One sign of Democratic strength in Congressional races is the quality of candidates. Here are two deeply religious candidates who stepped up in January and can flip Republican seats. In MI 03 (Grand Rapids), Hillary Scholten has signed up to run again. A lawyer in Grand Rapids, she worked previously for the Michigan Immigrant Rights Center, for the Mel Trotter Ministries supporting the homeless, and the justice department during the Obama administration. She lost by 6 points to very wealthy candidate Peter Meijer in a district which was R+8. Redistricted, MI 03 is now D+3. She can flip this district. In Ohio 01 (Cincinnati), Steve Chabot seemed vulnerable in 2018 and 2020. He defeated Kate Schroder by 4 points in 2020 and Aftab Pureval (now Mayor of Cincinnati) by 4 in 2018. The proposed redistricting would reduce the district's Republican lean and include all of the city in the district. OH 01 becomes R+3. It won't become more Republican after the law suit is completed. City Councilman Greg Landsman, an amateur boxer with a theology degree from Harvard, is a local who has created anti-poverty charities and has a record of accomplishment in the City Council. He can flip the district.
Robert you fairly have been critical of Garland and the DOJ but recently read I read an opinion from a lawyer who is a federal prosecutor who made a valid point I did not think about. He said that in our history no President or former President has been tried and convicted of a crime and the bar to do that is very high and that the evidence and case must be air tight and beyond reproach. In other words the evidence must be overwhelming and not circumstantial and it must connect Trump directly to the alleged crimes. The January 6th Committee is beginning to connect the dots and more witnesses are coming forward and were in the room and heard Trump’s comments and observed what he said and did. Remember Trump never documented anything or sent emails etc but there are notes from people who attended the meetings now available. If this is accurate I now understand why the DOJ is sitting patiently waiting for this to play out and helped by Trump himself making speeches.
BTW, it has been 6 weeks since the House referred Mark Meadows to the DOJ for contempt. Again, the facts are public and there is minimal investigative effort necessary to conclude that Meadow's complete refusal to appear constitutes criminal contempt--especially after the Supreme Court rejected Trump's executive privilege claims. The reason that so many witnesses are thumbing their noses at the Select Committee is because they know that the DOJ has no stomach for prosecuting political crimes by Trump and his co-conspirators.
I agree, though I wish we would cease describing them as “political” crimes, as if that is a special category deserving of special prosecutorial or judicial processes. The crimes committed are just that, crimes. We do not have separate categories for them in the criminal code, nor do we have separate courts for them or separate judicial processes. The offenders may be political figures but the crimes are merely crimes, and in fact quite serious crimes with quite severe punishments. Let’s not give them any more special attention than perhaps giving those political figures charged a comfy cushion to sit upon in their chair during their trials for those crimes.
The fact that people who have committed serious crimes against this country such as those who were members of the Confederate government and the military officers were not prosecuted like the Nazi criminals is how we came to be where we are. Lincoln wanted to try to heal the country, but he didn’t get to do so. However, I think the southern planters, et. al. would have thought his olive branches made him look weak. The officer corp and the Confederate government officials/politicians should have been tried and jailed. Sometimes healing requires painful surgeries and procedures to remove infection, etc.
Last night on Rachel Maddow, she had a story about Pence's chief legal counsel. He was in the room (White House) when Eastman explained the plan and Pence's needed role. The guy then emailed himself a summary of the meeting so that it would be documented. He also called out Eastman during the coup attempt. The attorney testified for 9 hours yesterday before the committee; his appearance is continuing.... So Stephen, I agree that the dots are coming out.
Hi, Jennifer. I saw that report, which is great from the perspective of the work the Select Committee is doing. But the DOJ could have interviewed Pence's chief legal counsel, or could have issued a subpoena before the Select Committee interviewed him. It did neither. That is why I believe that Merrick Garland is doing nothing to investigate Trump's political crimes.
Hi, Stephen. The January 6th Committe is running a great investigation. That isn't its job and it doesn't have the authority to compel testimony the way a grand jury would. It appears to me that every new revelation from the Committee is new news--there is no evidence that the DOJ has been there first. So, my great fear is that the DOJ is doing nothing, perhaps in some misguided belief that it should allow the Select Committee to finish its work. But the Select Committee is conducting hearings to fashion new legislation, not to hold people accountable.
