He also did not disband the DHS division. I am taking this post down. Feel free to come at from another angle but your claim of "disbanding" is misleading and false. Blaming Democrats for the rise of right wing and other extremism in the US is just ridiculous.
Self reporting what I've been up to to protect and grow democracy in my neck of the woods in New Jersey.
1. I've started laying the groundwork for our local party to have a voter registration booth at a big springtime event at our local arena. In the last 7 years I've been around this city, I have never seen us do something like this before.
2. I am working to create a Dem club in my ward of my city with an idea of hosting candidate forums for the crowded Dem governor race in NJ. I've been in touch with one of my assembly members and other members of my committee to help make this happen.
3. I donated to help keep abortion funds solvent in places where abortion is virtually banned so that women who need this healthcare can get the help they need without financial barriers.
I hope members of our community will be looking at running for local Dem Party leadership positions or following Roger's lead in engaging in more direct ways in the politics of your states and communities.
Thanks Simon. I'm not interested in being a "leader" myself, I prefer doing the grunt work honestly, but if my local party isnt going to take the initiative to do the work, someone has to.
Would love to know where you’re located in NJ? I live in Burlington County, where we have an very active Indivisible Group, Action Together Burlington County. We’ve been working on local, county and statewide races for years, and have managed to flip some local town councils from Red to Blue, as well as electing Andy Kim, first to Congress, and now the Senate! Candidate forums and information tables are great tools for informing constituents. I wish you all the best in your endeavors, and if you have an Action Together group in your area, I encourage you reach out and coordinate efforts.
Hi neighbor! I can’t imagine there are no active Democratic groups in the Trenton area. Your county is pretty blue, right? But it sure does help to encourage those like-minded neighbors of ours by giving them ways to get involved, so congrats on your efforts. We all need to find each other and get revved up for the Governor’s race pronto!
There are county groups - of which I've been in touch with and have helped on occasion. I'm also a member of the County party committee. The actual infrastructure for grassroots help in Trenton itself isn't really there outside of the labor community. There are individual activists, but there's not really anything local and strong in my specific neck of the woods. So trying to make that happen where I live.
Are you familiar with the Civic Center (https://www.thecivicscenter.org)? Their focus is registering HS students to vote. In NJ, students can pre-register if they are at least 17 per the Civics Center map (https://www.thecivicscenter.org/map). They focus on swing states, but they have lots of downloadable resources for anyone who wants to run voter registration (VR) drives for HS students.
They encourage the students to actually run the drives themselves after taking a virtual training, but parents and other concerned adults can help spread awareness of their resources. For the 2022 midterms, I volunteered to contact all the HS in my county to identify who might make a good contact at each school to act as a liason. They suggested checking with guidance counselors, history and/or civics teachers and teachers who acted as coordinators for any student clubs that might be related to politics or social action (e.g., enviromental focus). I found the schools and school directories online and then followed up on the phone
Another group that hosts community voter registration drives (for all ages) is the League of Womern Voters (www.LWV.org). They are strictly non-partisan. For partisan VR, I recommend checking out resorces at Field Team 6 (www.fieldteam6.org) and/or Swing Left (www.swingleft.org).
In 2024, I volunteered with LWV to register new US citizens (after their Naturalization ceremonies at USCIS), at public libraries, at apartment complexes (which have lots of new residents to the state or county) , and at foodbanks and free health clinics. Someone on the Voter Services committee set those up; I simply volunteered for a shift.
It doesn't appear that NJ has any voter ID requirements, otherwise I would recommend checking out VoteRiders (www.voteriders.org) which helps people get the IDs they need to vote.
ETA: Indivisible is also a great group to get involved with as suggested by Wendy.
Thanks, Cheryl. I should also have mentioned LWV - they are a great resource for getting new voters registered. I have volunteered with them here in my county a few times. I haven’t yet had a chance to help register newly naturalized citizens, but I hear it’s one of the most inspirational ceremonies one can attend. I think we all need some inspiration now.
Our local LWV has a longstanding relationship with the USCIS (US Customs and Immigration Services) office here in Charlotte, NC so League volunteers attend all the naturalization ceremonies.
On messaging. I would suggest that everybody have a look at James Carville's essay in NYT yesterday or the day before...IT'S STILL THE ECONOMY ...St.........!! Our economy may have been the envy of the world but But everyday people don't know it or feel it. We live in a new different landcape. The new admin will do things that will hurt those same everyday people. We need to find a way to make those people see it, understand it. Recognize that he wasn't their friend And put forth plans that they can understand.. We need to re-bran d and stay around the center of the spectrum. Democracy falters when we lose our middle class and when we can't find the middle of the political spectrum
This is why people like James Carville telling us what to do just infuriate me. Does anyone recall what Joe Biden and Kamala Harris have done for the middle class these last 4 years? Did Carville even listen to anything Kamala Harris said during her excellent campaign? No - because it’s the Rightwing Noise Machine, st***d!
