dailykos--2020-09-01--Reasons why Trump's 2016 upset will not be repeated

There are many , including : Four more years of demographic changes .
America has literally become less white since 2016 .
And , as is naturally the case , more of Trump 's older voters have died in the last four years than have Clinton 's 2016 voters .
Voters who are eligible to participate in their first presidential election in 2020 strongly favor Biden .
Trump is not running against a candidate who the Republican Party has spent 28 years demonizing .
Joe Biden is not Hillary Clinton , and a relatively ineffective six month campaign to sour @ @ @ @ @ @ @ what Hillary Clinton had been subjected to for decades .
The Democratic Party is more unified , and has been so for many months , heading into the 2020 election than it was when heading into the 2016 election .
Democrats control the House of Representatives .
That means that adverse news about the Trump Administration receives national attention .
Recent case in point , public scrutiny of sabotage of the U.S. Post Office .
U.S. media ( with the exception of FOX which remains a constant ) long ago stopped falling all @ @ @ @ @ @ @ coverage stressing Trump 's `` unique maverick appeal '' to voters , including hundreds of millions of dollars devoted to free , non fact checked coverage of virtually all of his campaign rallies Trump now has an actual track record in office .
He no longer gets to be all things to all people dissatisfied with the status quo in America .
People can no longer simply project their hopes for how Trump will perform in office onto him , now America has seen what a Trump presidency actually looks like .
Trump @ @ @ @ @ @ @ for reelection from many figures who were previously well established in Republican and/or Conservative circles ; various Never Trumpers , the Lincoln Project : Republican Voters for Trump , previous members of other Republican Administrations etc .
`` Establishment '' Republicans mostly muted their criticism of Trump once he secured the 2016 nomination .
Now a significant number are openly attacking him and promoting Biden to restore sanity to Government .
They hold little to no sway over Trump 's base , but they can effect the election at the margins , among @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Third Party candidates are in eclipse .
We acknowledge to role the Green Party played in Trump 's narrow victory in 2016 .
The Green Party has a significantly reduced profile heading into November .
But it is the loss in stature of the Libertarian Party that is more note worthy .
Libertarians far out polled the Greens in 2016 .
Libertarians appealed to significant numbers of younger voters in 2016 with their `` pro-pot '' position and anti-establishment branding etc .
There is an African American candidate on the Democratic ticket this @ @ @ @ @ @ @ when we lost , there was in 2008 and 2012 when we won .
African American voter turn out dropped in 2016 from the prior two elections .
That hurt Democrats .
Trump no longer has the element of surprise going for him , and nowhere is that more apparent than in the Midwest , where the Clinton campaign counted their chickens before they hatched .
It was inconceivable , back in pre-pandemic days , for a major party candidate to skip campaigning personally in any contested state , let alone one with @ @ @ @ @ @ @ did not make a single personal appearance inside Wisconsin after she won the 2016 presidential nomination , and she wasn ’ t a frequent visitor to some of the other previously blue Midwest states that Trump ended up carrying either .
Trump ’ s degree of Midwestern appeal caught the Clinton team flat footed .
That is a error that the Biden team is not making this time around .
The pandemic will have killed a quarter of a million Americans by the time election day arrives .
This is on Trump 's @ @ @ @ @ @ @ about how perfectly his administration has handled this catastrophe are only playing to his hard core base , his approval ratings on this front are damning .
The public is unhappy to a record degree over the course our nation is on .
That is almost universally a referendum on the incumbent Administration .
Trump can spin all he wants but everyone knows that the economy remains in terrible shape , largely due to how poorly the pandemic has been handled .
How horrific a human being Donald Trump is has been well @ @ @ @ @ @ @ over with floods of new information now available about how utterly loathsome a human being he actually is .
No , this does not negatively impact on his floor of support .
What it does is lower the ceiling of support beyond his base that Trump can still aspire to , and his base alone does n't cut it .
Of course there are things that Trump can and will play up to make sure that voters who are naturally inclined to support someone with his professed world view show up at the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ got almost 39 % of the vote in 1964 .
Any major party candidate in America starts out with over a third of the vote locked in solidly .
And those voters tend to be fervent and vocal .
I had a friend ( of above average intellect , honest ) who was convinced George McGovern was going to win in 1972 because where he lived in Oregon at the time McGovern was wildly popular .
Trump can and will rally his core base .
He will win back almost all of those @ @ @ @ @ @ @ support of him .
But his core base is not enough .
No doubt Trump will identify and turn out for him this year some rural white voters who failed to vote in 2016 .
But the converse is true for Democrats also , except more so .
Far too many Democratic leaning voters assumed that Hillary would win without then last time .
Their sense of complacency has long since been shattered .
Yes , Trump has racism and his specter of `` Anarchists '' rioting in our cities to galvanize his @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and the specter of the M13 gang infiltrating suburbia galvanizing his voters in 2016 , and just barely squeaked by then .
Trump trotted out the specter of drug , disease , and crime ridden caravans of illegal immigrants invading our southern border to galvanize voters in 2018 , and that cost Republicans control of the House of Representatives .
Meanwhile Mexico still hasn ’ t paid for his wall .
Trump will have Russia `` meddling in our elections '' on his behalf this year .
That was true in 2016 also @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the open , and some social media platforms have actually become at least somewhat more active in combating Russian efforts .
Election fundamentals have shifted AWAY from Trump since 2016 .
Grassroots Democrats are far more organized now than we had been prior to the 2016 election .
Trump ’ s election was an eye opener of the first degree , and the immediate response to that came the day after his election with a nation wide ( and beyond ) mobilization of women against him .
Republicans have lost ground nationally in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Democrats historically turn out the most in presidential election years .
In my opinion constantly repeating the refrain that this will be a very close election only helps give Trump the cover he needs to more blatantly attempt to steal it .
If conventional wisdom hardens on a prediction that this can go either way , then it becomes easier for Trump to after the fact claim that he was the legitimate winner , but for rigging , once he is defeated .

There are many, including:
Four more years of demographic changes. America has literally become less white since 2016. And, as is naturally the case, more of Trump's older voters have died in the last four years than have Clinton's 2016 voters. Voters who are eligible to participate in their first presidential election in 2020 strongly favor Biden. Trump is not running against a candidate who the Republican Party has spent 28 years demonizing. Joe Biden is not Hillary Clinton, and a relatively ineffective six month campaign to sour Americans on him is trivial compared to what Hillary Clinton had been subjected to for decades.
The Democratic Party is more unified, and has been so for many months, heading into the 2020 election than it was when heading into the 2016 election. Democrats control the House of Representatives. That means that adverse news about the Trump Administration receives national attention. Recent case in point, public scrutiny of sabotage of the U.S. Post Office.
U.S. media (with the exception of FOX which remains a constant) long ago stopped falling all over themselves to give wall to wall coverage stressing Trump's "unique maverick appeal" to voters, including hundreds of millions of dollars devoted to free, non fact checked coverage of virtually all of his campaign rallies
Trump now has an actual track record in office. He no longer gets to be all things to all people dissatisfied with the status quo in America. People can no longer simply project their hopes for how Trump will perform in office onto him, now America has seen what a Trump presidency actually looks like.
Trump faces organized significant opposition to his run for reelection from many figures who were previously well established in Republican and/or Conservative circles; various Never Trumpers, the Lincoln Project: Republican Voters for Trump, previous members of other Republican Administrations etc. "Establishment" Republicans mostly muted their criticism of Trump once he secured the 2016 nomination. Now a significant number are openly attacking him and promoting Biden to restore sanity to Government. They hold little to no sway over Trump's base, but they can effect the election at the margins, among some Independents, moderate Republicans etc.
Third Party candidates are in eclipse. We acknowledge to role the Green Party played in Trump's narrow victory in 2016. The Green Party has a significantly reduced profile heading into November. But it is the loss in stature of the Libertarian Party that is more note worthy. Libertarians far out polled the Greens in 2016. Libertarians appealed to significant numbers of younger voters in 2016 with their "pro-pot" position and anti-establishment branding etc.
There is an African American candidate on the Democratic ticket this year. There wasn't in 2016 when we lost, there was in 2008 and 2012 when we won. African American voter turn out dropped in 2016 from the prior two elections. That hurt Democrats.
Trump no longer has the element of surprise going for him, and nowhere is that more apparent than in the Midwest, where the Clinton campaign counted their chickens before they hatched. It was inconceivable, back in pre-pandemic days, for a major party candidate to skip campaigning personally in any contested state, let alone one with ten electoral votes. But Hillary Clinton did not make a single personal appearance inside Wisconsin after she won the 2016 presidential nomination, and she wasn’t a frequent visitor to some of the other previously blue Midwest states that Trump ended up carrying either. Trump’s degree of Midwestern appeal caught the Clinton team flat footed. That is a error that the Biden team is not making this time around.
The pandemic will have killed a quarter of a million Americans by the time election day arrives. This is on Trump's watch, and all of his pronouncements about how perfectly his administration has handled this catastrophe are only playing to his hard core base, his approval ratings on this front are damning.
The public is unhappy to a record degree over the course our nation is on. That is almost universally a referendum on the incumbent Administration. Trump can spin all he wants but everyone knows that the economy remains in terrible shape, largely due to how poorly the pandemic has been handled.
How horrific a human being Donald Trump is has been well litigated and firmly established a thousand times over with floods of new information now available about how utterly loathsome a human being he actually is. No, this does not negatively impact on his floor of support. What it does is lower the ceiling of support beyond his base that Trump can still aspire to, and his base alone doesn't cut it.
Of course there are things that Trump can and will play up to make sure that voters who are naturally inclined to support someone with his professed world view show up at the polls for him. Even Barry Goldwater got almost 39% of the vote in 1964. Any major party candidate in America starts out with over a third of the vote locked in solidly. And those voters tend to be fervent and vocal. I had a friend (of above average intellect, honest) who was convinced George McGovern was going to win in 1972 because where he lived in Oregon at the time McGovern was wildly popular.
Trump can and will rally his core base. He will win back almost all of those who might have started wavering in their support of him. But his core base is not enough. No doubt Trump will identify and turn out for him this year some rural white voters who failed to vote in 2016. But the converse is true for Democrats also, except more so. Far too many Democratic leaning voters assumed that Hillary would win without then last time. Their sense of complacency has long since been shattered.
Yes, Trump has racism and his specter of "Anarchists" rioting in our cities to galvanize his voters in 2020. He had racism and the specter of the M13 gang infiltrating suburbia galvanizing his voters in 2016, and just barely squeaked by then. Trump trotted out the specter of drug, disease, and crime ridden caravans of illegal immigrants invading our southern border to galvanize voters in 2018, and that cost Republicans control of the House of Representatives. Meanwhile Mexico still hasn’t paid for his wall.
Trump will have Russia "meddling in our elections" on his behalf this year. That was true in 2016 also. But now it is out in the open, and some social media platforms have actually become at least somewhat more active in combating Russian efforts.
Election fundamentals have shifted AWAY from Trump since 2016. Grassroots Democrats are far more organized now than we had been prior to the 2016 election. Trump’s election was an eye opener of the first degree, and the immediate response to that came the day after his election with a nation wide (and beyond) mobilization of women against him. Republicans have lost ground nationally in every election year since 2016, and Democrats historically turn out the most in presidential election years.
In my opinion constantly repeating the refrain that this will be a very close election only helps give Trump the cover he needs to more blatantly attempt to steal it. If conventional wisdom hardens on a prediction that this can go either way, then it becomes easier for Trump to after the fact claim that he was the legitimate winner, but for rigging, once he is defeated.


