• Menu
  • Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar

Before Header

  • About Us
  • Lexicon
  • Contact Us
  • Our Store
  • ↑
  • ↓
  • ←
  • →

Balloon Juice

Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

I’d hate to be the candidate who lost to this guy.

If senate republicans had any shame, they’d die of it.

If you don’t believe freedom is for everybody, then the thing you love isn’t freedom, it is privilege.

Insiders who complain to politico: please report to the white house office of shut the fuck up.

Yeah, with this crowd one never knows.

When tyranny becomes law, rebellion becomes duty. ~Thomas Jefferson

Marge, god is saying you’re stupid.

Republicans in disarray!

This must be what justice looks like, not vengeful, just peaceful exuberance.

One lie, alone, tears the fabric of reality.

Is it irresponsible to speculate? It is irresponsible not to.

Since we are repeating ourselves, let me just say fuck that.

It’s a good piece. click on over. but then come back!!

You cannot shame the shameless.

The desire to stay informed is directly at odds with the need to not be constantly enraged.

Michigan is a great lesson for Dems everywhere: when you have power…use it!

I would try pessimism, but it probably wouldn’t work.

Our messy unity will be our strength.

Republicans: “Abortion is murder but you can take a bus to get one.” Easy peasy.

Not loving this new fraud based economy.

Today in our ongoing national embarrassment…

We still have time to mess this up!

It is not hopeless, and we are not helpless.

Their freedom requires your slavery.

Mobile Menu

  • Seattle Meet-up Post
  • 2025 Activism
  • Targeted Political Fundraising
  • Donate with Venmo, Zelle & PayPal
  • Site Feedback
  • War in Ukraine
  • Submit Photos to On the Road
  • Politics
  • On The Road
  • Open Threads
  • Topics
  • COVID-19
  • Authors
  • About Us
  • Contact Us
  • Lexicon
  • Our Store
  • Politics
  • Open Threads
  • 2025 Activism
  • Garden Chats
  • On The Road
  • Targeted Fundraising!
You are here: Home / Open Threads / Vice President Harris Fights For Florida

Vice President Harris Fights For Florida

by Betty Cracker|  July 22, 20232:18 pm| 80 Comments

This post is in: Open Threads

FacebookTweetEmail

When the far-right DeSantis-appointed goons at the Florida Department of Education issued guidance to whitewash black history earlier this week, Vice President Kamala Harris said she’d visit the state to call them out. She showed up yesterday. (NPR)

Vice President Harris delivered an impassioned speech on Friday condemning Florida for its new framework for how Black history will be taught in K-12 schools, including guidelines that slavery was beneficial to enslaved people.

“It is not only misleading, it is false and pushing propaganda,” she said Friday in Jacksonville, Fla. “Pushing propaganda on our children.”

Harris also criticized Florida’s new standards for requiring high schools to teach that African Americans were perpetrators in some racially motivated massacres. She described these lessons as efforts by “extremists” to replace “history with lies.”

We discussed the crappy new social studies standards in a post yesterday, and someone in comments asked where are the Floridians who oppose this right-wing attack on public education. One of them is a school board member who introduced VP Harris in Jacksonville yesterday:

One of the 14 local school board members who Gov. Ron DeSantis has targeted for removal in next year’s election is Jennifer Jenkins, a 36-year-old elementary school speech pathologist who achieved a miracle in 2020 by defeating a far-right incumbent in a deep red Florida county by nine points.

Jenkins is also a mom and she was at her Brevard County home on Friday morning with her seven-year-old daughter Olive, who was having a playdate with a best buddy. Jenkins then got a call that necessitated a sudden change in plans.

“I told [Olive] I was going to meet the vice president,” Jenkins told The Daily Beast. “She thought I was joking and she laughed at me. And then she said, ‘Will you be home before bedtime?’”

The far-right incumbent Jenkins defeated for the school board seat is Tina Descovich, a Repub operative who then co-founded the right-wing Moms for Liberty group, along with another defeated far-right school board candidate and the wife of the FL GOP chairman. They claim to be nonpartisan, but that’s a lie.

Group members and their associates chanted and brandished guns at Jenkins’ residence. They called in phony child abuse allegations against her, subjecting her child to a physical examination by a state official. The Southern Poverty Law Center tagged them as extremists for good reason.

Randy Fine,* a Florida state senator who represents the area where Jenkins lives and serves as the local attack dog for DeSantis, publicly called Jenkins a whore several times. People who oppose DeSantis and his political apparatus face very real personal consequences. I wonder sometimes if folks outside the state comprehend the Stasi-like network of intimidation and oppression the FL GOP has cultivated here.