He can talk all he wants; he was pretty sure Harris would win. Easy to criticize after the fact. Well, Jim, the economy was the same before she lost, and you thought she would win.....he's also on the " they hid Biden's decline" bandwagon; folks, make no mistake, when the punditry says decline, what they mean is dementia. And Biden does not demonstrate signs of dementia. He shows signs of being really old. I'm 62 and make as many mistakes as he does.
Most of us who once had a subscription have long since cancelled it. If you want people to read Carville’s essay, may I suggest you publish a gift link?
This conversation has obviously been central to our work at Hopium but there can be no serious conversation about people's perception of the economy without talking about the power of the right-wing noise machine and their successful decades of lying about the economy.
Thank you Simon. The right-wing noise machine continues to be a subject that is not interjected often enough into the discourse of damn near every discussion abut everything.
ABSOLUTELY Simon. Writing truths down doesn't change a thing, it's knowing the source of the problem and doing something about it that will enact change. The only thing I can do at the moment is cancel and boycott all that kind of biased, sane-washing media and financially support the new, truthful. self-owned media that is emerging.
Thank you, Simon. You are absolutely right. Sheldon Whitehouse was also on Lawrence O'Donnell on Thursday talking about his "Offensive Coordinator" idea. We need far more coordinated, yet simple straightforward communication (i.e. Marketing!) from the Democratic Party and all of us to counter the "power of the right-wing noise machine". Being more aggressive/offensive in our communications does not necessarily mean in tone or use of misinformation, but in timing and quantity of quality messaging. We have been working on this in our county in florida; but this needs to happen and the national and state levels first. That is how the Republicans have been managing thier communciations for decades.
Not just the right wing noise machine; Scott Dworkin has been documenting the MSM media's obvious pro trump bias for quite some time. Since I don't read the NYT or the WAPO anymore, it was far worse than I had realized.
not thinking it was the economy. polls showing americans think the economy is great now, and its the same biden economy of nov 5th. billions spent for xmas. tons of travel in the US. they can say it was the price of eggs, but it was something else entirely.
Totally agree about the capriciousness of the electorate's opinions. However, it could indeed be 'the economy', it's just that a vast majority of people may think:
1. Donald Trump became president on Nov 5th (i.e., most of the electorate does not understand civics), so whatever is going on with consumer spending, etc. is his doing.
2. The economy is better because of the anticipation that Trump will be better for the economy (i.e., feeling good now anticipating a windfall in the coming years).
VP Harris won the 3rd most votes in the history of the U.S. and had only 75 days to campaign. Seems it is very reasonable to think that if inflation were only 2.5% YOY the past four years instead of 5% YOY, she would have won fairly comfortably.
Regardless, I do think we need to take a serious look at how we message about the economy, not just now, but for years to come, if we are ever going to build a sustainable coalition. Certainly not the only thing, but it's a large component.
I highly doubt it. Her opponent has no redeeming qualities and and ran a shit campaign. Furthermore, he really didn't expand his base; something like 4/10ths of a point. It was Harris whose support collapsed. That suggests something about HER. Now, what might that be?
Yup. Seen a headline on this topic this morning. The media created this monster, who, as Michael Podhorzer points out, should be sitting in a jail cell if not for the interference by the Roberts court, who cleared the path for him. In my eyes, this makes him an illegitimate president, even if he was legally elected.
And I'd suggest Michael Podhorzer's excellent analysis of the election today; in short, trump really didn't grow his vote much, but Harris' collapsed. The US and the UK, in the chart he mentions, had the highest inflation ( at odds with a lot of what I've read ) and finally, Biden's voters, some 19 million of them, sat it out because they just did not feel all that threatened by trump ( they mainly voted in 2020 against trump, who they felt they had a lot to lose with, as he had so amply demonstrated his incompetence to that point.....) absent any of these analyses is the key factor; Harris was a Black woman. The punditry, even the best of them, cannot accept the simple idea that this was too much for many voters. So they allowed a microphone sucking rapist and felon to win, because his base never left him, and never will. And if he should die in office from too many Big Macs or inherit his father's dementia, I'm sure they will genuflect as he ascends into heaven.....
Hoping someone can clarify, for I am rather confused...
Selection of Speaker is the first order of business of the 119th Congress. No other business can take place in the House of Representatives until that is accomplished. Apparently, members of the House cannot even be sworn in until the Speaker is elected.
BUT, if they are not yet sworn in, and thus not yet officially Congressional Representatives, how can they cast votes for their choice of Speaker??
