Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

Republicans don’t want a speaker to lead them; they want a hostage.

We are aware of all internet traditions.

Historically it was a little unusual for the president to be an incoherent babbling moron.

I know this must be bad for Joe Biden, I just don’t know how.

Jack Smith: “Why did you start campaigning in the middle of my investigation?!”

We cannot abandon the truth and remain a free nation.

This blog will pay for itself.

The words do not have to be perfect.

I didn’t have alien invasion on my 2023 BINGO card.

Fuck the extremist election deniers. What’s money for if not for keeping them out of office?

“Squeaker” McCarthy

Wow, I can’t imagine what it was like to comment in morse code.

When do the post office & the dmv weigh in on the wuhan virus?

They traffic in fear. it is their only currency. if we are fearful, they are winning.

It’s a doggy dog world.

Every reporter and pundit should have to declare if they ever vacationed with a billionaire.

I’m sure you banged some questionable people yourself. We’re allowed to grow past that.

He seems like a smart guy, but JFC, what a dick!

You come for women, you’re gonna get your ass kicked.

Take hopelessness and turn it into resilience.

Quote tweet friends, screenshot enemies.

It’s all just conspiracy shit beamed down from the mothership.

So it was an October Surprise A Day, like an Advent calendar but for crime.

“Cheese and Kraken paired together for the appetizer trial.”

You are here: Home / Guest Posts / Guest Post: You Have one Job

Guest Post: You Have one Job

by | 112 Comments

This post is in: 

This is the final essay for this guest post series.

Reminder: all 10 of the guest posts will be up in the sidebar for a few days.

OzarkHillbilly:

No great thoughts here, no words of wisdom, no expanding on history, just one simple statement: Pass a new voting rights act.

Because if we can’t do that, we are fucked.

the OzarkHillbilly

Thank you, Ozark, for sending this in!  (WG)

Reader Interactions

112Comments

  2. 2.

    Nicole

    You and I have the same big hope for legislation, but you said it a lot more succinctly than I did. Bravo and beautifully stated.

  8. 8.

    Immanentize

    This thread:

    There is a profoundly important issue that is being grotesquely under covered in the media, particularly the business and tech media. It concerns the actions of 140 House Members led by @GOPLeader Kevin McCarthy and 7 US Senators on the night of January 6, 2021. This should not— Steve Schmidt (@SteveSchmidtSES) January 23, 2021

    Now I gotta go.

  12. 12.

    citizen dave

    Along with voting rights, tack on popular vote for President.

    “Rocheport Missouri…HELLO!”  (A Larry King tribute)

  13. 13.

    Barbara

    @Immanentize:  And yet, those who voted to impeach are the ones being hounded by their Republican constituents. This is who they are. I honestly have no idea where or how this ends.

  17. 17.

    rikyrah

    @rikyrah:

     

    Welp, access journalism doesn't work well in normal administrations. There are no leaks, no staffers using the media to advance their own goals or backstab others. They'll have to remember actual policy and not rely on family connections for inside scoops. So unfair ??‍♀️— Reigning M.V.P. Harris?? (@malika_imani) January 23, 2021

  19. 19.

    mali muso

    @Edmund Dantes: Wexton is my Rep, and she has been fantastic.  Going to call her office on Monday and encourage her to keep up the fight for answers and accountability.

  21. 21.

    Benw

    Fuck yeah a new VRA to make voting fair and easy for all.

    But I don’t want to play nice either: statehood for DC and remove the EC!

  23. 23.

    JPL

    Ozark is right that we need a voting rights act.  GA republican congressional members are already working hard to strip rights from minorities.

  25. 25.

    Mai Naem mobile

    I was waiting for somebody to mention the VRA. This needs to be bill number one or two before somebody gets sick and the Dems lose their majority  .

  26. 26.

    OzarkHillbilly

    After the new VRA is passed and signed into law, all we need is 49 more Stacy Abrams. Unfortunately I don’t think Biden can sign an executive order creating them so I guess it will be up to us to make sure all our neighbors vote.

  28. 28.

    OzarkHillbilly

    Ozark is right

    When she wakes up, I’m gonna tell my wife what all of you guys have said. You can expect an argument.

