please put a copyright notice on your slides in the way that you wish to be noted so that we do not have a problem with lack of attribution. That is the reason for copyright notices.
It's great that you posted this for the weekend (with a day job, it's close to impossible to join your Hopium Zooms), I just watched the entire presentation.
Dems deliver jobs, progress, and freedoms! MAGA Repubs bring only recessions, deficits, failures...and now fascism.
In listening, it seems to me that today's R party, is in fact, the Pro-death Party. Some may feel that seems hyperbolic, but consider the following:
- sexism over a woman's freedom to decide if, when or how to start/grow a family and access life-saving abortion
- gun profits over common-sense gun safety
- big pharma profits over affordable prescription drugs
- LGBTQ hatred over a family's freedom to make own life-affirming medical decisions
- petro-dictators' profits over fighting the heat-trapping blanket of pollution that's driving droughts, fires & floods
- racism over our child's right to know the truth of our history
And the list goes on and on...
At the end of the day, only one political party—from the Executive branch, to Congress, to state legislatures, and even with aid from a Justice at the Supreme Court—has criminally-coordinated a violent and deadly attack against our Capitol, with the goal of sabotaging our free, fair elections, to overturn our votes, and ultimately, to take away our freedom to choose our leaders.
This is the natural conclusion of a party that, since Reagan, has been trying to cast government as the problem, trying to defund and starve our government to the point of making it incapable of delivering for us, trying to spread disinformation, lies, gaslighting, and projections to attack the very idea of the value of independent, democratic institutions -- this is why they're promoting so many insane conspiracy theories, the goal is not to sell a specific narrative, but rather, to undermine the notion that anything in particular can ever be objectively true (recall Kellyanne Conways' infamous 'alternative facts' soundbite).
MAGA Rs don't want a government of, for, and by the people; they want a kleptocratic dictatorship.
Their intent is to deny the majority of us our American freedoms, all so a wealthy, well-connected few billionaires and price-gouging, big corporations don't have to pay the taxes they owe that then ensure the rest of us have the opportunity to thrive, succeed and take care of our families, in return for our our hard work!
We've stopped these anti-freedom forces before, and together, we can and will again.
Thank you for sharing, Natalie. I realized something as I was watching With Dems and reading your comment: MAGA Republican leaders and Democratic leaders answer a key question differently. While our former president ran on “drain the swamp” and anti-corruption, when asked about the corruption of the Trump administration the answer MAGA leaders give are like “yeah, but that’s just politics”.
In contrast, when Democratic leaders are asked about corruption in our party, I hear answers like “if there’s evidence of wrongdoing, there should be an investigation, trial, and conviction if a jury of their peers finds the evidence shows they’re guilty.”
While Rs are fighting to defund law enforcement, the Biden Administration has supported law enforcement with funding and smart leadership. While Rs are voting against veteran healthcare and obstructing leadership confirmations, the Biden team are keeping service members out of harms way with powerful diplomacy, strengthening our allies and preventing our adversaries’ attempts to grow their authoritarian rules. While my state of TN’s legislature fights to put children in harms way through healthcare restrictions and chaotic gun legislation, Michigan has protected children, increased access to healthcare, and fought for working people rather than the wealthy and well connected few.
We’ve learned recently the Biden Administration’s savvy bipartisan infrastructure bill and CHIPS Act spurred so much growth in renewable energy that solar and wind will surpass coal in providing our domestic energy by 2025. This has helped produce good paying jobs for Americans and made us significantly more energy independent.
I’m so glad Joe Biden has been such a good president. As someone who used to think he didn’t have a home in either party, it’s been refreshing to find the Democratic Party so in line with what I and the majority of Americans value. It’s wonderful to be a part of such a strong, principled, and humble political family.
No need to distinguish MAGA Republicans from the rest of the GOP. The party is solidly unified under the MAGA banner. If not Trump, some other thug will follow the same playbook. The Eisenhower moderate wing of the party died long ago. The GOP has been on a journey towards oligarchy starting with Goldwater's nomination for President in 1964. Nixon, Reagan and the Bushes carried the ball further and further right, and Trump has gone full fascist. Actually, I thought Dubya Bush was fascist aplenty. The conservatives on the Supreme Court were also instrumental in creating the paradigm we live in. The GOP needs to be sent to the political wilderness forever. Conservatism should never be the driving force of politics in America, a country based on revolution against autocracy.
