You wrote: "Democrats are losing on 'crime' - somehow Democrats have got themselves in a situation where the head of their party holds the most popular position on guns and crime—and yet they’re getting crushed on the issue because they’ve let GOP campaign ads, the right wing media ecosystem, and assorted progressive big city prosecutors shape the narrative on the issue rather than doing so themselves."
So what else is new? This story is repeated time after time on issue after issue. What I don't get is why Democratic party leaders and operatives never seem to get it? Republicans never stop campaigning - not so Democrats. Republicans know how to make a mountain out of a molehill - Democrats allow mountain high issues to be driven over and left in the rear view mirror. Republicans have a rightwing propaganda machine that functions like a superlaser/super weapon - in stark contrast, Democrats don't make effective use of TV ads or public relations campaigns. They have nothing to counter right the impact of rightwing propaganda on the majority of Americans who don't read publications like the Atlantic or books by Pulitzer Prize winning authors.
Relying on mainstream media to get the job (influencing public opinion) done is not a reliable strategy. Case in point - following President Biden's speech on the present dangers to democracy, even MSNBC's lead in was Andrea Mitchell proclaiming that some Democrats, including Bernie Sander's campaign manager, did not agree with the timing and subject of the speech - which they believe should have been about inflation and kitchen issues instead. So double whammy - from both Democrats and center left politicians like Bernie choosing to shoot themselves in the foot as they fire at Biden and the media joining in the attack rather than supporting Biden's efforts at truth telling.
To his credit, I'm sure I paraphrased him poorly. I found the actual text: "But all of that makes it imperative to stay, not go. Disinformation and trolling works best when the malefactors who engage in it create an impression of being a reliable and trustworthy majority, when they can say that “everybody knows this.” Abandoning such places out of some misplaced sense of moral rectitude simply clears the field for more lies and mischief."
...anticipated problem. I think it is amazing how prepared teachers are willing to be and how much they care about the well-being of the children in their care.
Want to know where the litter box thing comes from? Some teachers, anticipating the very real possibility of school shootings and lockdowns anticipate the very real problem of having children in lockdown that stretches for hours. What do you do for the kids that need to use the bathroom? Some teachers have quietly put litter and a plastic tub somewhere out on site in their classroom to be used if there is a prolonged lockdown. What else can they do? I think this illustrates how deep.y teachers care for the welfare of their students. It isn’t a wonderful solution but it does provide some way to deal with a very real anticipated
I am watching the protests and disruptions in Brazil after Jair Bolsonaro lost his election with dismay. They may foretell what will happen here in 2024, and possibly 2022.
I am watching the protests and disruptions in Brazil after Jair Bolsonaro lost his election with dismay. They foretell the same thing happening here in 2024, and possibly 2022.
I am demoralized. What does it take to wake people up to the fact that if things continue as they have been, we will have a full-fledged authoritarian president who plans to keep the job for life. Look to Ukraine. It knows how to value democracy against dictatorship I suggest the election deniers just go to Russia. They will have no more trouble with elections. They can attack gay people openly, or just get them sent to the gulag. The State will be sure their is no left-leaning “fake” news. There are lots of police, soldiers, FSB agents—and nobody can de-fund them. The glories of a dictatorship!
I fear we are already at the end of the democratic experiment. If lots of election deniers get into office, they won’t even bother with an election in 2024, they will just hand it to Trump on a silver platter.
The rise of authoritarianism is clear—from the Supreme Court undoing precedent, to bookbanning, to the removal of subject matter from school curricula. These are the steps dictators follow. Watch and see.
"Yet somehow Democrats have got themselves in a situation where the head of their party holds the most popular position on guns and crime—and yet they’re getting crushed on the issue because they’ve let GOP campaign ads, the right wing media ecosystem, and assorted"
You can't turn on a TV news show that doesn't blast the Republicans are great. They're winning. They have a plan. It's crazy I've yet to read even in the Bulwark a positive piece about the Democrats. Oh sure it's bad press for the Republicans, but as was once sai, "there is no such thing as bad publicity." My Congressman is Mike Levin who is a great legislator and all around good guy. Thru redistricting he is now in very tight race with a man who wants abortion to be illegal in all cases. How is this possible, and this California.
It is so depressing that the nut jobs get all the publicity. This didn't just start with Trump. It started with rush Linbaugh and Fox News. Really at the removal of the Fairness Doctrine. Just like Hitler was financed by wealthy conservatives so is crazy stupid Republicans. This has been on the making for many years. I'm older, white and comfortable. I think I'll stop reading news, and just sit on my deck and hope WW3 can be held off for a good while.
Run for president as an independent giving daily high-minded speeches on the topic of how Donald Trump is destroying all things good and true. Then shortly before the election, drop out and endorse the Democrat.
Decency is also on the ballot in the midterms. Why do these MAGA types feel that these cruel, indecent, mean spirited, spineless candidates they support won’t behave that way towards their own constituency once they are elected? Perhaps starting with reduced Social Security?