Anyhoo, Jenkins was on her way to Jacksonville to meet VP Harris when someone from the advance team called and asked if she would introduce Harris. Jenkins said she was “terrified” but felt energized “to be in a space where like-minded people are together and supportive and willing to fight alongside of you.” Here’s how Jenkins introduced Harris:

“I would say to our visitors today, welcome, welcome to Florida. But one thing our Republican leadership has made very clear is that Florida isn’t welcoming at all. And I can tell you as a Democratic school board member on the front lines of this educational war, it’s not welcoming to our students, our teachers, and our parents either…”

“They may want to make us relive the darkest parts of that history,” she said. “But today we get to witness history as our vice president gets to school the Florida Department of Education.”

She paused for an exultant instant.

“And I am so here for it,” she said. “So, it is my absolute honor to introduce the vice President of the United States of America.”

Jenkins has the courage to oppose these clowns. In deep red Hernando County, parents and teachers showed up to oppose another Moms for Liberty bully who was wrecking their schools. It won’t be easy, and it most likely won’t get a lot of news coverage when it happens, but Floridians can take our state back from these fascist pricks, one county at a time. We’ve just got to show up.

If you’re interested in showing up, whether you’re a Florida resident or not, stay tuned. In a future post, I’ll link to a list the 14 school board candidates DeSantis and Moms for Liberty are targeting in 2024 and provide information on where people can donate if they want to. I’ll also look into how folks can help via volunteer work like phone banking or writing postcards.

Open thread.

*Ron DeSantis and Christopher Rufo are trying to force Florida Atlantic University into accepting Randy Fine as the college president — yep, the same wholly unqualified, dimwit fascist clown who enjoys calling women whores. The university search committee resisted, submitting the names of three qualified people as finalists instead. Then state called off the search, so there’s currently a standoff. 

FacebookTweetEmail
Previous Post: « Saturday Morning Entertainments Open Thread
Next Post: Something To Watch Out For- Yellow Bankruptcy »

Reader Interactions

80Comments

  1. 1.

    hells littlest angel

    July 22, 2023 at 2:24 pm

     I wonder sometimes if folks outside the state comprehend the Stasi-like network of intimidation and oppression the FL GOP has cultivated here.

     

    And I wonder sometimes why you stay there. Things there are unlikely to get better in any way. You’ll have an easier time selling your house now than you will at any time in the future.

     

    Sorry, I am sure you are sick of hearing this. (But if you leave you won’t have to!)

  2. 2.

    MattF

    July 22, 2023 at 2:29 pm

    Early lesson in Politics 101: if you let the thugs in, they will take over, or try to. And DeSantis truly is a thug. People see this right away.

  3. 3.

    Roberto el oso

    July 22, 2023 at 2:31 pm

    @hells littlest angel: Same reason as a lot of progressives refuse to get chased out of Texas by Abbott and his fascist goons. If, as many folks seem to think, we’re slow-motion rolling into a civil war then the fighting back has to start somewhere.

    I’m sure the situation in Florida re the recruitment and encouragement of Stasi-like busybodies is similar to the one here. And, just like with the original Stasi, for every ‘true believer’ there are probably 10 who are just opportunists, truly the scum of the earth. And someone has to fight them and make their lives a misery, so I’m sticking around.

  4. 4.

    HumboldtBlue

    July 22, 2023 at 2:36 pm

    If you haven’t seen the video, it’s a must-watch. Harris is forceful and strident in her speech in a way we have never seen. In other words, the woman was pissed off and let everyone know it.

  5. 5.

    dave319

    July 22, 2023 at 2:37 pm

    She stays to fight. A person of integrity and honor, taking a big risk.

    Let a thousand Jennifer Jenkins bloom!

  6. 6.

    japa21

    July 22, 2023 at 2:39 pm

    We’ve just got to show up

    A message for all Democrats everywhere and nominated for a rotating tag.

  7. 7.

    hells littlest angel

    July 22, 2023 at 2:42 pm

    @Roberto el oso: I wish you the best, but the Stasi weren’t busybodies, and like another monstrous German police organization, the people they oppressed under color of law didn’t fight back by speaking up or organizing, and the fighting back they did was negligibly effective.  I mean, this is one of the milder oppressions Florida’s government is inflicting on its people:

    https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/2024-election/democrats-scramble-reach-voters-florida-cancels-mail-ballot-requests-rcna91294

    Another reason to get out of Florida is that it will probably suffer economic and climate catastrophe within a few years.

  8. 8.

    BeautifulPlumage

    July 22, 2023 at 2:42 pm

    “Group members and their associates chanted and brandished guns at Jenkins’ residence.”

    Is that a smart thing to do in a state with stand your ground laws?

