Today’s Edition: On being proactive and patient.

August 12, 2021

          The political fights over key issues have devolved into hand-to-hand combat. From the trenches, the battle can appear chaotic, making it difficult to determine if Democrats are winning the war for the hearts and minds of voters. They are. True, the margins of victory remain thin, but they are holding. That anxiety-inducing state of affairs may be the new normal for years to come. If that makes you nervous, welcome to the club of tens of millions of Democrats who worry about every misstep, missed opportunity, and self-inflicted wound.

          If we focus only on the miscues of Democrats, we can convince ourselves that the tide is turning against us. Not true. For all of the drama and tensions of the Democratic Party, it is still a functioning political party. The entity formerly known as the Republican Party is difficult to describe, but it is a dysfunctional combination of grievances, conspiracies, and cults bound together by a twice-impeached conman who attempted to overthrow the Constitution. One party is grounded in the imperfect union gifted to us by our Founders. The other exists only to preserve power by opposing anything and everything that gets in the way. The former tends to attract people over time, the latter demonizes anyone who is not an unquestioning adherent to nonsensical and dangerous ideas. If you were betting on which party will control the future of our nation, the choice is obvious.

          It is impossible to explain why the Republican Party has become feral. One factor is undoubtedly the foreboding sense among the GOP’s white base that they are losing their place of power and privilege. On Thursday, the U.S. Census Bureau will release its initial findings of the 2020 census. The data will reveal that all population growth in the U.S. is being driven by people of color and that the absolute number of whites in America is declining. See The Hill, “White population declines for first time in US history, new census expected to say.” For people whose political ideology is based on a vision of a “white America,” those results are threatening. The impending sense of loss and doom explain, in part, the irrationality and vitriol of the GOP’s rear-guard action to prolong its diminishing grip on power.

          The Democratic Party will prevail over time. That is a certainty. Getting there will be rough and will tax our patience and faith. The best way to navigate the challenging times ahead is to personally engage in the noble causes of defending democracy and preserving our planet while keeping our gaze fixed on the distant horizon. We must be proactive and patient in equal measure. With that long-term perspective, let’s look at the noise of the daily news cycle.

In the Senate.

          The Senate was a flurry of activity on Tuesday and Thursday. In short order, the Senate passed the bipartisan infrastructure bill and voted to advance the $3.5 trillion budget resolution. Those victories were offset by three defeats on voting rights. Republicans filibustered the For the People Act, the DISCLOSE Act (which would regulate “dark money” in campaigns), and then killed a separate proposal to end gerrymandering. See WaPo, “Senate adjourns until September without advancing voting rights legislation.”

          The progress on the budget resolution was immediately undercut by none other than Senator Joe Manchin. On Wednesday, Manchin issued a statement saying he opposed the $3.5 trillion reconciliation resolution. Manchin said, “Adding trillions of dollars more to nearly $29 trillion of national debt, without any consideration of the negative effects on our children and grandchildren, is one of those decisions that has become far too easy in Washington.” Manchin’s statement is misleading because Democrats propose to offset nearly half of the $3.5 trillion resolution by recapturing the tax cuts gifted to corporations and billionaires by Trump in 2017. Manchin needs to be careful; his crowning achievement—the bipartisan infrastructure bill—is tied to the budget resolution. It is unfortunate that Manchin feels the need on Wednesday to attack Democrats who supported his effort to pass a bipartisan bill on Tuesday.

About the coup.

          The Senate Judiciary Committee took testimony from the former U.S. Attorney in Atlanta, Byung J. Pak, who testified that Trump wanted to fire him for failing to “find” evidence of election fraud in Georgia. See NYTimes, “Former U.S. Attorney Says Trump Wanted to Fire Him For Not Backing Election Fraud Claims.” Trump then replaced Pak with an acting U.S. Attorney to re-review the evidence Pak found insufficient to establish election irregularities. The forced resignation of Pak was part of Trump’s effort to force the DOJ to declare that the election was “corrupt.” These new revelations are further evidence that Trump was engaged in criminal conspiracy to overthrow the constitutional order.

