Trump’s win isn’t political vindication. It results from saturating the system with disinformation, feeding grievances, and twisting reality until voters saw a false picture. Winning this way doesn’t erase his record of fraud and lies; he remains a criminal felon.
What the country needed right after Joe Biden was elected were tribunals that punished ALL of the MAGA coup actors with either prison, fines and expulsion from politics. That would have set the necessary precedent about what political behavior was acceptable and what wasn’t. But that’s not Joe. Biden believes in the goodness of Americans. He bet on the love of goodness and fairness to beat MAGA at the ballot box. But the plan did not work and now we are facing the consequences!
Time to dig out all my “RESIST!” stickers and clothing from 2017.
How about wearing these kinds of shirts in front of your MAGA neighbors? 👇 🤔
Wearing "resistance" merchandise is a simplistic answer to a much deeper issue.
As Reed notes, the pro-democracy party doesn't have a unifying message.
We have an uneasy coalition of wildly diverse splinter groups that imploded pre-election under the weight of Gaza, terrible communication around inflation, unease by progressives with the Cheney alliance (FTR, no one worked as hard as Cheney), and a host of other factors.
I don't think we can or need to create a competing left-wing ecosystem...but we do need to have A message, A strategy, and numerous tactics aligned with the messaging.
The question Reed raises won't be answered by Democratic leadership, who have no planB.
Is it a return to FDR? I don't know, but hazy centrism has garnered few believers.
This is definitely the essence of the problem. Why did the Rs flood the infosphere with ads about transgender operations in prisons and - absurdly - in schools (a phenomenon that may affect 0.001% of the population)? Because their consumers had been softened up for such garbage for years.
For that matter, why did so many people not "like" Hillary Clinton in 2016? Because of 25 years of poisonous lies about her from the Rs, official and not.
It's the whole atmosphere, and the culture wars that the Rs win because their points are 'easy to understand' and sometimes hard to rebut, not because they are right, but because life is complicated. Complication does not sell. Easy to understand lies sell.
Everyone 'understands' about the risk of a man going into a woman's restroom on the pretext of being trans. That it does not seriously happen doesn't matter to the fear-mongers. Just like the cruelty, the fear is the point.
Not that Ds have to start lying (a Trumpie told me 'both sides do it, the truth is in the middle somewhere' - not so) but they have to do better at getting the kindness message out, and the tolerance (trans people have a very high suicide rate, they need sympathy, not demonizing), while fighting lies (immigrants are a threat to your life) with truth (Americans commit way more crimes than immigrants - and crime is down under Biden).
It will be hard when the atmosphere is so toxic for so many people.
About hope & change…remember 2008 when we fairly elected Barack Hussein Obama? And then re-elected him? There was hope even though the hateful power elite blocked Obama at every turn.
Agreed. Democrats are speaking to a coalition, MAGA is speaking to a cult. But the real problem to me is that the grifters are telling these people what they want to hear - it fits with their aggrieved status and total lack of tolerance for other views - an attitude that goes back to the beginning of this country - but never had the technology echo chamber it has now. (I dare say Murdoch would have gone to the left side if he thought that is where the money was - CNN proved to him it was not.) I don’t know how we build a rational voice without sacrificing who we are as a country.
Republicans have had a sell organized ecosystem for decades. At the center are pr firms that develop the talking points. Then pundits, influencers and politicians to distribute them.
The zHarris campaign did a good job of scripting messages and getting them out. What they did not do was ‘let Harris be Harris,’ then sane wash rhetoric result.
What would be good to have is a comprehensive list of businesses, podcasters and pundits that are part of this. Part of our power is as consumers. For years, most of the people I know would not eat at Chick Filet.Get off of X. They finally gave up their anti LGBQ campaign. Let’s build this out. Get off of X. Don’t buy a Tesla. Let Tesla make its money off of Maga voters. Get rid of your Amazon Prime account, not your Washington Post subscription.