  9. 9.

    kalakal

    July 22, 2023 at 2:44 pm

    @hells littlest angel:

    And I wonder sometimes why you stay there.

    I hate what the Repugs are doing to Florida .

    Why do I stay?

    A mix of reasons, I like the climate, the wildlife, the Gulf of Mexico, the sunsets etc, parts of it are very beautiful. I live in a part ( Pinellas County – roughly half way down on the left hand side) that isn’t that MAGA and know a lot of very nice people. And part of me is damned if I’ll let those bastards win by walking away.

    Also I’m a couple of years from retirement so I’m working that out

    On the other hand I hate what it’s becoming, more crowded, more built up, more right wing. I’m sick of hurricanes and lightning. I’d like to see real grass and mountains/hills occasionally. I really miss bluebell woods.

    We probably will leave when I retire, if nothing else the way things are going we won’t be able to afford the house insurance, it’s just insane, as in I can see it reaching 5 figures before too long.

    Really can’t think where to move to. A Blue state, that isn’t insanely expensive would be the first criteria

  10. 10.

    patrick II

    July 22, 2023 at 2:47 pm

    Kamala Harris’ speech reminded me of a chart I saw at Kevin Drum’s place last Saturday, it was about Teenage Mental Health Index

    For some reason, around 2012 teen mental health suddenly plummets (a higher score means worse mental health). And it plummets more for lefty teens than for conservative teens.

    The reason Kamal’s speech made me think of this is because she is justifiably angry, and I thought if we generalize that idea, there is a lot of fighting between parents, the mental health of their children will be affected. What if all of the parents were angry and arguing all of the time?
    The discord in our country cannot be healthy for our children. And the fight is sometimes delegated to our children. Children of conservatives seem to be having their kids on the lookout for transgenders so they can be reported to the morals police at school And the poor sexually ambiguous kids, not just transgender kids, but perhaps a young boy who is a little smaller and sweeter and likes the violin, get thrown in and get humiliated and vilified also. Black and white kids are being set against each other — was slavery really good for those black kids great grandparents? Of course not, let’s fight about it. Not to mention climate change, which they will see the worst of while their short-sighted elders won’t be around.
    I would like to think that we would take pretty good care of the physical needs of our children, but we are, regretfully and perhaps necessarily, creating an atmosphere of constant stress for too many of the children. It seems to be a time of great change and it is necessarily stressful for all of us, but we are passing on too big a share of that stress to our children.

  11. 11.

    hells littlest angel

    July 22, 2023 at 2:50 pm

    @kalakal: I worry about good people in Florida being unable to leave because they have houses they can’t sell because they can’t be insured or they’ve turned into flotsam. But two years is a gamble I’d be willing to take, I guess.

    Rural New York and rural Pennsylvania, for example, are affordable if you’re willing to live simply.

  12. 12.

    Basilisc

    July 22, 2023 at 2:58 pm

    Biden’s narrowest state losing margin in 2020 was NC, less than 0.5%. After that it’s … FL, a little less than 3.5%. And remember that Obama won FL twice.

    If Kamala’s visit is a sign that Dems plan to make a serious play for FL next year, that would be smart strategy, and great news.

  13. 13.

    West of the Rockies

    July 22, 2023 at 3:00 pm

    @kalakal:

    Santa Carla in California is nice… except for all the damn vampires.

  14. 14.

    Baud

    July 22, 2023 at 3:01 pm

    Jenkins is a fighter and a hero.

  15. 15.

    Almost Retired

    July 22, 2023 at 3:01 pm

    It seems like these right wing/fundamentalist school board takeovers pop up regularly every few years like cicada.  There was such an attempt in the early 90’s in my LA area school board, but it quickly fizzled once people started paying attention.  As a child in the rural Midwest, I remember a local busybody starting a similar group before it was stomped out by the teachers and sane parents.

    But this time around feels different.   It’s nastier, it’s more personal, their goals are more far-reaching and frightening and, of course, they all fucking have guns.

  16. 16.

    HumboldtBlue

    July 22, 2023 at 3:02 pm

    Keep an eye on Baghdad, there’s been trouble in the Green Zone and US personnel may be evacuating.

    Significant Presence of Iraqi Military and Security Forces are noted in the Eastern and Central Sectors of Baghdad tonight as Protesters/Rioters are attempting to Breach the “Green Zone” of the City where Foreign Embassies and Residencies are located; Security Forces have Closed and Blocked the Bridges to the Zone but it appears that Protestors have already gotten through.

  17. 17.

    Baud

    July 22, 2023 at 3:03 pm

    Can Kamala be growing on me if I’ve always liked her?

  18. 18.

    Josie

    July 22, 2023 at 3:03 pm

    I’ll be watching closely to see the details on donating and writing post cards next year, BC. We should all do our best to beat back these evil pricks.