  29. 29.

    taumaturgo

    I wish the Democrats will clearly explain to the voters what their socialist agenda is. Fascist neoconservative like Mitch, lying Ted and little Rubio continues to pound Democrats with what they consider an insult. I don’t hear a beep from the Democrats denying or accepting the moniker. Will someone in leadership explain instead of admission by silence?

  33. 33.

    arrieve

    @OzarkHillbilly: Thanks for this contribution. This is critical, and I’m so glad that this administration appears to be capable of addressing more than one issue at a time.

    Also, I’d like to thank John for giving us this opportunity to share our thoughts. I really enjoyed reading what the Jackals had to say. I don’t comment that often, but I enjoy being part of a group of such intelligent, interesting, thoughtful people.

  35. 35.

    gene108

    @rikyrah:

    During the Clinton years a “Rolex story” would’ve been a scandal, like “Bill’s $400 haircut” on Air Force One while on the ground at LAX.

    Time change, but parts of the media can’t accept it.

  36. 36.

    WaterGirl

    @rikyrah:  The tagline from the top of  your linked article:

    After the Capitol assault—and after losing his perch as Majority Leader—the senator finally denounced the outgoing President. Was it a moral reckoning or yet another act of political self-interest?

    I haven’t read the article yet, but…

    I know, I know!  Pick me!

  37. 37.

    debbie

    At last, a guest post even I can dig up the time to read!  ;)

    Very good point. Stop the bullshit of voter suppression. Period.

  42. 42.

    Trapped Lurker

    @arrieve: I agree—I love reading this site, with such an interesting mix of knowledgeable, experienced people and such good writers! Thank you, John, WaterGirl, and all those who comment!

  44. 44.

    Cermet

    Very well put but we desperately need a national voting Holiday every two years as well (well, it’d have to be every  year to work smoothly but it can’t be for just Presidental years.)

  45. 45.

    raven

    From a newsletter I get

     

    Submitted by a reader, the Stockdale Paradox is named after Admiral James Stockdale, the former vice presidential candidate for Ross Perot who spent seven years in the Hanoi Hilton as a prisoner of war. In an interview, Stockdale was asked how he made it through those seven years. His answer reveals The Stockdale Paradox.

    “You must never ever ever confuse, on the one hand, the need for absolute, unwavering faith that you can prevail with, on the other hand, the need for the discipline to begin by confronting the brutal facts, whatever they are.”

    He illustrates this point by noting that the prisoners who always kept saying things like, “we’ll be out of here by Christmas” are the ones who “died of a broken heart; we’re not getting out of here by Christmas.” The message is clear: The only way to get through an interminable ordeal is to know with absolute certainty that someday it will be over … but also to be able to accept that you have no idea when that will be and thus you should act on a daily basis as if it won’t. That’s the paradox: You have to train your brain to avoid the despair of believing it will be like this forever but also train it to avoid the illusion that once we get over this next hill, we’ll have made it through. An even simpler way to put it is to believe someone when they say, “It’s all going to be OK” even though it is not, currently, OK. Optimism in the long-term; realism in the short-term. The Stockdale Paradox.

  48. 48.

    Citizen Alan

    @Cermet:  I don’t see why they can’t just pass a law moving Veterans Day from November 11th to the 1st Tuesday in November I don’t see why they can’t just pass a law moving Veterans Day from November 11th to election day.  Veteran stay is only on the 11th because that’s the day the Armistice was signed.

  51. 51.

    Chetan Murthy

    @Omnes Omnibus: Must concur: undoing the Armistice Day holiday (and, sure, Veterans Day) would be a non-starter for me.  And I was born in 1965.  It’s too soon.  Check back in 2120.

  52. 52.

    Geminid

    @JPL: Later this year Georgia Republicans will also try to gerrymander Reps. McBath and Bordeaux out of their seats in the north Atlanta suburbs. Kansas Republicans will try to do the same to Congresswoman Sharice Davids.

  54. 54.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    I think a federal voting holiday would do little or nothing to encourage people who choose not to vote, and make marginal voters less likely to vote (four day weekend!), and do little for people who genuinely don’t vote because of work/life issues– retail, hospitality, and on top of that, schools would close and a lot of those people would have to deal with childcare. Vote by mail and extended voting/drop-off periods would work much better, IMHO.

