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The Unbearable GOPness of Being Earl

Earl is the recipient of more GOP awards than you can imagine. Also, he’s a deadbeat.

Some time in the shadows of the past … the Republican Party decided I was Earl.

I am not, in fact, Earl. But, based on my mobile phone number, receiving texts, they think I am. Oddly enough, they also think I live in the ZIP code where I work.

After a week or two of getting 5-6 texts a day, I set the texting number to spam, so it didn’t show up in my notifications … but it continued to download, and when I upgraded my phone, the spam setting got lost, meaning I was subject to a flood of Earl texts.

GOP elephantLooking at them this time around, they’re actually kind of fascinating. Yes, I have gotten enough Democratic Party texts to realize that this is not just a GOP thang. But on reviewing them in bulk, a few fascinating trends still stand out:

  1. MONEY. The important thing is getting money. Not swaying Earl to particular partisan positions, or rooting for (or against) particular people,  but getting Earl to send the GOP … MONEY.
  2. But, for the most part, that’s not done by appealing to Earl as a recruit in ideological beliefs. It’s done by making Earl part of the team … the few … the chosen … the elite.
  3. There’s lots of urgency, though. Earl must donate right now or else he, and the country, but most importantly he, will lose something important.
  4. There’s a fair amount of shaming that goes on. When Earl doesn’t answer the call, the disappointment, the sadness, the bewildered loss, is palpable.
  5. On the other hand, there’s plenty of carrot to go with the shaming stick. No matter what Earl does (or, in this case, doesn’t) donate, the GOP is always willing to honor him for purported past glory and as someone really important to the cause.

In short, it’s a campaign very little about politics, and very much about tribes, and the shame of not supporting the tribe, or the righteous and acknowledged joy of doing so.

Bear in mind, Earl’s texts have been coming to my phone for months, 4-5 times a day. Unless he’s giving through other paths, he hasn’t been a Loyal, Stalwart Supporter from this firehose. But the algorithm throws out carrots and sticks regardless of what Earl does. Earl is just a cog in the Great Money Machine that is the Republican Base.

Here is the saga of Earl over the course of January, with links and other identifying markers (except the name!) scrubbed.

Ronna McDaniel: Happy New Year from everyone at the Republican National Committee!
May 2023 be a year filled with blessings & good fortune.

One of a passing few messages without a link to send money.

You’ve been given a 30 MINUTE EXTENSION to activate your 5000% IMPACT INCREASE! What are you waiting for?? CLAIM: (link)

Only 30 minutes more to give money? Noooooo!

Guess what Earl?? YOU WON! Accept your Lifetime Achievement Award & Impact Increase NOW >> (link)

Wow! A Lifetime Achievement Award & Impact Increase! I’ve always wanted to make an impact …

In recognition of all you’ve done for the GOP, please accept this GOP Golden Elephant! It even comes with a 300% IMPACT INCREASE: (link)

Oh, no! I lost my 5000% impact increase. Oh, wait, three hours later …

Your 5000% IMPACT INCREASE was just extended. Claim it NOW & help CRUSH our Extended End-of-Year Goal! Act NOW >> (link)


You’ve been granted access to our 2023 Platform Audit before almost ANY OTHER PATRIOT. Make your voice HEARD >> (link)

I guarantee that, after I audit the platform, the party will ask me for money.

Earl, YOU’VE BEEN UPGRADED! To confirm your Republican Diamond Club Status, press HERE >> (link)

Republican Diamond Status! Wow! I wonder what it takes to actually confirm that …?

Guess what Earl?? YOU WON! Accept your Lifetime Achievement Award & Impact Increase NOW >> (link)

Again?

We CRUSHED our End-of-Year fundraising goal! To show our gratitude, we’ve EXTENDED your 5000% IMPACT until MIDNIGHT TONIGHT. ACT: (link)

Hey, I’m back to 5000% Impact!

OFFER EXTENDED! There’s still time to claim your 5000% impact increase & help CRUSH our Extended End-of-Year Goal. Act: (link)


INFORMATION REQUESTED: Your response to the Republican Verification Canvass will represent the ENTIRE (ZIPcode) area! Answer: (link)

I find it interesting that the GOP thinks I (Earl) live in the ZIP code of where my office is. It is, indeed, a fairly high-income and likely Republican population. Which makes it a bit weird that I (Earl) will get to represent the entire ZIP code’s population in myh answers to the Republican Verification Caucus.

