Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

This year has been the longest three days of putin’s life.

Let’s finish the job.

Innocent people don’t delay justice.

“And when the Committee says to “report your income,” that could mean anything!

The new republican ‘Pastor’ of the House is an odious authoritarian little creep.

Hi god, it’s us. Thanks a heap, you’re having a great week and it’s only Thursday!

My years-long effort to drive family and friends away has really paid off this year.

Is it negotiation when the other party actually wants to shoot the hostage?

Pessimism assures that nothing of any importance will change.

Well, whatever it is, it’s better than being a Republican.

Motown is Joe-Town!

The line between political reporting and fan fiction continues to blur.

Republican obstruction dressed up as bipartisanship. Again.

Wow, you are pre-disappointed. How surprising.

The willow is too close to the house.

We are aware of all internet traditions.

Second rate reporter says what?

This country desperately needs a functioning Fourth Estate.

How can republicans represent us when they don’t trust women?

He really is that stupid.

Speaker Mike Johnson is a vile traitor to the House and the Constitution.

“The difference between stupidity and genius is that genius has its limits.”

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

We’ve had enough carrots to last a lifetime. break out the sticks.

You are here: Home / Open Threads / Everyone Is Doing What They Can

Everyone Is Doing What They Can

by | 178 Comments

This post is in: 

Okay, not everyone is doing what they can, but a whole lot of people are, and I want to spotlight some of them.

While Harry Litman are saying that the Supreme Court isn’t going to rule in favor of Colorado and the 14th amendment – for reasons that have nothing to do with the rule of law, and you know, doing the job they were put there to do – Judge Luttig is fighting the good fight.

Judge Luttig

Judge Luttig is, of course, a conservative Republican, and in fact he may be one of the only ones left.  If I recall the story correctly, one of his friends called him on Jan 6 and asked him what he was going to do about what was happening at the insurrection.  His first reaction was that there was nothing he could do.  But his friend’s words stuck with him, and he realized he could tweet something to try to help calm things down.  And so his journey to defend our democracy began.

And now he’s fighting hard, making his case in every way he can – he testified before the Jan 6 committee, on TV, as a guest on podcasts, in amicus briefs, on twitter.  Trying to make it uncomfortable for the Supreme Court to do what Harry Litman believes they will do – he is trying to get them to respect the constitution.  Luttig is not going down without a fight, and he’s not going to let democracy go down without a fight.

He may be the only Republican I respect right now.  I halfway respect Liz Cheney, but it’s halfway because I think she has ulterior motives.  But at least she’s fighting to keep Trump out of office.  And she’s a Republican so she can get on the talk shows, even if she has been cast out of the party.

Michael Fanone

Today I learned that Michael Fanone is on a mission to raise awareness about Jan 6 and about MAGA extremism.  He fought for this country and sacrificed on jan 6, he testified publicly and told the truth about what happened,  He wrote a book.  And now he’s going on the road to try to reach people where they are.

Harry Dunn

We all know what Harry Dunn did on Jan 6, and now he’s running for office.

Mark Hamill

Who are some other people who are doing what they can?  I bet we can name a few.

What they have choosen to do is different for each of them.  How each of us on Balloon Juice choose to make our own contribution in this fight will be as unique to each of us as they are for the people featured in this post.

Open thread.

Reader Interactions

178Comments

  2. 2.

    WaterGirl

    @Baud:  Am I in trouble?

    edit:  oh, I get it.  you are answering my question!  thank you

    edit 2:  I would buy Ukraine a million drones if I could

    edit 3: plus, I wrote this post last night, and I had forgotten that I had ended with a question.

  4. 4.

    WaterGirl

    @Baud: No, it’s fine!   I’m apparently just slow on the uptake this morning.

    My first thought was – did I spell my own nym wrong?  (seems like I have a typo in every post lately)

    Second thought was that it was like the written version of my mom calling my sister Kathleen Joan Elizabeth – all 3 names mean you were in big trouble.

  5. 5.

    Frankensteinbeck

    @Baud:

    WaterGirl

    Seconded.  Holy crap, what a hard worker with relentless good faith in trying to make this a good place to read and comment at.  Every contact I’ve had has been more than pleasant.

  7. 7.

    narya

    Ben Wickler! The amazing, long, hard slog in Wisconsin that he led/leads is everything. I was listening to the end of a Pod Save American episode where they talked to him about the new maps, and how WI is a quintessentially purple state, and I’m thinking maybe I should dedicate my postcard efforts there this year. I’ve decided postcards to voters is what I can do, so it’s merely a matter of figuring out which races and/or issues to target

    ETA: and WaterGirl, of course. :-)

  9. 9.

    WaterGirl

    @narya: Yes!  That interview with Ben Wikler was so inspiring.  I have been planning to make a post of that, thanks for the reminder.

    Inch by inch, step by step.

    Every state needs a Ben Wikler.

  10. 10.

    WaterGirl

    @Frankensteinbeck:

    People criticize freely.

    Yes, they do!  Barack Obama used to say that Michelle and the kids kept him humble.  Let’s just say that BJ peeps keep me humble, even with the occasional lovely compliment or thank you!

  11. 11.

    Melancholy Jaques

    Once this election cycle is over, I would like the people who brought Wisconsin back into the world would travel to other states to train others. That was not an easy thing to do.

  13. 13.