So I just checked with a Member of Congress about this and yes the new Members of Congress can vote for Speaker prior to being sworn in. The new Congress has begun, with new Members and it's first task to pick a Speaker. I understand the confusion but that is how it works.
I had actually asked Rep. John Larson's office and they gave me the answers to the procedures of the day. I had been confused about what came first, rather like "the chicken or the egg" argument. LOL!
Yes, precisely an instance of "chicken or egg". That reminds me of an amusing episode when I was studying at university. The financial aid office said I couldn’t pick up my check from them until I could prove I’d paid my semester fee – which of course I couldn’t pay without my financial aid.
The only solution was for me to write a check, bring that office my receipt and pick up my aid check, and then rush to the bank. The result? The bank processed the check I had written before processing my deposit check; so they hit me with a hefty fee for writing a check without sufficient coverage.
I don't subscribe anymore to NYT as well. I wonder what Suozzi's Op-Ed generally said. Sounds like he was critical of other Dems. More circular firing squad? No idea. 🤷🏻♀️
We cannot turn on one another. It is how we lose. We have to stay focused on them, and bring each other along in this new day. We will not all agree, or be united, and we have to be okay with that and just keep doing our work. Don't view it as a betrayal but as someone who is not yet where we are.
Are we going to ignore section 3 of the 14th amendment? You know where an insurrectionist is disqualified from holding office? All the elected Members of Congress are taking their oath oath to uphold the constitution - except when you think it is a lost cause? How about some Quixotic pessimism to do what is right regardless of the perceived outcome?
politics aside for a minute. . . I quit smoking, became a vegan (that includes giving up meat and cheese and all other dairy) and now they want us to stop drinking alcohol!! damn. Whats next - coffee??
"Dunbar loved shooting skeet because he hated every minute of it and the time passed so slowly. He had figured out that a single hour on the skeet-shooting range with people like Havermeyer and Appleby could be worth as much as eleven-times-seventeen years."
Actually, I believe that what we eat is political and, unfortunately, subject to the culture wars. I'm a vegetarian and failed vegan. According to the Center for Biological Diversity, demand for meat accounts for at least 14.5 percent of greenhouse gas emission (more than cars, trains, and airplanes combined.) This is not to even mention the loss of biodiversity due to loss of habitat, environmental pollution near low-income communities due to waste products, exploitation of animals and immigrant labor, and poor health in general. Personally, I think it's a serious decision that shouldn't be mocked, and I do find that Democrats and Republicans are equally dismissive of it, even those who are "concerned" about climate change.
Question: since the House does not “advise and consent” on cabinet nominations what is the strategy for calling my member on this topic? I’m not opposed to doing so and certainly will be calling my staunchly Democratic Senators, but want to understand why I should call my equally committed Democratic representative on this topic. Thanks in advance for clarifying.
Second, I didn’t find the Suozzi column offensive or, TBH, all that new. His position seems reasonable and any cooperation with the upcoming administration will depend on what the kooks actually propose. If they are totally off the reservation then don’t they hang by their own petard? I recall reading in Pelosi’s new book that she cut deals with Mnuchin, so “cooperation” already occurred in Trump 1.0. Guess I’m reserving judgment on Suozzi and Fetterman and the like until votes are actually cast.
The problem with Suozzi’s (or Fetterman’s or Khanna’s, etc.) take on this, as I see it, is that there really can be no compromise with fascism. There is no halfway point between Robert F. Kennedy’s position on vaccines, for example, and historical evidence/established science on the efficacy of vaccination. Where is the compromise position on rounding up millions of citizens (many likely legally working in this country) and their children and putting them in detention camps? How do you “compromise” with an unelected multi-billionaire who wants to cut everyone’s Social Security and Medicare so that he and his wealthy cronies can add a few dollars to their bank accounts? I could go on, but the point is that the Republican Party is now an authoritarian cult, which, if left to its own devices, will tear down our government piece by piece until we look like Orban’s Hungary. How do you work in good faith with a Party like that, Mr. Suozzi?
All fair points and valid observations. But I haven’t seen anything from Suozzi or Fetterman indicating they support the actions you note. I think they’re trying to call Trump’s bluff, as is Bernie Sanders. If Trump were to propose a 10% cap on credit card interest, as I understand he did during his campaign, why wouldn’t Democrats get on board with that? If Trump proposes to reinstate the federal tax deduction for state and local taxes in exchange for an extension of some of his ridiculous 2017 tax cuts, Suozzi and all other Democrats from high taxed Blue states would have a hard time saying no. If Trump wants to follow through on his campaign promise to exempt overtime from taxes, why wouldn’t Democrats use their leverage to legislate an expanded definition of who qualifies for overtime? Right now the Biden regulations on overtime are headed straight to the trash bin.