Thank you for pointing out that this has been going on for 50 years. While lthe ibs and dems were enjoying hard fought wages, health care, retiremen , life and freedom, the former John Birchers were laying plans to roll back the clock to the early 20's. Very smartly they zeroed in on justices at all levels and The Supremes. Now the huge investments are bearing fruit. Unfortunately, we may have had our last presidential election now that The Supremes have endorsed the crazy idea that presidents can do whatever they want with no penalty. Trump is just the vessel that the oligarchs were looking for. Poorly educated at all levels but charismatic and extraordinarily good at lying and self promotion. Joseph Goebbels is smiling. Any surprise Trump named John Gotti as a man he admired most?
Adult Americans voted for Trump because that is what they wanted, an old white orange man with felony fraud convictions and a rapist. They preferred that offal bag over an intelligent woman.
They knew of the depravity of the man and chose him anyway.
This might be a bit off-topic but I have an idea: What if we turn the pro-democracy movement into a “lifestyle”? The kind of people who work out, eat healthy, talk to people in real life, vote in every election and have each other’s backs? The people who are strong enough to hope in dark times. It might be a different podcast, or several, but it’s possible people might be looking to feel something other than anger, fear, and gloom and doom that the right wing constantly feeds them
Thank you, Reed, for pointing out the obvious. This movement gained groups as it grew. Christians of an ilk let Trump’s character become not important because he is “Cyrus.”Whenever you mix politics and religion, you get people who don’t question. They believe and accept. I forgot who said, “Democracy is messy.” Yes, it is. Democracy requires people to be heretical and question what they are being told and who tells it to them. I’m grateful Celtic Advent begins this week, so I have 40 days of prayer and reflection. No action. Prayer and reflection.
Lots of interesting discussion. "Resist" stickers made me smile. Why not? It's doable. We do need to resist. But we, also need a message that we don't pick a part. That same order and enthusiasm that Reed remarked on in that early 2020 primary in Vermont is telling. It was like the then to be Maga's were in lock step. As Reed said our network needs to have something to say and say it together with enthusiasm. Now like many, I don't know what that would be at this time. I know what I want: A government by and for all the people. "Otherness" does not work for me.
Trump’s win isn’t political vindication. It results from saturating the system with disinformation, feeding grievances, and twisting reality until voters saw a false picture. Winning this way doesn’t erase his record of fraud and lies; he remains a criminal felon.
What the country needed right after Joe Biden was elected were tribunals that punished ALL of the MAGA coup actors with either prison, fines and expulsion from politics. That would have set the necessary precedent about what political behavior was acceptable and what wasn’t. But that’s not Joe. Biden believes in the goodness of Americans. He bet on the love of goodness and fairness to beat MAGA at the ballot box. But the plan did not work and now we are facing the consequences!
Time to dig out all my “RESIST!” stickers and clothing from 2017.
How about wearing these kinds of shirts in front of your MAGA neighbors? 👇 🤔
teespring.com/stores/libtees-2
Wearing "resistance" merchandise is a simplistic answer to a much deeper issue.
As Reed notes, the pro-democracy party doesn't have a unifying message.
We have an uneasy coalition of wildly diverse splinter groups that imploded pre-election under the weight of Gaza, terrible communication around inflation, unease by progressives with the Cheney alliance (FTR, no one worked as hard as Cheney), and a host of other factors.
I don't think we can or need to create a competing left-wing ecosystem...but we do need to have A message, A strategy, and numerous tactics aligned with the messaging.
The question Reed raises won't be answered by Democratic leadership, who have no planB.
Is it a return to FDR? I don't know, but hazy centrism has garnered few believers.
This is definitely the essence of the problem. Why did the Rs flood the infosphere with ads about transgender operations in prisons and - absurdly - in schools (a phenomenon that may affect 0.001% of the population)? Because their consumers had been softened up for such garbage for years.
For that matter, why did so many people not "like" Hillary Clinton in 2016? Because of 25 years of poisonous lies about her from the Rs, official and not.
It's the whole atmosphere, and the culture wars that the Rs win because their points are 'easy to understand' and sometimes hard to rebut, not because they are right, but because life is complicated. Complication does not sell. Easy to understand lies sell.
Everyone 'understands' about the risk of a man going into a woman's restroom on the pretext of being trans. That it does not seriously happen doesn't matter to the fear-mongers. Just like the cruelty, the fear is the point.