  55. 55.

    patrick II

    @Mai Naem mobile:

    Speaking of Dems getting sick, has anyone heard anything about how the there Democratic reps are doing after having contracted COVID during the Capitol riot? I have been particularly worried about 75 year-old Bonnie Watson Coleman.  I can’t find anything after the initial stories.

  57. 57.

    Michael Cain

    I would simply point out that HB1 as introduced in previous sessions would be unlikely to pass the Senate, even if the filibuster is toast.  The last section of the bill is the problem — it essentially defines a voting system that must be used.  17 of the 50 Democratic Senators are from the 13-state West.  All of their states used vote by mail for at least 65% of ballots in 2020.  (Regionally, well over 90% of ballots.)  Two of them just finished spending significant money to redo their systems.  To my reading, none of them comply with the requirements in HB1.  If there are any readers from Oregon, I would like to hear their thoughts on the state being required to implement an in-person voting system to operate in parallel to their existing vote by mail system.

  58. 58.

    patrick II

    I agree and hope the Democrats can write a law that gets past the Supreme Court, members of whom will be looking for an excuse to find it unconstitutional.  A VRA and an anti-Citizens United are as important as any law that can be passed right now, barring emergency bills for COVID and the economy.  But I would also say D.C. statehood (for a little margin for error) and pack the court, otherwise any VRA with teeth will be tough to get done.  States rights you know.

  59. 59.

    Cheryl from Maryland

    This past election has proved early voting and voting by mail are more important and effective than a national voting holiday.  Unless all three options are supported and, in the case of early voting and voting by mail expanded and guaranteed,  this country will continue to block voters, such as those who have to work (many people do not get MLK Day off) or who need the flexibility to counter cheating local authorities who try to stifle voters with insufficient voting stations or poorly located stations.

  61. 61.

    Geminid

    @patrick II: Congresswoman Bonnie Watson Coleman has been tweeting. Two days ago a follower asked her how she was doing and Coleman replied that she was better, not yet 100% but getting there.

  63. 63.

    Feathers

    @Omnes Omnibus: On my If I Were In Charge bucket list is turning Veterans Day back into Armistice Day. Remembering the horrors of war, solemnly honoring those who survived it and those who did not. Not this thing we have now.

  65. 65.

    Mike in NC

    I spent half of 1984 stuck on a dreadful deployment to the Persian Gulf. One of my sailors tried to hang himself. On the cruise home to Norfolk we stopped in Rota, Spain to refuel. I walked into the Navy Exchange and came out wearing a Rolex since I hadn’t been able to spend money in close to six months.

    I still wear it so I must be a coastal elitist like Joe Biden. Or so I’d hear from Republican neighbors.

  68. 68.

    Enhanced Voting Techniques

    @rikyrah: hehe Turtle is as big of an idiot as I thought. For a guy who services himself over his }the long game” he really screwed that by supporting Trump. It’s very likely if Turtle didn’t block the first impeachment Trump would be forgotten by now, Pence would have lost the presidential election but the GoP would have kept the senate majority.

    Also, how does Turtle the dumb ass not get if Trump had succeeded is making himself dictator Trump would have had Turtle killed as potential enemy?

  70. 70.

    sdhays

    @Omnes Omnibus: We could also just move Election Day to always be Nov. 11. On top of it being a holiday (for some – when working for private companies, I’ve never had Veteran’s Day off), there would no longer be any confusion about the date of the election that could be exploited by ratfuckers.

  74. 74.

    patrick II

    Reposted here after accidently posting on the previoius thread:

    I would like to see the guest posts from commentators here become a biannual or quarterly event. There were different voices and some very good posts. My review of  OzarkHillbilly — eloquent and to the point.

  77. 77.

    sdhays

    @Enhanced Voting Techniques: The Republicans in the Senate didn’t vote to acquit Dump in his first impeachment because Moscow Mitch told them to. They voted to acquit because they feared their voters, both at the ballot box and physically.

    They knew that if they took down Dump, it would start a civil war in their party just as they were heading into a Presidential election year. Don’t forget that by this time, the RNC and state Republican Parties had set up the nominating process as a coronation of Dump – they were already whole owned by him. Dense never had that kind of support.

    If they had convicted him at the beginning of 2020, the Republican Party would have imploded and probably lost a lot more seats in the Senate and Dense or whoever got the nomination would have lost in an even bigger landslide as Dump voters would have been incensed, and Dump himself would have been lashing out at all of them on Twitter.