dailykos--2020-09-01--FEAR RULES USA POLITICS TODAY

FEAR RULES USA POLITICS TODAY

AUTHORITARIANISM appeals to people who feel frightened .
It appeals to people who are fearful of being hurt , fearful of losing something , to people who carry fear with them as a constant emotional state .
It is usually fear based NOT on real and immediate threats , but delusional fear based on imaginary possible threats .
Fear and worry combine to create an irrational state of heightened emotional reactivity in such people -- -- they are fearful almost all of the time .
In fact , they have entered into a fugue of fear that has become for @ @ @ @ @ @ @ is the belief that a strong protector will save fearful people from harm , thus reducing their heightened emotional state of fear .
The protector can be a leader ( a strong father figure , usually ) , a building ( fortress , fortified house or bunker ) , or an array of weapons or weapon-carrying people who relieve fear by taking on the role of safety-insuring guardians .
So , the police , the military , guns , weapons of all kinds and leaders who promise to promote police/military/guns/weapons of all kinds @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of Authority ( `` law '' and `` order '' ) appeals to the fearful : it represents stability.Conversely , chaos ( disorder ) such as rioting makes them more fearful since instability increases fear .
The Republican platform offers little else other than to alleviate fearby touting their party , and ONLY their party , as the law and order party who will guarantee freedom from fear by supporting police/military/guns/weapons of all kinds including nuclear bombs through strong leadership who will `` stand up '' to anyone who presents as a threat @ @ @ @ @ @ @ is diagnosed as a person suffering from a mental condition called malignant narcissism , the predominant feature of which is the constant scrutiny of possible threats and response to them .
Trump lives with such fear .
His reactions of bullying , name-calling , putting people down , etc are all attempts to make himself feel stronger , less fearful , by dealing with adversarial threats .
Little wonder that he is the perfect person to appeal to those who also live with constant fear .
An instinctive sympatico unites them , draws @ @ @ @ @ @ @ appeal to people who are unafraid .
People who do n't carryfear with them as a constant emotion ... people who experience fear only when something presents as a genuine threat .
These people understand something that the fear-carriers do not : that fear leads to poor decisions , leads to regrettable actions , that acting toward others out of fear invariably has less-than-favorable outcome .
Fearful people support fear-filled leaders like Trump -- -- and feel kinship to him , based on their shared fear .
The Republican party knows this ... @ @ @ @ @ @ @ not attempted to rein-in the words and actions of their current leader -- -- -- because they know that without that appealing to fear they would never win elections .
If you listen to what they say about the Democrats it is almost entirely the false narrative that the Dems are weak , that they will weaken defenses including police and military , will take away guns , will make America more weaker and more vulnerable .
The Democrats will never win over the fearful voters unless they appear just as strong and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ themselves out to be .
No better display of this than Trump 's towering behind Hilary Clinton during the debates of 2016 .
Had Clinton turned around and slugged him for stalking her -- -- -she 'd have won by showing no intimidation to threat .
.
.
.
.
.
Fear rules USA politics today .

AUTHORITARIANISM appeals to people who feel frightened.
It appeals to people who are fearful of being hurt, fearful of losing something, to people who carry fear with them as a constant emotional state.
It is usually fear based NOT on real and immediate threats, but delusional fear based on imaginary possible threats.
Fear and worry combine to create an irrational state of heightened emotional reactivity in such people----they are fearful almost all of the time. In fact, they have entered into a fugue of fear that has become for them their normal emotional being.
Authoritarianism is the belief that a strong protector will save fearful people from harm, thus reducing their heightened emotional state of fear.
The protector can be a leader (a strong father figure, usually), a building (fortress, fortified house or bunker), or an array of weapons or weapon-carrying people who relieve fear by taking on the role of safety-insuring guardians.
So, the police, the military,guns, weapons of all kinds and leaders who promise to promote police/military/guns/weapons of all kinds appeal to fearful people.
The concept of Authority ("law" and "order")appeals to the fearful: it represents stability.Conversely, chaos(disorder) such as rioting makes them more fearful since instability increases fear.
The Republican platform offers little else other than to alleviate fearby touting their party, and ONLY their party, as the law and order party who will guarantee freedom from fear by supporting police/military/guns/weapons of all kinds including nuclear bombs through strong leadership who will "stand up" to anyone who presents as a threat.
It is most interesting that Donald Trump is diagnosed as a person suffering from a mental condition called malignant narcissism, the predominant feature of which is the constant scrutiny of possible threats and response to them.
Trump lives with such fear. His reactions of bullying, name-calling, putting people down, etc are all attempts to make himself feel stronger, less fearful, by dealing with adversarial threats.
Little wonder that he is the perfect person to appeal to those who also live with constant fear.
An instinctive sympatico unites them, draws them to him.
AUTHORITARIANISM does NOT appeal to people who are unafraid. People who don't carryfear with them as a constant emotion...people who experience fear only when something presents as a genuine threat. These people understand something that the fear-carriers do not: that fear leads to poor decisions, leads to regrettable actions, that acting toward others out of fear invariably has less-than-favorable outcome.
Fearful people support fear-filled leaders like Trump----and feel kinship to him, based on their shared fear.
The Republican party knows this....and this is the reason they have not attempted to rein-in the words and actions of their current leader------because they know that without that appealing to fear they would never win elections.
If you listen to what they say about the Democrats it is almost entirely the false narrative that the Dems are weak, that they will weaken defenses including police and military, will take away guns, will make America more weaker and more vulnerable.
The Democrats will never win over the fearful voters unless they appear just as strong and upright and protective as the Republicans make themselves out to be.
No better display of this than Trump's towering behind Hilary Clinton during the debates of 2016.
Had Clinton turned around and slugged him for stalking her-----she'd have won by showing no intimidation to threat. . . . . .
Fear rules USA politics today.


dailykos--2020-09-03--My Criminal Referral Against the President of the United States.