          It’s great that the Senate Judiciary Committee is investigating the coup. Where is the DOJ? NYTimes reporter Katie Benner explained on Rachel Maddow’s show that Garland has turned the investigation over to Inspector General Michael Horowitz because it is politically sensitive. Benner appeared to be speaking based on background information from DOJ sources. If true, Garland has abdicated his duty as the nation’s chief law enforcement officer. It is the job of the DOJ to prosecute violations of U.S. criminal laws. That is not the remit of the Inspector General. The determination of whether there is sufficient evidence to commence a criminal prosecution is the province of grand juries, not the Inspector General. There is no exception in the law for “politically sensitive” investigations, nor should there be. Trump tried to engineer a coup. Politically sensitive? You bet! Cases involving political corruption always are. Garland should get over it and do his job.

The virus.

Fights over mask mandates and vaccine mandates in schools are roiling America. Talking Points Memo has summarized the current state of play. See TPM, “The Great School Mask Schism Of 2021.” Scenes of parents screaming at educators make it difficult to assess the larger trends among voters. A Morning Consult poll shows that rationality prevails among the majority of Americans—but not among Republicans. See MSN, “Poll: Majorities support vaccine, mask mandates — but not Republicans.” Some readers have expressed worry that Republicans will turn the mask fight into a winning campaign issue. So far, Republicans are losing the messaging war on masks and vaccine mandates. Eighty percent of Democrats and a majority of independents support mandates. Only 35% of Republicans oppose them. Moreover, Biden’s favorability rating on the pandemic is at 54%.

          While it would be great if the numbers were stronger in favor of rationality, Democrats are on the winning side of the issue. If the Delta variant continues on its current path, more Americans will align with Democrats. That’s not what we should hope for, but it is the result of being on the right side of protecting Americans from the pandemic.

Opportunities for involvement.

          I suggested yesterday that readers purchase Lieutenant Colonel Vindman’s new book. A reader sent a note saying that people interested in buying the book can donate $50 to VoteVets and obtain a copy signed by Colonel Vindman. Check out this link: “VoteVets—Act Blue.”   

          Another reader suggested Citizen's Climate Lobby as an effective organization for fighting the climate crisis. Per the reader, CCL is a grass roots, nonpartisan organization laser-focused on reducing the impact of climate change by putting a price on carbon. Per a statement by more than 3,500 U.S. economists from across the political spectrum, “A carbon tax offers the most cost-effective lever to reduce carbon emissions at the scale and speed that is necessary.”

          Finally, The Civics Center is running a High School Registration Week from September 27th to October 1st. The Civics Center is dedicated to building the foundations of youth civic engagement and voter participation in high schools through education, organizing, and advocacy. It supports student-led, peer-to-peer voter registration and pre-registration efforts in high school communities. In order to accomplish its mission of reaching high school students, The Civic Center needs teachers to help. Per the reader, “Between now and the end of August, we’ll be hosting weekly volunteer meetings to help fill that gap. Our next volunteer meeting is this Thursday, August 12, at 5pm PT/8pm ET! The orientation and training will last under 45 minutes, and the work can be done independently, following the training.” If you are a teacher in a high school, this is a fabulous opportunity to help engage the next generation of voters.

Concluding Thoughts.

          A reader reminded me that there are “off year” elections in 2021 that deserve our attention. I frequently lapse into discussing the challenges of 2022 and 2024. But there are important state level elections in 2021 (e.g., Virginia). But at least as importantly, there are school board elections, city council elections, etc. These elections are important not only because they are frequently the first point of contact for important political issues (e.g., mask mandates), but because they serve as important training grounds for candidates for higher office. If you can, consider running for a local position. If you can’t, encourage a younger person in your life to do so. As I noted in the opening essay, the best way to navigate the challenging times ahead is to personally engage in the noble causes of defending democracy and preserving our planet while keeping our gaze fixed on the distant horizon. We must be proactive and patient in equal measure. Get involved, or serve as a mentor for someone else. Better yet, do both.

          Talk to you tomorrow!