Hey John, thank you for sharing. I do have republican leaning friends and family who are pro-democracy, pro-freedom, and anti-curruption, anti-autocrat. There are plenty of voters who voted MAGA because they felt the system was rigged against them. I would argue that has to do with Republicans spreading a false narrative about American carnage while the Democratic Party kept its nose to the grindstone doing the work to make life better for Americans.
I agree we should call out the curruption and hipocrisy of the leaders of the Republican Party. I just also feel we should be loud and proud about what Joe Biden and the Democratic Party has managed in 2.5 years and since 1989 when the Berlin Wall fell. I think doing so will help them see there is still a fiscally conservative, pro-law-and-order party in the Democratic Party. I feel like many Republican voters support Joe Biden and the Democratic Party's track record when they know about it.
* Biggest investment in U.S. Infrastructure since Eisenhower's Interstate HWY
* Decreasing perscription drug prices for average Americans
* Spurring record job growth of 13.2 million in two and a half years and 47 of the 49 million new jobs created since the end of the Cold War
* Record private investment to bring manufacturing back to the U.S. with the good paying jobs they bring brought by the CHIPS Act and Inflation Reduction Act
* Leading in clean, cheap, reliable energy from renewables which also bring good paying jobs from the Inflation Reduction Act
* Provide for veteran healthcare with the PACT Act
* Keep our troops out of harms way with tactful diplomacy with our allies and adversaries
* Longest period of peacetime unemployment since just after WWII
* Record low poverty, uninsured, and underinsured rates
Joe Biden negotiated the bills and signed the papers, but he did it knowing we were up to the task of doing the work. Americans work hard, regardless of party, and I feel given the evidence my neighbors will see who has had their back. Thanks again, John. 😁
Hi John, I would respectfully, but emphatically disagree. Words matter, and in particular, word repetition matters.
Accurately labeling the virulent strain of democracy-hating, illiberal, and anti-freedom members of today's Republicans, as MAGA Republicans is key for three reasons:
2) MAGA is 100% the brand of the Tr*mp-dominated, election-sabotaging and denying version of the Republican party (regardless of how widespread or deep that element is within the party leadership writ large ); it is this version of today's GOP that BOTH Independents, and (as Simon repeatedly points out) Republicans who are Never Tr*mpers, have not and will not support at the ballot box (https://www.nbcnews.com/meet-the-press/meetthepressblog/poll-us-republicans-reject-maga-label-rcna49749);
3) MAGA has become a metaphor, it is a word that functions as a linguistic frame that carries with it an entire set of meanings (and for anyone who is not a self-described MAGA voter, the term elicits the exact desired response we want - which is opposition and repulsion).
Here’s an exercise to illustrate how framing works:
I'm going to ask you to think of a person named “Karen.”
It's quite likely that you've pictured an entitled, white woman, over-reacting to some circumstance, who's demanding to talk to either a manager or police officer. In one word, “Karen” unconsciously evokes an entire set of ideas in your mind, and that picture then elicits a corresponding set of emotional responses. That’s “framing” in action!
Bottom line, while I'd argue those of us reading/following Simon are very active Democratic partisans -- the largest plurality of Americans are NOT partisan (either Dem or Repub). When we say "Republican" but are describing MAGA positions, actions and values, we're overgeneralizing and stereotyping, which simply comes off as far too partisan and hyperbolic to independents and traditional, actual, conservatives.
MAGA is a potent term, and should be used for its potency.
Do what you think you need to do Natalie. I'm going to be focusing on getting more Democrats to vote for Biden, given that there will be a primary challenge from RFK Jr., and a third party challenge from Cornell West in the general election. I'm not concerned about winning over more independents who are primarily conservatives and will want to push the Democrats rightward, especially on economics (see Senator Sinema). I think the central challenge going forward is countering the GOP's cultural populism, which reassures the fat cats bankrolling the GOP that working-class resentments are channeled away from economic populism — which could threaten the fat-cat’s wealth. Some Democrats continue to talk about “forgotten Americans” who have been left behind economically. Biden and his allies in Congress have made a good start at helping these Americans — even though most of the working middle class doesn’t seem to be aware of it. But too few Democrats are willing to blame what’s happened on economic elites.