  19. 19.

    FelonyGovt

    July 22, 2023 at 3:10 pm

    Sometimes I think we’ve all gone crazy and are living in an MC Escher hell scape or something. Here’s an article describing how a Trump-appointed judge confirmed that yes, the jury in the Carroll case did in fact find he raped her, and wondering where the outrage is and how insane it is that Repukes continue to defend him.

  20. 20.

    Cameron

    July 22, 2023 at 3:14 pm

    @kalakal: Have you considered Pennsylvania?  I loved it in the 50 years I lived there.  You can check some of it out from a distance at this site:https://uncoveringpa.com/

  21. 21.

    Baud

    July 22, 2023 at 3:15 pm

    @Cameron:

    Google gives me some best places to retire all the time and PA always has many cities on the list.

  22. 22.

    Baud

    July 22, 2023 at 3:16 pm

    @FelonyGovt:

    They have no culture or society left that’s separate from the cult.

  23. 23.

    trollhattan

    July 22, 2023 at 3:17 pm

    Holy crap, if Taylor Swift doesn’t have Koch money today she will by the time her tour is over.

    https://seatgeek.com/taylor-swift-with-haim-and-gracie-abrams-tickets/santa-clara-california-levi-s-stadium-2023-07-29-6-30-pm/concert/5858574

    A good thing she’s not evil, and actually promotes voting and such.

  24. 24.

    Yarrow

    July 22, 2023 at 3:19 pm

    @Baud: Cooties?

  25. 25.

    Baud

    July 22, 2023 at 3:20 pm

    @Yarrow:

    Fixed.  I think spell check is on summer holiday.

  26. 26.

    Omnes Omnibus

    July 22, 2023 at 3:22 pm

    @trollhattan: When she forms an alliance with Beyonce, they will crush everyone before them.

  27. 27.

    Baud

    July 22, 2023 at 3:23 pm

    @Omnes Omnibus:

    I hope they start with Kanye.

  28. 28.

    Omnes Omnibus

    July 22, 2023 at 3:25 pm

    @Baud: It would not surprise me.

  29. 29.

    Freemark

    July 22, 2023 at 3:26 pm

    @Baud: to be fair to your original unedited post, we do have Scott Perry here. He certainly qualifies as a ‘cootie’.

  30. 30.

    Yarrow

    July 22, 2023 at 3:27 pm

    @Baud:  Lucky spell check!

  31. 31.

    Cameron

    July 22, 2023 at 3:28 pm

    @Baud: A lot of the smaller cities (I lived in Philadelphia) are really great.  I especially like Lancaster and Carlisle, but that’s not to run down any of the others.

  32. 32.

    HumboldtBlue

    July 22, 2023 at 3:29 pm

    @Baud: ​
    Nah, start with this Aldean asshole. Then go after Kanye’s crazy ass.​

  33. 33.

    Mike in NC

    July 22, 2023 at 3:37 pm

    We had good friends in NoVA years ago. We’d hang out with them in Baltimore and other places we all enjoyed. Then my wife retired and we ended up in North Carolina. Our friends relocated to Florida (first Naples, then Tampa) purely for the money they could make. Now they’re semi-retired and just had a new house built on top of a mountain in the Asheville area. They couldn’t wait to bug out of the Gunshine State and return to the place where they grew up and met in college.

  34. 34.

    HumboldtBlue

    July 22, 2023 at 3:43 pm

    Some Biden Judge numbers:

    —140 Article III judicial confirmations

    —1 SCOTUS

    — first Black woman confirmed

    —36 circuit judges

    —103 district court judges

    —66% are women

    —66% are people of color.

    —46 are Black

    —27 are Hispanic

    —23 are AANHPI

    Source

  35. 35.

    dmsilev

    July 22, 2023 at 3:47 pm

    Alexandra Petri: The Barbie movie, according to conservative criticism

    EXTERIOR BARBIE’S DREAM HOUSE — DAY

    The lawn sign outside reads “In this house we believe ALL MEN MUST DIE” in pink six times.

    Barbie wakes up and stretches.

    KEN: Hiya, Barbie!

    BARBIE: Hi, Ken! I despise all men, and I have come to take away everyone’s testosterone! Even the testosterone of those people who are using and enjoying it.

    KEN: Good! It is bad that I exist! Please, Barbie, I would like to be burned at the stake to set an example!

    INTERIOR BARBIE’S NIGHTMARE HOUSE — DAY

    Raggedy Ann and Andy are being marched into separate dungeons. A Potato Head family is being mashed for daring to break fraternization rules. “Run the World (Girls)” blasts and Captain America is forced to dance along.

