In addition to the list of damage that Biden inherited, tfg's gutting of the federal bureaucracy has been under-reported and underappreciated. First, the State Department lost massive talent and institutional expertise and memory and had to be rebuilt from scratch. Second, DOJ was politicized and had to be purged and rebuilt, which has taken time and is incomplete. The number of far-right members of the FBI continues to be problematic. The fact that Biden was able to get any of these departments under control and actually move them forward to accomplish all that Simon enumerates is even more impressive.
Republicans have a long history of cheating and dirty tricks, going back at least to Nixon. It's second nature to them. The behavior has gotten worse as their benefactors grow fatter from tax cuts, and their base becomes crasser. It's all greed, lies, and aggression.
Many voters do not focus on public policy issues. For these, the big issue seems to be Biden's age. One way to overcome this is for Biden to do one or more videos/ads which features himself. Voters need to see him talk in a coherent and forceful way. This may not solve the issue 100% but would be a help.
There's so much good news in this newsletter. Yet the "main stream" media continue to misrepresent the economy and this debt ceiling debacle. So I was wondering how to get the eyeballs of those in the media to actually learn what is going on. What about inviting some of these reporters to actually attend a briefing, especially those representing local media (newspapers and TV), such as the Orlando Sentinel, and others. I'm sure with all the readers here we could come up with a list.
We confronted what the entire US does today in California in the '90s. It took people who had thought of themselves as separate constituencies -- union members, communities of color, newcomers, LGBTQ+ folks, artists -- working adjacent, if not together, to turn the state around and win big Democratic majorities. Took about 15 years of digging in and doing the work. It was hard. Governing is even harder, but that's another story. The worst is averted.
"what did I leave out? Do not overlook or forget a historic investment to combat the existential threat of climate change, strengthening and expanding our NATO alliance, and restoring America's image and support for human rights globally. All of those are important as well.
American values have always supported an open and welcoming tolerance and even promotion of diversity. America’s motto, E Pluribus Unum, Out of Many, One, appears on the U.S. Great Seal, we print it on American currency to remind all of the primacy of this American value. Yet Republicans do not promote or share that value. Rather they see an America in which some belong, and others do not. They do not believe in “shared” values. No, instead to Republicans there are “my” values that matter and “your” values that don't matter. There is “us” and “them, the others.” They do not recognize “We the People” as including everyone without exception. They see some of We the People as being “illegal” or unworthy of recognition or respect. They do not believe in “human rights,” instead there are “our rights” to be protected but only for those they consider worthy rather than shared and belonging to all.
Republicans are very much promoting an ideology. But it is an ideology of hate and division, not of love, compassion, and tolerance. The ideology promoted by Republicans is not Christian, it is not consistent with American values, and it is contrary to the American motto of E Pluribus Unum. Republicans’ values are not mine and I will not pledge allegiance to those values. Instead I will continue to pledge allegiance to America’s “flag and the values for which it stands.” Those are America’s values, my values and those I share with all of We the People, all of us, E Pluribus Unum.
I refuse to accept that Amerca’s flag belongs only to the Republican party. I and others in my family have served under that flag to preserve and protect our democracy and our freedoms. Since very young, I have routinely pledged allegiance to that flag and the values for which it stands. I continue to place hand on heart when reciting that pledge and honor America by respectfully not just standing during the playing of our national anthem but singing it proudly while thinking about it's history. I refuse to accept that patriotism belongs only to any political party but is the right of every US resident regardless of their citizenship status or political affiliation.
I hold and believe in America’s values of equality for all, democracy, freedom, liberty, tolerance, respect for the Rule of Law, commUNITY and our US motto “E Pluribus Unum, Out of Many, One,” and our Constitution. America’s values do not belong to any political party and I will not permit Republicans to claim any of them as only theirs.
Joe Biden is a President I am proud to support and with whom I believe strongly I share values and real respect for American values.
New York is also a battleground state. Until
it is called out as such, our strategy for winning will be at a deficit.