I will indeed John - though not sure why you think our efforts are oppositional rather than complementary or even reinforcing?
We have to excite our base Democratic voters AND convince more episodic/high-potential voters who share our values to fill out their ballots for Biden and other Democrats.
As a volunteer for Sister District Project since 2017, I've spent my time supporting state legislative candidates by phone banking, writing postcards, and when I can, knocking on doors, all to encourage Democrats to be voters - from the first day of voting through to the last, and from the top to the bottom of the ballot, every single year—whether or not there are Presidential or midterm elections.
GOP populism is a grift and a con; they use it to distract and divide, so they can ensure a few wealthy, well-connected billionaires and price-gouging, giant corporations don't have to pay the taxes they owe or be held accountable for their harms (e.g., the fossil fuel industry), while they deprive working families of the freedom to afford basic necessities (healthcare, housing, education, child, etc.), the freedom to earn a return on our labor so we can thrive and succeed, and the freedom to securely retire with dignity.
I did have a question: I remember the 47 million out of 49 million jobs created numbers since the end of the Cold War. I thought those numbers were from when Biden’s job creation under his administration was at 11 million back almost a year ago.
Why are you not saying 49 million out of 51 million jobs created since the end of the Cold War were under Democratic administrations?
Simon, another great, informative presentation. Question though - with so many - Never Trumpers - leaving the GOP, and I do not think they are registering as Dems :-( , do you think it is time to start including Indys in your count? In AZ we are about 1/3 Dem, 1/3 Rep, 1/3 Indy. Claire had an interesting comment about Indys on Nicolle's Thur show. Not sure that I agree with her 50% are Indy's now but what do I know? Your thoughts?
Dystopia or Democrats: Easy decision.
Great work, Simon!!
please put a copyright notice on your slides in the way that you wish to be noted so that we do not have a problem with lack of attribution. That is the reason for copyright notices.
Wish I had more people to share this with. This is amazing. Thank you for all your work, Simon.
It's great that you posted this for the weekend (with a day job, it's close to impossible to join your Hopium Zooms), I just watched the entire presentation.
Dems deliver jobs, progress, and freedoms! MAGA Repubs bring only recessions, deficits, failures...and now fascism.
In listening, it seems to me that today's R party, is in fact, the Pro-death Party. Some may feel that seems hyperbolic, but consider the following:
- sexism over a woman's freedom to decide if, when or how to start/grow a family and access life-saving abortion
- gun profits over common-sense gun safety
- big pharma profits over affordable prescription drugs
- LGBTQ hatred over a family's freedom to make own life-affirming medical decisions
- petro-dictators' profits over fighting the heat-trapping blanket of pollution that's driving droughts, fires & floods
- racism over our child's right to know the truth of our history
And the list goes on and on...
At the end of the day, only one political party—from the Executive branch, to Congress, to state legislatures, and even with aid from a Justice at the Supreme Court—has criminally-coordinated a violent and deadly attack against our Capitol, with the goal of sabotaging our free, fair elections, to overturn our votes, and ultimately, to take away our freedom to choose our leaders.
This is the natural conclusion of a party that, since Reagan, has been trying to cast government as the problem, trying to defund and starve our government to the point of making it incapable of delivering for us, trying to spread disinformation, lies, gaslighting, and projections to attack the very idea of the value of independent, democratic institutions -- this is why they're promoting so many insane conspiracy theories, the goal is not to sell a specific narrative, but rather, to undermine the notion that anything in particular can ever be objectively true (recall Kellyanne Conways' infamous 'alternative facts' soundbite).
MAGA Rs don't want a government of, for, and by the people; they want a kleptocratic dictatorship.
Their intent is to deny the majority of us our American freedoms, all so a wealthy, well-connected few billionaires and price-gouging, big corporations don't have to pay the taxes they owe that then ensure the rest of us have the opportunity to thrive, succeed and take care of our families, in return for our our hard work!
We've stopped these anti-freedom forces before, and together, we can and will again.
Thank you for sharing, Natalie. I realized something as I was watching With Dems and reading your comment: MAGA Republican leaders and Democratic leaders answer a key question differently. While our former president ran on “drain the swamp” and anti-corruption, when asked about the corruption of the Trump administration the answer MAGA leaders give are like “yeah, but that’s just politics”.