    Geminid

    I was checking out Axios reporter Barak Ravid’s Twitter account to see if there are new developments in the Gaza ceasefire negotiations. There was nothing much new on that story, but I did see that Ukrainian President Zelensky is in Saudi Arabia today. Zelensky says he and Crown Prince bin Salman would talk about his Peace Initiative, Saudi Arabia’s ongoing help in prisoner exchanges, and plans to rebuild Ukraine post-conflict.

  17. 17.

    smith

    I’d like to recognize some of the up and coming Dems stars in the House who refuse to be shackled by outdated strictures of “comity” and are gleefully sticking it to the Traitor Party. People like Jasmine Crockett and Jared Moskowitz. Corporate media is having a hard time ignoring them, which is all to the good.

  18. 18.

    Scout211

    Who are some other people who are doing what they can?

    All the prosecutors who have charged and prosecuted all the J6 insurrectionists and the prosecutors who are charging and prosecuting TIFG, like  Jack Smith and his team, Letitia James and her team, etc., etc.

  22. 22.

    H.E.Wolf

    @narya: ​I’ve decided postcards to voters is what I can do

     Yep, me too! “Inch by inch, step by step” (as WaterGirl said in an earlier comment) is my kind of pace.

    I’m currently all over the FL Vote By Mail project that PostcardsToVoters.org is doing. As I understand it, FL’s Republican-dominated legislature unsubscribed everyone who had signed up for vote-by-mail. PTV is reminding Democrats to sign right back up. :)

    PTV takes the long view, which I think is valuable. One of their goals is to get people into the habit of voting in every election.

  25. 25.

    japa21

    @H.E.Wolf:  You should also be included on the list for getting writer’s cramp to advance the cause.

    I will also include WG, even though I’m on her poop list right now.

    Every FPer here is doing something in their own way to advance the cause.

    Oh, and the younger Buffet for his donations to Ukraine.

  28. 28.

    TBone

    Passed by CNN real quick on my way to better fare, and heard a woman say “Mike Johnson is in a pickle” with regard to his meeting with President Biden.  I am still laughing about that.  While watching The Fireman’s Ball, which is like an allegory for that meeting, Johnson (snort) is soooo outgunned.

  30. 30.

    Frankensteinbeck

    @TBone:

    “Mike Johnson is in a pickle” with regard to his meeting with President Biden.

    I believe his worst problem in that meeting is that McConnell is also against him.  His ally is going to rake him over the coals worse than his enemies.

  31. 31.

    Chris

    How do you like it, Star Wars fans?  Luke Skywalker has joined the dark side.

    It’s kind of funny that they frame it that way.  In American fandom circles at least, the alt-right/Trumpy types long ago moved from “the Rebels were the NRA and the Empire was the tyranny of Big Government!” to “the Empire was right actually.”

    I had a friend once who used to write fanfic about a “rogue” Sith and a “gray” Jedi having adventures together whose theme was ostensibly that both sides were bad but of course her self-insert character was the Sith, not the Jedi.  When that same soon-to-be-former friend’s political rants started shifting more and more from “both sides do it” to increasingly pronounced anti-anti-Trumpism… let’s just say that I was utterly unsurprised.  Follow people’s fandoms closely enough and their real-life politics are often unsurprising.

    There’s something so quaint about Russian propaganda still being hooked on the idea that the Rebels and them are supposed to be on the same side.  Like it’s the nineties.

  32. 32.

    TBone

    Katie Porter clip from CNN being shown on Fux schooling them on immigration.  She’s trying, a Fux girl just said “build a better system” BEFORE she said “send them back…”

  33. 33.

    Matt McIrvin

    @Chris: I can tell you right now what my self-insert character would be if I wrote that kind of fic: a droid. Put-upon, ironizing, feeling in its bones that it’s disposable.

    I don’t know what that says about my politics.

  36. 36.

    WaterGirl

    @smith:  Yes!

    I’d like to recognize some of the up and coming Dems stars in the House who refuse to be shackled by outdated strictures of “comity” and are gleefully sticking it to the Traitor Party.

    People like Jasmine Crockett and Jared Moskowitz. Corporate media is having a hard time ignoring them, which is all to the good.

    Every word of this.  Dan Goldman, too.  He doesn’t have the same flair that Jasmine Crockett and Jared Moskowitz do, but he fires cannons at the Rs every single day.  Because the Rs lie every single day, and he comes right back at the with an in-your- face rebuttal.

  37. 37.

    Chris

    @Matt McIrvin:

    I can just picture the role-playing game.  With you communicating only through untranslated vocalizations, so all the other players just assign whatever meaning they want to what you just said, and meanwhile you just roam around doing things but never explaining them.

  41. 41.

    Geminid

    @Frankensteinbeck: Aaron Rupar posted some video of the meeting, with President Biden delivering opening remarks for the cameras.

    It was an interesting scene. Biden and Vice President Harris were seated on either side of a crackling fireplace. There was a long coffee table in front of them with the four Congressional leaders on either side of it. Johnson and Schumer were closest to Biden and Harris, so Johnson was facing Schumer and Harris was facing Johnson.

    According to Politico Playbook, Biden and Harris will have lunch together afterwards.

  43. 43.

    H.E.Wolf

    @japa21: ​
     It’s very kind of you to include me! I’m one of the many little fish at Balloon Juice (and elsewhere) who add up to a leviathan.