    They’re still afraid of triggering that civil war in the party, and that’s why they’re not going to convict him this time either. For a while, I thought it was starting to look possible, but I think that window has closed, unless some game changing news comes out.

  78. 78.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    @sdhays: I actually do, because then it becomes more about the holiday than voting, but that’s debatable. On more pragmatic grounds, it’s a question of picking your battles. Do we really need a third federal holiday in the month of November? and in the middle of the week? People with kids under twelve vote first.

  79. 79.

    cain

    @Mai Naem mobile: 
    It should include national vote by mail.
    Maybe then we might get a chance to start making even states like Mississippi and Alabama competitive. Those two states have had overt voter suppression for awhile.

  80. 80.

    Brachiator

    @Omnes Omnibus:

    The 4th of July is only Independence Day because that’s when they approved the Declaration of Independence. Sometimes the dates matter.

    Of course, Veterans Day used to be Armistice Day, and the meaning of the holiday was revised after World War II.

    There was also a brief period when Veterans Day was moved to the fourth Monday of October, in the 1970s.

  82. 82.

    sdhays

    @Brachiator: There was also a brief period when Veterans Day was moved to the fourth Monday of October, in the 1970s.

    Why did that happen? Was it metric for Nov. 11?

  83. 83.

    cain

    @Jim, Foolish Literalist:

    Vote by mail and extended voting/drop-off periods would work much better, IMHO.

    Absolutely – as a state that has it – it’s a pleasure to vote – because I have the time to go through the issues and understand them and then vote based on the information I have.

  84. 84.

    cain

    @Michael Cain:

    I would simply point out that HB1 as introduced in previous sessions would be unlikely to pass the Senate, even if the filibuster is toast.  The last section of the bill is the problem — it essentially defines a voting system that must be used.  17 of the 50 Democratic Senators are from the 13-state West.  All of their states used vote by mail for at least 65% of ballots in 2020.  (Regionally, well over 90% of ballots.)  Two of them just finished spending significant money to redo their systems.  To my reading, none of them comply with the requirements in HB1.  If there are any readers from Oregon, I would like to hear their thoughts on the state being required to implement an in-person voting system to operate in parallel to their existing vote by mail system

    This would be a nonstarter – you don’t need to a parallel system – once mail is in – nobody is going to want to show up to do in person voting – when they can just drop it in the mail.

  85. 85.

    Brachiator

    Great post on the need for a renewed Voting Rights Act.

    This might also discourage mischief from the Supreme Court with respect to voting.

  86. 86.

    Brachiator

    @sdhays:

    There was also a brief period when Veterans Day was moved to the fourth Monday of October, in the 1970s.

    Why did that happen? Was it metric for Nov. 11?

    According to Wikipedia, it was done to conform to the Uniform Monday Holiday Act.

    Nobody was happy with the change.

  87. 87.

    Humanities Prof

    @sdhays: I suspect you’re most likely correct about that.  But there’s one point that might prompt even a few of the die-hard Trumpers in the Senate to vote to convict, and that’s that convicting would bar Trump from ever seeking federal office again.

    Cruz and Hawley have Presidential ambitions.  But I don’t think either of them is stupid enough to believe he could prevail over Trump for the 2024 nomination, if Trump runs (Hawley might just be stupid enough to believe this; I’m pretty sure Cruz isn’t).  So why shouldn’t they do what it takes to remove him from the board now, while he’s vulnerable, and his influence is at a low ebb?

    Of course, then they have to deal with MAGATs mad that they just shivved the beloved God-Emperor in the back.  But a fair number of those folks are already convincing themselves that Trump is a big loser and a sellout.  They’d have almost four years to convince those folks that they really were the True Leaders all along, and since when has memory-holing inconvenient truths been a problem for Republican voters?

    Long story short–it’s certainly unlikely, but I don’t know if it’s impossible.  And any Republican with presidential ambitions should be doing everything in his or her power to make sure Trump can’t run again.

  89. 89.

    Brachiator

    @Baud:

    Did they change Christmas and New Year’s?

    They tried. It was part of the double secret Democrats Hate Christian Holidays Act.

