Oh, Ya Gotta Have Friends . . . September 28, 2023September 27, 2023 But first . . . SAN FRANCISCO — A SECOND LOOK Some good P.R., for a change. OHIO IS NOT A DEMOCRACY David Pepper explains how the state can pass a law 90% of the people oppose. And now . . . David French’s affecting essay, if you haven’t already seen it. Can it really be 50 years since Bette released her her iconic song?
Take Heart! September 27, 2023September 27, 2023 SHE LOVED HIM, WORKED FOR HIM, GOT HIGHLIGHTS IN HER HAIR FOR HIM . . . . . . and now tells Jake Tapper Trump is “the most grave threat we will face to our democracy in our lifetime, and potentially in American history.” If we all lean in . . . and if some Trump lovers listen to former lovers like Cassidy Hutchinson . . . it could all turn out okay. As it did when this plot by sitting members of Congress failed in the ’30s or when Joe McCarthy’s bubble burst in 1954. Two causes for optimism (on top of several others): THE STATES PROJECT . . . Last year, Democrats flipped one or more chambers in several states, including Michigan and Minnesota, and they have acted quickly, passing measures to tighten gun laws, set limits on carbon emissions, increase education funding and protect abortion access. The States Project has had a central role. . . . SHIFTING DEMOGRAPHICS . . . [B]etween Trump’s election in 2016 and the 2024 election, the number of Gen Z (born in the late 1990s and early 2010s) voters will have advanced by a net 52 million against older people. . . . And unlike previous generations, Gen Z votes. . . . Not to mention the boost we’d get if the voting age were lowered to 16, as I argued Thursday it should be. (See also, at Bloomberg: Should 16-Year-Olds Get to Vote? Absolutely.)
Which One Would YOUR Child To Grow Up Like . . . September 26, 2023September 25, 2023 . . . Trump or Mark Milley? One has floated the idea of executing the other. . . even though the “treasonous phone call” that the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs, General Milley, made was explicitly authorized by Trump’s Defense Department — and not remotely treasonous. (Trump is projecting, as usual.) The Atlantic cautions: . . . Heading toward one of the most consequential, divisive elections in American history, every ingredient in the deadly recipe for political violence is already in the mix: high-stakes, winner-take-all politics; widespread conspiratorial delusions that detach followers from objective realities; a suggestion that one’s political opponents aren’t “real Americans”; a large supply of violent extremists with easy access to deadly weaponry; and a movement whose leader takes every opportunity to praise those who have already participated in a deadly attack on the government. . . . [W]ould anyone really be surprised if Trump’s violent rhetoric led to real-world attacks in the run-up to the 2024 election—or in its aftermath, if he loses? . . . Trump’s recent unhinged rant about Milley should be a wake-up call. But in today’s political climate, the incident barely registers. . . . Bombarded by a constant stream of deranged authoritarian extremism from a man who might soon return to the presidency, we’ve lost all sense of scale and perspective. But neither the American press nor the public can afford to be lulled. The man who, as president, incited a violent attack on the U.S. Capitol in order to overturn an election is again openly fomenting political violence while explicitly endorsing authoritarian strategies should he return to power. That is the story of the 2024 election. Everything else is just window dressing. Robert Hubbell’s post makes much the same point: . . . Trump calls for the execution of the former Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Mark Milley and the Washington Post performs a botched poll that is so bad the Post acknowledges it is “an outlier.” Guess which one leads the news on Sunday? Hint: It is not the story that calls for the killing of a perceived political opponent by the leading candidate for the GOP 2024 nomination. The 2024 presidential election features two candidates who are surrogates for different visions of America: Democracy versus autocracy; liberty versus tyranny; dignity versus bigotry; science versus disinformation; personal autonomy versus subservience to Christian nationalism; sustainability versus ecological disaster; safety versus gun violence; global stability versus confrontational isolationism. All of that—and much more—is on the ballot in 2024. The WaPo/ABC “horse-race” poll captures none of that. In case you can help, click here.