    You’re included too, for morale-boosting with the news of Howard Buffett’s recent donations to the Ukraine cause.

  45. 45.

    trollhattan

    Gov Gav. He’s taking the fight to other states–ones run by shitbags–and nationally. Paying to run anti-fascism ads in Tennessee using his own PAC money.

    “Oh, he’s doing it because he wants to run for president.”

    Who the fvck knows? What we know is he supports Biden-Harris 2024 and is acting like a dedicated, hard-working Democrat supporting his Party.

    That said, the 24-25 CA budget is looking like a real shitshow. Stay tuned.

  46. 46.

    WV Blondie

    Marc Elias! The work he’s doing to protect the right to vote is essential. And Eric Holder, for his work against gerrymandering.

  47. 47.

    Redshift

    My dad reads the Wall Street Journal, so I hear about stuff there from him. (And monitor it; since he’s never been a TV or radio person, so it’s the only channel Murdoch has into his brain, luckily.) Anyway, he was impressed with an op-ed from Liz Cheney where she explains that her project for this campaign is to make sure Republicans don’t control either house of Congress. I can respect that, and it sounds a lot more effective than some of the earlier anti-Trump actions she was said to be considering.

  51. 51.

    Redshift

    @smith: Jamie Raskin was on fire speaking at the Ukraine rally on Saturday. In addition to Ukraine, he spoke about the broader fight against fascism we’re all engaged in, and pulled no punches about who in Congress is fighting on the other side. And other than a perfunctory “my good friend Speaker Johnson,” ritual “comity” was not in evidence.

    I haven’t been able to find a clip of his remarks online, but it’s at around 1:03:20 in this YouTube stream (h/t Another Scott):

    Video from the DC rally and march at the Lincoln Memorial today (3:05:45)

  52. 52.

    japa21

    A little bit of a perverse view, but all the Republicans in Congress for showing who they are and turning off so many real Americans.   If they were even a little more subtle in their fascism, our job would be tremendously more difficult.

  55. 55.

    Renie

    OT: Rumor is that Speaker Moses will refuse to seat Tom Suozzi tomorrow.  If I recall there was a court case that determined the Speaker has to seat a duly-elected candidate.  If this goes through, I hope a Democrat calls for Johnson to be thrown out of the Speakership.

    Suozzi is now my rep and my fingers ached for days writing all those postcards.

  58. 58.

    Josie

    Beto’s Powered by People group. They are doing the hard work of getting people in Texas registered to vote and will work later on getting out the vote.

  61. 61.

    Mousebumples

    @narya: I agree! And I’ve been asking WaterGirl to see if Voces (or 4 Directions) would want to do postcarding this fall for Wisconsin. Sen. Baldwin, Biden/Harris, and now new State Leg maps! Lots of up and down ballot opportunities.

    No idea what’s on the agenda for Postcards to Voters this fall, but I’m hoping to have Wisconsin postcarding on my to do list!

  64. 64.

    hueyplong

    @Geminid: Esse Quam Videri is the motto of the State of NC, adopted in 1893, 6 years before ASU was founded.  But it’s still cool that the school has also adopted that slogan as its own.

  65. 65.

    Chris

    @Redshift:

    @smith: Jamie Raskin was on fire speaking at the Ukraine rally on Saturday. In addition to Ukraine, he spoke about the broader fight against fascism we’re all engaged in, and pulled no punches about who in Congress is fighting on the other side. And other than a perfunctory “my good friend Speaker Johnson,” ritual “comity” was not in evidence.

    I really like this.

    I really want to see more people pushing the point that this is a global fight, every bit affecting the others.  We need to defeat Putin not just for Ukraine’s sake, but so that the people right here trying to impose fascism on the rest of us can lose their biggest source of dark money and active measures.  We need to defeat Trump and his party not just for our sake, but so that Ukraine can survive as a country and as a liberal democracy continuing down its own path to a more perfect union.

    People at the time of the original free state/slave state dispute understood this.  Workers’ rights and women’s rights movements in Europe understood that the abolitionists’ fight, and eventually the Union’s fight, was their fight – the fear of public opinion was a big part of why Britain and France never moved to support the Confederacy.  And American Unionists understood how their fight was perceived back in Europe – Lincoln’s speeches repeatedly go back to the well of how the end of America as they know it means a vindication for all of the old monarchists who never believed people could rule themselves and were now fanboying for the Confederacy.

  66. 66.

    wjca

    @Chris: With you communicating only through untranslated vocalizations, so all the other players just assign whatever meaning they want to what you just said, and meanwhile you just roam around doing things but never explaining them.

    “I am Groot!”

  67. 67.

    WaterGirl

    I would so much rather have our team, than theirs.

    Their idea of a man for our times is a petty little dictator running the House.  Our idea of a man for our times is Chef Jose who is feeding millions of people.  Someone who has a vision and a plan, and puts in the work to turn an entire state around.  In-your-face (in a good way) truth-telling reps that recognize that the gentlewoman from Colorado is not so gentle, and the faux comity in the House is a thing of the past.  Someone making his life’s work doing everything in the courts to preserve democracy.  Leaders like Nancy Pelosi, who worked for years to help develop the new leader before she stepped aside.

    What do they have?  Corrupt power-hungry people who lie, cheat and steal to say in power.