    A pink heel steps on a human face, forever.

  36. 36.

    Betsy

    July 22, 2023 at 3:48 pm

    @patrick II: who’s this “we” / “us” you speak of? You think the fighting is bad for them?  Let’s be clear:. One side is attacking the kids, and  the other side is defending the kids.  The ones fighting FOR the kids are not creating the mental health issues and stress.

    The way you’ve phrased things, this doesn’t seem clear and as far as I can tell would fit with the “concerns” of a No Labels troll.

  37. 37.

    kalakal

    July 22, 2023 at 3:49 pm

    Thanks for all the “where to retire to” suggestions. We hadn’t thought about Pennsylvania, have to check that out. New York is gorgeous. North Carolina we had brief look at, I liked it. I see a lot of travelling in the not too distant future

  38. 38.

    Dorothy A. Winsor

    July 22, 2023 at 3:50 pm

    Do they have any idea how crazy they sound? WE SEE THIS MOVIE. Just like we saw Jan 6. They’re both on tape (or whatever media).

  39. 39.

    Cameron

    July 22, 2023 at 3:52 pm

    @HumboldtBlue: Aldean’s the Try That In A Ball Gown guy, right?

    https://pbs.twimg.com/media/F1hfC1ZacAA2UJq.png:large

  40. 40.

    HumboldtBlue

    July 22, 2023 at 3:53 pm

    @Cameron:

    Yes.

    Elsewhere: The GOP is not going to like more good news for Bidenomics, no sirree.

    Morgan Stanley credits Bidenomics for ‘much stronger’ than expected GDP growth. President Joe Biden’s economic policies drove an unexpected economic surge that has forced Morgan Stanley to make a “sizable upward revision” in its GDP forecasts.

  41. 41.

    trollhattan

    July 22, 2023 at 3:54 pm

    @dmsilev: ​Heh. Guest Opinion: ‘Barbie’ and ‘Oppenheimer’ tell the same terrifying story

  42. 42.

    H.E.Wolf

    July 22, 2023 at 3:56 pm

    PostcardsToVoters.org has been very active in GOTV efforts in Florida. Among other things that I like about that group: they make a point of reaching Democratic voters in red-governed locations, to make sure those voters know they aren’t being ignored or forgotten.

    Anyone who’s inclined to write a few postcards in 2024… consider buying some postcard stamps now! The price goes up a few pennies every 6 months, so it will be a bargain if you stash some away in 2023. :-)

    Also, cheap postcards can be had via print-your-own online places like Vistaprint which let you upload your own choice of image. Postcards To Voters has a good FAQ page on its website, covering this and lots of other topics.

    We can help the many good folk of Florida, of whom our FL jackals lead the pack! :-)

  43. 43.

    Baud

    July 22, 2023 at 4:01 pm

    @HumboldtBlue:

    It’s like right wing pollsters who correct their methodology just before the election to make themselves seem accurate and legitimate.

    Bidenomics wasn’t some surprise event. Just shows how low quality Wall Street bankers are at their jobs.

  44. 44.

    dmsilev

    July 22, 2023 at 4:01 pm

    @trollhattan: ‘I am become pink, destroyer of worlds’

  45. 45.

    MattF

    July 22, 2023 at 4:09 pm

    @dmsilev:

    A pink heel steps on a human face, forever

    Love that soooo much.

  46. 46.

    dirge

    July 22, 2023 at 4:14 pm

    @kalakal:

    Surprised nobody’s mentioned the People’s Republic of Vermont.  I’ve family there, and it seems an excellent place for a modest retirement, with a lot of supportive government programs.  Assuming you can take the winters.

    I know a bit of southeastern PA.  It’s a a patchwork of nice and not so nice, cheap and expensive.  Great if you can find the right spot.  Surprisingly short drives between big cities, cute little towns, and the middle of nowhere, so an excellent home base for low key day trips and weekend travel.  Does not tax retirement distributions, I believe.

  47. 47.

    patrick II

    July 22, 2023 at 4:14 pm

    @Betsy:

    Fair point.  We must fight.  I just had not thought much before about how much it affects the kids. My deficit I suppose, but the statistics shocked.  But unhappy kids or an overheated world does not leave much of a choice, does it?

  48. 48.

    Ken

    July 22, 2023 at 4:28 pm

    @HumboldtBlue: Clearly the “trickle-down” effect of Reaganomics has finally kicked in, 40 years later. As Jamie Dimon warned us, now is not the time to change course.

  49. 49.

    HumboldtBlue

    July 22, 2023 at 4:30 pm

    @dirge:

    Surprised no one has mentioned Delaware. No state income tax, plenty of charming small towns and a lot of beach.