Lock Him Up. Him, Too, I Guess. And THEM. September 25, 2023September 25, 2023 Senator Menendez should immediately resign and, once proven guilty, as he almost surely will be, serve time. Hunter Biden — whose “crime” of failing to disclose his drug problem on a gun-permit application is almost laughable in a world where Republicans block universal background checks and won’t add the “no fly list” to a “no buy list” . . . and whose two tax misdemeanors would never land anyone else in jail — perhaps should serve time, too. A service to his country to affirm that no man is above the law, not even the President’s son. (Here’s an account of his offenses and how the plea deal fell apart.) Yes, he profited mightily from his dad’s name . . . as have children from John Quincy Adams to Nancy Sinatra . . . and no, he should never should have put his dad on speaker to impress clients during some of their daily calls or implied he might be able to use his relationship on their behalf . . . but that’s no crime on Hunter’s part, let alone Joe’s. That a Trump-appointed investigator could find nothing significant to charge him with after five years of looking — even with the then-President withholding Congressionally-mandated aid from Ukraine to get dirt that didn’t exist and the KGB (one assumes) cyber-sleuthing toward the same end — suggests this is Benghazi all over again: 8 or 9 Republican-led investigations that found nothing . . . yet achieved their stated goal: hurting Hillary. Trump and his co-conspirators, by contrast, attempted a coup and watched gleefully as the Capitol was attacked, rejecting the peaceful transfer of power that underlies our democracy. Not to mention stealing top-secret documents, lying about having them, refusing to return them; swearing his 10,000-foot condo was 30,000 feet; obstructing justice in ways more than 1,000 former Republican and Democratic federal prosecutors said were indictable felonies . . . and on and on and on. But just focus on the first: overthrowing our government. That’s even worse than accepting bribes or lying on a gun-permit application. Another world leader fearing prison and threatening his nation’s precious democracy is Netanyahu. Tom Friedman opines on What Really Happened at the Biden-Netanyahu Meeting. Fingers tightly crossed he does his homework. Meanwhile, the House is hard at work attempting to shut down the government while looking for ways to impeach Amtrak Joe. Which elicited this “breaking news” from Andy Borowitz at the New Yorker: Republicans Demand Biden Tell Them Why They Are Impeaching Him. Have a great week.
Friday Fun September 22, 2023September 21, 2023 I’m on a train someplace. But . . . Watch Eric Swalwell school former assistant wrestling coach Jim Jordan. Have a great weekend.
Why States Should Lower The Voting Age September 21, 2023September 20, 2023 Four reasons: Sixteen- and seventeen-year-olds may not be as wise as 80-year-olds . . . but they have a whole lot more at stake. Elections today will impact their lives for the next 70+ years. Giving them the right – and responsibility – to vote is the best civics lesson I can think of. A reason to get involved, debates the issues, then have their say. They can handle it, just as they can handle driving. Young voters may come to regret some of their early votes as they get older, just as young drivers have more than their share of accidents. But allowing 16- and 17-year-olds to vote will injure NO ONE — and only add a shot of youthful vitality to our shared democracy. Lowering the voting age will help Democrats win. That’s because our views on climate, equality, reproductive freedom, and sensible gun safety, to name just four – and on democracy itself, to name a fifth – have strong appeal to the young. The 26th Amendment required all states to lower the voting age to 18 but in no way prevented them from going further. Republicans will presumably seek to block any such effort wherever they can. But maybe not. Doing so would send a clear message to young people — of every age — that it is Democrats who share their values; Republicans who hope they won’t vote. But in any case, there are 17 “trifecta” Democratic states — including the swing state of Michigan — where it should be possible. There are more than 8 million 16- and 17-year-olds in America, roughly 