The first link is to the live video proceedings with commentary from Brian Tyler Cohen. The second is a gift link to The Washington Post’s live blog. The last is a link to Jake Sherman’s Xitter feed; Sherman is founder and editor of Punchbowl News, which probably is the best source for news about current machinations in the US House of Representatives. (Nitter is a workaround for those of us who don’t wish to patronize Musk’s Xitter.)
I think Simon’s theme of not turning on each other is about keeping ourselves focused on being the opposition to 45/7 without getting sidetracked by internal stuff. Inland New York, like inland California, is pretty red. Suozzi is trying to stay re-electable in a district that went for DT.
The American Geriatrics Society restated its support for this bill, based on a Washington state law (and whose policy aims VP Harris' campaign advocated for) in September 2024:
I am here this morning to simply express my deep deep gratitude to you, Simon. I find your leadership to be extremely powerful. Your presence is steady, wise, knowledgeable, measured and rightfully fierce when needed! Your perspective of hope is what is so needed right now, vs whining and complaining and ranting that I see in so many places. I return here, over and over, as my political home base. TY so much!
A good example of this is how Simon discusses "winner/loser": winning is everything for them; losing is not possible.
From the link above: "...We hear it said all the time: Progressives won't unite behind any set of ideas. We all have different ideas and care about different issues.
The truth is that progressives do agree on values, and there is a real basis for progressive unity. Progressive values cut across issues. So do principles and forms of argument. Conservatives argue conservatism, no matter what the issue. Progressives should argue progressivism. We need to get out of issue silos that isolate arguments and keep us from the values and principles that define an overall progressive vision.
And:
"There is a common belief that there is an ideological "center" — a large group of “moderate” voters either with a consistent ideology of their own or lined up left to right on the issues or forming a "mainstream," all with the same positions on issues.
In fact, the so-called center is actually made up of biconceptuals — people who are conservative in some aspects of life and progressive in others. Voters who self-identify as "conservative" often have significant progressive values in important areas of life. We should address these "partial progressive" biconceptuals through their progressive identities, which are often systematic and extensive.
A common mistaken ideology has convinced many progressives that they must "move to the right" to get more votes. But this is counterproductive. By moving to the right, progressives actually help activate the right's values and give up on their own. In the process, they also alienate their own base."
Shaun, you are blaming the New Orleans attack on Obama? Please take this post down. it's ridiculous.
He also did not disband the DHS division. I am taking this post down. Feel free to come at from another angle but your claim of "disbanding" is misleading and false. Blaming Democrats for the rise of right wing and other extremism in the US is just ridiculous.
Putin in charge.
Self reporting what I've been up to to protect and grow democracy in my neck of the woods in New Jersey.
1. I've started laying the groundwork for our local party to have a voter registration booth at a big springtime event at our local arena. In the last 7 years I've been around this city, I have never seen us do something like this before.
2. I am working to create a Dem club in my ward of my city with an idea of hosting candidate forums for the crowded Dem governor race in NJ. I've been in touch with one of my assembly members and other members of my committee to help make this happen.
3. I donated to help keep abortion funds solvent in places where abortion is virtually banned so that women who need this healthcare can get the help they need without financial barriers.
I hope members of our community will be looking at running for local Dem Party leadership positions or following Roger's lead in engaging in more direct ways in the politics of your states and communities.
Thanks Simon. I'm not interested in being a "leader" myself, I prefer doing the grunt work honestly, but if my local party isnt going to take the initiative to do the work, someone has to.
That’s called being a leader :)
Would love to know where you’re located in NJ? I live in Burlington County, where we have an very active Indivisible Group, Action Together Burlington County. We’ve been working on local, county and statewide races for years, and have managed to flip some local town councils from Red to Blue, as well as electing Andy Kim, first to Congress, and now the Senate! Candidate forums and information tables are great tools for informing constituents. I wish you all the best in your endeavors, and if you have an Action Together group in your area, I encourage you reach out and coordinate efforts.
Hi Wendy, I am in Trenton
Hi neighbor! I can’t imagine there are no active Democratic groups in the Trenton area. Your county is pretty blue, right? But it sure does help to encourage those like-minded neighbors of ours by giving them ways to get involved, so congrats on your efforts. We all need to find each other and get revved up for the Governor’s race pronto!
There are county groups - of which I've been in touch with and have helped on occasion. I'm also a member of the County party committee. The actual infrastructure for grassroots help in Trenton itself isn't really there outside of the labor community. There are individual activists, but there's not really anything local and strong in my specific neck of the woods. So trying to make that happen where I live.
Thanks for the kind words!
Are you familiar with the Civic Center (https://www.thecivicscenter.org)? Their focus is registering HS students to vote. In NJ, students can pre-register if they are at least 17 per the Civics Center map (https://www.thecivicscenter.org/map). They focus on swing states, but they have lots of downloadable resources for anyone who wants to run voter registration (VR) drives for HS students.