  50. 50.

    kalakal

    July 22, 2023 at 4:39 pm

    @dirge:

     

    @HumboldtBlue:

    2 more for the list. I’d been looking at Delaware, hadn’t thought of Vermont.

    I don’t really know the US outside of FL, OH, NJ, and NYC.

    I can take the winters if forced, Mrs kalakal is not keen. At the moment we’re stalled at Georgia 😀

  51. 51.

    rikyrah

    July 22, 2023 at 4:43 pm

    Rosewood…both sides 😡

    Phuck Outta Here 😡

  52. 52.

    rikyrah

    July 22, 2023 at 4:45 pm

    @HumboldtBlue:

    I know that she knew she would be labeled the

    Angry Black Woman

     

    But, if you don’t get angry about muthaphuckas trying to whitewash AMERICAN CHATTEL SLAVERY

     

    Then, don’t get angry about anything.

  53. 53.

    Ken

    July 22, 2023 at 4:50 pm

    @HumboldtBlue: If you’re worried about climate change, Delaware’s highest elevation isn’t much higher than Florida’s, and its mean elevation is lower.

  54. 54.

    Baud

    July 22, 2023 at 4:52 pm

    @Ken:

    Yeah, but it’s higher on the map and water flows downhill.

  55. 55.

    Omnes Omnibus

    July 22, 2023 at 4:53 pm

    @rikyrah: Have you seen this thread?  One of the people they named as someone who “learned a valuable skill” through slavery was George Washington’s white sister.  And John Henry (from folklore).

  56. 56.

    HumboldtBlue

    July 22, 2023 at 4:58 pm

    @kalakal:

    I was born in Philly but grew up in Dover, Delaware.

    Delaware is a jewel, in Dover you’re 1.5 hours from Philly, Baltimore and DC and an hour from the southern beaches.

    The winters are cold, but reasonably so, and it only gets very cold in January and February. Summers are hot and humid, and it’s autumn where Delaware shines at her best, fall is glorious.

    Dover is the state capital, home to a major airbase in Dover AFB, the major MAC base on the East Coast, the city and surrounding areas are diverse in population, Delaware State University (HBCU) is in Dover and if you want a small farm, or a place near the beach, or a place in town you’re in luck. There are small towns up and down the state, and the southern part of the state has seen some real growth in the past 10 years.

    Plus, Delaware is The First State, so there’s that.

    @rikyrah:

    I kind of wish she had dropped a motherfucker or two in there, but then again, she’s far more sensible than I.

    @Ken:

    Could you please stop trying to ruin my idyllic childhood memories of growing up in a small city?

    Plus, in 1979 the state government had stilts built that were then put in place to be used to raise the landmass in the case of catastrophic weather events. It’s a true story!

  57. 57.

    frosty

    July 22, 2023 at 5:10 pm

    • @hells littlest angel: Rural Pennsylvania is not blue. Upstate NY is not blue. Western Maryland and the Eastern shore aren’t blue. My advice: Find a college town in a “blue” state and move there.
  58. 58.

    frosty

    July 22, 2023 at 5:13 pm

    @Baud: One reason PA is on the retirement list is that it doesn’t tax pensions. If you’re lucky enough to have one.

  59. 59.

    hells littlest angel

    July 22, 2023 at 5:16 pm

    @frosty: The original question was about blue states. Believe me, I know how right-wing rural New York is — but no one here tries to stop me from voting or getting an education or protesting or giving a ride to an undocumented person.

     

    And you’d be surprised at the number of rural college towns here.

  60. 60.

    Miss Bianca

    July 22, 2023 at 5:17 pm

    @dmsilev: LOL!!

  61. 61.

    trollhattan

    July 22, 2023 at 5:29 pm

    @Ken: Well maybe it should think about not being so mean. :-P

  62. 62.

    dirge

    July 22, 2023 at 5:45 pm

    @kalakal:

    One thing to bear in mind about DE is that despite the small size, it’s kinda two states in one.  New Castle County in the north culturally groups with DC, Philly, NYC and their surrounding areas.  The two southern counties (aka Slower Delaware) are more like rural Maryland, Virginia, or further south.

    Also, yay for no sales tax.

  63. 63.

    frosty

    July 22, 2023 at 5:57 pm

    @hells littlest angel: I agree, my comment was a bit harsh. Blue at the state level (governor, legislature, courts) does make a difference.

    You’re right about colleges in small towns, too. In PA off the top of my head I can think of Dickenson in Carlisle (rhymes with drizzle), F&M in Lancaster, Lehigh, the little Ivies outside of Philly; then the state schools all over the place. Like Indiana and California LOL.

  64. 64.