I have filed a criminal referral with Josh Stein , the Attorney General for North Carolina .
I did so at this website : ncdoj.gov/… The criminal referral read as follows .
I would like to make a criminal referral against Donald J. Trump , the current President of the United States , for his attempt induce North Carolina voters to vote twice in the upcoming general election ( in violation of N.C. General Statute 163-275 ( 7 ) , and for subversive activities as defined by the North Carolina Criminal Code at Section 14-11 .
In a public speech @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Wilmington North Carolina airport President Trump urged voters who vote absentee , or by mail , to then attempt to vote in person on election day .
The President said : `` If you get the unsolicited ballots , send it in , and then go – make sure it counted .
And if it does n't tabulate , you vote .
You just vote .
And then if they tabulate it very late , which they should n't be doing , they 'll see you voted , and so it wo n't @ @ @ @ @ @ @ early , and then go and vote .
And if it 's not tabulated – you vote .
And the vote is going to count . ''
Pursuant to N.C. General Statute 163-275 ( 7 ) it is Class I felony to induce another to vote twice .
Even if you conclude that this requires such an induced person to actually vote twice then the President is still guilty of `` attempts '' to violate this statute under North Carolina law .
It should be noted that prior statements by Donald Trump have @ @ @ @ @ @ @ In 2017 Terri Lynn Rote , of Des Moines Iowa , was convicted for voting twice for Donald Trump in the 2016 general election .
She did so because because she believed then candidate Trump ’ s claims the election was rigged and that she needed to vote twice to make up for the election fraud Trump claimed the other side was committing .
The appeal to vote twice was , in this case , much more direct .
Pursuant to North Carolina Criminal Code at Section 14-11 it is `` unlawful for @ @ @ @ @ @ @ or writing , willfully and deliberately to advocate , advise or teach a doctrine that the government of the United States , the State of North Carolina or any political subdivision thereof shall be overthrown or overturned by force or violence or by any other unlawful means . ''
In this case , the President ' advocacy for voting twice constitutes `` other unlawful means . ''
Voting twice is unlawful , advocating that voters vote twice is unlawful and subversive to the state and national government .
It is your duty to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ electoral processes .
The President 's urging voters to vote twice is an assault on that sanctity .
Anyone doing as the President of the United States advised them to do would be subject to prosecution by your office .
I urge you to convene a grand jury to investigate this matter and to strongly consider indicting President Donald Trump for the crimes described above .

I have filed a criminal referral with Josh Stein, the Attorney General for North Carolina. I did so at this website: ncdoj.gov/… The criminal referral read as follows.
Dear Attorney General Stein,
I would like to make a criminal referral against Donald J. Trump, the current President of the United States, for his attempt induce North Carolina voters to vote twice in the upcoming general election (in violation of N.C. General Statute 163-275(7), and for subversive activities as defined by the North Carolina Criminal Code at Section 14-11.
In a public speech on September 2, 2020 at the Wilmington North Carolina airport President Trump urged voters who vote absentee, or by mail, to then attempt to vote in person on election day. The President said: "If you get the unsolicited ballots, send it in, and then go – make sure it counted. And if it doesn't tabulate, you vote. You just vote. And then if they tabulate it very late, which they shouldn't be doing, they'll see you voted, and so it won't count. So, send it in early, and then go and vote. And if it's not tabulated – you vote. And the vote is going to count."
Pursuant to N.C. General Statute 163-275(7) it is Class I felony to induce another to vote twice. Even if you conclude that this requires such an induced person to actually vote twice then the President is still guilty of "attempts" to violate this statute under North Carolina law. It should be noted that prior statements by Donald Trump have induced others to unlawfully vote twice. In 2017 Terri Lynn Rote, of Des Moines Iowa, was convicted for voting twice for Donald Trump in the 2016 general election. She did so because because she believed then candidate Trump’s claims the election was rigged and that she needed to vote twice to make up for the election fraud Trump claimed the other side was committing. The appeal to vote twice was, in this case, much more direct.
Pursuant to North Carolina Criminal Code at Section 14-11 it is "unlawful for any person, by word of mouth or writing, willfully and deliberately to advocate, advise or teach a doctrine that the government of the United States, the State of North Carolina or any political subdivision thereof shall be overthrown or overturned by force or violence or by any other unlawful means." In this case, the President' advocacy for voting twice constitutes "other unlawful means." Voting twice is unlawful, advocating that voters vote twice is unlawful and subversive to the state and national government.
It is your duty to protect the sanctity of North Carolina's electoral processes. The President's urging voters to vote twice is an assault on that sanctity. Anyone doing as the President of the United States advised them to do would be subject to prosecution by your office. I urge you to convene a grand jury to investigate this matter and to strongly consider indicting President Donald Trump for the crimes described above.


dailykos--2020-09-04--"Where is the Poor People's Voice?"

"Where is the Poor People's Voice?"

That was a question put to a TV reporter by Rev .
William J. Barber II after the Democratic National Convention last month .
Barber , founder of the Moral Monday movement and now a notable political activist , is President of Repairers of the Breach and co-chair of the Poor People 's Campaign : A National Call for Moral Revival .
His is a voice and a vision to be reckoned with as he calls for concern grounded in morality for the poor and working poor .
Why , Rev .
Barber asks , are poor and low-income people @ @ @ @ @ @ @ are their issues never talked about , despite the fact that they are clearly a political force by virtue of the fact they represent an estimated 25 percent of people in this country ?
These were questions I also asked after the Democrat ’ s virtual convention .
Why , I wondered , did we need to hear yet again from Bill Clinton , John Kerry and John Kasich ?
Where was a real-life person of situational or generational poverty who could speak to the reality of their lives and their families ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ answer was that poor people are ignored because they don ’ t donate money to political campaigns , and they don ’ t vote .
Why should they , Barber explains , when they feel invisible and not cared about ?
That ’ s a pretty damning statement about a party that claims to care about everyone , but can ’ t move beyond talking about the “ middle class , ” and ( mainly ) white working folks .
It ’ s time for Dems to get it : When a quarter @ @ @ @ @ @ @ who can ’ t make ends meet , can ’ t access healthcare or a decent education , and can ’ t make it through a pandemic it ’ s unacceptable to ignore or exclude them .
We need to remember that poverty is not a dirty word .
There is no reason to be afraid or ashamed of impoverished people as a constituency , no matter their race or ethnicity , but there is every reason to acknowledge that they exist as an underclass in one of the the world ’ s @ @ @ @ @ @ @ deserve the dignity and attention so readily proffered to other Americans .
That calls for an increased awareness among political leaders , and the public , of the lives poor and low-income people live .
Being poor and being in poverty are two different things , as Latonya Walker , a social worker in Detroit points out on her blog .
While being poor is an economic state that involves dependency on a system of care , often for generations , poverty is a psychological mindset that derives from the situation one finds @ @ @ @ @ @ @ event .
Divorce , illness , loss of work , or a death in the family can lead to homelessness , the need for government assistance , or generalized instability .
If prolonged beyond one generation , it can be difficult to escape .
The effects of generational poverty are chronic , resulting in continued low education levels , inadequate childcare , low workplace skills , health issues , high incarceration rates and high infant mortality rates .
Homelessness and substance abuse also become chronic .
It ’ s heartbreaking that a quarter @ @ @ @ @ @ @ families that have at least one working parent who because of low hourly wages and few if any job benefits , like health insurance , paid sick or vacation leave , are unlikely to escape the effects of generational poverty .
That ’ s why it ’ s important for political leaders to take a focused , holistic , and humane approach to well-funded public policies that address in practical and meaningful ways the need for improved , accessible education programs for both children and adults , universal healthcare , living wages , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ rights .
They could be helped in that effort by inviting the voices and the aspirations of poor people and people living in poverty to be heard and understood .
In other words , they need to put a human face on the pressing issues of poverty so that they , and all Americans , can see those faces , learn from their experiences , appreciate the challenges of their lives , and act to relieve the constraints that keep them impoverished , afraid , and without hope for a better life .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ nearly poor are a formidable force and they are organizing to vote in this crucial election .
They have the power to flip election results in more than a dozen states .
It makes absolutely no sense to ignore them if the Democratic party is serious about economic security .
If Democrats truly stand for morality and justice with the force and conviction that Rev .
Barber does , they need to listen , and learn , from those who may inherit the earth in biblical terms , but who have precious little @ @ @ @ @ @ @ times .
As Rev .
Barber says so eloquently , “ Our deepest moral traditions point to equal protection under the law , the desire for peace within and among nations , the dignity of all people , and the responsibility to care for our common home .
”