They encourage the students to actually run the drives themselves after taking a virtual training, but parents and other concerned adults can help spread awareness of their resources. For the 2022 midterms, I volunteered to contact all the HS in my county to identify who might make a good contact at each school to act as a liason. They suggested checking with guidance counselors, history and/or civics teachers and teachers who acted as coordinators for any student clubs that might be related to politics or social action (e.g., enviromental focus). I found the schools and school directories online and then followed up on the phone
Another group that hosts community voter registration drives (for all ages) is the League of Womern Voters (www.LWV.org). They are strictly non-partisan. For partisan VR, I recommend checking out resorces at Field Team 6 (www.fieldteam6.org) and/or Swing Left (www.swingleft.org).
In 2024, I volunteered with LWV to register new US citizens (after their Naturalization ceremonies at USCIS), at public libraries, at apartment complexes (which have lots of new residents to the state or county) , and at foodbanks and free health clinics. Someone on the Voter Services committee set those up; I simply volunteered for a shift.
It doesn't appear that NJ has any voter ID requirements, otherwise I would recommend checking out VoteRiders (www.voteriders.org) which helps people get the IDs they need to vote.
ETA: Indivisible is also a great group to get involved with as suggested by Wendy.
Thanks, Cheryl. I should also have mentioned LWV - they are a great resource for getting new voters registered. I have volunteered with them here in my county a few times. I haven’t yet had a chance to help register newly naturalized citizens, but I hear it’s one of the most inspirational ceremonies one can attend. I think we all need some inspiration now.
Our local LWV has a longstanding relationship with the USCIS (US Customs and Immigration Services) office here in Charlotte, NC so League volunteers attend all the naturalization ceremonies.
I totally agree about it being inspirational.
On messaging. I would suggest that everybody have a look at James Carville's essay in NYT yesterday or the day before...IT'S STILL THE ECONOMY ...St.........!! Our economy may have been the envy of the world but But everyday people don't know it or feel it. We live in a new different landcape. The new admin will do things that will hurt those same everyday people. We need to find a way to make those people see it, understand it. Recognize that he wasn't their friend And put forth plans that they can understand.. We need to re-bran d and stay around the center of the spectrum. Democracy falters when we lose our middle class and when we can't find the middle of the political spectrum
This is why people like James Carville telling us what to do just infuriate me. Does anyone recall what Joe Biden and Kamala Harris have done for the middle class these last 4 years? Did Carville even listen to anything Kamala Harris said during her excellent campaign? No - because it’s the Rightwing Noise Machine, st***d!
He can talk all he wants; he was pretty sure Harris would win. Easy to criticize after the fact. Well, Jim, the economy was the same before she lost, and you thought she would win.....he's also on the " they hid Biden's decline" bandwagon; folks, make no mistake, when the punditry says decline, what they mean is dementia. And Biden does not demonstrate signs of dementia. He shows signs of being really old. I'm 62 and make as many mistakes as he does.
Most of us who once had a subscription have long since cancelled it. If you want people to read Carville’s essay, may I suggest you publish a gift link?
I can do that, actually. Just a sec...
This conversation has obviously been central to our work at Hopium but there can be no serious conversation about people's perception of the economy without talking about the power of the right-wing noise machine and their successful decades of lying about the economy.
Thank you Simon. The right-wing noise machine continues to be a subject that is not interjected often enough into the discourse of damn near every discussion abut everything.
ABSOLUTELY Simon. Writing truths down doesn't change a thing, it's knowing the source of the problem and doing something about it that will enact change. The only thing I can do at the moment is cancel and boycott all that kind of biased, sane-washing media and financially support the new, truthful. self-owned media that is emerging.
Thank you, Simon. You are absolutely right. Sheldon Whitehouse was also on Lawrence O'Donnell on Thursday talking about his "Offensive Coordinator" idea. We need far more coordinated, yet simple straightforward communication (i.e. Marketing!) from the Democratic Party and all of us to counter the "power of the right-wing noise machine". Being more aggressive/offensive in our communications does not necessarily mean in tone or use of misinformation, but in timing and quantity of quality messaging. We have been working on this in our county in florida; but this needs to happen and the national and state levels first. That is how the Republicans have been managing thier communciations for decades.
Not just the right wing noise machine; Scott Dworkin has been documenting the MSM media's obvious pro trump bias for quite some time. Since I don't read the NYT or the WAPO anymore, it was far worse than I had realized.
not thinking it was the economy. polls showing americans think the economy is great now, and its the same biden economy of nov 5th. billions spent for xmas. tons of travel in the US. they can say it was the price of eggs, but it was something else entirely.