Great article on crime as an issue by Tim today. He's telling the truth, straight up and hard-hitting. Good luck with that, but it's still always worth a try.
Off topic here, and yet part of the broader topic. NPR this morning had a report on Clay Clark's ReAwaken America Tours. I was struck by what seemed a hefty price tag, until I looked at their website. The tour is presented as a two day conference, with about forty or more speakers, for $250. Given that, the price is not shocking. However, one wonders who it is out there that has a spare two days, as well as both the $250 and additional money to spend at the not-inexpensive vendor tables. A schedule shows that nearly all the dates are sold out in the next several months.
But what struck me, of course, is the presentation as yet another Great American Evangelical Revival. Being an Episcopalian I have always been, indeed I suppose I was raised to be, suspicious of "enthusiasm." One of the aspects of this suspicion is, of course, the idea that there is any sort of deep truth, or simple truth, beyond the Elizabethan dictum to worship together and get along with one another in spite of our differences.
And sure enough, halfway down the web page was the claim, in a bright red banner, "Arrive with Questions -- Leave with Answers."
This recalled one of the sermons of the great Alan Jones, Emeritus Dean at Grace Cathedral. In it he was speaking about how the profession of Christianity is so often met with raised eyebrows in our community, and thus often delivered with a wince if not an apology. He went on to speak about some of the reasons for this, not least, the often uncharitable claims made by some of those professing Christianity, and the bold assertion of "truth" under-girding this. To those "truth" seekers he contrasted the position of the Episcopal church where inclusion is not a recent innovation.
To those seeking certainty in a Christian religion, he said, "Welcome to the Episcopal Church! You have Questions and we have Questions."
Conspiracy theories get oxygen from a resemblance to critical thinking in the initial phase: "I'm not just going to accept the dominant view. I'm looking deeper to find the real truth."
Sometimes the dominant early view is eventually shown to be wrong. But often a view is dominant because the evidence supporting it is overwhelming -- e.g., the reasons for the storming of the Capitol on 1/6/21. In that case, trying to find a hidden truth that inverts the whole "narrative" is perverse and probably motivated by self-interest or bias -- or by a variety of groupthink.
Most of the people trying to find the hidden counternarrative behind 1/6 or the Pelosi attack are far from independent critical thinkers; they're really trying to maintain the core dogmas of the group they've aligned with, regardless of where the evidence points.
Great morning shots..love Jonathan Swift, thanks for quoting him
You wrote: "Democrats are losing on 'crime' - somehow Democrats have got themselves in a situation where the head of their party holds the most popular position on guns and crime—and yet they’re getting crushed on the issue because they’ve let GOP campaign ads, the right wing media ecosystem, and assorted progressive big city prosecutors shape the narrative on the issue rather than doing so themselves."
So what else is new? This story is repeated time after time on issue after issue. What I don't get is why Democratic party leaders and operatives never seem to get it? Republicans never stop campaigning - not so Democrats. Republicans know how to make a mountain out of a molehill - Democrats allow mountain high issues to be driven over and left in the rear view mirror. Republicans have a rightwing propaganda machine that functions like a superlaser/super weapon - in stark contrast, Democrats don't make effective use of TV ads or public relations campaigns. They have nothing to counter right the impact of rightwing propaganda on the majority of Americans who don't read publications like the Atlantic or books by Pulitzer Prize winning authors.
Relying on mainstream media to get the job (influencing public opinion) done is not a reliable strategy. Case in point - following President Biden's speech on the present dangers to democracy, even MSNBC's lead in was Andrea Mitchell proclaiming that some Democrats, including Bernie Sander's campaign manager, did not agree with the timing and subject of the speech - which they believe should have been about inflation and kitchen issues instead. So double whammy - from both Democrats and center left politicians like Bernie choosing to shoot themselves in the foot as they fire at Biden and the media joining in the attack rather than supporting Biden's efforts at truth telling.
To his credit, I'm sure I paraphrased him poorly. I found the actual text: "But all of that makes it imperative to stay, not go. Disinformation and trolling works best when the malefactors who engage in it create an impression of being a reliable and trustworthy majority, when they can say that “everybody knows this.” Abandoning such places out of some misplaced sense of moral rectitude simply clears the field for more lies and mischief."
...anticipated problem. I think it is amazing how prepared teachers are willing to be and how much they care about the well-being of the children in their care.
Want to know where the litter box thing comes from? Some teachers, anticipating the very real possibility of school shootings and lockdowns anticipate the very real problem of having children in lockdown that stretches for hours. What do you do for the kids that need to use the bathroom? Some teachers have quietly put litter and a plastic tub somewhere out on site in their classroom to be used if there is a prolonged lockdown. What else can they do? I think this illustrates how deep.y teachers care for the welfare of their students. It isn’t a wonderful solution but it does provide some way to deal with a very real anticipated
Yes, another example of their hypocrisy
I am watching the protests and disruptions in Brazil after Jair Bolsonaro lost his election with dismay. They may foretell what will happen here in 2024, and possibly 2022.