That was a question put to a TV reporter by Rev. William J. Barber II after the Democratic National Convention last month. Barber, founder of the Moral Monday movement and now a notable political activist, is President of Repairers of the Breach and co-chair of the Poor People's Campaign: A National Call for Moral Revival. His is a voice and a vision to be reckoned with as he calls for concern grounded in morality for the poor and working poor.
Why, Rev. Barber asks, are poor and low-income people never targeted in Democratic ads? Why are their issues never talked about, despite the fact that they are clearly a political force by virtue of the fact they represent an estimated 25 percent of people in this country?
These were questions I also asked after the Democrat’s virtual convention. Why, I wondered, did we need to hear yet again from Bill Clinton, John Kerry and John Kasich? Where was a real-life person of situational or generational poverty who could speak to the reality of their lives and their families’ struggles?
Rev. Barber’s answer was that poor people are ignored because they don’t donate money to political campaigns, and they don’t vote. Why should they, Barber explains, when they feel invisible and not cared about? That’s a pretty damning statement about a party that claims to care about everyone, but can’t move beyond talking about the “middle class,” and (mainly) white working folks.
It’s time for Dems to get it: When a quarter of Americans are poor or low-income workers who can’t make ends meet, can’t access healthcare or a decent education, and can’t make it through a pandemic it’s unacceptable to ignore or exclude them. We need to remember that poverty is not a dirty word. There is no reason to be afraid or ashamed of impoverished people as a constituency, no matter their race or ethnicity, but there is every reason to acknowledge that they exist as an underclass in one of the the world’s richest countries. As human beings they deserve the dignity and attention so readily proffered to other Americans.
That calls for an increased awareness among political leaders, and the public, of the lives poor and low-income people live.
Being poor and being in poverty are two different things, as Latonya Walker, a social worker in Detroit points out on her blog. While being poor is an economic state that involves dependency on a system of care, often for generations, poverty is a psychological mindset that derives from the situation one finds themselves in due to a life changing event. Divorce, illness, loss of work, or a death in the family can lead to homelessness, the need for government assistance, or generalized instability. If prolonged beyond one generation, it can be difficult to escape.
The effects of generational poverty are chronic, resulting in continued low education levels, inadequate childcare, low workplace skills, health issues, high incarceration rates and high infant mortality rates. Homelessness and substance abuse also become chronic. It’s heartbreaking that a quarter of American children are living in low-income families that have at least one working parent who because of low hourly wages and few if any job benefits, like health insurance, paid sick or vacation leave, are unlikely to escape the effects of generational poverty.
That’s why it’s important for political leaders to take a focused, holistic, and humane approach to well-funded public policies that address in practical and meaningful ways the need for improved, accessible education programs for both children and adults, universal healthcare, living wages, ending mass incarceration, and protecting voting rights. They could be helped in that effort by inviting the voices and the aspirations of poor people and people living in poverty to be heard and understood. In other words, they need to put a human face on the pressing issues of poverty so that they, and all Americans, can see those faces, learn from their experiences, appreciate the challenges of their lives, and act to relieve the constraints that keep them impoverished, afraid, and without hope for a better life.
The fact is, the poor and nearly poor are a formidable force and they are organizing to vote in this crucial election. They have the power to flip election results in more than a dozen states. It makes absolutely no sense to ignore them if the Democratic party is serious about economic security. If Democrats truly stand for morality and justice with the force and conviction that Rev. Barber does, they need to listen, and learn, from those who may inherit the earth in biblical terms, but who have precious little to be content with in these troubling times.
As Rev. Barber says so eloquently, “Our deepest moral traditions point to equal protection under the law, the desire for peace within and among nations, the dignity of all people, and the responsibility to care for our common home.”
# # #
Sources : www.breachrepairers.org; www.youtube.com/watch DNC convention; http://latoniawalker.com/www.urban.org
Elayne Clift writes from Saxtons River, Vt. www.elayne-clift.com


dailykos--2020-09-04--Trump Did Call John McCain "A Loser." Here It Is.

Stung by reports from The Atlantic and The Washington Post that President Trump repeatedly described fallen American soldiers as “ losers ” and “ suckers.
” Trump and the Administration quickly denied the claim .
One problem with the denial is that it just sounded just so Trumpy .
Not only did it sound like the kind of thing Trump would say , it sounded very much like what we all heard Trump say about the late Senator and former Vietnam War Senator John McCain .
Trump addressed that McCain issue head on in a series of tweets where he @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Here they are : The words “ I never called John a loser ” are right there .
Alas , another tweet by Trump , directly containing the words “ John McCain is a loser ” are in this tweet from 2015 .
In context , Trump is quoting a news source about him saying that and is essentially bragging that he did .
So not only did Trump say “ John McCain is a loser ” he bragged about saying it .
When evaluating the credibility of Trump ’ s denials of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Post , it ’ s clear that in calling those stories false Trump ’ s denials are full of verifiable lies .
Trump denied calling fallen soldiers “ losers ” just as he also denied calling former POW John McCain a loser .
As he lies about one to deny the other his denials have no credibility .

Stung by reports from The Atlantic and The Washington Post that President Trump repeatedly described fallen American soldiers as “losers” and “suckers.” Trump and the Administration quickly denied the claim. One problem with the denial is that it just sounded just so Trumpy. Not only did it sound like the kind of thing Trump would say, it sounded very much like what we all heard Trump say about the late Senator and former Vietnam War Senator John McCain.
Trump addressed that McCain issue head on in a series of tweets where he directly denied calling McCain a loser. Here they are:
The words “I never called John a loser” are right there.
Alas, another tweet by Trump, directly containing the words “John McCain is a loser” are in this tweet from 2015.
In context, Trump is quoting a news source about him saying that and is essentially bragging that he did. So not only did Trump say “John McCain is a loser” he bragged about saying it.
When evaluating the credibility of Trump’s denials of the stories in The Atlantic and Washington Post, it’s clear that in calling those stories false Trump’s denials are full of verifiable lies. Trump denied calling fallen soldiers “losers” just as he also denied calling former POW John McCain a loser. As he lies about one to deny the other his denials have no credibility.


dailykos--2020-09-04--OF CABBAGES AND KINGS: Trump's a pirate, Republicans don't notice or don't care.

Old England is a major world power in the 1700s .
That ’ s a big source of pride among many of its countrymen .
You are among the many who have little , facing barely surmountable problems in your daily life , in many cases working hard six or seven days a week to support your family .
But you are loyal to the crown and to King George .
Your town is a vital port on the English Channel .
Ever since you were a kid , you and your friends often would pause along the beaches to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ returning home after long voyages .
The sight of those magnificent vessels growing on the horizon always fills your heart with pride and makes you feel privileged and safe .
One day , as you come home from work , you watch as a familiar warship furls its sails and glides majestically into the harbor .
But as it gets closer to the docks , you begin to notice that things are amiss .
Crew members are scurrying about the deck and on the masts with less precision than is custom .
The @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and on a different angle .
And it 's listing slightly as if it has been damaged on a reef or in a battle .
You spot burn marks on the deck and ragged holes in the sails .
Well , you think , wear and tear may be expected of a war vessel , but the Royal Navy usually wins .
Still , you are dismayed at the sight of any damage , and do n't really want to look anymore .

We've all heard some Americans talk about being lifelong conservatives from conservative towns, many of them rural. These represent a small but significant plurality of citizens who say they’ve always voted Republican and probably will again this year. even though the pandemic and the economy are hurting schools, the elderly, everyone who works at or owns a local business, and especially farmers. And, hey, man of them like all of us know that Trump is one very strange and lacking leader, but he's the president, right? That means everything. You follow your chosen party’s leader, no matter what. But here's the thing: Imagine you are living in 18th century England…
Old England is a major world power in the 1700s. That’s a big source of pride among many of its countrymen. You are among the many who have little, facing barely surmountable problems in your daily life, in many cases working hard six or seven days a week to support your family. But you are loyal to the crown and to King George. Your town is a vital port on the English Channel. Ever since you were a kid, you and your friends often would pause along the beaches to watch one of His Majesty's warships returning home after long voyages. The sight of those magnificent vessels growing on the horizon always fills your heart with pride and makes you feel privileged and safe. One day, as you come home from work, you watch as a familiar warship furls its sails and glides majestically into the harbor. But as it gets closer to the docks, you begin to notice that things are amiss. Crew members are scurrying about the deck and on the masts with less precision than is custom. The ship approaches the docks faster than usual and on a different angle. And it's listing slightly as if it has been damaged on a reef or in a battle. You spot burn marks on the deck and ragged holes in the sails. Well, you think, wear and tear may be expected of a war vessel, but the Royal Navy usually wins. Still, you are dismayed at the sight of any damage, and don't really want to look anymore.
But you can't help yourself. You steal a peak Just before the warship crashes into the dock. You see men wearing colorful outfits that are not Royal Navy uniforms begin to swarm from below deck, brandishing swords and pistols. Some of them are missing a leg or an arm and wearing eye patches. All look blood-thirsty. They whoop and scream as they make ready to leap from the ship to the dock, apparently preparing to pillage the town. You see the ship's gun ports open and cannon rolling out into firing position, aimed right at you. One of your friends yells. "Pirates! They're pirates!"
You turn your back again. These can't be pirates! All you know is that you're proud of England, a powerful Royal Navy vessel is docking, and ... pirates!? This can't be happening! You don't want to believe it. It doesn't change anything! You're an Englishman through and through and the symbols of your country including the Union Jack are all that matter. Before you after all is the most powerful, first-rate ship of the line ever built! A, extremely exceptional ship; very, very much better than all those of all other nations.
You strive to focus on that remaining shred of truth. Even if pirates have taken over this great ship of state, that will not change the monarchy or Old England or its approach to the world or its regard for you.