That has been a really interesting phenomenon.. people saying the economy was “bad”with Biden and now “good” since the election.
it was a black woman, period.
Totally agree about the capriciousness of the electorate's opinions. However, it could indeed be 'the economy', it's just that a vast majority of people may think:
1. Donald Trump became president on Nov 5th (i.e., most of the electorate does not understand civics), so whatever is going on with consumer spending, etc. is his doing.
2. The economy is better because of the anticipation that Trump will be better for the economy (i.e., feeling good now anticipating a windfall in the coming years).
VP Harris won the 3rd most votes in the history of the U.S. and had only 75 days to campaign. Seems it is very reasonable to think that if inflation were only 2.5% YOY the past four years instead of 5% YOY, she would have won fairly comfortably.
Regardless, I do think we need to take a serious look at how we message about the economy, not just now, but for years to come, if we are ever going to build a sustainable coalition. Certainly not the only thing, but it's a large component.
I highly doubt it. Her opponent has no redeeming qualities and and ran a shit campaign. Furthermore, he really didn't expand his base; something like 4/10ths of a point. It was Harris whose support collapsed. That suggests something about HER. Now, what might that be?
Yup. Seen a headline on this topic this morning. The media created this monster, who, as Michael Podhorzer points out, should be sitting in a jail cell if not for the interference by the Roberts court, who cleared the path for him. In my eyes, this makes him an illegitimate president, even if he was legally elected.
I suspect that alot of the holiday spending involved revolving credit card debt and/or drawing from a HE line of credit
Here is the link to the article BARRY is talking about, without a paywall blocking it: https://www.nytimes.com/2025/01/02/opinion/democrats-donald-trump-economy.html?unlocked_article_code=1.mU4.RzBB.B36hc_vQC94o&smid=url-share
And I'd suggest Michael Podhorzer's excellent analysis of the election today; in short, trump really didn't grow his vote much, but Harris' collapsed. The US and the UK, in the chart he mentions, had the highest inflation ( at odds with a lot of what I've read ) and finally, Biden's voters, some 19 million of them, sat it out because they just did not feel all that threatened by trump ( they mainly voted in 2020 against trump, who they felt they had a lot to lose with, as he had so amply demonstrated his incompetence to that point.....) absent any of these analyses is the key factor; Harris was a Black woman. The punditry, even the best of them, cannot accept the simple idea that this was too much for many voters. So they allowed a microphone sucking rapist and felon to win, because his base never left him, and never will. And if he should die in office from too many Big Macs or inherit his father's dementia, I'm sure they will genuflect as he ascends into heaven.....
Hoping someone can clarify, for I am rather confused...
Selection of Speaker is the first order of business of the 119th Congress. No other business can take place in the House of Representatives until that is accomplished. Apparently, members of the House cannot even be sworn in until the Speaker is elected.
BUT, if they are not yet sworn in, and thus not yet officially Congressional Representatives, how can they cast votes for their choice of Speaker??
So I just checked with a Member of Congress about this and yes the new Members of Congress can vote for Speaker prior to being sworn in. The new Congress has begun, with new Members and it's first task to pick a Speaker. I understand the confusion but that is how it works.
Thank you!
I had actually asked Rep. John Larson's office and they gave me the answers to the procedures of the day. I had been confused about what came first, rather like "the chicken or the egg" argument. LOL!
Seems that great minds are confused alike. :)
Yes, precisely an instance of "chicken or egg". That reminds me of an amusing episode when I was studying at university. The financial aid office said I couldn’t pick up my check from them until I could prove I’d paid my semester fee – which of course I couldn’t pay without my financial aid.
The only solution was for me to write a check, bring that office my receipt and pick up my aid check, and then rush to the bank. The result? The bank processed the check I had written before processing my deposit check; so they hit me with a hefty fee for writing a check without sufficient coverage.
Simon, fantastic post today. Let's work (and continue working) to defeat all these putzes.
Do you have a recommendation for a response (or not) to Tom Suozzi’s recent Op-Ed in the NYT?
Could you please give us a summary of Suozzi’s article and/or post a gift link?
I read it as a gift myself as I no longer subscribe. Sorry.
I don't subscribe anymore to NYT as well. I wonder what Suozzi's Op-Ed generally said. Sounds like he was critical of other Dems. More circular firing squad? No idea. 🤷🏻♀️
I gift linked it below.
Thank you.
Why I don't agree with much of it we cannot dismiss it out of hand. Let us have a respectful debate about the path forward.
I gift-linked it below….
Was just going to ask this, Simon. After all we did to get Suozzi elected, his recommendation seems like a betrayal. We need a resistance, don't we?