    I’m not sure Dems have ever had a better, stronger team than we have today.

  68. 68.

    UncleEbeneezer

    Speaking of Litman, his interview with Mike Podhorzer an expert on polling is very good.  TLDW-

    • Polling tells us little to nothing about what will happen in Nov Election.  This is true all the way up until the week/day of the election.

    • Five different pollsters can give you five totally different predictions based on what they all do with the exact same data.  And in fact, they did so in FL in 2016.

    • The main divide between voting factions isn’t Rep/Dem, Demographics or position on any issue, it’s whether they are for or against MAGA

    • Election turnout since 2014 has been historically off the charts high

  69. 69.

    Mousebumples

    @Dorothy A. Winsor: ❤️ thanks

    I can’t name everyone who helped with postcards, but WaterGirl, H. E. Wolf, Maze Dancer, and so many others.

    And Blue Guitarist for the up ballot blue ticket voting fundraising!

    We’ve got so many great people on our team. We’ve got a battle ahead in 2024, and I’m glad to be fighting for Democrats and democracy with each of you! (and now I see WaterGirl said about the same things above 😅)

  71. 71.

    H.E.Wolf

    @Mousebumples: ​ Four Directions is unlikely to be a postcarding source – per their Nov. 2023 Zoom with Balloon Juice, they focus on their core mission, which is relational (face-to-face) organizing.
    WI is one of their 5 targeted state for 2024, though! The other 4 are NV, AZ, GA, and MT. All 5 states have significant Native populations, and Four Directions has made a difference in those states before.​
     

    ETA: See the sidebar for donations to Four Directions’ 2024 Montana effort. The Zoom meeting made clear that they’re eager – maybe even gleeful – to GOTV there. Apparently Four Directions has history with a few MT voting officials. :)

  74. 74.

    WaterGirl

    I’m gonna add Sheldon Whitehouse to the list.  He has been working tirelessly for years to draw attention to the corruption in the Supreme Court.  He and Elizabeth Warren are similar in that in addition to being great senators, they both focus on moving the ball on the particular issues they are passionate about.

  75. 75.

    brendancalling

    @smith: If they do that, Biden should simply do the SOTU from the Oval Office, and call out all those freaks in so doing.

    “Normally, I’d be addressing the full congress, but since Mike Johnson is more interested in showing off for Marge Green (who carries his balls in her pocket), I’m addressing you all from my office here in the White House.”

  78. 78.

    cain

    @brendancalling: Hey if they want to break tradition – so can Biden.

    and we will make sure that there is no Republican rebuttal since Johnson declined to even do the SOTU. Fuck around and find out asshole.

  80. 80.

    H.E.Wolf

    @Renie: Suozzi is now my rep and my fingers ached for days writing all those postcards.​

     
    No wonder! (And thank you!) Per PTV’s Facebook account, “Five thousand two hundred fifty volunteers mailed 202,236 cards to help Tom Suozzi win his election bid in NY District 3 on Long Island. That was our full list for the campaign.”

  82. 82.

    UncleEbeneezer

    Journalist, Erin Reed (ErinInTheMorning) is truly doing the FSM’s work by tirelessly reporting on the endless Transphobic bullshit that is happening in multiple states.

  87. 87.

    WaterGirl

    This could be described as in-your-face, in the best possible way.

  88. 88.

    The Kropenhagen Interpretation

    @Baud: Republicans have rebuttals before they even have something to respond to.  They hear “Biden said…” and they say “Well, that’s wrong because…wait, finish telling me what he said and I’ll tell you why it’s wrong.”

    It was rather comical watching Rs getting over their skis during the Obama administration.  They’d get ahead of what they assumed Obama wanted (say avoiding military action in Libya or Syria). They mightily denounced Obama for being weak and appeasing tHe LeFT!!!!1!! 🤬🤢🤮🤯🤡☠️

    Then Obama would announce he’s doing what these “strong on defense” numpties claimed they wanted and they’d have to redirect quickly to “not like that.” The substance doesn’t matter with Republicans and hasn’t for a long time. It’s all about grifting money and pissing off Democrats.

  90. 90.

    Geminid

    @hueyplong:

    To Be, Rather Than To Seem

    North Carolinians were probably giving South Carolina and Virginia the side-eye when they adopted that motto.

  91. 91.

    TBone

    Gah!  I like squirrel! but not on my roof gnawing today, of all days.  Not into climbing a ladder today, and my throwing arm aim is off.  Distractions is the way to go.  Now, where did I put my peanuts?

  92. 92.

    Mike S. (Now with a Democratic Congressperson!)

    @WaterGirl:  Mark Elias and Democracy Watch are doing a lot of good work fighting rethuglican gerrymandering and voter suppression laws. Also defending good election laws.

  94. 94.

    hueyplong

    @Geminid: They usually were. But by about the tenth time people tell you how humble they are, it’s time to give them the side eye back.

  95. 95.

    JoyceH

    @brendancalling: ​
     

    If they do that, Biden should simply do the SOTU from the Oval Office, and call out all those freaks in so doing.

    Exactly. There’s no requirement that SOTU has to be held at Congress. Heck, it doesn’t even have to be a speech. The Constitution simply requires that the president ‘from time to time’ report to Congress on the state of the union. And the presidents did so by a written report up until Woodrow Wilson, who delivered the first SOTU-as-speech.

