President. And, people are still dying of Covid, the majority of them unvaccinated despite what they may “believe.” Because you see, these are all facts and facts just don’t give a 💩 what you believe.
You asked for thoughts, so forgive me in advance.
Why do we keep swinging at a pitch that has already been called a strike? You cannot tell people to trust you who are convinced that they are being cheated and lied to. Trump threw that strike. He convinced his tribe that everything they hear from the media or press is fake news. We see over and over that they will reject reason because it is outside of their belief system. The liar’s paradox. When he or his acolytes tell them to drink the Cool Aid, they drink.
How do you invade the belief system of fanatics? How do you stop mass hysteria? Messages from formerly respected leaders simply render them liars (see Anthony Fauci, Barack Obama and Liz Cheney as examples). I think it is a waste of time and energy.
I suggest ‘contain don’t convince’ may be the only answer. We are part of a majority that can hold both houses if we all vote. Let’s keep those who are not under the Republican spell with us as part of a team that wants to defend democracy and improve everyone’s life (through ever-improving healthcare, childcare, environmental protections, justice, etc.).
I would stop swinging at those bygone pitches and focus on one issue at a time, totally fact based. Many independents and on-the-fence Democrats can become committed advocates based on real programs to address income inequality, climate change, child and healthcare, etc. Those programs already exist but are obscured by terrible packaging into heterogeneous blobs of programs.
What might a Robert Hubbell do? One column of each topic with a we/they comparison and how it would affect the reader is to me the only way to switch a few votes but more importantly to create the tools that your readers can use to get the maximum number of people out to vote.
Domestic politics in the U.S. overshadowed by Putin's war in Ukraine? It's not a matter of focus on one or the other. It is a matter of maintaining focus on both because they are intrinsically connected by threats to democratic process, the rule of law, and principles of self determination.
Continuing to make connections maintains individual and public efforts to aid Ukraine, as well as to recognize the multiplying signs of autocracy and fascism in the U.S.--and inspiration to fight them.
Completly agree there was a time when government of the people for the people protected the people from the predations of the oligarchy. It seems sad that many who benefit from union won pensions and social security and medicare are duped by the Putin Republicans and Fox news. The Dems must expose Scotts 11 points for what it is: a Madison Ave created fabric full of twisted holes propagated by a head of a corporation whose thefts from Medicare and Medicaid led to the record fines for the crimes and rewarded hm with a $300 million umbrella. The Foxes have taken over the hen house.
Biden has a strong will but is a fragile commodity and lacks the strength to start barnstorming to reverse the polls. He needs not just a little but a lot of help from his friends - like Obama.
I persist in thinking Biden needs to do something equivalent to the Fireside Chats. As Masha Gessen has pointed out, the key to eliciting support is creating a sense of community. Community trumps policy. So much of what I see from Biden is either behind a lectern or on the fly. I want him to talk to me, person-to-person. He is capable of it, but his handlers aren't setting him up that way.
Years ago I assumed that, since lawyers had gone to law school and passed the bar, they were smart. Then I served on a jury and was quickly disabused of that assumption. Similarly, I have assumed that anyone who runs for Congress is smart (at least savvy and interested enough to understand the law, what they read and more). There goes another assumption, another bubble burst.
We all agree that the media has played an outsized role in omitting all the great things the administration has done, while highlighting "inflation" and other negative items ad nauseum. One person who helped put a spotlight to this was Eric Boehlert who wrote the popular blog "Press Run". Unfortunately, the job he has done will be much harder now as Eric was killed in a tragic bike accident yesterday. Let's honor his legacy by continuing to hold the press accountable in any way we can. https://www.nj.com/news/2022/04/eric-boehlert-media-critic-and-journalist-from-nj-dies-in-bike-accident.html
I agree the Democrats messaging has to be better, louder, and much more aggressive and timely. Most voters like myself are frustrated daily at both the actions and the rhetoric of Republicans in Congress and the constant barrage of lies and racists comments that feels like it is going unchecked and unanswered with the same creditably as the original lies. It’s does not feel like we are adequately fighting back and most importantly voters are believing the lies and misinformation because we are not getting through to them. Jennifer Rubin was right.