We cannot turn on one another. It is how we lose. We have to stay focused on them, and bring each other along in this new day. We will not all agree, or be united, and we have to be okay with that and just keep doing our work. Don't view it as a betrayal but as someone who is not yet where we are.
https://www.hopiumchronicles.com/p/happy-new-year-all-in-2025-lets-take/comment/84028603
I agree. I am dismayed by Dems being silent and/or caving.
Are we going to ignore section 3 of the 14th amendment? You know where an insurrectionist is disqualified from holding office? All the elected Members of Congress are taking their oath oath to uphold the constitution - except when you think it is a lost cause? How about some Quixotic pessimism to do what is right regardless of the perceived outcome?
Here are some interesting arguments. https://thehill.com/opinion/congress-blog/5055171-constitution-insurrection-trump-disqualification/
politics aside for a minute. . . I quit smoking, became a vegan (that includes giving up meat and cheese and all other dairy) and now they want us to stop drinking alcohol!! damn. Whats next - coffee??
“If you resolve to give up smoking and drinking and sex, you don't actually live longer; it just seems like it.”
. – Clement Freud (modernized)
“Personally, I eat mostly vegetables and vegetarians – sheep, reindeer, rabbits, cows, moose…”
. – Me
Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha.
You ever heard this one before?
"Dunbar loved shooting skeet because he hated every minute of it and the time passed so slowly. He had figured out that a single hour on the skeet-shooting range with people like Havermeyer and Appleby could be worth as much as eleven-times-seventeen years."
-Joseph Heller, Catch-22
Your first quote reminded me of that.
😂😂😂😂
Climate change may make the price of coffee prohibitive.
Actually, I believe that what we eat is political and, unfortunately, subject to the culture wars. I'm a vegetarian and failed vegan. According to the Center for Biological Diversity, demand for meat accounts for at least 14.5 percent of greenhouse gas emission (more than cars, trains, and airplanes combined.) This is not to even mention the loss of biodiversity due to loss of habitat, environmental pollution near low-income communities due to waste products, exploitation of animals and immigrant labor, and poor health in general. Personally, I think it's a serious decision that shouldn't be mocked, and I do find that Democrats and Republicans are equally dismissive of it, even those who are "concerned" about climate change.
https://www.biologicaldiversity.org/takeextinctionoffyourplate/faq.html
Question: since the House does not “advise and consent” on cabinet nominations what is the strategy for calling my member on this topic? I’m not opposed to doing so and certainly will be calling my staunchly Democratic Senators, but want to understand why I should call my equally committed Democratic representative on this topic. Thanks in advance for clarifying.
Second, I didn’t find the Suozzi column offensive or, TBH, all that new. His position seems reasonable and any cooperation with the upcoming administration will depend on what the kooks actually propose. If they are totally off the reservation then don’t they hang by their own petard? I recall reading in Pelosi’s new book that she cut deals with Mnuchin, so “cooperation” already occurred in Trump 1.0. Guess I’m reserving judgment on Suozzi and Fetterman and the like until votes are actually cast.
The problem with Suozzi’s (or Fetterman’s or Khanna’s, etc.) take on this, as I see it, is that there really can be no compromise with fascism. There is no halfway point between Robert F. Kennedy’s position on vaccines, for example, and historical evidence/established science on the efficacy of vaccination. Where is the compromise position on rounding up millions of citizens (many likely legally working in this country) and their children and putting them in detention camps? How do you “compromise” with an unelected multi-billionaire who wants to cut everyone’s Social Security and Medicare so that he and his wealthy cronies can add a few dollars to their bank accounts? I could go on, but the point is that the Republican Party is now an authoritarian cult, which, if left to its own devices, will tear down our government piece by piece until we look like Orban’s Hungary. How do you work in good faith with a Party like that, Mr. Suozzi?
All fair points and valid observations. But I haven’t seen anything from Suozzi or Fetterman indicating they support the actions you note. I think they’re trying to call Trump’s bluff, as is Bernie Sanders. If Trump were to propose a 10% cap on credit card interest, as I understand he did during his campaign, why wouldn’t Democrats get on board with that? If Trump proposes to reinstate the federal tax deduction for state and local taxes in exchange for an extension of some of his ridiculous 2017 tax cuts, Suozzi and all other Democrats from high taxed Blue states would have a hard time saying no. If Trump wants to follow through on his campaign promise to exempt overtime from taxes, why wouldn’t Democrats use their leverage to legislate an expanded definition of who qualifies for overtime? Right now the Biden regulations on overtime are headed straight to the trash bin.