    An Oval Office address would be perfectly fine, until MAGAism is flung upon the dust heap of history and sanity prevail.

  99. 99.

    A woman from anywhere (formerly Mohagan)

    @UncleEbeneezer: I am disappointed by the picture. Her top isn’t even a V-neck, let alone show any decolletage. What a tempest in a teapot!

  102. 102.

    Matt McIrvin

    @UncleEbeneezer: I remembered that flap but had forgotten just how modest and normal the photo that made Althouse flip out was. Republicans do things a hundred times as gross daily.

  104. 104.

    brendancalling

    @PJ: lol. Has she ever recanted that? A LOT of progressives went for that, hook/line/sinker. I lost quite a bit of respect for people I used to take seriously.

  106. 106.

    JoyceH

    @WaterGirl: ​
     

    Tara Reade lost all credibility quite a long time ago.

    Like when she claimed that Biden pulled her into an alcove in a hall that has no alcoves?

  108. 108.

    geg6

    This might not be popular in this thread, but Lawrence O’Donnell.  He’s been giving a master class in congressional and White House political workings the last few weeks and has been forceful and riveting.  I’ve never seen so many episodes of his show where his eyes are just lit up as he explains the most opaque maneuverings and processes and examples from his own experience in a way anyone, no matter how ignorant of politics, can understand.  The first 20-25 minutes of his show the last couple of weeks has been everything you wish Rachel Maddow’s would be.​

  110. 110.

    Jay C

    @WaterGirl:

    This stuff is just SO predictable: Rep. Comer rehashing his unproven/unsubstantiated/wishful-thinking accusations against the Bidens (ANY Biden); making flat statements, which Fox News just mindlessly repeats…

    This deserves a proper fisking….

    Bank records, texts, emails, & witness testimony show Joe Biden knew about, participated in, & benefitted from his family’s corrupt business schemes.

    “…bank records…”
    Joe and Jill Biden’s finances (or their tax returns, at least) have been made public for decades; not much there too opaque (unlike TFG)
    “…texts, emails…”
    Where? To and from whom? And what do they say? Have we seen them> Or does Comer just assume that any communication from any Biden to another is “secret code” for corrupt dealings?
    “…& witness testimony…”

    Testimony from the parade of witness who disclaimed any connection of the President with any “corrupt dealings”, or the perjured testimony of the indicted liar who is likely a Russian agent?

    and “…Joe Biden knew about….etc….”?

    Assuming facts which are not just “not in evidence”, but aren’t even facts!

    But: it’s on Maria Bartiromo’s TV show, so all factual, one supposes….

    [insert barf emoji HERE]

  118. 118.

    Sister Golden Bear

    @Chris: Saw someone completed Boulder’s Gate while playing as a cat, which communicated only using the usual (untranslated) methods of cat communication. No mention if that included horking up hairballs.

  119. 119.

    Geminid

    @Renie: On the night Suozzi win, I looked at various comments reposted by Westchester Democrat Tom Watson. One was from @VoteBlueBender:

       …don’t discount grass roots groups, both local and national. I’ve never seen so many phone banks, post cards, letters, groups of volunteers, going out to knock onndoors from places like Maryland and Massachusetts.

    Someone else commented on how nice it was to receive postcards after writing so many for races in other localities.

  121. 121.

    UncleEbeneezer

    @PJ: I don’t remember Valenti being one of the really loud Reade boosters.  That said, I can separate her generally-excellent work from that.  Ratfucking campaigns will always suck in some well-meaning Progressives (that’s exactly what they are designed to do).  Everyone makes mistakes and nobody’s hands are completely clean.  But like I don’t throw out everything Amanda Marcotte does just because she got over-her skis with Duke Lacrosse.

    Or Michelle Goldberg’s work because she used to be border-line TERF.

    Or Biden’s work because of the Crime Bill and Anita Hill etc.

    It’s always a judgement call of a complex history, some good, some not-so-good.  When I think of the people who pushed the Tara Reade bullshit, she’s not even in the top ten of people that come to my mind.

  123. 123.

    Renie

    @Geminid: I really didn’t focus on the campaigns just holding my breath until the election.  But from the little I saw his debate with Mazi Pilip was a disaster for her.  My home was bombarded with flyers from both candidates, signs were all over the place and commercials on radio and tv were constant. We got at least ten postcards at our home from all over the US.

    I was more worried about a repeat of the 2009 Nassau County Executive race when everyone assumed Suozzi would win and didn’t bother to vote.  Ed Mangano wound up beating Suozzi by about 400 votes.  Yet justice reigned cuz Mangano is now in jail on a 12 year sentence for corruption. His wife went to jail also but only served 5 months of a 15 month sentence.

  124. 124.

    UncleEbeneezer

    @Matt McIrvin: And if you go back and watch the BloggingHeads video, GFR’s question and approach to her was extremely mild and cordial.  Not in any way attacking her.  But Althouse acted like Garance had practically smacked her in the face.  It was a very MTG/Trumpian example of the Faux-trage response that has since become the knee-jerk staple of Conservatives when asked even the most tame questions about heir behavior.  It was kind of prophetic to what we would see in their playbook in the decade to come.

  130. 130.