    //

  90. 90.

    taumatugo

    @Elizabelle: Voting by mail and voting early are the best. The holiday: meh.

    Make a paid voting Holiday, but for workers and independent contractors to get the credit, they must show proof of voting. No proof, no payday.

  91. 91.

    Philbert

    I’m looking forward to Biden’s picks and policies in the DOJ voting rights area. Lots can done with enforcement of current laws. Getting new laws passed is going to be hard.

  92. 92.

    Citizen Alan

    @Omnes Omnibus:

     Sometimes the dates matter.

    And sometimes they don’t. There are no living WW1 veterans. While I believe we should commemorate all our war dead, I don’t believe that the date of the WW1 armistice is so important that it needs to be preserved as the date we do so, particularly since more American soldiers died in other conflicts.

  93. 93.

    Michael Cain

    @cain:

    This would be a nonstarter – you don’t need to a parallel system – once mail is in – nobody is going to want to show up to do in person voting – when they can just drop it in the mail.

    You think that, and I mostly think that, but the previous versions of HB1 required both.

  95. 95.

    Geminid

    @sdhays: I’ll be interested to see how Republican  Senators vote when the impeachment trial ends. A few are talking, but most seem to be wary of commenting. McConnell has been knocking trump, but this could just be a head fake.                                            But McConnell may judge that the Republican civil war is on. It’s been brewing for years, and trump’s defeat left a lot of his supporters believing that he had been let down if not betrayed by leading Republican politicians. If it’s going to be war, McConnell and like minded Senators might see conviction as a preemptive strike on trumpism as well as their civic duty. McConnell and his caucus have a few days to sound each other out. McConnell is ruthless, and if he thinks convicting trump is best for his party, he’ll get twenty votes for conviction.

  97. 97.

    CaseyL

    I love the post, OzarkHillbilly! Short and to the point. Also, dead-on accurate.

    I think/hope there will indeed be a big move towards getting VBM in all states. Not sure how much energy Stacey Abrams will have for a national movement, but her methods should work anywhere. Marc Elias is spearheading one voting rights organization – I’m aware of that one as a newsletter subscriber.

    I really want Schumer to dump the filibuster so we can get some serious legislation passed, with a VRA being at the top of the list. It does seem that he’s aware of the stakes; here’s hoping he can wrangle his caucus into a unified bloc for an vote to end it.

  98. 98.

    Another Scott

    @Geminid:  Cynic about Moscow Mitch that I am, I’m watching the big GOP donors. If they continue to withhold money from him and their PACs on the condition that Donnie and the Insurrectionists must be punished, then he’ll vote to convict and urge the rest of the GOP Senators to do likewise. If the big donors come back without that, then Moscow Mitch will want to weasel out of it and attack Democrats for being mean and wasting time.

    Watch his donors.

    Cheers,
    Scott.

  99. 99.

    Ruckus

    @gene108:

    Newspapers have to produce something to fill space every day. Just like 24 hr news stations. Finding and filling are two different aspects of broadcasting the “news.” It’s cheaper and fast to just make up crap. So if you are in the business of printing x amount of square inches of newsprint every day, at the lowest possible cost, some/all of your product is going to be filler/crap. I give you the FTFNYT. Among others. Now add in a political bent to everything published and.. I give you the FTFNYT. Do remember there are 4 pages to every sheet of newsprint, unless you use singles, which have 2 pages. Square area to fill. Money to be made.

  100. 100.

    Aziz, light!

    2024 is a long way off. By then, I think Trump will be dead or in much further mental decline. If there is any justice, his business holdings will be in tatters and he will be exhausted by legal battles. He can keep grifting off his cult but the proceeds will diminish and won’t cover his nut. Pledging to run again is a scam; actually running again would be work that he won’t want to do. He can’t stir up his cult without Twitter.

    More than anything he craves attention. Starting his Patriot Party — or pretending to for cash that he can skim — would keep him in the news.

    There’s no way the Senate will vote to convict, but Trump running again for real is an unlikely prospect.

  101. 101.