Let's take the phony electors as an example. The evidence of the crime was public for a year and the receipts were in the possession of the National Archives. What did the DOJ do with that information? Nothing. And despite the breathless reporting over Lisa Monaco's statement, all she said is "We have opened our mail and read the pleas from state AGs to prosecute the electors." "We've received those referrals. Our prosecutors are looking at those."
So the inaction has nothing to do with the high bar that the DOJ must clear. It has to do with total, complete absence of any investigative action by the DOJ. If subpoenas had been issued, we would know about it. if the FBI was conducting witness interviews, we would know about it. Merrick Garland has made a decision not to prosecute political crimes committed by Trump. The record supports that statement and there is no evidence to the contrary.
Robert as usual you make a compelling case and have stated the facts well but I have a different view of Garlands intent. Based on what I have read Trump has committed more than just political crimes but has not been indicted yet for these crimes. Thinking about this from Garlands view as a non attorney he gains more public support and credibility by letting the January 6th committee do their job and have the information leak out and be televised so everyone including Independents and Republicans reach the same conclusion that Garland was left with no choice other than to indict a former President. It takes the politics noise down many levels. This is my hope and I don’t understand the rush if it plays out this way. Indicting and prosecuting Trump is not going to change the 2022 elections because other issues are more important to voters.
I understand your point and do not disagree with it. However, it seems publicly available evidence of very serious crimes is quite apparent. I also note that reflecting back to the history of Watergate it seemed similarly publicly discussed evidence of far less serious offenses not only forced the resignation of a President but required his successor to quickly pardon him to stop his prosecution for the crimes he committed. If we compare the offenses metaphorically, Nixon was guilty of putting his elbows on the table while eating and Trump has committed capital murder. I remain convinced that while I applaud the investigative efforts of the January 6 Select Committee, they have no power to indict or prosecute. Their only power is to report to inform possible legislation and to make criminal referrals. It is past time to convene a Special Grand Jury with indictment power and commence making the case for quite a significant list of indictments.
How is the country's tolerance of evil and treasonous acts, taking place in plain sight, providing the American People with healing, a belief in justice, respect for democratic principles and hope for the future?
Robert, there's an easy way to let Garland know how we feel: Email the DOJ (AskDOJ@usdoj.gov) and simply say, ”AG Garland, indict Trump.” If enough people leave that message, maybe it will help light a fire under him.
Also done. Thanks for this link! I sent my message to the Inspector General. Someone I know said that messages to the AG might go through the IG first.
Thank you! I have also been tweeting these articles (from substacks to which I subscribe) to the DOJ Inspector General and to the DOJ Criminal Division, asking "What more do you need?" I appreciate this link and will follow up right now!
Great job Robert of keeping us current on critical issues facing us and the nation. My question and possibly your own, is what can we left leaning activists do to to light a fire under DOJ and specifically Merrick Garland to begin proceedings against Trump? Do you think he’s waiting for the January 6th Commission to go public first to pave his way for indictments?
Thanks for all your efforts to keep us informed and our democracy safe.
The only lever we have is to call the White House and ask Joe Biden to appoint a new attorney general. By design, the DOJ is built to be insulated from public opinion. Biden has the ultimate authority to correct the situation.
'Antisemitic rallies were held near Orlando, Florida, on Saturday and Sunday, with some two dozen people in neo-Nazi gear waving swastikas, stomping on Israeli flags, and yelling antisemitic epithets at passersby.'
'While various officials in the state condemned the protest, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis came under fire as his spokesperson expressed doubt over whether the demonstrators were actually antisemitic, and raised the possibility that they were in fact Democrats trying to make the governor look bad.'
'In videos and pictures shared on social media, the demonstrators can be seen waving Nazi flags and banners, calling someone filming them a “devil” and a “fucking kike” and making Nazi salutes.'
'A video of the Orlando rally that spread on social media on Monday showed protesters standing on a highway overpass in front of banners of swastikas. One audibly yells “Heil Hitler.”