    CaseyL

    @Geminid: ​
    And a shout-out indeed to all the canvassers, whether on foot or by phone. Results show, over and over again, getting out there is the most effective at voter awareness and GOTV.
    (Particularly with all the ratfuckers putting out inaccurate voting information.)
    I used to love canvassing on foot. But I can’t wrap my head around the phone-app organizations use these days for entering results. I am an Old, and I want my precinct print-out to make notes on. The last time I tried to volunteer to go canvassing, most of the training session was on how to use the phone app. Ugh.​

  132. 132.

    Sister Golden Bear

    @UncleEbeneezer: I’ll second naming Erin Reed. She’s done extraordinary work coving the 400+ anti-trans bills so bar this year (and has done so for several years now).

    On a related note, new info from close friends of Nex Benedict — the 16-year-old beaten to death by classmates in an OK school bathroom — actually identified as a trans boy, and preferred he/him, although also used they/them.

    (Note: It’s common for trans boys to initially come out to their family as non-binary when they’re not sure how supportive their families will be — seems to be the case here.)

    So because of OK’s anti-trans bathroom laws, you had a trans boy who was forced to use the girls bathroom.

  134. 134.

    Geminid

    @WaterGirl: I thought Reade’s story was pushed by bitter-ender Berni-bros who believed that if it knocked Joe Biden out, their guy would be the nominee. That was exactly what the Russians and the Republicans wanted, and I expect they amplified the story as best they could.

  136. 136.

    The Kropenhagen Interpretation

    @Geminid: Some of y’all see Bernie bros in your couch cushions, under your bed, in every dark alleyway; when really they just living in your head rent free.

  138. 138.

    WaterGirl

    @TBone: Trump still hasn’t come to grips with the fact that there really are going to be consequences imposed upon him.

    If you are Trump, that’s not the way it’s supposed to work.

  139. 139.

    Geminid

    @Renie: Someone ought to do one of those “Scared Straight” programs like the ones where they take at-risk youths on guided tours of jails to warn them away from a life of crime. Except instead of kids touring the jail, it would be Long Island Republican politicians.

  141. 141.

    SuzieC

    My local Indivisible Central Ohio group.  We worked tirelessly to pass Ohio Issue One and defeat the first Issue One.

    Substack columnists Jay Kuo, Jeff Teidrich and Lucian K. Truscott IV.  They just bring it every day.

  142. 142.

    geg6

    Just checked in on TPM to see if they are covering the hearing re: Fani Willis. Doesn’t seem to be going well for the defense team so far. McAfee is ready for this idiocy to be over.

  143. 143.

    Gretchen

    My son in law in Staten Island is sickened by what’s happening in Gaza, and says he’ll never vote for Biden again. I pointed out that there is a large Orthodox Jewish population in his district, which elected his congressional rep. She is all-out pro-Israel, no relief for Gaza. I pointed out that if he and my daughter want something to change, the most practical thing would be to keep calling her office. We’ll see if they do.

    Many people seem to think that Biden has complete control over Israel, and all he has to do is tell Bibi to knock it off. They want Biden to be yelling ceasefire all day, rather than realizing that a ceasefire isn’t going to happen without all the quiet negotiations that have been going on for weeks.

    I’m going to visit them next week and kind of dreading it.

  144. 144.

    Geminid

    @The Kropenhagen Interpretation: I have no problem with Sanders supporters in general. But I am talking here about the journalists who pushed the Reade story even after they had good reason to doubt her credibility, and who in fact were Sanders supporters.

    I am a cynical person, and analysing motivation is part of that. I can think of no other motivation for these reckless actions than the one I described. It was like a Hail Mary play.

  145. 145.

    Kay

    whitmermi
    1h
    Trump’s closing message to voters for today’s presidential primary was, “Well, you have a terrible governor.”
    Listen, I can handle a hit. But his attacks on me are an attack on the progress we’ve made in our state.
    Michigan, I got your back. And I won’t stop fighting like hell for you

    Interesting that Whitmer’s drawing attention to it – I mean, it’s a badge of honor (obviously) but she apparently thinks that pointing out that dumb weirdo Donald Trump dislikes her is good politics, too.

  147. 147.

    Sure Lurkalot

    @WaterGirl: I like Beto too but he did advocate voting uncommitted in Michigan this weekend and then later clarified his remarks.

    Former U.S. Rep. Beto O’Rourke (D-Texas) said voters concerned about President Joe Biden’s handling of issues such as the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza or the humanitarian crisis at the southern border can push the president on those issues while still supporting him in a likely rematch with former President Donald Trump.

    O’Rourke faced criticism from some Democrats after expressing support for a campaign asking voters unhappy with Biden’s handling of the conflict in Gaza to vote “uncommitted” in Michigan’s Democratic presidential primary during aninterview with the Michigan Advance published Saturday.

    But in an email sent Sunday through his voting rights organization, Powered By People, O’Rourke added more context to his position, placing additional emphasis on the fact that he ultimately supports Biden’s reelection.

    “Donald Trump is the single greatest threat to our democracy. Our best chance to defeat him is to support Joe Biden in this election,” O’Rourke said.

    Gov Gretchen perhaps a bit more politic:

    “I think that it is every person’s right to make their statement about what’s important to them. We know that the Arab community, the Palestinian community, the Muslim community, those are not all one in the same. There’s a lot of pain. There’s a lot of pain in our Jewish community, too,” Whitmer said.

