In reading history ("studying" might be too strong a term) I have often noticed that the contemporaries of great leaders criticized them for being too slow, or indecisive or moderate. My general conclusion has been that people like Lincoln or FDR had a better sense of the decisive moment than their critics did. That has led me to believe--hope--that Joe Biden has a better sense of when to come down hard on an issue than most of us out here. But I do believe that we are very close to the time when he must show a strong hand on voting, the filibuster, and also infrastructure. So in the next few days or weeks, we'll begin to find out if Joe is as good a leader as we want him to be.
I hope you are right. But the legislative calendar imposes hard deadlines. If the For the People Act isn't passed in sometime reasonably soon, it will be irrelevant to the 2022 elections. Biden may have a choice about when to act, but it is measured in weeks or months, not years.
It might be worthwhile for everyone to read Section 4 Article 1 of the Constitution:
"The Times, Places and Manner of holding Elections for Senators and Representatives shall be prescribed in each State by the legislature thereof; BUT the Congress may at any time by Law make or alter such Regulations, except as to the Places of Chusing Senators."
It seems the drafters have expected the schemes now being unleashed by Republicans. HR 1 is the appropriate answer. Note they did not create the filibuster.
A goat rodeo on ice! Priceless! Thank you for alerting us of the filibuster showdown, and calling out those incompetent advocates who sell their professional ethics for fame. Thank you for upholding principle and the rule of law! We all will be rooting for you Thusday!
Best of luck on Thursday! Whatever sort of maintenance you are having done, I hope you recover quickly and fully. You are needed on the front! I look forward with anticipation to your anesthesia fueled comments 😅❗️
Thanks for today's newsletter - & emphasis on the need to take out the filibuster - please write a full description of how the filibuster came to be and what it will take to get rid of it. I am sure you have done this many times, but please do it again now - and let us know if there's anything we can be doing to speed up the action. And may Thursday go well for you!
I will look for the opportunity to do so. Its present day iteration is a bastardization of its original purpose, which was to limit the time that windy Senators could consume bickering on the Senate floor. Now it is used to amplify the original unfair leverage given to small states that seemed appropriate in 1789.
Good luck with the maintenance. I'm nearing 61. I was feeling pretty sporty until the 2016 election. After four years of hyper vigilance and unmitigated stress, I'm a mess. I've just made a telephone appointment with my doctor. Great option for an introvert and I won't have to get on the scale! Thanks to your managing editor for sunflowers and joy.
Eva, the last four years have been hard on everyone, and have been compounded by the pandemic. Try to focus on the long term. We are experiencing a dramatic convulsion at the moment, but it is the dying gasp of the GOP. We will make it through. we should be realistic, though. Things will get worse before they get better, but they will get better--over the long term. Stay strong, and keep the faith!
I love reading your newsletters (along with Heather Cox Richardson); your reassurance, while being carefully measured, is helping with the free-floating anxiety that is still greatly upon us. The parallel universe of the many folks who don't believe in reality is so very anxiety-producing, but this newsletter gives me some comfort in knowing that the majority of us still have our wits about us. Good luck on your maintenance -- I'm the same age and know that we have to be vigilant about our own beings!
I'm watching to see if the Democratic lawmakers from Texas will shame the reluctant Democratic Senators to grow a spine and actually support the For the People bill. If the Texans were willing to make enormous personal sacrifices to prevent their Republican counterparts from passing laws to limit voting, our Democratic Senators need to show an equal commitment!
In reading history ("studying" might be too strong a term) I have often noticed that the contemporaries of great leaders criticized them for being too slow, or indecisive or moderate. My general conclusion has been that people like Lincoln or FDR had a better sense of the decisive moment than their critics did. That has led me to believe--hope--that Joe Biden has a better sense of when to come down hard on an issue than most of us out here. But I do believe that we are very close to the time when he must show a strong hand on voting, the filibuster, and also infrastructure. So in the next few days or weeks, we'll begin to find out if Joe is as good a leader as we want him to be.
I hope you are right. But the legislative calendar imposes hard deadlines. If the For the People Act isn't passed in sometime reasonably soon, it will be irrelevant to the 2022 elections. Biden may have a choice about when to act, but it is measured in weeks or months, not years.
It might be worthwhile for everyone to read Section 4 Article 1 of the Constitution:
"The Times, Places and Manner of holding Elections for Senators and Representatives shall be prescribed in each State by the legislature thereof; BUT the Congress may at any time by Law make or alter such Regulations, except as to the Places of Chusing Senators."
It seems the drafters have expected the schemes now being unleashed by Republicans. HR 1 is the appropriate answer. Note they did not create the filibuster.
100% agree!
A goat rodeo on ice! Priceless! Thank you for alerting us of the filibuster showdown, and calling out those incompetent advocates who sell their professional ethics for fame. Thank you for upholding principle and the rule of law! We all will be rooting for you Thusday!
Thanks!
Best of luck on Thursday! Whatever sort of maintenance you are having done, I hope you recover quickly and fully. You are needed on the front! I look forward with anticipation to your anesthesia fueled comments 😅❗️
Thanks! It is routine. I hope to back at the keyboard Thursday evening.
Thanks for today's newsletter - & emphasis on the need to take out the filibuster - please write a full description of how the filibuster came to be and what it will take to get rid of it. I am sure you have done this many times, but please do it again now - and let us know if there's anything we can be doing to speed up the action. And may Thursday go well for you!
I will look for the opportunity to do so. Its present day iteration is a bastardization of its original purpose, which was to limit the time that windy Senators could consume bickering on the Senate floor. Now it is used to amplify the original unfair leverage given to small states that seemed appropriate in 1789.
Thank you, Robert!!!
Good luck with the maintenance. I'm nearing 61. I was feeling pretty sporty until the 2016 election. After four years of hyper vigilance and unmitigated stress, I'm a mess. I've just made a telephone appointment with my doctor. Great option for an introvert and I won't have to get on the scale! Thanks to your managing editor for sunflowers and joy.
Eva, the last four years have been hard on everyone, and have been compounded by the pandemic. Try to focus on the long term. We are experiencing a dramatic convulsion at the moment, but it is the dying gasp of the GOP. We will make it through. we should be realistic, though. Things will get worse before they get better, but they will get better--over the long term. Stay strong, and keep the faith!
I love reading your newsletters (along with Heather Cox Richardson); your reassurance, while being carefully measured, is helping with the free-floating anxiety that is still greatly upon us. The parallel universe of the many folks who don't believe in reality is so very anxiety-producing, but this newsletter gives me some comfort in knowing that the majority of us still have our wits about us. Good luck on your maintenance -- I'm the same age and know that we have to be vigilant about our own beings!
I'm watching to see if the Democratic lawmakers from Texas will shame the reluctant Democratic Senators to grow a spine and actually support the For the People bill. If the Texans were willing to make enormous personal sacrifices to prevent their Republican counterparts from passing laws to limit voting, our Democratic Senators need to show an equal commitment!