Republican leaders have selected YOU for our Lifetime Achievement Award! Your award even comes with a 250% INCREASE! 1 HR to ACCEPT: (link)

Only one hour! Eek!

You’ve been given a 30 MINUTE EXTENSION to activate your 5000% IMPACT INCREASE! What are you waiting for?? CLAIM: (link)

Wait, that’s a bigger impact, but a different time of increase, but it isn’t part of a Lifetime Achievement Award. I feel so confused!

DON’T MISS OUT! We need YOU to take the Presidential Preference Poll & help select our NEXT Republican Presidential nominee. ACT >> (link)

Are you suggesting that the national party actually selects the candidate, not the state primaries and caucuses? Weird!

EXTENDED OFFER: Claim 5000% IMPACT on ALL contributions to prepare the Republican Party for 2023! DEADLINE: MIDNIGHT >> (link)

My 5000% is back! But with a new, even closer deadline!

In recognition of all you’ve done for the GOP, please accept this GOP Golden Elephant! It even comes with a 300% IMPACT INCREASE: (link)

Another GOP Golden Elephant? Or is this the same one? Is it 300% of 5000%, or is this a different offer? It’s all coming too fast (or too slowly, every 3 hours or so).

Your 5000% IMPACT INCREASE was just extended. Claim it NOW & help CRUSH our Extended End-of-Year Goal! Act NOW >> (link)


FINAL REMINDER
Your Republican Advisory Board offer will be REVOKED unless you ACT >> (link)

Oh, no! I will be thrown out of the tribe!

You won! The GOP selected you to receive a 5000%-IMPACT extension! We only give out a few per month! Active for 30 MIN. CLAIM PRIZE: (link)

I feel very special. One of the very few to get that 5000% Impact Extension Prizes!

CHOSEN, Earl. The Republican Party chose you for a personal 5000%-IMPACT Extension. Are you going to claim it? Donate NOW: (link)

At last, an actual call to Donate.

We trust that YOUR opinions represent the ENTIRE (ZIP code) area! Take the 2023 Republican Platform Audit NOW >> (link)

I suspect MY opinions, in fact, do not.

ATTENTION CANDIDATE: Complete the GOP’s Official Survey to join the Republican Advisory Board. DEADLINE: MIDNIGHT TONIGHT >> (link)

The Republican Advisory Board? I will be able to advise Republicans if I just complete an Official Survey? Wow!

You’ve been given a 30 MINUTE EXTENSION to activate your 5000% IMPACT INCREASE! What are you waiting for??
CLAIM: (link)

What, in fact, am I waiting for?

You didn’t respond to our last text. We selected the BEST PATRIOTS for a 50X-IMPACT Extension. You’re the last 1 remaining! Donate: (link)

Oh my God! Of all the BEST PATRIOTS, I am (and I am sure I can believe this) the only one who didn’t respond to that 50X (or 5000%, whichever sound more impressive) impact extension. The shame of it!

Guess what Earl?? YOU WON! Accept your Lifetime Achievement Award & Impact Increase NOW >> (link)

But even if I didn’t give any money from this number for many, many months, I get a Lifetime Achievement ( and all-important Impact Increase) … this feels like a mixed message.

Is this still Earl’s number? You STILL haven’t told us. Who do you want to see in the White House?
Respond HERE>> (link)

Oh, no! They’re onto me!

Membership Pending: Complete the GOP’s Official Survey & secure 1 of the last remaining spots on the Republican Advisory Board. >> (link)

But I’m still being offered one of the last remaining spots!

PLEASE CONFIRM
To accept your GOP Gold Club Membership, press HERE >> (link)


ABBOTT OR BIDEN: Who do YOU think is handling the border crisis better? Tell us HERE >> (link)

Ooooh. Tough call. I’m sure that Earl would be a much more impartial observer of this than me.

You’ve been given a 30 MINUTE EXTENSION to activate your 5000% IMPACT INCREASE! What are you waiting for?? CLAIM: (link)


Take the Congressional Agenda Survey & tell us what Republicans should focus on! 1 HR.
Act NOW >> (link)


You are officially invited to join the Republican Diamond Club. Claim your membership HERE >> (link)

My cup runneth over.