    “At the end of the day, I am advocating that people cast an affirmative vote for Joe Biden because anything other than that makes it more likely we see a second Trump term, and that’s bad for all the communities,” Whitmer said.

  148. 148.

    Gretchen

    As for someone who’s doing what they can: Jess Piper and Blue Missouri. https://bluemissouri.org

    She ran for state legislator in a very red district, lost badly, and set out to change Missouri. She realized that a lot of the loony state legislators run uncontested, and her goal is to get someone to run in every race, and fund them. I have a small monthly donation there to help her help the small races.

    Right now she’s gathering signatures to put legalizing abortion on the ballot, and recounts on twitter her efforts. She’ll go to a library in a small town with her petition, and have a woman say, I’ll call my bible group to come sign.

    And she’s up for the fight on Twitter – she’ll put any moron who comes after her in their place. She’s Missouri’s Ben Wikler.

  149. 149.

    Matt McIrvin

    @Geminid: It was a moment in history (the middle of the giant #MeToo discussion on sexual harassment and assault) when it was difficult to have your default position on any such accusation be skepticism, just because the person accused was a political ally. So there was an opening.

    I recall someone (here?) declaring all of #MeToo to be a Russian op, which I think was incorrect.

  150. 150.

    Kay

    @Sure Lurkalot:

    Why don’t you want them to vote uncommitted? They’re unhappy with Biden’s treatment of Palestinians. This is a completely legitimate complaint.

    If I was the Bidne campaign I would want them to vote uncommitted in the primary so I can measure the damage and work to mend fences (if that’s possible at this point, with such extreme suffering in Gaza and the US doing so little to avert it). You’d prefer we not find out until election night? About 100K Arab American votes in Michigan are in play. It’s a good measure of how much damage his administration has done with those Democrats.

  151. 151.

    Kay

    The NYTimes political team told me there were no Biden supporters in Michigan. Interesting since Whitmer doesn’t seem to be running away from Biden.

    I guess the NYTimes political team are just better at politics than a twice elected Democratic governor. After all, many of them write political books.

  153. 153.

    Kay

    If there’s very few “uncommitted” votes then I would say that means ordinary rank and file Arab American voters aren’t listening to Arab American political leaders and Biden may be okay.

    But I would want to know. A vote is much better than a poll and they’ll have the info early.

  155. 155.

    VFX Lurker

    @Gretchen:

    My son in law in Staten Island is sickened by what’s happening in Gaza, and says he’ll never vote for Biden again. I pointed out that there is a large Orthodox Jewish population in his district, which elected his congressional rep. She is all-out pro-Israel, no relief for Gaza. I pointed out that if he and my daughter want something to change, the most practical thing would be to keep calling her office. We’ll see if they do.

    Many people seem to think that Biden has complete control over Israel, and all he has to do is tell Bibi to knock it off. They want Biden to be yelling ceasefire all day, rather than realizing that a ceasefire isn’t going to happen without all the quiet negotiations that have been going on for weeks.

    I’m going to visit them next week and kind of dreading it.

    Serious question: any idea if your daughter might vote for Biden?

  159. 159.

    VFX Lurker

    @Kay:

    Why don’t you want them to vote uncommitted? They’re unhappy with Biden’s treatment of Palestinians. This is a completely legitimate complaint.

    If I was the Bidne campaign I would want them to vote uncommitted in the primary so I can measure the damage and work to mend fences (if that’s possible at this point, with such extreme suffering in Gaza and the US doing so little to avert it). You’d prefer we not find out until election night? About 100K Arab American votes in Michigan are in play. It’s a good measure of how much damage his administration has done with those Democrats.

    Ex-Michigander here. Michigan doesn’t force anyone to vote, so the story tomorrow will be based on whoever shows up to vote. I don’t want the story to be “Michigan rejects Joe Biden, embraces orange criminal.”

    No one will report on why voters voted “uncommitted.”

  160. 160.

    Matt McIrvin

    @Sure Lurkalot: I’m not sure that’s a bad position to take–urging people to express their political frustrations in a way that’s not ultimately destructive.

  161. 161.

    Geminid

    @Subsole: I was looking at Ruben Gallego’s social media last month and I saw some interactions between Gallego and Mark Hamill. Gallego put up a picture of himself and his ~8 year-old son watching Star Wars, with the caption:

       Growing up, Star Wars was an inspiration to boys like me. Now I am sharing that experience with my son.

    Mark Hamill replied:

       Just donated to your campaign. I wish you all the best in defeating election-denying MAGA extremist Kari Lake.  #GoGoGallego

    Hamill replied to another Gallego post with:

       The Force is strong in this One.

  162. 162.

    japa21

    @Kay:

     

    It’s a good measure of how much damage his administration has done with those Democrats.

    I know how important this whole issue has been with you, and that’s understandable. I still am confused about what else he could have done. He has been very outspoken about the Israeli response and has talked about the suffering of the civilians in Gaza.

    The original cease-fire was very much because he pushed for it, particularly for the humanitarian aid that went in. He has also talked about the need to get more aid into Gaza.

    He has made it clear he wants to see a ceasefire that is truly legitimate and not just one-sided. And he wants to see one that is a path toward a more stable future, not one that allows a repeat performance.

    Maybe he could have been talking louder and more often, but I really doubt it would have made any difference on the ground over there and if there is no difference on the ground, would it really make a difference here?

