They seem to feel still that being “above the fray” is working and won’t acknowledge that it is not. Not fighting with everything they have, including facts, is allowing democracy to disappear quietly. Sen. Schumer appears to not be interested in making waves. Business as usual is not what is needed.
I think Schumer is trying to get a budget deal through the House and Senate. If I were to guess, the goal will be to kick the can past the election. Once they've done that, the gloves will come off.
GOP goals are to make hay with the budget impasse, shut down the dissent of the primaries, and shuttle their get-to-the-polls motivating candidate to the top of the ticket and really start slinging mud at the courts and Dems.
We'll be stuck with the dance until spring, probably.
Personally, I find this all hard to watch; still here I am.
"they are free to engage with Republican demands however they please" and that's the crux of the biscuit. For some unfathomable reason the grand poobahs of the party still act like they think it's 19 what? 58? It's exasperating...
I'm left scratching my head. Who are the numb skulls advising the Dem leadership to let all these scandals and potential viral attacks go untapped for political gain? Why do they think letting GOP and Trump off the hook serves the party or the country? Isn't it plainly obvious that their lame approach is wrong? Is it because independents don't like when the parties fight? What's the evidence for that? Who the hell is driving this train wreck??
Biden’s actions towards Israel, given the signed letters from State etc, has no public explanation. “Biden is clueless” is a popular private explanation. The threat of a large-donor strike might also explain it. That’s what money buys: your words will be heard by leaders, without you having to make the case in public.
I wish this was mandatory reading for the Democrats™️
Raskin, AOC, Crockett, and more made me proud of my party and, as a bonus, made damn good content lol. THIS is clearly what gets people excited--holding the bad guys to account, forcing them to confront their lies. Stuff like this makes Democrats look strong, and serious, directly confronting corruption. Surely Biden looks less weak when his party puts great communicators and Thing-Doers front and center.
The Democrats™, as they're (pretty fairly) portrayed here, seem to inadvertently contribute to the MAGA movement. By not actively countering the right's distinct media narrative, they allow it to thrive. This both allows for MAGA narratives to stand unchallenged and limits the opportunities for culturally ubiquitous moments that could realign national perspectives.
However, it's important to recognize that the Democratic Party is united on many fronts. For example, no one is interested in Dean Phillips and when the framing more ubiquitously shifts to Biden vs Trump again, Dems will hopefully move against Trump with the same abject rejection we all bestowed on the Dean Phillips campaign (sorry Dean, your bad though fr).
It's very true the importance of self-awareness within the party can't be understated, but I'm also convinced that a diversity of messaging strategies is essential for any functioning democracy. This isn't just about adopting an effective and ideally synergistic approach to combat the right; it's about creating a balanced environment. Diverse strategies act as a counterbalance, providing enough of a center for nuanced reporting and perspectives like yours to shine through.
Well said. Diverse strategies absolutely include those that are much more offensive in nature than what we've been seeing. Put Jamie Raskin in charge of creating the overall strategy and in planning the specific tactics to carry it out. That would be a very good (IMHO) first step to "a balanced environment". ;-)
Bull in a chinashop rhetoric is how we got Trump but I get the sentiment. Theres lots of anger and nuance on this topic, which don't mesh well for good discussion sometimes.
For me, bull in a china shop rhetoric is emblematic of Trump's bullying tactics that have carried over to or are mirrored by his close sycophants and supporters/base too. Bullies win or don't just go away. Someone has to stand up to them. Jamie Raskin and a few others know how to do this. This would be better than staying silent or just slinking away which is how I see what's been done heretofore. IMHO. :-)
The Democrats™ are wimps, and fight off any attempt at party reform. The Republicans are their adversary but Bernie, Warren, and AOC are their enemy.
How do we rid ourselves of these so-called party leaders? Chuck Schumer, a captive of Wall Street, is not the war time consigliere that several other senators would be (Whitehouse, to name one) that we need and have needed. Jeffries is also welded to Wall Street but traditional Democratic identity politics secures his position. There is little-to-no-fight in any of them. They couldn't find the Republican jugular with help from an anatomy diagram. They are certainly not strategic thinkers.
This is what turns off the base, and independent reformers: Democratic fecklessness.
The fact that Democrats are spineless and weak is why they lose elections. Republicans are weak but at least they make a show of strength. Democrats can’t even muster that. It’s really a coin flip over which party is more pathetic and impotent.
Well, for what it's worth, I just wrote Schumer (as a constituent) to urge him to take up the Raskin report.
💪
“Blah and border” is so good that only something as good as “raskin bobbin’” could possibly overshadow it
They seem to feel still that being “above the fray” is working and won’t acknowledge that it is not. Not fighting with everything they have, including facts, is allowing democracy to disappear quietly. Sen. Schumer appears to not be interested in making waves. Business as usual is not what is needed.
I think Schumer is trying to get a budget deal through the House and Senate. If I were to guess, the goal will be to kick the can past the election. Once they've done that, the gloves will come off.