Another video showed the demonstrators attacking a passerby in his car.
The rallies were held near the campus of Central Florida University, which has a large Jewish student body, and near Disney World.'
Unf**king believable that Nazi’s are openly demonstrating on our streets. Bad as the Madison Square Garden Nazi Rally in 1939. They are likely the children or grandchildren of people who died fighting Nazis. Japan shut them up in 1941, who will do it now?
Thank you Robert for your great article and your daily efforts to help us to reclaim democracy.
Currently, I’m looking into how to support making Voting day and National holiday so more folks turn out as well as working on other actions. I know that I can not stay in this country if Trump (sociopath) is re-elected and am working hard to make sure that doesn’t happen.
I wish someone would do a story entitled “What does Trump have on each Republican”. Has he had his thugs threaten their families, their lives, or paid them off. I think it would be helpful to have more being written on social media or in papers about what’s not being talk about. As a psychotherapist, it reminds me of a toxic family system not talking about the elephant in the living room. The dysfunctional ties that cements and binds the psychopathology. How can we expose that?
One of the most upsetting things about the coup attempt is Trump's trying to use the military (including Homeland Security) for domestic purposes, in contradiction to the Constitution.
I appreciate how you call it like it is without mincing words, yet avoid sophomoric name-calling and ugly put-downs. The truth is ugly enough as it is. Thanks, Robert.
It amazes and sometimes annoys me when Democrats react defensively to charges of partisanship. How can a party that evidently believes, and expects you to believe, without evidence, that no win by our party can possibly be legitimate, claim that they are sincere about bipartisanship? I haven’t counted but I’ll bet you can count on one hand the number of Democrats voting for suppressive measures in all the states where they’ve been enacted.
Harry Moore was the first NAACP official killed in the civil rights struggle. He was an educator here in Brevard County, Fl who was killed in the 1951 Christmas bombing of his home. His wife Hartiette died days later.
70 years later a white school board member has been severely harassed and threatened by our (wealthy) Fl Republican Rep and his followers. He’s sponsoring a bill that would eliminate school board salaries( ~40k) in our large school district.
The road ahead of us is long and steep and obstacles keep being thrown in our path. Many of us in Florida have become involved with various voter registration efforts. You may not be aware of this trial that is going on now. While folks are familiar with some of the other voting suppression measures in Florida's bill, you may not know about the obstacle to actually registering voters in the first place. I will keep an eye on this trial and let you know what the outcome is. https://tampabaytimes-fl.newsmemory.com/?publink=3cb531232_134834d
Thanks, Annette, I was unaware of the requirement for third-party groups.
Recently I was speaking with a progressive, elderly neighbor who was unaware of the vote-by-mail change. She was visibly distraught. “Why are they doing this to elderly people”?
On a semi- +positive note, looks like Repubs are scaling back DeSantis’ election police from 52 soldiers to 15 clerical workers who will be “fielding tips of potential wrongdoing from Floridians”. Hmmm…and how did that strategy work out for Youngken.
Sinema’s duplicity is astounding—not sure how she justifies her cynicism or how she sleeps at night. The HBCU threats represent a new low. Thank you for calling out the perpetrators. I sure wish we had a law to make voting compulsory because it would render our current sources of voting rights anxiety redundant. I have faith in the process of law even if at times it seems irritatingly slow.
We so often bemoan the dangers Trumpism poses to democracy by its slide into autocracy while the judicial umpires wag their fingers in its direction but prosecutors continue to fail to bring the warranted criminal cases against its leaders. I wish to recognize that this causes me to worry more about its threat to the Rule of Law then its peril to democracy. Yes, I recognize the dangers posed by the autocratic nature and actions of Trump and his Republican enablers. However, the essential challenge is, given that danger, what should be done to safeguard democracy. This is where the Rule of Law should provide the necessary guardrails to protect democracy and it’s precious American experiment. However, it seems insufficient actions are being taken and justice is neither swift nor sure. This is not because we lack the necessary laws or statutes to prosecute the crimes that have been and continue to be committed. Nor do we lack the prosecutorial resources. Both the criminal statutes and prosecutorial resources exist. Is it the evidence beyond a shadow of doubt that the crimes were committed and who the evident guilty parties are? No, we even have the open public and recorded confessions of the perpetrators of the crimes. Why then are the forces of justice then not already moving and prosecutions progressing? I believe the answer is the timidity and lack of will of those charged with the responsibility of enforcement and prosecution. If this is indeed the problem, let those possessing the will and backbone provide the needed support to those more timid. The answer for us must be to push for the needed enforcement and prosecution. Yes, push and push much harder. If we fail to protect the Rule of Law, that failure is what dooms democracy more than those autocrats who threaten us. As we so often find with most perils, we have met the real enemy and it is us and our own timidity to defend ourselves.