  163. 163.

    sab

    @geg6: I have my cable box set to tape O’Donnell every night (also Stephanie Ruhle after him because his show always runs over into her time slot.) I agree with you that it is often riveting.

    I also like that he doesn’t just bring up an topic and then drop it. He returns to topics (even obscure ones) often. I think the repetition is important. Sort of what Fox does, but with actual facts.

    And he gives them adequate time. He has some very knowledgeable guests ( e.g. Tim Snyder on Ukraine) who are willing to come back repeatedly, probably because they get enough time on air to convey information and context.

  165. 165.

    Omnes Omnibus

    Every fucking person who is planning on giving and doing what they can.  Volunteers.  Voters willing to stand in line.  People who push back against bullshit.  Everyone who resists fascism even in the smallest way.

  166. 166.

    rikyrah

    @geg6:

    This might not be popular in this thread, but Lawrence O’Donnell.  He’s been giving a master class in congressional and White House political workings the last few weeks and has been forceful and riveting.

     

    LarryO has been rocking it.

  167. 167.

    VFX Lurker

    As much as voting “uncommitted” as a “protest” annoys me, this annoys me even more: the people asking Michigan voters to vote “uncommitted” didn’t tell their voters how to vote. They just…assumed infrequent voters and first-time voters who had never voted in primaries would know exactly what to do. They didn’t even hand out a two-step checklist!

    So these infrequent/first-time voters, having no experience, asked to vote “uncommitted.” The poll workers obediently gave them independent ballots.

    I do want Biden to win big in Michigan today on the Democratic ballot, so I guess I should accept this disorganization of the protest voters as a win, no matter how unsatisfying it might be.

  169. 169.

    Gretchen

    @Geminid: the Tara Reede thing looked like a Roger Stone op. Since she was praising Putin before she did it, and moved to Russia sometime after, it seems likely that their fingerprints were on it.

    I saw an interesting sidelight to believe all women – that black women were more skeptical of it given the history of black men being lynched because of white women lying about sexual assault.

  170. 170.

    Mousebumples

    @WaterGirl: My sights are set a bit lower. I want to get Ben Wikler to come do a Q & A post on BJ, or a zoom.

    Late to the thread, but that would be awesome. Zoom doesn’t usually work for me (timing, schedule, kids, etc.), but that would be fabulous!

    @Omnes Omnibus: also this. You got it spot on.

  171. 171.

    Gretchen

    @VFX Lurker: daughter absolutely will vote for Biden. I’m hoping that there will be some sort of resolution in Gaza by then and SIL can be persuaded too. But they have black-haired 18 month old twins and he sees them in every horrible picture of the suffering in Gaza and it hits him in his heart.

  172. 172.

    Geminid

    @Kay: Punching back at Donald Trump is a smart move by Governor Whitmer. He’s got a real problem with strong women. I hope he rises the bait so she can reel the sucker in and filet him.

  173. 173.

    coin operated

    @geg6:

    This might not be popular in this thread, but Lawrence O’Donnell.  He’s been giving a master class in congressional and White House political workings the last few weeks and has been forceful and riveting.  I’ve never seen so many episodes of his show where his eyes are just lit up as he explains the most opaque maneuverings and processes and examples from his own experience in a way anyone, no matter how ignorant of politics, can understand.  The first 20-25 minutes of his show the last couple of weeks has been everything you wish Rachel Maddow’s would be.​

    All of this…

  174. 174.

    Kay

    @japa21:

    He has been very outspoken about the Israeli response and has talked about the suffering of the civilians in Gaza.

    I don’t think he has. I’m not that invested in it compared to Arab Americans in Michigan and Biden’s response ad rhetoric seems ridiculously lopsided to me. I don’t know why he’s so tone deaf on this – I suspect because he has a blind spot on this issue. It hits particularly hard for Joe Biden because one of his big selling points was his kindness and empathy – he just does not seem sympathetic to Palestinians in Gaza. When Arab Americans say the Biden Administration are treating Gazans as lesser people than Israelis, I agree.
    There are now almost 3x as many civilian casualties in Gaza than there have been in Ukraine, yet we hear almost nothing about the Palestinian casualties from the US.

  175. 175.

    Cacti

    @Gretchen: Well, Biden did do multiple end runs around Congress to give Israel more bombs, on top of the $3 billion we send every year for their military budget. And is now working Congress to try to get $14 billion more to the Israeli war machine.

    Pretending he hasn’t been actively abetting Bibi’s campaign of carnage is completely disingenuous.

  176. 176.

    Cacti

    @japa21:He has been very outspoken about the Israeli response and has talked about the suffering of the civilians in Gaza

     

    You keep saying this as if it has actually happened.

  177. 177.

    Kay

    @japa21:

    It makes me genuinely wonder if Biden and his team have some animus towards or bias against Arabs. I think the inequitable treatment of the two sets of civilian victims is that blatant and, again, I’m not particulalrly invested in this – I’m not an Arab American in a heavily Arab American area outside Detroit – if I’m hearing it I shudder to think how loudly they hear it.

    Obviously I’m supporting Biden. But this does make me think less of him and his team. The lack of concern towards really massive civilian casualties (30k out of 2 million is a HUGE loss) and suffering rattles me and makes me wonder about them. We better hope they only do a protest vote in the primary – they have justification to be pissed enough to sit out the general. No one seems to represent them.

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