In contrast, when Democratic leaders are asked about corruption in our party, I hear answers like “if there’s evidence of wrongdoing, there should be an investigation, trial, and conviction if a jury of their peers finds the evidence shows they’re guilty.”
While Rs are fighting to defund law enforcement, the Biden Administration has supported law enforcement with funding and smart leadership. While Rs are voting against veteran healthcare and obstructing leadership confirmations, the Biden team are keeping service members out of harms way with powerful diplomacy, strengthening our allies and preventing our adversaries’ attempts to grow their authoritarian rules. While my state of TN’s legislature fights to put children in harms way through healthcare restrictions and chaotic gun legislation, Michigan has protected children, increased access to healthcare, and fought for working people rather than the wealthy and well connected few.
We’ve learned recently the Biden Administration’s savvy bipartisan infrastructure bill and CHIPS Act spurred so much growth in renewable energy that solar and wind will surpass coal in providing our domestic energy by 2025. This has helped produce good paying jobs for Americans and made us significantly more energy independent.
I’m so glad Joe Biden has been such a good president. As someone who used to think he didn’t have a home in either party, it’s been refreshing to find the Democratic Party so in line with what I and the majority of Americans value. It’s wonderful to be a part of such a strong, principled, and humble political family.
Thank you all for being so welcoming to me. 😁
No need to distinguish MAGA Republicans from the rest of the GOP. The party is solidly unified under the MAGA banner. If not Trump, some other thug will follow the same playbook. The Eisenhower moderate wing of the party died long ago. The GOP has been on a journey towards oligarchy starting with Goldwater's nomination for President in 1964. Nixon, Reagan and the Bushes carried the ball further and further right, and Trump has gone full fascist. Actually, I thought Dubya Bush was fascist aplenty. The conservatives on the Supreme Court were also instrumental in creating the paradigm we live in. The GOP needs to be sent to the political wilderness forever. Conservatism should never be the driving force of politics in America, a country based on revolution against autocracy.
Hey John, thank you for sharing. I do have republican leaning friends and family who are pro-democracy, pro-freedom, and anti-curruption, anti-autocrat. There are plenty of voters who voted MAGA because they felt the system was rigged against them. I would argue that has to do with Republicans spreading a false narrative about American carnage while the Democratic Party kept its nose to the grindstone doing the work to make life better for Americans.
I agree we should call out the curruption and hipocrisy of the leaders of the Republican Party. I just also feel we should be loud and proud about what Joe Biden and the Democratic Party has managed in 2.5 years and since 1989 when the Berlin Wall fell. I think doing so will help them see there is still a fiscally conservative, pro-law-and-order party in the Democratic Party. I feel like many Republican voters support Joe Biden and the Democratic Party's track record when they know about it.
* Biggest investment in U.S. Infrastructure since Eisenhower's Interstate HWY
* Decreasing perscription drug prices for average Americans
* Spurring record job growth of 13.2 million in two and a half years and 47 of the 49 million new jobs created since the end of the Cold War
* Record private investment to bring manufacturing back to the U.S. with the good paying jobs they bring brought by the CHIPS Act and Inflation Reduction Act
* Leading in clean, cheap, reliable energy from renewables which also bring good paying jobs from the Inflation Reduction Act
* Provide for veteran healthcare with the PACT Act
* Keep our troops out of harms way with tactful diplomacy with our allies and adversaries
* Longest period of peacetime unemployment since just after WWII
* Record low poverty, uninsured, and underinsured rates
Joe Biden negotiated the bills and signed the papers, but he did it knowing we were up to the task of doing the work. Americans work hard, regardless of party, and I feel given the evidence my neighbors will see who has had their back. Thanks again, John. 😁
Hi John, I would respectfully, but emphatically disagree. Words matter, and in particular, word repetition matters.