I want to add to this thought: "Let’s call them by name: Coup plotters and insurrectionists; traitors and seditionists; white supremacists and thugs. Hawley. Cruz. Jordan. Gaetz. Taylor-Greene. Gosar. Gohmert." Let's also start calling them FASCISTS. See article at this link: https://jordan93016.medium.com/its-time-to-start-calling-them-fascists-d9c7bba7de06.
One sign of Democratic strength in Congressional races is the quality of candidates. Here are two deeply religious candidates who stepped up in January and can flip Republican seats. In MI 03 (Grand Rapids), Hillary Scholten has signed up to run again. A lawyer in Grand Rapids, she worked previously for the Michigan Immigrant Rights Center, for the Mel Trotter Ministries supporting the homeless, and the justice department during the Obama administration. She lost by 6 points to very wealthy candidate Peter Meijer in a district which was R+8. Redistricted, MI 03 is now D+3. She can flip this district. In Ohio 01 (Cincinnati), Steve Chabot seemed vulnerable in 2018 and 2020. He defeated Kate Schroder by 4 points in 2020 and Aftab Pureval (now Mayor of Cincinnati) by 4 in 2018. The proposed redistricting would reduce the district's Republican lean and include all of the city in the district. OH 01 becomes R+3. It won't become more Republican after the law suit is completed. City Councilman Greg Landsman, an amateur boxer with a theology degree from Harvard, is a local who has created anti-poverty charities and has a record of accomplishment in the City Council. He can flip the district.
Leonard, your work documenting what great Dem candidates we have is outstanding!
Thanks, Len. The quality and detail of your recommendations are great!
Robert you fairly have been critical of Garland and the DOJ but recently read I read an opinion from a lawyer who is a federal prosecutor who made a valid point I did not think about. He said that in our history no President or former President has been tried and convicted of a crime and the bar to do that is very high and that the evidence and case must be air tight and beyond reproach. In other words the evidence must be overwhelming and not circumstantial and it must connect Trump directly to the alleged crimes. The January 6th Committee is beginning to connect the dots and more witnesses are coming forward and were in the room and heard Trump’s comments and observed what he said and did. Remember Trump never documented anything or sent emails etc but there are notes from people who attended the meetings now available. If this is accurate I now understand why the DOJ is sitting patiently waiting for this to play out and helped by Trump himself making speeches.
BTW, it has been 6 weeks since the House referred Mark Meadows to the DOJ for contempt. Again, the facts are public and there is minimal investigative effort necessary to conclude that Meadow's complete refusal to appear constitutes criminal contempt--especially after the Supreme Court rejected Trump's executive privilege claims. The reason that so many witnesses are thumbing their noses at the Select Committee is because they know that the DOJ has no stomach for prosecuting political crimes by Trump and his co-conspirators.
I agree, though I wish we would cease describing them as “political” crimes, as if that is a special category deserving of special prosecutorial or judicial processes. The crimes committed are just that, crimes. We do not have separate categories for them in the criminal code, nor do we have separate courts for them or separate judicial processes. The offenders may be political figures but the crimes are merely crimes, and in fact quite serious crimes with quite severe punishments. Let’s not give them any more special attention than perhaps giving those political figures charged a comfy cushion to sit upon in their chair during their trials for those crimes.
And now they have a public assurance of a PARDON to dissuade them from even bothering to show up.
