I too don’t understand how Romney, Collins, and Murkowski conform to McConnell & McCarthy’s desires to Trump’s whims. I’m truly surprised by not trying to save our democracy. It’s so sad. I was in my teens in the 60s. I admired MLK. Sad Republicans can’t accept John Lewis’s fight for the right to vote.
While covering voter suppression in your early career, you probably learned of the suppression of racial hate crimes and its relationship to political power. Can you make any sense of a hate crime that is not a threat to power? Why would government and law enforcement continue to condone the crimes committed by the perpetrators of this hate crime?
I do feel hopeless at times. I know voters have the power but believe that power is reduced, even eliminated, by misinformation and outright lies. While I do not believe everything the Democrats propose is possible or necessary, I do believe the majority of their plans are intended to make America better, more equitable, to ensure fair elections, reduce poverty, give everyone a fair chance at attaining the American dream.
How can voters make the right choice when they are spoonfed half-truths and lies?
So, now we stand at a spot where one or two senators can stop such progress in its tracks. I have started to believe Manchin is driven by oil, gas, and coal money pouring into his coffers rather than a desire to advance the condition of the American people.
Who knows what Sinema wants? Perhaps just to muck up the process!
There was a time in the United States when I could listen to both Republican and Democrat candidates, hear their position, and believe they truly thought their ideas were the best choice for America.
Those days are gone; they died a horrible death with the coming of the Tea Party and, ultimately, Trump and his gang.
Now, I sit alone in my home wondering how we recover. I speak to those that will listen - they get fewer every day.
I scan through the news articles trying to pick only those who are still news organizations and not just propaganda machines.
We have a chance, right now, to take the necessary steps to improve on our democracy. Yes, it is a living growing thing that will always need improvement. Our job is to build the best democracy possible.
My fear is that misinformation, lies, and the greed of some politicians (the ignorance of others - Jewish space lasers? Really?) will win the day.
I am old and tired but not too tired to fight. I will push the hopelessness away, argue with those who need to, vote - every single time in every single election be it presidential or local school board.
I will tell my story, speak the truth as I understand it to all who will listen. I am one man. Is one man enough to generate the change we need? No! But I will try my best. That's all a man can do.
I agree with all of you, but I haven’t been as frightened as I am now until the last few days. Yes, there are far more Americans opposed to Trumpism than are for it, but my fear is born from watching more and more of what I would have called reasonable, responsible Americans completely divorce themselves from logic and reason and I don’t understand why they’re doing it.
Obviously they don’t see the danger many of us see that comes from aligning oneself with political extremism, what can only be called cruelty and at the same time elevating raw self-interest to a position of utmost importance. Those qualities are the polar opposite of how this country came to be the most powerful, wealthiest nation in the world. Why don’t they see that?
At this point I honestly don’t know if this insane trend can be turned around. It seems like every day I see more professional people like physicians, teachers, corporate CEOs & attorneys (who should certainly know better because they studied the Constitution) gleefully become absolutely irrational. I want to know why!
Do these people have a secret longing to become part of a cult? Did they discover some kind of weird joy from operating on pure emotion? Or is it the opposite—that they at last feel the giddiness and power of abandoning all decorum, giving themselves
over to having titanic rages because they were asked to consider the needs of the people around them? Or is their motivation just garden variety greed? I don’t know.
Recently I’ve found myself wondering if the people running our government don’t understand the gravity of the situation. For example, we have a Supreme Court with five out of nine justices who have histories of extreme and inappropriate behavior, who are perfectly willing to allow a blatantly unconstitutional state law remain in force without any debate or written opinions. I have no doubt that the late Justices Ruth Bader Ginsberg & John Paul Stevens are spinning in their graves.
In addition, one of our two political parties
is behaving in a manner that’s usually defined as corrupt. That would be bad enough, but that same party has also been lying non-stop to the American people for years in order to manipulate the hell out of them for grossly dishonorable reasons, and they’re doing it in absolute lock-step without even a faint, anemic peep of defiance from a member that retains even a shred of decency. (except for Cheney & Kinziger on the topic of the 1/6 insurrection)
I can’t shake the feeling that the majority party more or less thinks if they carry on in as normal a way as possible, the other corrupt party that’s lying, cheating and stealing will eventually come to its senses.
But I don’t think that’s going to happen.
I think my fear about what’s going on in our government reached its peak upon hearing, this week that AG Garland expressed a reluctance to prosecute our former president for crimes he committed while in office. I disagree, not prosecuting him would make a mockery of the Rule of Law. In my opinion that would be the equivalent of General Lee’s surrender at Appomattox. None of this perversion of our government is going to go away…as the former guy once said, like a miracle. It’s going to take aggression to set things straight. Let’s hope the evidence obtained by the Insurrection Commission gets us back on track.
A hard hit to Democracy indeed. But I feel the true goals of the GOP have been shown here and will spur folks to vote. I think they are showing themselves for who they really are. I hope folks are paying attention....