I am watching the protests and disruptions in Brazil after Jair Bolsonaro lost his election with dismay. They foretell the same thing happening here in 2024, and possibly 2022.
I am demoralized. What does it take to wake people up to the fact that if things continue as they have been, we will have a full-fledged authoritarian president who plans to keep the job for life. Look to Ukraine. It knows how to value democracy against dictatorship I suggest the election deniers just go to Russia. They will have no more trouble with elections. They can attack gay people openly, or just get them sent to the gulag. The State will be sure their is no left-leaning “fake” news. There are lots of police, soldiers, FSB agents—and nobody can de-fund them. The glories of a dictatorship!
I fear we are already at the end of the democratic experiment. If lots of election deniers get into office, they won’t even bother with an election in 2024, they will just hand it to Trump on a silver platter.
The rise of authoritarianism is clear—from the Supreme Court undoing precedent, to bookbanning, to the removal of subject matter from school curricula. These are the steps dictators follow. Watch and see.
I will still vote while I have the chance.
"Yet somehow Democrats have got themselves in a situation where the head of their party holds the most popular position on guns and crime—and yet they’re getting crushed on the issue because they’ve let GOP campaign ads, the right wing media ecosystem, and assorted"
You can't turn on a TV news show that doesn't blast the Republicans are great. They're winning. They have a plan. It's crazy I've yet to read even in the Bulwark a positive piece about the Democrats. Oh sure it's bad press for the Republicans, but as was once sai, "there is no such thing as bad publicity." My Congressman is Mike Levin who is a great legislator and all around good guy. Thru redistricting he is now in very tight race with a man who wants abortion to be illegal in all cases. How is this possible, and this California.
It is so depressing that the nut jobs get all the publicity. This didn't just start with Trump. It started with rush Linbaugh and Fox News. Really at the removal of the Fairness Doctrine. Just like Hitler was financed by wealthy conservatives so is crazy stupid Republicans. This has been on the making for many years. I'm older, white and comfortable. I think I'll stop reading news, and just sit on my deck and hope WW3 can be held off for a good while.
Memo to Liz Cheney
Re: 2024
Run for president as an independent giving daily high-minded speeches on the topic of how Donald Trump is destroying all things good and true. Then shortly before the election, drop out and endorse the Democrat.
Decency is also on the ballot in the midterms. Why do these MAGA types feel that these cruel, indecent, mean spirited, spineless candidates they support won’t behave that way towards their own constituency once they are elected? Perhaps starting with reduced Social Security?
Great article on crime as an issue by Tim today. He's telling the truth, straight up and hard-hitting. Good luck with that, but it's still always worth a try.
Off topic here, and yet part of the broader topic. NPR this morning had a report on Clay Clark's ReAwaken America Tours. I was struck by what seemed a hefty price tag, until I looked at their website. The tour is presented as a two day conference, with about forty or more speakers, for $250. Given that, the price is not shocking. However, one wonders who it is out there that has a spare two days, as well as both the $250 and additional money to spend at the not-inexpensive vendor tables. A schedule shows that nearly all the dates are sold out in the next several months.
But what struck me, of course, is the presentation as yet another Great American Evangelical Revival. Being an Episcopalian I have always been, indeed I suppose I was raised to be, suspicious of "enthusiasm." One of the aspects of this suspicion is, of course, the idea that there is any sort of deep truth, or simple truth, beyond the Elizabethan dictum to worship together and get along with one another in spite of our differences.
And sure enough, halfway down the web page was the claim, in a bright red banner, "Arrive with Questions -- Leave with Answers."
This recalled one of the sermons of the great Alan Jones, Emeritus Dean at Grace Cathedral. In it he was speaking about how the profession of Christianity is so often met with raised eyebrows in our community, and thus often delivered with a wince if not an apology. He went on to speak about some of the reasons for this, not least, the often uncharitable claims made by some of those professing Christianity, and the bold assertion of "truth" under-girding this. To those "truth" seekers he contrasted the position of the Episcopal church where inclusion is not a recent innovation.
To those seeking certainty in a Christian religion, he said, "Welcome to the Episcopal Church! You have Questions and we have Questions."
Conspiracy theories get oxygen from a resemblance to critical thinking in the initial phase: "I'm not just going to accept the dominant view. I'm looking deeper to find the real truth."
Sometimes the dominant early view is eventually shown to be wrong. But often a view is dominant because the evidence supporting it is overwhelming -- e.g., the reasons for the storming of the Capitol on 1/6/21. In that case, trying to find a hidden truth that inverts the whole "narrative" is perverse and probably motivated by self-interest or bias -- or by a variety of groupthink.
Most of the people trying to find the hidden counternarrative behind 1/6 or the Pelosi attack are far from independent critical thinkers; they're really trying to maintain the core dogmas of the group they've aligned with, regardless of where the evidence points.
The right wants criminals to have all the guns they want.
The right wants the government to regulate pregnancy, sexuality, and gender.
The right wants to indoctrinate children that white is the best way to "be."
The right wants to punish people who have the "wrong beliefs."