The fact that people who have committed serious crimes against this country such as those who were members of the Confederate government and the military officers were not prosecuted like the Nazi criminals is how we came to be where we are. Lincoln wanted to try to heal the country, but he didn’t get to do so. However, I think the southern planters, et. al. would have thought his olive branches made him look weak. The officer corp and the Confederate government officials/politicians should have been tried and jailed. Sometimes healing requires painful surgeries and procedures to remove infection, etc.
Last night on Rachel Maddow, she had a story about Pence's chief legal counsel. He was in the room (White House) when Eastman explained the plan and Pence's needed role. The guy then emailed himself a summary of the meeting so that it would be documented. He also called out Eastman during the coup attempt. The attorney testified for 9 hours yesterday before the committee; his appearance is continuing.... So Stephen, I agree that the dots are coming out.
Hi, Jennifer. I saw that report, which is great from the perspective of the work the Select Committee is doing. But the DOJ could have interviewed Pence's chief legal counsel, or could have issued a subpoena before the Select Committee interviewed him. It did neither. That is why I believe that Merrick Garland is doing nothing to investigate Trump's political crimes.
Hi, Stephen. The January 6th Committe is running a great investigation. That isn't its job and it doesn't have the authority to compel testimony the way a grand jury would. It appears to me that every new revelation from the Committee is new news--there is no evidence that the DOJ has been there first. So, my great fear is that the DOJ is doing nothing, perhaps in some misguided belief that it should allow the Select Committee to finish its work. But the Select Committee is conducting hearings to fashion new legislation, not to hold people accountable.
Let's take the phony electors as an example. The evidence of the crime was public for a year and the receipts were in the possession of the National Archives. What did the DOJ do with that information? Nothing. And despite the breathless reporting over Lisa Monaco's statement, all she said is "We have opened our mail and read the pleas from state AGs to prosecute the electors." "We've received those referrals. Our prosecutors are looking at those."
So the inaction has nothing to do with the high bar that the DOJ must clear. It has to do with total, complete absence of any investigative action by the DOJ. If subpoenas had been issued, we would know about it. if the FBI was conducting witness interviews, we would know about it. Merrick Garland has made a decision not to prosecute political crimes committed by Trump. The record supports that statement and there is no evidence to the contrary.
Robert as usual you make a compelling case and have stated the facts well but I have a different view of Garlands intent. Based on what I have read Trump has committed more than just political crimes but has not been indicted yet for these crimes. Thinking about this from Garlands view as a non attorney he gains more public support and credibility by letting the January 6th committee do their job and have the information leak out and be televised so everyone including Independents and Republicans reach the same conclusion that Garland was left with no choice other than to indict a former President. It takes the politics noise down many levels. This is my hope and I don’t understand the rush if it plays out this way. Indicting and prosecuting Trump is not going to change the 2022 elections because other issues are more important to voters.
I understand your point and do not disagree with it. However, it seems publicly available evidence of very serious crimes is quite apparent. I also note that reflecting back to the history of Watergate it seemed similarly publicly discussed evidence of far less serious offenses not only forced the resignation of a President but required his successor to quickly pardon him to stop his prosecution for the crimes he committed. If we compare the offenses metaphorically, Nixon was guilty of putting his elbows on the table while eating and Trump has committed capital murder. I remain convinced that while I applaud the investigative efforts of the January 6 Select Committee, they have no power to indict or prosecute. Their only power is to report to inform possible legislation and to make criminal referrals. It is past time to convene a Special Grand Jury with indictment power and commence making the case for quite a significant list of indictments.
Let’s get er done!
How is the country's tolerance of evil and treasonous acts, taking place in plain sight, providing the American People with healing, a belief in justice, respect for democratic principles and hope for the future?
Amen and amen!! All these serious seditious crimes must be investigated and people held accountable. Otherwise we have NO rule of law.
Robert, there's an easy way to let Garland know how we feel: Email the DOJ (AskDOJ@usdoj.gov) and simply say, ”AG Garland, indict Trump.” If enough people leave that message, maybe it will help light a fire under him.
Wonderful! I will post tonight! let's hope that Garland gets the message.
Done ✅ Also use this link and select Message to Attorney General in the drop down menu.
https://www.justice.gov/doj/webform/your-message-department-justice
Thanks for the link - message sent!