This is your opportunity to provide the GOP with critical insight into YOUR AREA! Complete the 2023 Platform Audit HERE: (link)


Better late than never! Welcome Biden to the border for the FIRST time by signing our Southern Border Postcard! Add your name NOW: (link)


INFORMATION REQUESTED: Your response to the Republican Verification Canvass will represent the ENTIRE (ZIP code) area! Answer NOW: (link)


As a respected conservative leader, we need to hear from YOU. Fill out your Republican Sample Ballot NOW: (link)


Republican leaders have selected YOU for our Lifetime Achievement Award! Your award even comes with a 250% INCREASE! 1 HR to ACCEPT: (link)


Looking to make a HUGE difference for the Republican Party? Join the GOP Gold Club before your invitation EXPIRES: (link)

Audits! Post cards! Sample ballots! Lifetime Achievement Awards! Gold Club invites! Who can possibly deserve all this attention?

Is it time to end Biden’s FAILED POLICIES & secure our southern border? 1 HR to respond. Take the poll NOW >> (link)

I suspect this may not be a broadly representative poll.

Border numbers are in, and the crisis is continuing to spiral out of control! Is it time to END THE BIDEN BORDER CRISIS? Vote NOW >> (link)

Gosh, if the crisis is continuing to spiral out of control … well, yeah, I guess it’s time to end the crisis.

Earl, it’s time to fill out your Republican Sample Ballot. You can do that HERE >> (link)


Guess what Earl?? YOU WON! Accept your Lifetime Achievement Award & Impact Increase NOW >> (link)

I am, in fact, a winner! The GOP texts tell me so!

Are you awake, Earl? We chose YOU to join the Republican Advisory Board, but you FAILED to accept the spot! Hurry & claim: (link)

I feel so ashamed!

Republican leaders have selected YOU for our Lifetime Achievement Award! Your award even comes with a 250% INCREASE! 1 HR to ACCEPT: (link)

Wait, I’m down to only a 250% increase! Oh, no!

We are sending results from the Presidential Preference Poll to GOP leaders in 1 HR. Can I include your name, Earl?
Act: (link)

Wow … the GOP leaders will see my name? Wow!

This is SAD! We selected YOU to complete our 2023 Audit, but you NEVER RESPONDED. Take the Platform Audit NOW >> (link)

I feel so ashamed. The GOP doesn’t love me any more.

Earl, YOU’VE BEEN UPGRADED! To confirm your Republican Diamond Club Status, press HERE >> (link)

The GOP loves me again!

As a respected conservative leader, we need to hear from YOU. Fill out your Republican Sample Ballot NOW: (link)

That feels a bit blunt.

Is something wrong? You were SELECTED to represent the GOP in your area & never responded! Fill out your Republican sample Ballot: (link)

OMG, I was SELECTED but never responded! What madness seized me?

Your Congressional Agenda Survey is ENCLOSED. We need your response in 1 HR! Complete HERE: (link)


Guess what Earl?? YOU WON! Accept your Lifetime Achievement Award & Impact Increase NOW >> (link)

They love me.

IS YOUR PHONE OFF? You were HAND-SELECTED to represent the (ZIP code) area & NEVER RESPONDED! Take the 2023 Platform Audit NOW: (link)

They love me not.

LEVEL UP!
You’ve reached ELITE company by qualifying for the Republican Diamond Club! Join NOW >> (link)

They love me.

We’re sending results from the Presidential Preference Poll to GOP leaders in 1 HR. Can I include your name, Earl?
Act: (link)

Again, my name!

This is SAD! We selected YOU to complete our 2023 Audit, but you NEVER RESPONDED. Take the Platform Audit NOW >> (link)

I am ashamed!