Accurately labeling the virulent strain of democracy-hating, illiberal, and anti-freedom members of today's Republicans, as MAGA Republicans is key for three reasons:
1) actual polling/surveying and focus group testing of independents has consistently shown that the term MAGA Republicans is more effective as a contrast to Democratic candidates/representatives than Republicans (https://truthout.org/articles/poll-less-than-one-quarter-of-americans-view-maga-positively/)
2) MAGA is 100% the brand of the Tr*mp-dominated, election-sabotaging and denying version of the Republican party (regardless of how widespread or deep that element is within the party leadership writ large ); it is this version of today's GOP that BOTH Independents, and (as Simon repeatedly points out) Republicans who are Never Tr*mpers, have not and will not support at the ballot box (https://www.nbcnews.com/meet-the-press/meetthepressblog/poll-us-republicans-reject-maga-label-rcna49749);
3) MAGA has become a metaphor, it is a word that functions as a linguistic frame that carries with it an entire set of meanings (and for anyone who is not a self-described MAGA voter, the term elicits the exact desired response we want - which is opposition and repulsion).
Here’s an exercise to illustrate how framing works:
I'm going to ask you to think of a person named “Karen.”
It's quite likely that you've pictured an entitled, white woman, over-reacting to some circumstance, who's demanding to talk to either a manager or police officer. In one word, “Karen” unconsciously evokes an entire set of ideas in your mind, and that picture then elicits a corresponding set of emotional responses. That’s “framing” in action!
If you're interested, there's much more background and detail here on the cognitive science behind this from George Lakoff: http://www.amsa.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/FramingIntro.pdf
Bottom line, while I'd argue those of us reading/following Simon are very active Democratic partisans -- the largest plurality of Americans are NOT partisan (either Dem or Repub). When we say "Republican" but are describing MAGA positions, actions and values, we're overgeneralizing and stereotyping, which simply comes off as far too partisan and hyperbolic to independents and traditional, actual, conservatives.
MAGA is a potent term, and should be used for its potency.
More here: https://washingtonmonthly.com/2023/07/05/the-emergence-of-the-anti-maga-coalition/ and here: https://catalist.us/whathappened2022/#pp-toc-lnyep7aqmh9v-anchor-8
Do what you think you need to do Natalie. I'm going to be focusing on getting more Democrats to vote for Biden, given that there will be a primary challenge from RFK Jr., and a third party challenge from Cornell West in the general election. I'm not concerned about winning over more independents who are primarily conservatives and will want to push the Democrats rightward, especially on economics (see Senator Sinema). I think the central challenge going forward is countering the GOP's cultural populism, which reassures the fat cats bankrolling the GOP that working-class resentments are channeled away from economic populism — which could threaten the fat-cat’s wealth. Some Democrats continue to talk about “forgotten Americans” who have been left behind economically. Biden and his allies in Congress have made a good start at helping these Americans — even though most of the working middle class doesn’t seem to be aware of it. But too few Democrats are willing to blame what’s happened on economic elites.
I will indeed John - though not sure why you think our efforts are oppositional rather than complementary or even reinforcing?
We have to excite our base Democratic voters AND convince more episodic/high-potential voters who share our values to fill out their ballots for Biden and other Democrats.
As a volunteer for Sister District Project since 2017, I've spent my time supporting state legislative candidates by phone banking, writing postcards, and when I can, knocking on doors, all to encourage Democrats to be voters - from the first day of voting through to the last, and from the top to the bottom of the ballot, every single year—whether or not there are Presidential or midterm elections.
GOP populism is a grift and a con; they use it to distract and divide, so they can ensure a few wealthy, well-connected billionaires and price-gouging, giant corporations don't have to pay the taxes they owe or be held accountable for their harms (e.g., the fossil fuel industry), while they deprive working families of the freedom to afford basic necessities (healthcare, housing, education, child, etc.), the freedom to earn a return on our labor so we can thrive and succeed, and the freedom to securely retire with dignity.
Thank you so much for sharing, Simon.
I did have a question: I remember the 47 million out of 49 million jobs created numbers since the end of the Cold War. I thought those numbers were from when Biden’s job creation under his administration was at 11 million back almost a year ago.
Why are you not saying 49 million out of 51 million jobs created since the end of the Cold War were under Democratic administrations?
Simon, another great, informative presentation. Question though - with so many - Never Trumpers - leaving the GOP, and I do not think they are registering as Dems :-( , do you think it is time to start including Indys in your count? In AZ we are about 1/3 Dem, 1/3 Rep, 1/3 Indy. Claire had an interesting comment about Indys on Nicolle's Thur show. Not sure that I agree with her 50% are Indy's now but what do I know? Your thoughts?