dailykos--2020-09-04--what freepers are saying about trump's military slurs

america ’ s favorite wingnut watering hole , free republic dotcom , defenders of trump , guns , god & country—and in exactly that order—is not a monolithic entity .
in my years of lurking at the enemy ’ s , i ’ ve found many to be sane and reasonable on any given topic .
however , for every seemingly sensible member , there ’ s at least one other topic that horribly reminds us why that same person became a member in the first place .
for the most part , freeperville enjoys a substantial proportion of ( @ @ @ @ @ @ @ site founder and owner jim robinson , who makes reverence of the military a founding principle ( but only as long as that same military is aimed at freeperville ’ s collective enemies ) .
some years ago during obama ’ s tenure , a beloved birther , in a heated exchange about the court-martial of an awol army doctor who , in defiance of the kenyan imposter-in-chief , refused to deploy with his unit , almost got herself summarily drummed out of freeper corps for an almost unforgivable breach of decorum : @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the United States military .
I have never been so ashamed of this country at any point in my life .
To have to sit down and grovel before Lind , to try to convince her that she ’ s holding up 3 fingers when he knows she ’ s holding up 1 , is reminiscent of George Orwell ’ s “ 1984 ” .
today a smaller freeperville belongs to trump , thanks to a series of post-election purges .
so what are trump ’ s fiercest cultists saying about dear leader @ @ @ @ @ @ @ aspects of military service and veterans ?
slurs that everyone is talking about ?
the single diary i could find on the topic is long gone now .
if there were any others , they too are long gone ( buried under multiple diaries fauxraging over nancy ’ s hair and gloating over the police killing of a suspect in the recent death of an ammosexual in portland ) .
on orders from the grand poobah himself .
and that ’ s how we know that the veteran-worshipping red-blooded patriots of freeperville know @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ re forbidden to even speak of it , much less defend it .

america’s favorite wingnut watering hole, free republic dotcom, defenders of trump, guns, god & country—and in exactly that order—is not a monolithic entity. in my years of lurking at the enemy’s, i’ve found many to be sane and reasonable on any given topic. however, for every seemingly sensible member, there’s at least one other topic that horribly reminds us why that same person became a member in the first place.
for the most part, freeperville enjoys a substantial proportion of (at least self-proclaimed) veterans, including site founder and owner jim robinson, who makes reverence of the military a founding principle (but only as long as that same military is aimed at freeperville’s collective enemies). some years ago during obama’s tenure, a beloved birther, in a heated exchange about the court-martial of an awol army doctor who, in defiance of the kenyan imposter-in-chief, refused to deploy with his unit, almost got herself summarily drummed out of freeper corps for an almost unforgivable breach of decorum:
This makes me want to spit on the United States military. I have never been so ashamed of this country at any point in my life. To have to sit down and grovel before Lind, to try to convince her that she’s holding up 3 fingers when he knows she’s holding up 1, is reminiscent of George Orwell’s “1984”. I can’t stand this.
today a smaller freeperville belongs to trump, thanks to a series of post-election purges.
so what are trump’s fiercest cultists saying about dear leader’s newly unearthed slurs against all aspects of military service and veterans? slurs that everyone is talking about?
that’s right.
danger danger jim robinson! thoughtcrime!
the single diary i could find on the topic is long gone now. if there were any others, they too are long gone (buried under multiple diaries fauxraging over nancy’s hair and gloating over the police killing of a suspect in the recent death of an ammosexual in portland).
on orders from the grand poobah himself.
and that’s how we know that the veteran-worshipping red-blooded patriots of freeperville know that this latest outrage hurts. they’re forbidden to even speak of it, much less defend it.


dailykos--2020-09-06--Anselm Weber and Southwest Florida's spirit of 76

When Anselm Weber , the Democratic candidate for Florida House District 76 , talks about helping working people , he knows whereof he speaks : Like so many starting out in life he ’ s held jobs in fast food and convenience stores .
At one point he sold hot sauce at the Pepper Palace in Sarasota .
“ I ’ ve had a lot of jobs with little pay , ” recalls the 24-year old Florida native and Florida Gulf Coast University ( FGCU ) graduate .
“ The highest pay I got was $ 10 an hour.
” @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to have money be tight .
He lost his mother to a heart attack when he was 14 years old and was raised by his father , an adjunct professor at the University of Tampa .
His early jobs gave Weber a perspective on the world of work , the long hours , low pay and meager benefits and the needs of working people .
Thanks to his history studies at FGCU , where he graduated this past December , he ’ s been able to put those experiences into a larger perspective @ @ @ @ @ @ @ recent jobs was with NextGen Florida , an offshoot of NextGen America , a progressive political organization founded by billionaire and former presidential Democratic presidential candidate Tom Steyer .
There , Weber helped register voters and update their voting information , particularly on the Florida Southwest University campus where he engaged students and encouraged political participation .
“ That experience helped confirm that more people felt the way I felt , ” he recalled in an interview with The Paradise Progressive .
“ I was organizing a lot of young people .
The @ @ @ @ @ @ @ worldview from those who were disengaged .
Those didn ’ t feel incentivized.
” Despite that , Weber believes his efforts helped over a thousand students .
Weber is now seeking to put that hands-on knowledge—of hard work and political activism—in the service of the people in Florida House District 76 .
The 76th District encompasses the coast of Lee County .
It starts at the northern Lee County line at Pine Island and includes Captiva and Sanibel Islands .
On the mainland it includes Punta Rassa , Iona , Harlem Heights , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the southern Lee County line .
Since 2012 the District has been represented in Tallahassee by Ray Rodrigues , a Republican politician who spent his previous career in Lee County positions .
Rodrigues is term-limited and this year is running for the State Senate against Democrat Rachel Brown .
Water looms over all the District ’ s other physical attributes .
Consisting of low-lying islands and coastal communities , it ’ s vulnerable to hurricanes , storm surges , sea level rise , erosion and all the ills of climate change .
Polluted @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Carlos Bay and the Gulf , giving rise to red tide and toxic blue-green algae blooms .
Here , climate change is not an abstraction ; it ’ s a clear and present reality—and danger .
“ We have 3 years left to stop a 1.5 degree rise in global temperatures , which is the threshold we can not cross to stop massive climate catastrophe , ” Weber ’ s written .
“ We have a plan for this in Florida .
We are especially hard hit from sea level rise and increasingly @ @ @ @ @ @ @ FL state candidates have come together and crafted a Green Jobs Program for Florida.
” Formally known as the Florida Climate and Economic Defense Initiative , the Green Jobs Program , of which Weber was a founder , will both combat climate change directly while also helping the District ’ s need for good-paying jobs , he argues .
But it ’ s not just the overall climate that presents a threat .
The District ’ s water , Weber has written , “ is constantly under assault.
” Ray Rodrigues ’ relationship @ @ @ @ @ @ @ brought him the most fire from his primary opponent , state Rep. Heather Fitzenhagen ( R-78-Fort Myers ) .
She accused him of being a puppet of Big Sugar .
When it comes to upstream water polluters , Weber says , “ we really have to go after them .
If we find polluters we revoke the licenses of farms that are polluting and we get the companies to pay back for the pollution .
I think we can go after these companies.
” He is calling for reforming the Clean Waterways Act @ @ @ @ @ @ @ its polluting carbon , phosphorous and nitrogen .
While protecting and preserving the District ’ s natural environment is vital , it ’ s helping its over 150,000 people that really drives Weber .
He ’ s running in an unusually challenging time .
There ’ s the coronavirus pandemic , a devastating economic crash and the uncertain future of the businesses built on tourism , hospitality and seasonal influxes .
“ People are struggling , ” he says .
In Lee County rent increases have outstripped wages by 9 percent and with @ @ @ @ @ @ @ nationwide are at risk of eviction , he points out .
“ It ’ s abominable to throw people out of their homes while a pandemic is raging through our state .
We need to keep the eye on the ball with this crisis .
Working and poor Floridians are the most at risk because of this crisis , ” he says .
“ Before COVID-19 , Florida had a 13 percent poverty rate and 56 percent of renters were spending 30 percent or more of their income on housing , ” he @ @ @ @ @ @ @ wage is $ 8.46 , which is almost half of what a living wage is for Florida .
Now with the harshest economic recession since the Great Depression , Florida is in desperation mode and we need people in office who will fight for working Floridians.
” What ’ s worse , all this is occurring at a time when people ’ s healthcare is under threat .
President Donald Trump and his followers are relentlessly attempting to destroy the Affordable Care Act .
“ I believe we need universal healthcare for the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
“ We need to fight for universal healthcare for Florida so no one is foregoing essential medical needs simply because they can ’ t afford the out-of-pocket costs.
” He ’ s particularly incensed by the treatment of veterans ’ healthcare needs .
“ The GOP in Florida refuses to expand Medicaid as part of the Affordable Care Act , ” he points out .
“ These men and women have served their country yet the GOP does not believe we should expand healthcare so our veterans can get the healthcare they @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Medicaid expansion so no veteran goes without the healthcare they need.
” He ’ s also fully conscious that if elected one of the first issues he ’ s going to be facing will be participating in re-drawing the legislative maps based on the 2020 census .
He ’ s calling for an end to gerrymandering and fair and equitable redistricting .
“ We should district the state so the lines are proportional , fair and balanced , ” he says .
“ I ’ m not in favor of Democrats doing the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the general election Weber is facing Adam Botana , from Bonita Springs , who calls himself a businessman although it ’ s unclear from his campaign website and social media postings exactly what business he ’ s in .
“ Personally , he seems like a chummy guy .
But he ’ s running on Trump ’ s agenda , ” says Weber .
Botana , a first-time political candidate , is backed by corporate and ideological political action committees ( PACs ) like Novartis Finance Corporation , the Florida Beer Wholesalers Good @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Florida PAC and A Bold Future for Florida , a politically conservative PAC .
During Botana ’ s primary run his opponent , Jason Maughan , portrayed him as a wild party animal with a 2012 misdemeanor conviction for driving under the influence and seven reckless driving citations .
To learn more about Anselm Weber see his website or Facebook page .