Thanks Dan. Once again you have written an excellent article. I find it very obvious that the Republicans will do whatever it takes to stay in power, including manipulating the voting process to favor their candidates. What are they so afraid of anyway? This is the twenty first century and trying to remain in the past is ridiculous. We need more people in Congress who will stand up for what is right instead of just looking out for themselves.
I find myself wishing for the old Republican party, where we could truly debate issues on a more objective level. That being said, maybe we need a "new" 2nd party in our system to get it working the way it needs to in order to preserve our democracy. I am a democrat, have one of the best-ever senators on my side, and desperately wish for a new attitude towards politics, and towards progress. Although progress is slow, it's good and always preferable to the dark ages of our country. I will remain hopeful even in the midst of angst.
By their constant barage of lies and obstruction, Republicans hope that we will be demoralized to the point of silence and giving up. That is simply not an option, and it will take every one of us to speak out and work in whatever ways possible to stop their forward progress. I think of what Stacey Abrams did in Georgia, which was nothing short of miraculous, and that gives me hope.
Everyone knew what the Senate GOP would do. EVERYONE. It does no good whatsoever for Schumer to "call the bluff" of any member of the GOP. They do not care. Dems appear to be acting as if this was a game of chicken, rather than a war for the life or death of our democracy. If Manchin pulled his stunt and declared himself - whatever - anything but a Democrat - Mitch would jerk that filibuster in a heartbeat. Everyone knows THAT. It's like they are playing a game of Russian Roulette and we out in in America land know exactly which chamber holds the bullet.
Mr. Rather, if you haven't seen Robert Hubbell's "Today's Edition" newsletter, you should read today's. It gives a somewhat more encouraging take on Republicans' efforts to suppress voters. It's here:
I wonder sometimes if this is what it might have felt like to live in the USA before the Civil War. I wish I saw a reason for the remembrance of the possibility for hope. We are at an incredibly sad turning point for the American experiment.
I just read an interesting article that I believe adds to today’s Steady newsletter. It is on theatlantic.com and is titled “What We Have Lost” by Kim Ghattas. The article is not yet about America but easily could be in due time.
(I do not know the author nor do I have any ties with The Atlantic.)
I love the perspective of such a wonderful and seasoned mind.
But, you are too generous in your assessment of the opponents of democracy in the present moment.
The enemies of our form of government *are* leveraging the idealized vision of an America that you describe but they have no interest in anything except autocratic power, and the ability to use the power of the State to plunder the wealth of the country and the planet.
I too don’t understand how Romney, Collins, and Murkowski conform to McConnell & McCarthy’s desires to Trump’s whims. I’m truly surprised by not trying to save our democracy. It’s so sad. I was in my teens in the 60s. I admired MLK. Sad Republicans can’t accept John Lewis’s fight for the right to vote.
While covering voter suppression in your early career, you probably learned of the suppression of racial hate crimes and its relationship to political power. Can you make any sense of a hate crime that is not a threat to power? Why would government and law enforcement continue to condone the crimes committed by the perpetrators of this hate crime?
I do feel hopeless at times. I know voters have the power but believe that power is reduced, even eliminated, by misinformation and outright lies. While I do not believe everything the Democrats propose is possible or necessary, I do believe the majority of their plans are intended to make America better, more equitable, to ensure fair elections, reduce poverty, give everyone a fair chance at attaining the American dream.
How can voters make the right choice when they are spoonfed half-truths and lies?
So, now we stand at a spot where one or two senators can stop such progress in its tracks. I have started to believe Manchin is driven by oil, gas, and coal money pouring into his coffers rather than a desire to advance the condition of the American people.
Who knows what Sinema wants? Perhaps just to muck up the process!
There was a time in the United States when I could listen to both Republican and Democrat candidates, hear their position, and believe they truly thought their ideas were the best choice for America.
Those days are gone; they died a horrible death with the coming of the Tea Party and, ultimately, Trump and his gang.
Now, I sit alone in my home wondering how we recover. I speak to those that will listen - they get fewer every day.
I scan through the news articles trying to pick only those who are still news organizations and not just propaganda machines.
We have a chance, right now, to take the necessary steps to improve on our democracy. Yes, it is a living growing thing that will always need improvement. Our job is to build the best democracy possible.
My fear is that misinformation, lies, and the greed of some politicians (the ignorance of others - Jewish space lasers? Really?) will win the day.
I am old and tired but not too tired to fight. I will push the hopelessness away, argue with those who need to, vote - every single time in every single election be it presidential or local school board.
I will tell my story, speak the truth as I understand it to all who will listen. I am one man. Is one man enough to generate the change we need? No! But I will try my best. That's all a man can do.
I agree with all of you, but I haven’t been as frightened as I am now until the last few days. Yes, there are far more Americans opposed to Trumpism than are for it, but my fear is born from watching more and more of what I would have called reasonable, responsible Americans completely divorce themselves from logic and reason and I don’t understand why they’re doing it.
Obviously they don’t see the danger many of us see that comes from aligning oneself with political extremism, what can only be called cruelty and at the same time elevating raw self-interest to a position of utmost importance. Those qualities are the polar opposite of how this country came to be the most powerful, wealthiest nation in the world. Why don’t they see that?