ACTIONS BY EVERYONE GROWS FREEDOM
How to Prevent "GOP MASS PSYCHOSIS - How an Entire Population Becomes MENTALLY ILL"
❤️ Discredit totalitarian propaganda everywhere
🤣 Mock GOP worship of dictators
❤️ Promote moral organizations
❤️ c 1st 📈
https://youtu.be/09maaUaRT4M
For those who are curious as to whether House Republicans will manage to elect a speaker, here are three ways to follow today’s proceedings:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X6mQcXKXlc0
https://wapo.st/40fkvhv
https://nitter.poast.org/JakeSherman/
The first link is to the live video proceedings with commentary from Brian Tyler Cohen. The second is a gift link to The Washington Post’s live blog. The last is a link to Jake Sherman’s Xitter feed; Sherman is founder and editor of Punchbowl News, which probably is the best source for news about current machinations in the US House of Representatives. (Nitter is a workaround for those of us who don’t wish to patronize Musk’s Xitter.)
and another:
https://www.c-span.org/event/house-proceeding/opening-day-119th-congress-us-house-of-representatives/429828
Gift link to Suozzi Essay of New Years Day…. Bear in mind that Suozzi represents a chunk of New York and that the New York Times is the NEW YORK Times. https://www.nytimes.com/2025/01/01/opinion/democrats-trump-agenda.html?unlocked_article_code=1.mU4.d2CX.sB-dvrB0srXW&smid=nytcore-ios-share&referringSource=articleShare
Thank you for the link. The comments are illuminating. Most are not in agreement with Suozzi's sentiments.
Let’s hope he gets an earful and “comes around.” Robert Hubbell expressed it best with his Today’s Edition.
Disappointing from Suozzi. I feel a bit of a slap. I read Simon's comments about not turning on each other. That will be my only comment.
I think Simon’s theme of not turning on each other is about keeping ourselves focused on being the opposition to 45/7 without getting sidetracked by internal stuff. Inland New York, like inland California, is pretty red. Suozzi is trying to stay re-electable in a district that went for DT.
Thanks Emily
From the center-left (https://www.crfb.org/board-members) Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget in 2021:
Representative Suozzi Introduces the WISH Act
Aug 4, 2021
https://www.crfb.org/blogs/representative-suozzi-introduces-wish-act
The American Geriatrics Society restated its support for this bill, based on a Washington state law (and whose policy aims VP Harris' campaign advocated for) in September 2024:
https://www.americangeriatrics.org/sites/default/files/AGS%20Support%20Letter%20for%20the%20WISH%20Act%20%289%204%2024%29.pdf
Congressman Suozzi reintroduced it last month:
Many people can't afford long-term care insurance. One proposal calls for creating a federal program to help
For many Americans, finding affordable long-term care is a challenge. One congressman wants to create a federal program to help.
By Lorie Konish,CNBC • Published December 5, 2024 • Updated on December 5, 2024 at 1:49 pm
https://www.nbclosangeles.com/news/business/money-report/many-people-cant-afford-long-term-care-insurance-one-proposal-calls-for-creating-a-federal-program-to-help/3575553/
Thank you for the link, Emily, much appreciated.
Made the phone calls. I don’t know if it will make any impact on Rick Scott but it’s worth doing no matter what.
I am here this morning to simply express my deep deep gratitude to you, Simon. I find your leadership to be extremely powerful. Your presence is steady, wise, knowledgeable, measured and rightfully fierce when needed! Your perspective of hope is what is so needed right now, vs whining and complaining and ranting that I see in so many places. I return here, over and over, as my political home base. TY so much!
George Lakoff and colleagues assert the importance of values when framing a debate:
https://www.theframelab.org/twelve-communication-traps-democrats/
A good example of this is how Simon discusses "winner/loser": winning is everything for them; losing is not possible.
From the link above: "...We hear it said all the time: Progressives won't unite behind any set of ideas. We all have different ideas and care about different issues.
The truth is that progressives do agree on values, and there is a real basis for progressive unity. Progressive values cut across issues. So do principles and forms of argument. Conservatives argue conservatism, no matter what the issue. Progressives should argue progressivism. We need to get out of issue silos that isolate arguments and keep us from the values and principles that define an overall progressive vision.
And:
"There is a common belief that there is an ideological "center" — a large group of “moderate” voters either with a consistent ideology of their own or lined up left to right on the issues or forming a "mainstream," all with the same positions on issues.
In fact, the so-called center is actually made up of biconceptuals — people who are conservative in some aspects of life and progressive in others. Voters who self-identify as "conservative" often have significant progressive values in important areas of life. We should address these "partial progressive" biconceptuals through their progressive identities, which are often systematic and extensive.
A common mistaken ideology has convinced many progressives that they must "move to the right" to get more votes. But this is counterproductive. By moving to the right, progressives actually help activate the right's values and give up on their own. In the process, they also alienate their own base."
He's offering a book club to learn how to frame our argument: https://www.theframelab.org/book-club-update-plus-is-elon-musk-a-national-security-risk-2/ Hope to see you there!
Thank you so much for the link to the article and to the Book Club. I’m thinking about trying it!