The Paradise Progressive Profile An September 3, 2020 6 Minutes
Sept. 3, 2020 by David Silverberg
When Anselm Weber, the Democratic candidate for Florida House District 76, talks about helping working people, he knows whereof he speaks: Like so many starting out in life he’s held jobs in fast food and convenience stores. At one point he sold hot sauce at the Pepper Palace in Sarasota.
“I’ve had a lot of jobs with little pay,” recalls the 24-year old Florida native and Florida Gulf Coast University (FGCU) graduate. “The highest pay I got was $10 an hour.”
He knows what it’s like to have money be tight. He lost his mother to a heart attack when he was 14 years old and was raised by his father, an adjunct professor at the University of Tampa.
His early jobs gave Weber a perspective on the world of work, the long hours, low pay and meager benefits and the needs of working people. Thanks to his history studies at FGCU, where he graduated this past December, he’s been able to put those experiences into a larger perspective.
One of Weber’s more recent jobs was with NextGen Florida, an offshoot of NextGen America, a progressive political organization founded by billionaire and former presidential Democratic presidential candidate Tom Steyer. There, Weber helped register voters and update their voting information, particularly on the Florida Southwest University campus where he engaged students and encouraged political participation.
“That experience helped confirm that more people felt the way I felt,” he recalled in an interview with The Paradise Progressive. “I was organizing a lot of young people. The ones who were engaged had a different worldview from those who were disengaged. Those didn’t feel incentivized.” Despite that, Weber believes his efforts helped over a thousand students.
Weber is now seeking to put that hands-on knowledge—of hard work and political activism—in the service of the people in Florida House District 76.
Water, water, everywhere
The 76th District encompasses the coast of Lee County. It starts at the northern Lee County line at Pine Island and includes Captiva and Sanibel Islands. On the mainland it includes Punta Rassa, Iona, Harlem Heights, Fort Myers Beach and Bonita Springs to the southern Lee County line. Since 2012 the District has been represented in Tallahassee by Ray Rodrigues, a Republican politician who spent his previous career in Lee County positions. Rodrigues is term-limited and this year is running for the State Senate against Democrat Rachel Brown. Water looms over all the District’s other physical attributes. Consisting of low-lying islands and coastal communities, it’s vulnerable to hurricanes, storm surges, sea level rise, erosion and all the ills of climate change. Polluted water from Lake Okeechobee dumps into San Carlos Bay and the Gulf, giving rise to red tide and toxic blue-green algae blooms. Here, climate change is not an abstraction; it’s a clear and present reality—and danger. “We have 3 years left to stop a 1.5 degree rise in global temperatures, which is the threshold we cannot cross to stop massive climate catastrophe,” Weber’s written. “We have a plan for this in Florida. We are especially hard hit from sea level rise and increasingly harsher hurricanes. That is why several FL state candidates have come together and crafted a Green Jobs Program for Florida.” Formally known as the Florida Climate and Economic Defense Initiative, the Green Jobs Program, of which Weber was a founder, will both combat climate change directly while also helping the District’s need for good-paying jobs, he argues. But it’s not just the overall climate that presents a threat. The District’s water, Weber has written, “is constantly under assault.” Ray Rodrigues’ relationship with the sugar industry around Lake O brought him the most fire from his primary opponent, state Rep. Heather Fitzenhagen (R-78-Fort Myers). She accused him of being a puppet of Big Sugar. When it comes to upstream water polluters, Weber says, “we really have to go after them. If we find polluters we revoke the licenses of farms that are polluting and we get the companies to pay back for the pollution. I think we can go after these companies.” He is calling for reforming the Clean Waterways Act to manage Lake O runoff and sequester its polluting carbon, phosphorous and nitrogen.
A stressful time
While protecting and preserving the District’s natural environment is vital, it’s helping its over 150,000 people that really drives Weber.
He’s running in an unusually challenging time. There’s the coronavirus pandemic, a devastating economic crash and the uncertain future of the businesses built on tourism, hospitality and seasonal influxes. “People are struggling,” he says.
In Lee County rent increases have outstripped wages by 9 percent and with the economic crash 51 percent of renters nationwide are at risk of eviction, he points out.
“It’s abominable to throw people out of their homes while a pandemic is raging through our state. We need to keep the eye on the ball with this crisis. Working and poor Floridians are the most at risk because of this crisis,” he says.
“Before COVID-19, Florida had a 13 percent poverty rate and 56 percent of renters were spending 30 percent or more of their income on housing,” he has written. “The state minimum wage is $8.46, which is almost half of what a living wage is for Florida. Now with the harshest economic recession since the Great Depression, Florida is in desperation mode and we need people in office who will fight for working Floridians.”
What’s worse, all this is occurring at a time when people’s healthcare is under threat. President Donald Trump and his followers are relentlessly attempting to destroy the Affordable Care Act.
“I believe we need universal healthcare for the state of Florida,” Weber maintains. “We need to fight for universal healthcare for Florida so no one is foregoing essential medical needs simply because they can’t afford the out-of-pocket costs.”
He’s particularly incensed by the treatment of veterans’ healthcare needs. “The GOP in Florida refuses to expand Medicaid as part of the Affordable Care Act,” he points out. “These men and women have served their country yet the GOP does not believe we should expand healthcare so our veterans can get the healthcare they need. I’ll fight for Medicaid expansion so no veteran goes without the healthcare they need.”
He’s also fully conscious that if elected one of the first issues he’s going to be facing will be participating in re-drawing the legislative maps based on the 2020 census. He’s calling for an end to gerrymandering and fair and equitable redistricting.
“We should district the state so the lines are proportional, fair and balanced,” he says. “I’m not in favor of Democrats doing the exact same gerrymandering as Republicans.”
Getting there
In the general election Weber is facing Adam Botana, from Bonita Springs, who calls himself a businessman although it’s unclear from his campaign website and social media postings exactly what business he’s in.
“Personally, he seems like a chummy guy. But he’s running on Trump’s agenda,” says Weber.
Botana, a first-time political candidate, is backed by corporate and ideological political action committees (PACs) like Novartis Finance Corporation, the Florida Beer Wholesalers Good Government Committee, the Associated Industries of Florida PAC and A Bold Future for Florida, a politically conservative PAC.
During Botana’s primary run his opponent, Jason Maughan, portrayed him as a wild party animal with a 2012 misdemeanor conviction for driving under the influence and seven reckless driving citations.
“The Republicans say you’re a socialist if you’re picking up groceries for your grandma,” he laughs. Weber is fully aware that he’s facing an uphill fight. The District has long voted Republican, is overwhelmingly white (83.5 percent) and older (29.6 percent between the ages of 60 and 74). Nonetheless, these are extraordinary times and they may yield extraordinary results—and extraordinary change. In this he may be aided by his support for the top of the Democratic ticket. “I’m voting for Joe Biden, no matter what,” he says. “I think he’s the best candidate right now.” For Weber the experience of running for office has its highs and lows—but the ultimate goal justifies the effort. “It is stressful. It’s a lot to deal with,” he admits. But “it’s really exhilarating to really engage with people. There are a lot of moving parts but it’s a worthwhile experience. This gives me a good place to be advocating for change in Florida.” No one is hurling accusations at Weber—yet. But is he worried about being smeared with the “Socialist” label that Trump and his minions are throwing around?
To learn more about Anselm Weber see his website or Facebook page.
Liberty lives in light
© 2020 by David Silverberg