You satisfied all the criteria for an RNC MERIT BADGE! Accept your award, and 200% INCREASE, before it EXPIRES >> (link)


Republican leaders have selected YOU for our Lifetime Achievement Award! Your award even comes with a 250% INCREASE! 1 HR to ACCEPT: (link)


As a respected conservative leader, we need to hear from YOU.
Fill out your Republican Sample Ballot NOW: (link)


Earl, YOU’VE BEEN UPGRADED!
To confirm your Republican Diamond Club Status, Press HERE >> (link)


We chose YOU! As our BEST PATRIOT, we want you to represent your area & take the Congressional Agenda Survey. Take it NOW >> (link)

Ha! Even though I never responded to the 2023 Audit (SAD!), I got a merit badge, a Lifetime Achievement Award, a Sample Ballot, A Diamond Club Status,  and was chosen as a BEST PATRIOT! So there, 2023 Audit!

MISSING INFORMATION: Your response to the Republican Verification Canvass will represent the ENTIRE (zip code) area! Complete NOW: (link)

This is SAD! We selected YOU to complete our 2023 Audit, but you NEVER RESPONDED. Take the Platform Audit NOW >> (link)

Wait, has the 2023 Audit seized control of GOP opinion of me?

Guess what Earl?? YOU WON! Accept your Lifetime Achievement Award & Impact Increase NOW >> (link)

Nope! I won! HA!

Should gas stoves be BANNED!?! 1 HR to take the official GOP Poll.
Act NOW >> (link)

So is this policy decision to be based on … polls? Let’s take a survey on the speed limit, too!

But, credit where credit is due, this is an actual policy question. Wow!

Is something wrong? You were SELECTED to represent the GOP in your area & never responded! Fill out your Republican sample Ballot: (link)


Are you awake, Earl? We chose YOU to join the Republican Advisory Board, but you FAILED to accept the spot! Hurry & claim: (link)

They’re onto me!

Republican leaders have selected YOU for our Lifetime Achievement Award! Your award even comes with a 250% INCREASE! 1 HR to ACCEPT: (link)

I get an increase? Wow! Such a gift for my lifetime achievement!

We are sending results from the Presidential Preference Poll to GOP leaders in 1 HOUR. Can I include your name, Earl? Act: (link)


Did Biden LIE about the “misplaced” classified documents? Poll closes in 1 HR! Vote NOW >> (link)

I’m sure that poll will be considered very important.

And the award goes to … YOU, Earl! Accept your GOP Golden Elephant HERE >> (link)

This is the HIGHEST rank the Republican Party can bestow, Earl. Accept your RNC Merit Badge HERE >> (link)

The HIGHEST rank!

INFORMATION REQUESTED: Your response to the Republican Verification Canvass will represent the ENTIRE (zip code) area! Answer NOW: (link)

Wow!

This is SAD! We selected YOU to complete our 2023 Audit, but you NEVER RESPONDED. Take the Platform Audit NOW >> (link)

Oh, no!

Jim Jordan has announced plans to investigate Big Tech’s COLLUSION with the Biden Administration. Sign the petition NOW & SUPPORT >> (link)

I’m sure that Jim Jordan will base his strategy on what Earl has to say.

Is something wrong? You were SELECTED to represent the GOP in CO & never responded! Take the Republican Verification Canvass: (link)

Oh no!

You satisfied all the criteria for an RNC MERIT BADGE! Accept your award, and 200% INCREASE, before it EXPIRES >> (link)

Tell me more about those rigorous criteria!

The (ZIP code) area will be KEY to taking back the White House. Will you take the Presidential Preference Poll? 1 HR: (link)


Conservatives are working to EXPOSE the Radical Left & need your help. Sign up for the Republican Diamond Club before it’s too late! (link)


Are you awake, Earl??
We chose YOU to join the Republican Advisory Board, but you FAILED to accept your spot! CLAIM >> (link)


This is the HIGHEST rank the Republican Party can bestow, Earl. Accept your RNC Merit Badge HERE >> (link)


INFORMATION REQUESTED: Your response to the Republican Verification Canvass will represent the ENTIRE (zip code) area! Answer NOW: (link)


Earl, we’ve never done this for anyone. We reopened the Patriot Life Membership list for the next 20MIN. Claim your spot: (link)

“20MIN!”

The results you provide us will play an important role in our CO strategy. Help stop the Democrats’ agenda! >> (link)


We’ve texted you SO MANY TIMES! Please, Earl, we NEED your name on our Petition to FIGHT Big Tech COLLUSION!
Sign HERE: (link)


Republican leaders have selected YOU for our Lifetime Achievement Award! Your award even comes with a 250% INCREASE! 1 HR to ACCEPT: (link)

There are those mixed messages again.