At this point I honestly don’t know if this insane trend can be turned around. It seems like every day I see more professional people like physicians, teachers, corporate CEOs & attorneys (who should certainly know better because they studied the Constitution) gleefully become absolutely irrational. I want to know why!
Do these people have a secret longing to become part of a cult? Did they discover some kind of weird joy from operating on pure emotion? Or is it the opposite—that they at last feel the giddiness and power of abandoning all decorum, giving themselves
over to having titanic rages because they were asked to consider the needs of the people around them? Or is their motivation just garden variety greed? I don’t know.
Recently I’ve found myself wondering if the people running our government don’t understand the gravity of the situation. For example, we have a Supreme Court with five out of nine justices who have histories of extreme and inappropriate behavior, who are perfectly willing to allow a blatantly unconstitutional state law remain in force without any debate or written opinions. I have no doubt that the late Justices Ruth Bader Ginsberg & John Paul Stevens are spinning in their graves.
In addition, one of our two political parties
is behaving in a manner that’s usually defined as corrupt. That would be bad enough, but that same party has also been lying non-stop to the American people for years in order to manipulate the hell out of them for grossly dishonorable reasons, and they’re doing it in absolute lock-step without even a faint, anemic peep of defiance from a member that retains even a shred of decency. (except for Cheney & Kinziger on the topic of the 1/6 insurrection)
I can’t shake the feeling that the majority party more or less thinks if they carry on in as normal a way as possible, the other corrupt party that’s lying, cheating and stealing will eventually come to its senses.
But I don’t think that’s going to happen.
I think my fear about what’s going on in our government reached its peak upon hearing, this week that AG Garland expressed a reluctance to prosecute our former president for crimes he committed while in office. I disagree, not prosecuting him would make a mockery of the Rule of Law. In my opinion that would be the equivalent of General Lee’s surrender at Appomattox. None of this perversion of our government is going to go away…as the former guy once said, like a miracle. It’s going to take aggression to set things straight. Let’s hope the evidence obtained by the Insurrection Commission gets us back on track.
A hard hit to Democracy indeed. But I feel the true goals of the GOP have been shown here and will spur folks to vote. I think they are showing themselves for who they really are. I hope folks are paying attention....
Your determination, experience and positiveness gives us all strength, even to those in Canada.
Thanks Dan. Once again you have written an excellent article. I find it very obvious that the Republicans will do whatever it takes to stay in power, including manipulating the voting process to favor their candidates. What are they so afraid of anyway? This is the twenty first century and trying to remain in the past is ridiculous. We need more people in Congress who will stand up for what is right instead of just looking out for themselves.
I consider it a wake up call for all the citizens who have been sitting around watching it happen. Famous words-“Don’t just sit there-DO something.”
I find myself wishing for the old Republican party, where we could truly debate issues on a more objective level. That being said, maybe we need a "new" 2nd party in our system to get it working the way it needs to in order to preserve our democracy. I am a democrat, have one of the best-ever senators on my side, and desperately wish for a new attitude towards politics, and towards progress. Although progress is slow, it's good and always preferable to the dark ages of our country. I will remain hopeful even in the midst of angst.
By their constant barage of lies and obstruction, Republicans hope that we will be demoralized to the point of silence and giving up. That is simply not an option, and it will take every one of us to speak out and work in whatever ways possible to stop their forward progress. I think of what Stacey Abrams did in Georgia, which was nothing short of miraculous, and that gives me hope.
Everyone knew what the Senate GOP would do. EVERYONE. It does no good whatsoever for Schumer to "call the bluff" of any member of the GOP. They do not care. Dems appear to be acting as if this was a game of chicken, rather than a war for the life or death of our democracy. If Manchin pulled his stunt and declared himself - whatever - anything but a Democrat - Mitch would jerk that filibuster in a heartbeat. Everyone knows THAT. It's like they are playing a game of Russian Roulette and we out in in America land know exactly which chamber holds the bullet.
Mr. Rather, if you haven't seen Robert Hubbell's "Today's Edition" newsletter, you should read today's. It gives a somewhat more encouraging take on Republicans' efforts to suppress voters. It's here:
https://roberthubbell.substack.com/?r=3yw24&utm_campaign=pub&utm_medium=web&utm_source=
Thank you, Dan...I am frightened! There are more of us that don't want our democracy taken away!
I wonder sometimes if this is what it might have felt like to live in the USA before the Civil War. I wish I saw a reason for the remembrance of the possibility for hope. We are at an incredibly sad turning point for the American experiment.
I just read an interesting article that I believe adds to today’s Steady newsletter. It is on theatlantic.com and is titled “What We Have Lost” by Kim Ghattas. The article is not yet about America but easily could be in due time.
(I do not know the author nor do I have any ties with The Atlantic.)
I love this newsletter.
I love the perspective of such a wonderful and seasoned mind.
But, you are too generous in your assessment of the opponents of democracy in the present moment.
The enemies of our form of government *are* leveraging the idealized vision of an America that you describe but they have no interest in anything except autocratic power, and the ability to use the power of the State to plunder the wealth of the country and the planet.
They arent f'n around either. 😞