dailykos--2020-09-06--The Dark Poetry Returns

The Dark Poetry Returns

( Note : I posted these poems , I believe , when rump was first sworn in .
They aren ’ t really all that dark , except for their subject .
I ’ m posting them again , because if anything , they are even more relevant than they were .
I still feel I have done the best job of anyone in cataloging and naming rump ’ s few expressions ( he has all the best expressions ) .
I will insert this one new comment : There are two things I think we need to do with @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the votes , and , really , aint nobody much gon na change their attitude between now and the election .
But we need to keep the pedal to the metal .
We need to hammer this creep and keep on hammering .
We need to puncture his vanity badly .
We must not let up .
That ’ s obvious .
There is only one way rump can succeed ( I will not say win—he can not win .
He can steal , but he can not win ) .
WE MUST @ @ @ @ @ @ @ We KNOW that rump and his brigade will start pumping them out .
But this time we ’ re WATCHING , and we need to let him know it , the way we have been .
We must also prepare the electorate for all the lies that are about to hit , for the Russian meddling , all of it .
We KNOW it is coming .
So let ’ s tell people it ’ s coming , and tell them what is coming , and tell them what to watch out for @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Can we not find a way to offer financial support to individual farm families to help through this quarantine and depression ?
Can not we offer this as easily as support to any other group ?
I think , faced with the fact that the Dems seriously propose to help and the repubs are doing nothing , such a move just might change a few votes .
And finally : Remember , if you read this and the things it says about republicans , it was originally written BEFORE we had nearly 4 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ I suppose , is a miscellany , a miscellany ending with poetry ( fair warning ) .
1 ) The Democratic candidate promises to take care of ACA and look out for Social Security and Medicare , to seek for justice for all , including seeing to it that the criminally rich no longer escape taxes .
And so on .
All the republican candidate says—he , or very rarely , she—is “ I 'm not a racist .
( But let 's shoot all the immigrants . )
” Has n't it @ @ @ @ @ @ @ or their emotionally disturbed supporters , that only a racist has to keep repeating , over and over , “ I 'm not a racist.
” Because , you know , if you 're not a racist , it shows .
Just like it does if you are one .
People can tell without you saying a word .
Only the racists think that simply saying you are n't one means anything .
Talk about magical thinking .
Exactly the way they think about science , about justice , about money .
They @ @ @ @ @ @ @ do is deny , and a fact will not be a fact , bigotry will be fair-mindedness .
The Democrats , at least , do not have to deny .
They can affirm .
Vote this November 3rd .
And how about trying this ?
Do n't vote for anyone who utters denials .
Maybe that 'll knock off one or two Democrats .
But it would simply devastate the republicans , whose only claim to decency and fair play is to deny they 're against them .
2 ) I 've been @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , which features excerpts from two more newly-discovered young girl 's diaries in Hitler 's era , both of whom were , like Ann Frank , their far more celebrated example , killed by the Nazis .
Both girls prayed to God in despair and yet with total faith .
Their prayers were not answered .
I still have faith , I still believe in love and salvation , but it is a wounded and befuddled faith , wandering blindly in inexplicable darkness .
This poor mind can not come up with any @ @ @ @ @ @ @ not have answered those prayers .
In those pages , there was a beautiful story about a young woman being paraded to the gas chambers .
She and the others were nude .
The Nazi officers were gathered to watch .
She went off on them , telling them what sick dogs they were , that this was the only way they would ever see a naked woman , that they would never know the grace of a woman giving herself in love , and attacked the officers , one in particular , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ her off , and she went to the gas chamber laughing uproariously .
I hope to have her courage when they come for me .
And I know they will come for me , if they can .
Reading those diaries brought home to me intensely how the time for normalizing is over with .
All these slick talking-head republicans , smooth-shaven jowls wobbled by a diseased grin , suit-wearing zombis—they can not ever seem normal to me .
They are too much like the sympathizers , the quislings who worked with theNazis @ @ @ @ @ @ @ nothing acceptable about them .
There 's nothing forgivable .
They are not merely people whose opinion differs from mine .
They are completely completely given over to evil , and the evil is visible and repellent .
3 ) Poetry , as Auden says in an early poem , may make nothing happen ( in the world of politics at least ) , but it does make things happen for , and inside of , good people .
Whatever “ poetry ” does or does n't do in the survival marketplace , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ making of poetry therefore does make “ something ” happen .
It can not defeat a rump , not by itself .
But it can certainly record him , and mock him , and mark him for all posterity .
( or If His Shiny Noggin Protrudes , It Comes To Show How Bald He is , and Dumb ) These are the five expressions of Donald Trump : the pumpkin pomposity of his bilge-pump opinion , upper lip lifted as if to gnaw , with those small ( but beaverish ) white @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the rolling weight of brain , there 's nothing but rattle and air The second is Me So Clever , like the lips of a fat cloth And the one you just know he practices in the mirror , the third ’ s those blubbery loins for battle , squinting to serious distance , in the face of the villains ' insistence brows lifted , pigly eyes wide and still , the skin in all that expanse of strangely orange tan , the slack of the mouth reeled into deep and quizzical comprehension @ @ @ @ @ @ @ conclude ( or , more nearly , run out You No Like Me but Me HATE You , the face all grimace and intimations as if mayhem were about to happen— Have all the insane megalomaniacs Used to be you could count on the villain to raise a good cackle or three .
Along with the bloody ax , he wielded a sense of style—evil to the max , no doubt about it , but for everyone he slays Evil was principle , not just tedious facts— more hideous than the last ( @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the atrocities of an idiot psychopath .
might dazzle our feeble virtue , now dead-eyed Putins not an entertaining bone in their flabby bodies .
They wo n't invite us into their elegant studies to offer us coffee , or play a last round of cards and ( thinly smiling ) , in a few well-chosen words set forth their exact plan ( we were on notice ) for world domination .
( The adrenaline was gratis , before the contest . )
Nor is it just fiction versus nor were they all @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Trumps , but six-foot and sultry vamps in six-inch pumps once commanded the wicked , the devilish stage , laughing our honor to shreds .
No .
It 's the age .
too grateful for that necessary doubt of easy rationales of my own good .
Blank doubt has driven me from mood to mood , has put my sanity to total rout on courtesy , facts , respect ( and where it should ) ; on how its earthly predictions have worked out .
Too many call themselves Christians and good , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ( and they 're nice to those neighbors—but , vitriolic , shout or different faith ; gainsay all likelihood , I seldom call myself a Christian , but I would if “ Christian ” meant both rational and good .
What if life just seems to have a meaning , like a dream seems to have a meaning till the fog goes and the dew dries ?
I 'd like to say it do n't , but experience inclines me do .
I can see how it would be some comfort to realize @ @ @ @ @ @ @ The stuff you folks think , though , I ca n't .
Just ca n't .
It aint Do n't mean I do n't pray the way you taught me , because I do .
Just have a different notion why .
And this one last one has , I hope , an accurate title .
The liar will die by strangling , the thief will die in debt ; the bigot will die by burning , The traitor will die by hanging , the rapist will be shot ; the fool will @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , caught in his plot .
And some will die in silence , and some will die with a scream ; and he who drained the country will drown in a vat of cream .
The cruel will be beheaded , the polluter will die of poison The cheater will die by betrayal , that 'll be how he dies .