    Ruckus

    @gene108:

    Newspapers have to produce something to fill space every day. Just like 24 hr news stations. Finding and filling are two different aspects of broadcasting the “news.” It’s cheaper and fast to just make up crap. So if you are in the business of printing x amount of square inches of newsprint every day, at the lowest possible cost, some/all of your product is going to be filler/crap. I give you the FTFNYT. Among others. Now add in a political bent to everything published and.. I give you the FTFNYT. Do remember there are 4 pages to every sheet of newsprint, unless you use singles, which have 2 pages. Square area to fill. Money to be made.

    @gene108:

    The 400th person on the Forbes 400 is Peter Thiel, 2.1 BILLION. all 399 people above him are worth more, according to Forbes. I’d bet that the majority of them are interested in where they fall on this list. Who did they beat out of a spot this year.

    People worth only a billion didn’t come close to making the list.

    They aren’t worthy.

    Think about that, your net worth is a billion fucking dollars and you aren’t worth enough to be on this list. I know people worth a few hundred to maybe a couple million. And a lot less. We, as a group of supposedly sentient beings, celebrate those who value money over humanity. And what happens when we do that? FTFNYT, Forbes magazine, the current republican party/conservatives…..

  103. 103.

    Brachiator

    @Aziz, light!:

    2024 is a long way off. By then, I think Trump will be dead or in much further mental decline.

    Trump may not be convicted, but he should be. It is absurd that Congress, representing the people, should let a president make war against the other branches of government.

    The GOP may hunker down and make a crass political calculation to save Trump and appease his supporters, but failure to convict will embolden future autocrats.

    It is also foolish to leave Trump in a position where he can continue to do political fundraising or have any possible influence on midterm elections.

    Trump has probably never had to pay the consequences for his bad actions. People died because he thought it fun to lie about voter fraud.

    He needs to be slapped down hard.

    But as I note, Republicans are fools and only care about what might help them in the next election.

  104. 104.

    Brachiator

    @Ruckus:

    The 400th person on the Forbes 400 is Peter Thiel, 2.1 BILLION. all 399 people above him are worth more, according to Forbes. I’d bet that the majority of them are interested in where they fall on this list. Who did they beat out of a spot this year.

    I don’t think the people on this list care.  The vast majority of them are notorious for not co-operating with Forbes writers looking to confirm information.

    The list is good for idle chit chat, and some conversations about income inequality, but it has about the same level of deeper importance as the Top 10 Best Dressed List.

  105. 105.

    Uncle Cosmo

    @Benw:  But I don’t want to play nice either: …remove the EC!

    You may not want to “play nice” but you sure sound like you want to “play stupid.” How in the everloving fuck do you propose to pass a Constitutional amendment (for that’s what “removing the EC” would take**) with the thinnest of majorities in Congress and at least 31 of the 50 state legislatures*** are controlled by the GOP??

    Nitwit.

    ** I am aware of the National Popular Vote Interstate Compact – first passed by my home state of MD and signed into law by my good friend then-Gov. O’Malley. It’s 74 EVs short of taking effect. Where do you propose to find them? Should you be so fortunate as to find them, what makes you think the 6-3 majority on the Extreme Court would not declare it unconstitutional as soon as it’s challenged?

    *** Could end up 32 depending on how Alaska shakes out.

  106. 106.

    Omnes Omnibus

    @Citizen Alan: Everyone who voted for independence is dead.   Maybe not coming unmoored from history has its own value.

    Vote by mail and a wide window of opportunity to cast ballots is a better solution to the problem.

  108. 108.

    Uncle Cosmo

    @Citizen Alan: Veterans Day commemorates all those who served under the colors. (And since a whole passle more served from Great War Reloaded World War 2.0 onward, stapling it to the effective end date** of The War That Was Supposed To End All Wars And Damn Well Didn’t doesn’t make a lot of sense, at least Over Here.)

    We already have a holiday to commemorate those who died in the course of serving: Memorial Day. (It’s not just, or even mainly, the Start of Summer.)

    ** Armistice, not surrender. The Germans could theoretically have resumed hostilities at any time, but the continuing British naval blockade that imposed mass malnutrition to the point of starvation convinced them to sign the Versailles Diktat and fight one another in the streets instead.

  109. 109.

    Uncle Cosmo

    @Ken: Brings to mind that scene in The American President when Sydney (Annette Benning) is storming out of the Oval Office and as she reaches for the doorknob POTUS (Michael Douglas) says gently, That’s the door to the bathroom. (Paraphrased, from memory.)

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