Also done. Thanks for this link! I sent my message to the Inspector General. Someone I know said that messages to the AG might go through the IG first.
Thank you! I have also been tweeting these articles (from substacks to which I subscribe) to the DOJ Inspector General and to the DOJ Criminal Division, asking "What more do you need?" I appreciate this link and will follow up right now!
Excellent idea!
Thanks for the address I just fired off an email
Done. I'll pass this on.
Thank you, done!
Great job Robert of keeping us current on critical issues facing us and the nation. My question and possibly your own, is what can we left leaning activists do to to light a fire under DOJ and specifically Merrick Garland to begin proceedings against Trump? Do you think he’s waiting for the January 6th Commission to go public first to pave his way for indictments?
Thanks for all your efforts to keep us informed and our democracy safe.
The only lever we have is to call the White House and ask Joe Biden to appoint a new attorney general. By design, the DOJ is built to be insulated from public opinion. Biden has the ultimate authority to correct the situation.
As we celebrate Black History Month, February 1 - March 1, remember and teach it - teach all of American history, we face our fellow Americans:
'Fear, anxiety follow third wave of bomb threats targeting HBCUs'
https://www.washingtonpost.com/education/2022/02/01/hbcu-bomb-threats-campus-reactions/
'Antisemitic rallies were held near Orlando, Florida, on Saturday and Sunday, with some two dozen people in neo-Nazi gear waving swastikas, stomping on Israeli flags, and yelling antisemitic epithets at passersby.'
'While various officials in the state condemned the protest, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis came under fire as his spokesperson expressed doubt over whether the demonstrators were actually antisemitic, and raised the possibility that they were in fact Democrats trying to make the governor look bad.'
'In videos and pictures shared on social media, the demonstrators can be seen waving Nazi flags and banners, calling someone filming them a “devil” and a “fucking kike” and making Nazi salutes.'
'A video of the Orlando rally that spread on social media on Monday showed protesters standing on a highway overpass in front of banners of swastikas. One audibly yells “Heil Hitler.”
Another video showed the demonstrators attacking a passerby in his car.
The rallies were held near the campus of Central Florida University, which has a large Jewish student body, and near Disney World.'
https://www.timesofisrael.com/florida-governor-desantis-under-fire-for-refusal-to-condemn-orlando-neo-nazi-rallies/
Unf**king believable that Nazi’s are openly demonstrating on our streets. Bad as the Madison Square Garden Nazi Rally in 1939. They are likely the children or grandchildren of people who died fighting Nazis. Japan shut them up in 1941, who will do it now?
I like that you've posted this; none of us can like or even tolerate what it means.
Difficult and painful. We face them and will do what we can, however small it may seem, to create better days. Together, Dave.
This one I like, together we can get a lot done. The puzzle is built one piece at a time.
Thank you Robert for your great article and your daily efforts to help us to reclaim democracy.
Currently, I’m looking into how to support making Voting day and National holiday so more folks turn out as well as working on other actions. I know that I can not stay in this country if Trump (sociopath) is re-elected and am working hard to make sure that doesn’t happen.
I wish someone would do a story entitled “What does Trump have on each Republican”. Has he had his thugs threaten their families, their lives, or paid them off. I think it would be helpful to have more being written on social media or in papers about what’s not being talk about. As a psychotherapist, it reminds me of a toxic family system not talking about the elephant in the living room. The dysfunctional ties that cements and binds the psychopathology. How can we expose that?
One of the most upsetting things about the coup attempt is Trump's trying to use the military (including Homeland Security) for domestic purposes, in contradiction to the Constitution.
I appreciate how you call it like it is without mincing words, yet avoid sophomoric name-calling and ugly put-downs. The truth is ugly enough as it is. Thanks, Robert.
It amazes and sometimes annoys me when Democrats react defensively to charges of partisanship. How can a party that evidently believes, and expects you to believe, without evidence, that no win by our party can possibly be legitimate, claim that they are sincere about bipartisanship? I haven’t counted but I’ll bet you can count on one hand the number of Democrats voting for suppressive measures in all the states where they’ve been enacted.
Bipartisan, my ass.
Short, but to the point!