I am appalled that Republicans support Putin. Putin is an enemy of the United States. To me, that makes those Republicans and FOX News traitors! I don’t understand why any American citizen would go along with them. It makes me angry.
Sometimes I despair that this is no longer America, Land of the Free and Home of the Brave. My parents and grandparents would not even recognize this country.
We must win all of the upcoming elections and throw those traitors out of office.
Republicans are chipping away at our Constitutional rights.
FOX News is an enemy of our Democracy. It is like having a Russian State Television Station broadcasting in our country. I wish we could shut them down! But we are not Russia, so we can’t shut down a television channel because we don’t like what they are saying.
How do we deal with this, Robert?
You continue to argue that the Supreme Court must be expanded in order to counter the current conservative majority and I certainly agree. Could you please walk us through the mechanics of what would be required in order to enact such an expansion? Thank you.
Maybe Jennifer Rubin can take Jen Psaki’s WH job.
The Putinist Republicans would do well to read Allen Drury's old cautionary tale 'Come Ninevah, come Tyre' to find out what happens when useful tools are no longer needed. There is never more than one seat at the head of a table and right now there are a lot of asses vying to occupy it.
The Democrats will do much better, as you note in conclusion, to get out and get involved in retail politics with the 40 or so percent of us who are disengaged from both parties and figure out how to deliver what is being sought.
The continuing story of Covid is sad but, since the majority of deaths are preventable, no longer anything other than an academic issue for most people. Those of us who are vaccinated and boosted don't need to be persuaded and those who have chosen not to take those simple steps won't be convinced by another 10 or 15 billion in spending. Covid should take its place alongside the flu and other endemic disease risks as a part of life that we approach with respect and the use of common sense.
Having Biden take credit for jobs and employment is fine, as long as account is also taken of the likely effect of the Fed’s proposed interest rate increases between now and November. These are almost certain to cool the economy and turn the job numbers around. By November, no one will remember what numbers were posted in April.
How can we get your comments about and suggestions for President Biden into his hands, Robert? Surely there is some accessible conduit.
Take action: Indivisibles, Vote Forward, Swing Left, Jessica Cravens actions, Jen Hoffman’s Americans with a Conscience actions, and so many others that Robert has mentioned. Also, act locally!
It’s the only way I channel my outrage at these very disturbed politicians.
Otherwise I’d sell my house and go to Canada.
The Tyranny of Science, Math, and History
Science, Mathematics, and History all have something very important in common - they are fact-based. While we do discover new facts and those sometimes result in reinterpreting what is known and unknown. What remains true is that before we learn new facts or information they were already there to be discovered. No new information or facts are “created,” rather they are discovered or revealed. They were already there just waiting to be found and hopefully not misunderstood or misinterpreted.
The Tyranny of the disciplines mentioned is they care not for one’s ethnicity, political affiliations or leanings, position or place on the “woke spectrum,” or any other personal characteristic. They are independent of all individual beliefs or bias. Why is that one might ask? Well, because they are fact-based, not belief-based. One can choose to believe them or not. One can choose to talk about them with others or not. But it makes no difference in the real fact-based world what one believes or says, facts and truths remain immutable.
It seems however, Conservatives (I use a capital “C” to reinforce their false belief they hold some special version of “Truth”) feel they have their own special set of facts, not beliefs mind you, but a special set of facts understood and apparent only to them. Perhaps that super power is bestowed on them by wearing red hats. In any case, they have not realized the Tyranny of Science, Math, and History … the Tyranny of facts brooks no tolerance of mere beliefs.
It seems, on the other hand, all of us (in their view) misguided liberals fail to understand they have unearthed the knowledge Rosetta stone that unlocks an entirely new reality unhampered by mere facts, freeing beliefs to now replace them.
But you see, the Tyranny of facts is they remain uncaring about one’s beliefs. Gravity is a fact. 2+2 is still equal to 4. And, Biden is still currently the U.S. President. And, people are still dying of Covid, the majority of them unvaccinated despite what they may “believe.” Because you see, these are all facts and facts just don’t give a 💩 what you believe.