(Note: I posted these poems, I believe, when rump was first sworn in. They aren’t really all that dark, except for their subject. I’m posting them again, because if anything, they are even more relevant than they were. I still feel I have done the best job of anyone in cataloging and naming rump’s few expressions (he has all the best expressions).
I will insert this one new comment: There are two things I think we need to do with regard to this election. Biden has the votes, and, really, aint nobody much gonna change their attitude between now and the election. But we need to keep the pedal to the metal. We need to hammer this creep and keep on hammering. We need to puncture his vanity badly. We must not let up. That’s obvious. There is only one way rump can succeed (I will not say win—he cannot win. He can steal, but he cannot win). WE MUST BE READY for the dirty tricks. We KNOW that rump and his brigade will start pumping them out. But this time we’re WATCHING, and we need to let him know it, the way we have been. We must also prepare the electorate for all the lies that are about to hit, for the Russian meddling, all of it. We KNOW it is coming. So let’s tell people it’s coming, and tell them what is coming, and tell them what to watch out for.
The second thing is this: Can we not find a way to offer financial support to individual farm families to help through this quarantine and depression? Cannot we offer this as easily as support to any other group? I think, faced with the fact that the Dems seriously propose to help and the repubs are doing nothing, such a move just might change a few votes.
And finally: Remember, if you read this and the things it says about republicans, it was originally written BEFORE we had nearly 4 years of hard evidence,
This, I suppose, is a miscellany, a miscellany ending with poetry (fair warning).
1) The Democratic candidate promises to take care of ACA and look out for Social Security and Medicare, to seek for justice for all, including seeing to it that the criminally rich no longer escape taxes. And so on.
All the republican candidate says—he, or very rarely, she—is “I'm not a racist. (But let's shoot all the immigrants.)”
Hasn't it ever occurred to any of these sleaze-weasels or their emotionally disturbed supporters, that only a racist has to keep repeating, over and over, “I'm not a racist.”
Because, you know, if you're not a racist, it shows. Just like it does if you are one. People can tell without you saying a word.
Only the racists think that simply saying you aren't one means anything. Talk about magical thinking. Exactly the way they think about science, about justice, about money. They seemed convinced that all you have to do is deny, and a fact will not be a fact, bigotry will be fair-mindedness.
The Democrats, at least, do not have to deny. They can affirm. Vote this November 3rd. And how about trying this? Don't vote for anyone who utters denials.
Maybe that'll knock off one or two Democrats. But it would simply devastate the republicans, whose only claim to decency and fair play is to deny they're against them.
2) I've been reading the Smithsonian's most recent issue, which features excerpts from two more newly-discovered young girl's diaries in Hitler's era, both of whom were, like Ann Frank, their far more celebrated example, killed by the Nazis. Both girls prayed to God in despair and yet with total faith. Their prayers were not answered. I still have faith, I still believe in love and salvation, but it is a wounded and befuddled faith, wandering blindly in inexplicable darkness. This poor mind cannot come up with any reason at all a good God would not have answered those prayers.
In those pages, there was a beautiful story about a young woman being paraded to the gas chambers. She and the others were nude. The Nazi officers were gathered to watch. She went off on them, telling them what sick dogs they were, that this was the only way they would ever see a naked woman, that they would never know the grace of a woman giving herself in love, and attacked the officers, one in particular, really went after him. They dragged her off, and she went to the gas chamber laughing uproariously.
I hope to have her courage when they come for me. And I know they will come for me, if they can. Reading those diaries brought home to me intensely how the time for normalizing is over with. All these slick talking-head republicans, smooth-shaven jowls wobbled by a diseased grin, suit-wearing zombis—they cannot ever seem normal to me.
They are too much like the sympathizers, the quislings who worked with theNazis against their own people. There's nothing acceptable about them. There's nothing forgivable. They are not merely people whose opinion differs from mine. They are completely completely given over to evil, and the evil is visible and repellent.
3) Poetry, as Auden says in an early poem, may make nothing happen (in the world of politics at least), but it does make things happen for, and inside of, good people. Whatever“poetry” does or doesn't do in the survival marketplace, poetry itself is something, and the making of poetry therefore does make “something” happen. It cannot defeat a rump, not by itself. But it can certainly record him, and mock him, and mark him for all posterity.
TRUMP LOL
(or If His Shiny Noggin Protrudes, It Comes
To Show How Bald He is, and Dumb)
These are the five expressions of Donald Trump:
Begin with MeDemented Beaver—
one tiny minatory index asserts
the pumpkin pomposity of his bilge-pump
opinion, upper lip lifted as if to gnaw,
with those small (but beaverish) white teeth,
an immigrant to death,
head tilted as if by the rolling weight of brain,
though it's plain
there's nothing but rattle and air
(and insane hair)
up there.
The second is Me So Clever,
eyes drooping shut, the loose and rubbery mouth
slung wide in a fatuous grin
like the lips of a fat cloth
purse full of turds.
And the one you just know
he practices in the mirror, the third’s
Me Secret Agent Man. He girds
those blubbery loins for battle, squinting to serious distance,
jaws clenched and bottom lip pooched to show
a stern resolve (one supposes)
in the face of the villains' insistence
on evil. (Apparently
he doesn't see
the flubbery jowls, the double chin,
or smell the mental halitosis,
the wholesale rot within).
Then there's MeReasonable Man,
brows lifted, pigly eyes wide and still, the skin
around them strangely white, islands
in all that expanse of strangely orange tan,
the slack of the mouth reeled into deep and quizzical
corners of in-
comprehension, how could anyone doubt
such a brainy and physical
specimen,the healthiest fellow in the highlands?
And to conclude (or, more nearly, run out
of patience:
You No Like Me but Me HATE You,
the face all grimace and intimations
of slaughter, that impossible bouche
yanked to a tight and drawn-down U,
quivering inverted horse-shoe
of impotent fury, the eyes wide open
as if mayhem were about to happen—
What a douche.
DOUBLESONNET FOR DASTARDLY GENIUS
Have all the insane megalomaniacs
turned into crashing bores nowadays?
Used to be you could count on the villain to raise
a good cackle or three. Along with the bloody ax,
he wielded a sense of style—evil to the max,
no doubt about it, but for everyone he slays
a sharp quip, an unforgettable turn of phrase.
Evil was principle, not just tedious facts—
bodies piled higher, made bloodier, each outrage
more hideous than the last (but on the same page),
the atrocities of an idiot psychopath.
Where once a Moriarty polymath
might dazzle our feeble virtue, now dead-eyed Putins
and blathering Trumps hold forth, bullying cretins
in the neighborhood bar, self-absorbed blowhards,
not an entertaining bone in their flabby bodies.
They won't invite us into their elegant studies
to offer us coffee, or play a last round of cards
and (thinly smiling), in a few well-chosen words
set forth their exact plan (we were on notice)
for world domination. (The adrenaline was gratis,
af illip of sheer demonic brilliance, crossed swords
before the contest.) Nor is it just fiction versus
reality, quotidian versus catharsis,
nor were they all men: I speak of Putins and Trumps,
but six-foot and sultry vamps in six-inch pumps
once commanded the wicked, the devilish stage,
laughing our honor to shreds. No. It's the age.
VILLANELLEFOR CHRISTIANOIDS
I seldom call myself a Christian (I could)—
too grateful for that necessary doubt
of easy rationales of my own good.
Blank doubt has driven me from mood to mood,
has put my sanity to total rout
at times—but claim I'm a Christian? Oh, I could—
I often ache for sweet salvation—who'd
reject that promised afterlife without
some rational assessment? —Where it stood
on courtesy, facts, respect (and where it should);
on how its earthly predictions have worked out.
Too many call themselves Christians and good,
living so well in their white neighborhood
(and they're nice to those neighbors—but, vitriolic, shout
irrationalities at different blood
or different faith; gainsay all likelihood,
the obvious truth; incite to murderous rout).
I seldom call myself a Christian, but I would
if “Christian” meant both rational and good.
THE REDNECK ATHEIST
(a different reason why)
What if life just seems to have a meaning,
like a dream seems to have a meaning
till the fog goes and the dew dries?
I'd like to say it don't, but experience
inclines me do. I can see how
it would be some comfort to realize
it all made sense
somehow beyond what humans can know.
The stuff you folks think, though, I can't.
Just can't. It aint
the least bit plausible. Aint elegant.
Don't mean I don't pray the way
you taught me, because I
do. Just have a different notion why.
And this one last one has, I hope, an accurate title.
PROPHETIC JUSTICE
The liar will die by strangling,
the thief will die in debt;
the bigot will die by burning,
the Nazi by bayonet.
The traitor will die by hanging,
the rapist will be shot;
the fool will die in his folly,
the cunning, caught in his plot.
And some will die in silence,
and some will die with a scream;
and he who drained the country
will drown in a vat of cream.
The cruel will be beheaded,
the profiteer blown up;
the polluter will die of poison
served in a china cup.
The cheater will die by betrayal,
the tyrant of surprise;
however the villain prospered,
that'll be how he dies.


dailykos--2020-09-07--The Mayfly and the Great Trout, a cautionary tale by Terry Pratchett:

“ [ A ] n old mayfly is telling some youngsters about this god , as they hover just above @ @ @ @ @ : ‘ … you were telling us about the Great Trout.
’ ‘ Ah .
@ @ @ @ @ Trout .
Well , you see , if you ’ ve been a good mayfly @ @ @ @ @ properly— ’ ‘ —taking heed of your elders and betters— ’ ‘ — yes , @ @ @ @ @ elders and betters , then eventually the Great Trout— ’ Clop .
Clop .
‘ @ @ @ @ @ of the younger mayflies .
There was no reply .
‘ The Great Trout what @ @ @ @ @ , nervously .
They looked down at a series of expanding concentric rings on the @ @ @ @ @ sign !
’ said a mayfly .
‘ I remember being told about that !
@ @ @ @ @ water !
Thus shall be the sign of the Great Trout !
’ Pratchett , @ @ @ @ @ The Science of Discworld II : A Novel .
Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group .

“[A]n old mayfly is telling some youngsters about this god, as they hover just above the surface of a stream:
‘… you were telling us about the Great Trout.’ ‘Ah. Yes. Right. The Trout. Well, you see, if you’ve been a good mayfly, zigzagging up and down properly—’ ‘—taking heed of your elders and betters—’
‘— yes, and taking heed of your elders and betters, then eventually the Great Trout—’ Clop. Clop. ‘Yes?’ said one of the younger mayflies. There was no reply.
‘The Great Trout what?’ said another mayfly, nervously. They looked down at a series of expanding concentric rings on the water. ‘The holy sign!’ said a mayfly. ‘I remember being told about that! A Great Circle in the water! Thus shall be the sign of the Great Trout!’
Pratchett, Terry. The Globe: The Science of Discworld II: A Novel. Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group.