    Geminid

    July 22, 2023 at 6:07 pm

    @Basilisc: Related: a Politico article put up today titled:

       Biden looks to put North Carolina on 2024 map

    Without North Carolina, Democrats say, Republicans have no path to the White House.

  65. 65.

    hells littlest angel

    July 22, 2023 at 6:17 pm

    @Geminid: Biden is politically astute AF. I’m so happy he’s there.

  66. 66.

    hells littlest angel

    July 22, 2023 at 6:20 pm

    @frosty: Creepy as some of my neighbors can be, I’m so grateful to be here rather than some sub-Mason-Dixon hellhole.

  67. 67.

    Betty Cracker

    July 22, 2023 at 6:43 pm

    @hells littlest angel: It’s okay — lots of folks are useless in a metaphorical foxhole. It’s good to know it up front.

  68. 68.

    kalakal

    July 22, 2023 at 6:43 pm

    Thanks for all the advice.

    I’ve spent most of my adult life ( outside the US anyway) in college towns and that definitely tracks with my experience.

    Now to wince at property prices

  69. 69.

    Geminid

    July 22, 2023 at 7:06 pm

    @hells littlest angel: Republicans had a head start in fundraising in 2020. The situation has reversed now, and the Biden campaign can go on offensive in North Carolina while defending purple states he won in 2020.

    Another difference: Dems are unified, and Republicans are not.

  70. 70.

    Geminid

    July 22, 2023 at 7:10 pm

     

     

    @kalakal: Roanoke, Virginia might be worth checking out. I think there are a lot of retirees there. Nice weather.

  71. 71.

    Elizabelle

    July 22, 2023 at 7:14 pm

    @kalakal:  Haven’t read the thread, but putting in a plug for Richmond, VA.  Charlottesville is also wonderful.

    RVA is very hot in the summer, but probably less than Florida.  All four seasons, and 3.25 of them are quite comfortable.

    And:  we are overrestauranted.  And becoming a brewpub destination, too.

    Can take the train to DC, or NYC.  Can get to either the ocean or the mountains in 2 hours.

    You could do worse!

  72. 72.

    Roberto el oso

    July 22, 2023 at 7:19 pm

    @rikyrah: The attempt to ‘both sides’ the oppression and violence against African-Americans reminds me of a (possibly apocryphal) sign next to a tiger cage in the Parisian zoo in the 19th century: “A very dangerous creature. When attacked it defends itself.”

  73. 73.

    Geminid

    July 22, 2023 at 7:45 pm

    @Elizabelle: Richmond is a nice place with a lot to offer. Charlottesville is so wonderful that housing prices have gone through the roof. But further west on I-64 Augusta County is still affordable and the people are nice.

    Now that I live in Greene County I often drive over the the Blue Ridge to Harrisonburg, and that seems like a nice place too.

    Roanoke has the better weather though. The city declined along with industry and the railroad, but it started coming back a couple decades ago, and is even becoming somewhat of a tech center due to its proximity to Virginia Tech University.

  74. 74.

    MisterDancer

    July 22, 2023 at 7:56 pm

     

    @hells littlest angel: I’m so grateful to be here rather than some sub-Mason-Dixon hellhole.

     

    Oh, FOR FUCKS SAKE.

    You know what Lincoln’s solution to slavery was, for a long time? The solution he expressed to no less than Frederick Douglass?

    Send all us Black folx back to Africa. Mass exportation, regardless of circumstances, of connections. People who’d been here for generations, who didn’t know any land but America, any language but English, just tossed back to some place in an entire damn Continent with a massive diversity of people and cultures.

    That’s what I think of with your proposals – except it’s aligned to that dumb assessment “self deportation” business.

    My family bled and died in the American South. My Dad fought for my rights as much as his, and he’s sitting in the fuckin’ hospital right now, fighting for his godsdamned life. Add that to the cost of moving, trying to migrate a guy in a hospital bed.

    I’ve lived in the North of America. I have friends from Boston to Seattle who would put real work to move me up there, again.

    But Racism and a lot of the other ills are only lessened in America’s North. There are reasons I don’t go to, say the South Side of Boston. Reasons I stay thoughtful about my experiences Up There, about the legacy of Redlining.

    You can play nice to people here, insist on moving as the solution.  But it’s a sop to the ego, a way to saying I tried to warn them, to be the wise one — look, I pointed out the Holocaust parallels, what more did you want from me?

    I support people moving for their safety. I would NEVER demand they do so, because it ain’t my fuckin’ life, and I don’t know their circumstances, their situations. If Betty put up a GoFundMe to get the fuck out, that’s one thing.

    But it’s an ugly thing to insist she move without knowing far, far more about her than you seem to do. To insist that people uproot from generations of life and connections without even a hint of supporting such a mass migration with either laws or funds or, hell, offering your own body and sweat to get them out.