GOP goals are to make hay with the budget impasse, shut down the dissent of the primaries, and shuttle their get-to-the-polls motivating candidate to the top of the ticket and really start slinging mud at the courts and Dems.
We'll be stuck with the dance until spring, probably.
Personally, I find this all hard to watch; still here I am.
You should send this newsletter to every Democratic Congressman and Senator to open their eyes and their mouths.
"they are free to engage with Republican demands however they please" and that's the crux of the biscuit. For some unfathomable reason the grand poobahs of the party still act like they think it's 19 what? 58? It's exasperating...
I'm left scratching my head. Who are the numb skulls advising the Dem leadership to let all these scandals and potential viral attacks go untapped for political gain? Why do they think letting GOP and Trump off the hook serves the party or the country? Isn't it plainly obvious that their lame approach is wrong? Is it because independents don't like when the parties fight? What's the evidence for that? Who the hell is driving this train wreck??
Very jaded old and out of touch political hands.
Or their donors?
Biden’s actions towards Israel, given the signed letters from State etc, has no public explanation. “Biden is clueless” is a popular private explanation. The threat of a large-donor strike might also explain it. That’s what money buys: your words will be heard by leaders, without you having to make the case in public.
I wish this was mandatory reading for the Democrats™️
Raskin, AOC, Crockett, and more made me proud of my party and, as a bonus, made damn good content lol. THIS is clearly what gets people excited--holding the bad guys to account, forcing them to confront their lies. Stuff like this makes Democrats look strong, and serious, directly confronting corruption. Surely Biden looks less weak when his party puts great communicators and Thing-Doers front and center.
The Democrats™, as they're (pretty fairly) portrayed here, seem to inadvertently contribute to the MAGA movement. By not actively countering the right's distinct media narrative, they allow it to thrive. This both allows for MAGA narratives to stand unchallenged and limits the opportunities for culturally ubiquitous moments that could realign national perspectives.
However, it's important to recognize that the Democratic Party is united on many fronts. For example, no one is interested in Dean Phillips and when the framing more ubiquitously shifts to Biden vs Trump again, Dems will hopefully move against Trump with the same abject rejection we all bestowed on the Dean Phillips campaign (sorry Dean, your bad though fr).
It's very true the importance of self-awareness within the party can't be understated, but I'm also convinced that a diversity of messaging strategies is essential for any functioning democracy. This isn't just about adopting an effective and ideally synergistic approach to combat the right; it's about creating a balanced environment. Diverse strategies act as a counterbalance, providing enough of a center for nuanced reporting and perspectives like yours to shine through.
Well said. Diverse strategies absolutely include those that are much more offensive in nature than what we've been seeing. Put Jamie Raskin in charge of creating the overall strategy and in planning the specific tactics to carry it out. That would be a very good (IMHO) first step to "a balanced environment". ;-)
Bull in a chinashop rhetoric is how we got Trump but I get the sentiment. Theres lots of anger and nuance on this topic, which don't mesh well for good discussion sometimes.
For me, bull in a china shop rhetoric is emblematic of Trump's bullying tactics that have carried over to or are mirrored by his close sycophants and supporters/base too. Bullies win or don't just go away. Someone has to stand up to them. Jamie Raskin and a few others know how to do this. This would be better than staying silent or just slinking away which is how I see what's been done heretofore. IMHO. :-)
I agree with that. Jamie Raskin is a pure force of good and is very much effective at the politics Brian highlighted today.
I suppose my main thought here is we should build consensus in effective and thoughtful ways that dont cast others in our party as idiots.
Agree. No idiots. Just assigning folks to tasks (offensive or defensive strategy and tactics) as best fits their emotional intelligence style. ;-)
Now we're talking, I like Brian's style of framing the issue clearly but not stabbing for the heart. Similar to your message here.
The Process(TM) will save us. No one has to actually do anything. I learned this watching The West Wing.
First, really, really good posting today Brian.
Second, but just as or more important, there is time for all the Democrats to start going on the offensive; the time is now!
SUPERB Analysis of the problem the US is facing; not just a matter of "Party" interest, but defines the crucial issue facing the country today!
Democrats™ is brilliant. It speaks volumes all by itself.
Brilliant. Thank you! So glad that I subscribe.
The Democrats™ are wimps, and fight off any attempt at party reform. The Republicans are their adversary but Bernie, Warren, and AOC are their enemy.
How do we rid ourselves of these so-called party leaders? Chuck Schumer, a captive of Wall Street, is not the war time consigliere that several other senators would be (Whitehouse, to name one) that we need and have needed. Jeffries is also welded to Wall Street but traditional Democratic identity politics secures his position. There is little-to-no-fight in any of them. They couldn't find the Republican jugular with help from an anatomy diagram. They are certainly not strategic thinkers.
This is what turns off the base, and independent reformers: Democratic fecklessness.
The fact that Democrats are spineless and weak is why they lose elections. Republicans are weak but at least they make a show of strength. Democrats can’t even muster that. It’s really a coin flip over which party is more pathetic and impotent.
Perhaps the Democrats™ are as snuggly in the back pockets of the oligarchs as are the Republicans.