42% of them in those trifecta states. If a third decided to register and vote for a brighter future, those million extra votes could make all the difference. There is a wrinkle in this called Oregon v. Mitchell. Some believe the Court’s 1970 5-4 ruling gave Congress sole authority over the voting age in Federal elections. So, yes, once a state did lower its voting age, it’s possible our friends across the aisle would challenge it in Court. But — again — maybe not. Do they really want to tell 16- and 17-year-olds that the elderly can have a say in their future, but that they themselves can’t? That they can work in life-and-death situations as EMTs and lifeguards — and shoulder the responsibility of driving cars – or even be poll workers, for heaven’s sake — but not vote? But let’s assume they do — That they challenge our new law and that the case ultimately winds up, as it surely would, before the Supreme Court. This is the Court that believes deeply in states’ rights. That’s how they justified overturning the 5-4 Roe v. Wade decision, which had been settled law since 1973 and which had been upheld 6-3 in 1992. State’s rights. So it’s quite possible that they would look at Oregon v. Mitchell – an even older 5-4 ruling – and decide that case was wrongly decided, too. That states should be allowed to set voting ages not JUST for state and local elections (as everyone agrees they already can and do) but for federal elections as well. Or, consistency be damned, the Court might rule that only Congress can lower a state’s voting age, even though that’s nowhere stated or even really hinted at in the 26th Amendment. We’re STILL not out of the game because at that point Congress could decide it’s time to lower the age as it did in 1970. I think every governor in the country — and certainly every Democratic governor — should consider working with her or his legislature to get this done. If the Republicans manage to block it, we won’t get any 16- and 17-year-old votes. But it could help us win the support of their older brothers and sisters. And those 16- and 17-year-olds won’t stay 16 or 17 for long. Four days ago, Vice President Kamala Harris kicked off a month-long tour of college campuses to mobilize younger voters to “fight for our freedoms” . . . Harris told a cheering, overflow audience at the Reading Area Community College that voting “determines whether the person who is holding elected office is going to fight for your freedoms and rights or not. Whether that be the freedom that you should have to just be free from attack, free from hate, free from gun violence, free from bias, free to love who you love and be open about it, free to have access to the ballot box without people obstructing your ability to exercise your civic right to vote, in terms of who will be the people holding elected office and leading your country.” — Heather Cox Richardson The youth vote has been surpassing expectations. I think that will continue. They see what’s at stake. We’re gonna win. To help, click here.
It’s Not Calisthenics – II September 20, 2023September 19, 2023 Monday I got to attend BROADWAY FOR BIDEN. We raised a bunch of money and had a great time. The President was terrific. Funny and powerful. My favorite story was about how he and Jill used to take their little boys, Beau and Hunter, up to New York twice a year and see a show. One time they took them to see Bette Midler. As many of you know, Ms. Midler is rated R. She apparently spotted the boys, pointed at them, and asked the audience, “What kind of parents would take their kids to a show like this?!” He also referred to himself at one point as being 800 years old, which I think is good. He should lean into it, because, yes, he and we all wish he were younger, but with that age come tremendous experience, judgement, and the respect of the world. I got to have a long lunch with Warren Buffett five years ago. He wasn’t doing jumping jacks; he was 88. But I wouldn’t have done badly owning Berkshire Hathaway these past five years. The President will pass the torch to a new generation in 2028. But in the meantime, the torch largely has been passed — to his 4,000 appointees, almost all of them one and two generations younger. That’s where the calisthenics are performed. In the meantime, he’s been delivering Berkshire-like results.