Excellent recap of how Biden made lemonade out of lemons!!! Thanks Simon
In addition to the list of damage that Biden inherited, tfg's gutting of the federal bureaucracy has been under-reported and underappreciated. First, the State Department lost massive talent and institutional expertise and memory and had to be rebuilt from scratch. Second, DOJ was politicized and had to be purged and rebuilt, which has taken time and is incomplete. The number of far-right members of the FBI continues to be problematic. The fact that Biden was able to get any of these departments under control and actually move them forward to accomplish all that Simon enumerates is even more impressive.
Republicans have a long history of cheating and dirty tricks, going back at least to Nixon. It's second nature to them. The behavior has gotten worse as their benefactors grow fatter from tax cuts, and their base becomes crasser. It's all greed, lies, and aggression.
Many voters do not focus on public policy issues. For these, the big issue seems to be Biden's age. One way to overcome this is for Biden to do one or more videos/ads which features himself. Voters need to see him talk in a coherent and forceful way. This may not solve the issue 100% but would be a help.
There's so much good news in this newsletter. Yet the "main stream" media continue to misrepresent the economy and this debt ceiling debacle. So I was wondering how to get the eyeballs of those in the media to actually learn what is going on. What about inviting some of these reporters to actually attend a briefing, especially those representing local media (newspapers and TV), such as the Orlando Sentinel, and others. I'm sure with all the readers here we could come up with a list.
We confronted what the entire US does today in California in the '90s. It took people who had thought of themselves as separate constituencies -- union members, communities of color, newcomers, LGBTQ+ folks, artists -- working adjacent, if not together, to turn the state around and win big Democratic majorities. Took about 15 years of digging in and doing the work. It was hard. Governing is even harder, but that's another story. The worst is averted.
"what did I leave out? Do not overlook or forget a historic investment to combat the existential threat of climate change, strengthening and expanding our NATO alliance, and restoring America's image and support for human rights globally. All of those are important as well.
American values have always supported an open and welcoming tolerance and even promotion of diversity. America’s motto, E Pluribus Unum, Out of Many, One, appears on the U.S. Great Seal, we print it on American currency to remind all of the primacy of this American value. Yet Republicans do not promote or share that value. Rather they see an America in which some belong, and others do not. They do not believe in “shared” values. No, instead to Republicans there are “my” values that matter and “your” values that don't matter. There is “us” and “them, the others.” They do not recognize “We the People” as including everyone without exception. They see some of We the People as being “illegal” or unworthy of recognition or respect. They do not believe in “human rights,” instead there are “our rights” to be protected but only for those they consider worthy rather than shared and belonging to all.
Republicans are very much promoting an ideology. But it is an ideology of hate and division, not of love, compassion, and tolerance. The ideology promoted by Republicans is not Christian, it is not consistent with American values, and it is contrary to the American motto of E Pluribus Unum. Republicans’ values are not mine and I will not pledge allegiance to those values. Instead I will continue to pledge allegiance to America’s “flag and the values for which it stands.” Those are America’s values, my values and those I share with all of We the People, all of us, E Pluribus Unum.
I refuse to accept that Amerca’s flag belongs only to the Republican party. I and others in my family have served under that flag to preserve and protect our democracy and our freedoms. Since very young, I have routinely pledged allegiance to that flag and the values for which it stands. I continue to place hand on heart when reciting that pledge and honor America by respectfully not just standing during the playing of our national anthem but singing it proudly while thinking about it's history. I refuse to accept that patriotism belongs only to any political party but is the right of every US resident regardless of their citizenship status or political affiliation.
I hold and believe in America’s values of equality for all, democracy, freedom, liberty, tolerance, respect for the Rule of Law, commUNITY and our US motto “E Pluribus Unum, Out of Many, One,” and our Constitution. America’s values do not belong to any political party and I will not permit Republicans to claim any of them as only theirs.
Joe Biden is a President I am proud to support and with whom I believe strongly I share values and real respect for American values.
And how about the news that California, Arizona and Nevada reached an agreement on limiting the amount of water they take from the Colorado river?! To this non-expert, it seems that that should go under the list of accomplishments for the Biden administration, too. https://www.nytimes.com/2023/05/22/climate/colorado-river-deal.html?smid=nytcore-ios-share&referringSource=articleShare