    If you can’t put up to help, and all you have is these words? I have less than no respect for that stance.

  75. 75.

    Elizabelle

    July 22, 2023 at 8:17 pm

    @Geminid:   I love Virginia.  I think it’s a good place to be, staring down climate change.  And the hiccup of some fools having elected Youngkin.

  76. 76.

    Elizabelle

    July 22, 2023 at 8:22 pm

    @MisterDancer:  All the best to your family and your dad.

  77. 77.

    hells littlest angel

    July 22, 2023 at 9:22 pm

    @MisterDancer: Alright. It’s a little weird that you think I did any insisting or demanding of anyone. Hope you feel better.

  78. 78.

    Roberto el oso

    July 22, 2023 at 11:47 pm

    @hells littlest angel: Some of your comments have caused me to react in the same way as @MisterDancer. You may say that you haven’t insisted or demanded that anyone move out of their state but your questioning of why people would choose to stay have come across (to me, at least) as condescending.

    There are a lot of progressives, liberals, and leftists living in red states and the idea that they should move to blue states is unthinkable for many of them, for a whole variety of reasons, including the fact that these states are our fucking home, and we’re willing to fight for them. I don’t know what state you live in, but I suspect that if, god forbid, it started to move from blue to purple, your first inclination wouldn’t be to start packing your belongings. I would hope that you would push back when things get tough.

  79. 79.

    Roberto el oso

    July 23, 2023 at 12:36 am

    @hells littlest angel: I’d like to amend my previous reply somewhat, just for clarity’s sake.  I have friends who have moved elsewhere specifically because of the political/social situation in Texas, and I have helped them, and I fully understand their reasons for doing so. I’m not at all judgmental about folks who relocate out of here and know full well that they have damn good reasons to fear for their personal safety, for the legal status of their marriages, the potential harassment/abuse of their children, and so on. Everyone’s circumstances are different and so my personal opinion shouldn’t even be relevant except insofar as it provides some slight insight into a situation that can’t be made as simple as some might like. I very much want and need allies in blue states but it does get discouraging from time to time.

  80. 80.

    Kayla Rudbek

    July 23, 2023 at 10:30 pm

    @HumboldtBlue: what are the stats for the EEOC judges, or are they not political appointees?

Comments are closed.

Primary Sidebar

On The Road - Mike in Oly - Woodard Bay Natural Resources Conservation Area
Image by Mike in Oly (5/24/25)

Recent Comments

  • Melancholy Jaques on Saturday Night Open Thread Part Two (May 25, 2025 @ 2:01am)
  • Westyny on War for Ukraine Day 1,185: Russia Continues It’s Combo Drone & Missile Attacks (May 25, 2025 @ 1:57am)
  • Gloria DryGarden on Saturday Night Open Thread Part Two (May 25, 2025 @ 1:56am)
  • cain on Saturday Night Open Thread Part Two (May 25, 2025 @ 1:48am)
  • Gloria DryGarden on Saturday Night Open Thread Part Two (May 25, 2025 @ 1:46am)

PA Supreme Court At Risk

Donate

Balloon Juice Posts

View by Topic
View by Author
View by Month & Year
View by Past Author

Featuring

Medium Cool
Artists in Our Midst
Authors in Our Midst
War in Ukraine
Donate to Razom for Ukraine

🎈Keep Balloon Juice Ad Free

Become a Balloon Juice Patreon
Donate with Venmo, Zelle or PayPal

Meetups

Upcoming Ohio Meetup May 17
5/11 Post about the May 17 Ohio Meetup

Calling All Jackals

Site Feedback
Nominate a Rotating Tag
Submit Photos to On the Road
Balloon Juice Anniversary (All Links)
Balloon Juice Anniversary (All Posts)
Fix Nyms with Apostrophes

Social Media

Balloon Juice
WaterGirl
TaMara
John Cole
DougJ (aka NYT Pitchbot)
Betty Cracker
Tom Levenson
David Anderson
Major Major Major Major
DougJ NYT Pitchbot
mistermix

Keeping Track

Legal Challenges (Lawfare)
Republicans Fleeing Town Halls (TPM)
21 Letters (to Borrow or Steal)
Search Donations from a Brand

PA Supreme Court At Risk

Donate

Site Footer

Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

  • Facebook
  • RSS
  • Twitter
  • YouTube
  • Comment Policy
  • Our Authors
  • Blogroll
  • Our Artists
  • Privacy Policy

Copyright © 2025 Dev Balloon Juice · All Rights Reserved · Powered by BizBudding Inc

Share this ArticleLike this article? Email it to a friend!

Email sent!