But First, Three Really Bad Jokes September 17, 2023 JOKE #1 – George Santos: it’s so fun to read his resume. JOKE #2 – Moralizer and, at 36, soon-to-be grandmother Lauren Boebert: at the theater. (Bush ethics czar wonders: what was in that vape?) JOKE #3 – Medal-of-Freedom recipient (a joke all by itself), subpoena defier, and former wrestling coach Jim Jordan: never said the election was stolen and never knew about the sexual abuse. There have been so many competent, honorable, admirable Republicans at every level of government over the course of our history, not least among them Mitt Romney and Liz Cheney. It was once the “Grand Old Party.” Now, led by a megalomaniacal pathological liar out for “vengeance” and “retribution” — an authoritarian who admires Putin and exchanges love letters with Kim — it has entirely lost its way and its soul. “No joke,” as our President would say. Speaking of whom . . . Last week’s speech on Bidenomics. Critics will point to his delivery, which can be less than perfect. But people who care about their well-being will focus on the substance: what he’s delivered. And on the stark contrast with MAGA-nomics. Does the nation need a demagogue with the rhetorical skills to incite a violent assault on the Capitol? Or a lifelong policy wonk who’s assembled an Administration that’s fighting for everybody, not just the rich and powerful? BONUS Wall Street Journal blows a major hole in Trump’s boasts about his trade policies. Maybe Mr. Trump should start giving out campaign hats that say “Make Vietnam Great Again.” . . . If Mr. Trump’s goal was to nudge businesses to friendlier locales, a better U.S. policy was to join the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade agreement that excluded China. But Mr. Trump rejected that deal. The Pacific pact would have boosted trade among a dozen countries, including Vietnam, while offering companies an incentive to set up shop in those places. This approach would have avoided the collateral damage from Mr. Trump’s blunderbuss tariffs, . . . Mr. Trump’s answer, as usual, is to quintuple down in a second term. A universal 10% tariff would “raise taxes on American consumers by more than $300 billion a year—a tax increase rivaling the ones proposed by President Biden,” the Tax Foundation says. Including expected retaliation, it would “shrink the U.S. economy by 1.1 percent and threaten more than 825,000 U.S. jobs.” Slapping 10% tariffs on everything made by Vietnam, South Korea and other U.S. partners would have the effect of abandoning them to China’s economic sphere, which is the opposite of America’s geostrategic interests. Have a great week!
Mitt Tells All September 14, 2023 It’s so sad — and scary — to see the once-Grand Old Party publicly support an authoritarian leader they privately despise . . . . . . and reject decent, civil, capable, patriotic conservatives like Liz Cheney and Mitt Romney. Here is the Mitt Romney excerpt everyone is reading. It’s not just reproductive rights, climate, guns, or or tax breaks for the rich that are on the ballot next year — though, with much else, they are. As more and more are coming to realize, DEMOCRACY ITSELF is on the ballot. A nation governed by our Constitution and the rule of law. Trump calls for the termination of the Constitution in Truth Social post. Trump was right. By now, he really could walk down Fifth Avenue shooting people and his base would still support him. As would most elected Republicans in Washington and around the country. He promises to be their “vengeance.” Their “retribution.” In case you can help, please click here.
It’s Not Calisthenics September 13, 2023September 11, 2023 AGE New Hampshire Governor John Sununu has long predicted that neither Trump nor Biden will be on the 2024 ballot. With Trump, I think that could well be true. Not least because the gears are now in motion to bring the matter of his eligibility — rather, his non-eligibility — all the way to the Supreme Court. I wouldn’t be too quick to assume five Justices will want their names forever linked with the twice-impeached, four-times indicted, destroyer of democracy. With Biden, Andrew Sullivan is among those who applaud the President but hope he passes the torch. Of course, the President was too old the last time, too, yet won — and has done a terrific job. There have been the sandbag stumbles that get seized upon and in his second term there will be more. But it’s not a job of it’s not of jump rope or calisthenics; and it’s not just Joe we’ll be re-hiring, it’s also the 4,000 competent, vigorous younger people he’s appointed, 1,200 of whom required Senate confirmation. Yes, he’s an old guy; but an old guy with young women and men advising him, based on whose advice he makes wise decisions. Should the President and First Lady decide it’s in the country’s best interest to pass the torch, Gavin Newsom is among the many strong candidates primary voters could choose among. But take a few minutes to watch his perspective on that. He’s all in for Biden, and thinks we should be too. BINGE In case you have Hulu, consider Never Let Him Go. I knew nothing about it — my favorite way to watch something I have reason to think will be good — and wound up bingeing straight through all four. BONUS Per my recent book-banning post . . . THE PONTIFF’S MITRE You probably saw on social media that the President went yachting with the Pope. But did you know the Pontiff’s hat blew off? I’m not making this up; I read it on the Internet. And did you know that before anyone could stop him, the President went over the rail, walked across the water to retrieve it, picked it up, then walked back and returned it? The “main stream media” barely covered this, lest they be accused of being in the tank for Biden; Fox headlined it: “Biden Can’t Swim.”