Not that Ds have to start lying (a Trumpie told me 'both sides do it, the truth is in the middle somewhere' - not so) but they have to do better at getting the kindness message out, and the tolerance (trans people have a very high suicide rate, they need sympathy, not demonizing), while fighting lies (immigrants are a threat to your life) with truth (Americans commit way more crimes than immigrants - and crime is down under Biden).
It will be hard when the atmosphere is so toxic for so many people.
About hope & change…remember 2008 when we fairly elected Barack Hussein Obama? And then re-elected him? There was hope even though the hateful power elite blocked Obama at every turn.
Agreed. Democrats are speaking to a coalition, MAGA is speaking to a cult. But the real problem to me is that the grifters are telling these people what they want to hear - it fits with their aggrieved status and total lack of tolerance for other views - an attitude that goes back to the beginning of this country - but never had the technology echo chamber it has now. (I dare say Murdoch would have gone to the left side if he thought that is where the money was - CNN proved to him it was not.) I don’t know how we build a rational voice without sacrificing who we are as a country.
Republicans have had a sell organized ecosystem for decades. At the center are pr firms that develop the talking points. Then pundits, influencers and politicians to distribute them.
The zHarris campaign did a good job of scripting messages and getting them out. What they did not do was ‘let Harris be Harris,’ then sane wash rhetoric result.
What would be good to have is a comprehensive list of businesses, podcasters and pundits that are part of this. Part of our power is as consumers. For years, most of the people I know would not eat at Chick Filet.Get off of X. They finally gave up their anti LGBQ campaign. Let’s build this out. Get off of X. Don’t buy a Tesla. Let Tesla make its money off of Maga voters. Get rid of your Amazon Prime account, not your Washington Post subscription.
"Get off of X. Don’t buy a Tesla." Yes!!!!!
Thank you for pointing out that this has been going on for 50 years. While lthe ibs and dems were enjoying hard fought wages, health care, retiremen , life and freedom, the former John Birchers were laying plans to roll back the clock to the early 20's. Very smartly they zeroed in on justices at all levels and The Supremes. Now the huge investments are bearing fruit. Unfortunately, we may have had our last presidential election now that The Supremes have endorsed the crazy idea that presidents can do whatever they want with no penalty. Trump is just the vessel that the oligarchs were looking for. Poorly educated at all levels but charismatic and extraordinarily good at lying and self promotion. Joseph Goebbels is smiling. Any surprise Trump named John Gotti as a man he admired most?
Adult Americans voted for Trump because that is what they wanted, an old white orange man with felony fraud convictions and a rapist. They preferred that offal bag over an intelligent woman.
They knew of the depravity of the man and chose him anyway.
We know who the enemy is and how long they have been at this. Now what? How do we effectively counter it (operative word being effective)?
Spot on.
This might be a bit off-topic but I have an idea: What if we turn the pro-democracy movement into a “lifestyle”? The kind of people who work out, eat healthy, talk to people in real life, vote in every election and have each other’s backs? The people who are strong enough to hope in dark times. It might be a different podcast, or several, but it’s possible people might be looking to feel something other than anger, fear, and gloom and doom that the right wing constantly feeds them
Thank you, Reed, for pointing out the obvious. This movement gained groups as it grew. Christians of an ilk let Trump’s character become not important because he is “Cyrus.”Whenever you mix politics and religion, you get people who don’t question. They believe and accept. I forgot who said, “Democracy is messy.” Yes, it is. Democracy requires people to be heretical and question what they are being told and who tells it to them. I’m grateful Celtic Advent begins this week, so I have 40 days of prayer and reflection. No action. Prayer and reflection.
Lots of interesting discussion. "Resist" stickers made me smile. Why not? It's doable. We do need to resist. But we, also need a message that we don't pick a part. That same order and enthusiasm that Reed remarked on in that early 2020 primary in Vermont is telling. It was like the then to be Maga's were in lock step. As Reed said our network needs to have something to say and say it together with enthusiasm. Now like many, I don't know what that would be at this time. I know what I want: A government by and for all the people. "Otherness" does not work for me.
so basically you're saying that democrats will never win...