Trump “is a corrupt, racist egomaniac who is motivated by revenge and greed.” Yes. And those are his good points.
Harry Moore was the first NAACP official killed in the civil rights struggle. He was an educator here in Brevard County, Fl who was killed in the 1951 Christmas bombing of his home. His wife Hartiette died days later.
https://www.pbs.org/harrymoore/harry/mbio.html
70 years later a white school board member has been severely harassed and threatened by our (wealthy) Fl Republican Rep and his followers. He’s sponsoring a bill that would eliminate school board salaries( ~40k) in our large school district.
https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/florida-school-board-member-who-supports-masks-classrooms-says-people
Thanks, Kathy. I appreciate the reminder and the link to the resource. I will mention this evening.
I often thought that had I been old enough to join the Freedom Riders would I have. And the answer I always conclude is no because I’m not a pacifist.
Bill, we are all Freedom Riders in our own way.
Today I’m angry….tomorrow I will resume the postcards, calls, emails, snail mails.
The road ahead of us is long and steep and obstacles keep being thrown in our path. Many of us in Florida have become involved with various voter registration efforts. You may not be aware of this trial that is going on now. While folks are familiar with some of the other voting suppression measures in Florida's bill, you may not know about the obstacle to actually registering voters in the first place. I will keep an eye on this trial and let you know what the outcome is. https://tampabaytimes-fl.newsmemory.com/?publink=3cb531232_134834d
Thanks, Annette!
Thanks, Annette, I was unaware of the requirement for third-party groups.
Recently I was speaking with a progressive, elderly neighbor who was unaware of the vote-by-mail change. She was visibly distraught. “Why are they doing this to elderly people”?
On a semi- +positive note, looks like Repubs are scaling back DeSantis’ election police from 52 soldiers to 15 clerical workers who will be “fielding tips of potential wrongdoing from Floridians”. Hmmm…and how did that strategy work out for Youngken.
Sinema’s duplicity is astounding—not sure how she justifies her cynicism or how she sleeps at night. The HBCU threats represent a new low. Thank you for calling out the perpetrators. I sure wish we had a law to make voting compulsory because it would render our current sources of voting rights anxiety redundant. I have faith in the process of law even if at times it seems irritatingly slow.
We so often bemoan the dangers Trumpism poses to democracy by its slide into autocracy while the judicial umpires wag their fingers in its direction but prosecutors continue to fail to bring the warranted criminal cases against its leaders. I wish to recognize that this causes me to worry more about its threat to the Rule of Law then its peril to democracy. Yes, I recognize the dangers posed by the autocratic nature and actions of Trump and his Republican enablers. However, the essential challenge is, given that danger, what should be done to safeguard democracy. This is where the Rule of Law should provide the necessary guardrails to protect democracy and it’s precious American experiment. However, it seems insufficient actions are being taken and justice is neither swift nor sure. This is not because we lack the necessary laws or statutes to prosecute the crimes that have been and continue to be committed. Nor do we lack the prosecutorial resources. Both the criminal statutes and prosecutorial resources exist. Is it the evidence beyond a shadow of doubt that the crimes were committed and who the evident guilty parties are? No, we even have the open public and recorded confessions of the perpetrators of the crimes. Why then are the forces of justice then not already moving and prosecutions progressing? I believe the answer is the timidity and lack of will of those charged with the responsibility of enforcement and prosecution. If this is indeed the problem, let those possessing the will and backbone provide the needed support to those more timid. The answer for us must be to push for the needed enforcement and prosecution. Yes, push and push much harder. If we fail to protect the Rule of Law, that failure is what dooms democracy more than those autocrats who threaten us. As we so often find with most perils, we have met the real enemy and it is us and our own timidity to defend ourselves.
I want to add to this thought: "Let’s call them by name: Coup plotters and insurrectionists; traitors and seditionists; white supremacists and thugs. Hawley. Cruz. Jordan. Gaetz. Taylor-Greene. Gosar. Gohmert." Let's also start calling them FASCISTS. See article at this link: https://jordan93016.medium.com/its-time-to-start-calling-them-fascists-d9c7bba7de06.
EXACTLY!
Isn’t that something?