Have a drink on us! Celebrate America & the GOP by showing off these elegant GOP Whiskey Glasses! There’s a limited supply, so ACT: (link)

There’s actually been a remarkable lack of swag solicitation until this text. Kind of weird that the GOP is pushing drinking as their gauge of elegance.

MISSING INFORMATION: Your response to the Republican Verification Canvass will represent the ENTIRE (ZIP code) area! Complete NOW: (link)

Wow. so not asking many people, I guess.

We’ve texted you SO MANY TIMES! Please, Earl, we NEED your name on our Petition to FIGHT Big Tech COLLUSION! Sign HERE: (link)


Should gas stoves be BANNED!?! 1 HR to take the official GOP Poll. Act NOW >> (link)


Guess what Earl?? YOU WON! Accept your Lifetime Achievement Award & Impact Increase NOW >> (link)


HOW MANY TIMES ARE WE GOING TO HAVE TO ASK? Submit your Republican Sample Ballot! We’ve asked you SO MANY TIMES!
Act NOW >> (link)

But will you ever stop asking?

Do you want Pres. Trump to return to Facebook & Twitter? Vote NOW >> (link)

Wait, I get a vote on that? Has someone told Zuck and Elon?

To: Your GOP Nominee
From: Earl
Happy Valentine’s Day!
*Autograph your name HERE -> (link)

Wait … how do you know who my choice of nominee is?

Republican leaders have selected YOU for our Lifetime Achievement Award! Your award even comes with a 250% INCREASE! 1 HR to ACCEPT: (link)

Can I get a list of those leaders?

This is SAD! We selected YOU to complete our 2023 Audit, but you NEVER RESPONDED. Take the Platform Audit NOW >> (link)


This is the HIGHEST rank the Republican Party can bestow, Earl. Accept your RNC Merit Badge HERE >> (link)

Mixed messages, Ronna.

Earl, we’ve never done this for anyone. We just reopened the Patriot Life Membership list for the next 20MIN. Claim: (link)

Never done it for anyone!

Guess what Earl?? YOU WON! Accept your Lifetime Achievement Award & Impact Increase NOW >> (link)

Understandable how I won such an award, since you also reopened the Patriot Life Membership list!

Republicans MUST achieve success in 2024! Support the BRAND-NEW Take Back the White House Fund! Donate NOW >> (link)

This message seems positively pedestrian.

We’ve texted you SO MANY TIMES! Please, Earl, we NEED your name on our Petition to FIGHT Big Tech COLLUSION! Sign HERE: (link)


Is something wrong? You were SELECTED to represent the GOP in your area & never responded! Fill out your Republican sample Ballot: (link)

Oh, no!

This is the HIGHEST rank the Republican Party can bestow, Earl. Accept your RNC Merit Badge HERE >> (link)


This MUST be wrong, right? We have you marked as “Not Listed” for holding Big Tech ACCOUNTABLE. If this is wrong, fix it here: (link)


GOOD NEWS: A spot opened up & you’re officially invited to become a Patriot Life Member. Claim offer NOW >> (link)


Are you awake, Earl??
We chose YOU to join the Republican Advisory Board, but you FAILED to accept your spot! CLAIM: (link)

Getting whiplash here. Am I a disgusting, unawake (un-Woke?!) layabout, or am I a recipient of a Merit Badge, an invitation to be a Patriot Life Member (filling that rare open spot!), and an invitation to join the Republican Advisory Board?

FIRST Democrats wanted to BAN your gas-powered vehicles, NOW they want to BAN your gas stove.
Had enough? ACT: (link)

And those disgusting Democrats managed to do those things without actually doing them! The nerve!

Is something wrong? You were SELECTED to represent the GOP in CO & never responded! Take the Republican Verification Canvass: (link)


We’ve texted you SO MANY TIMES! Please, Earl, we NEED your name on our Petition to FIGHT Big Tech COLLUSION! Sign HERE: (link)


You were nominated over almost ANY OTHER PATRIOT in CO for the GOP Golden Elephant! Why haven’t you accepted? CLAIM >> (link)


This is SAD! We selected YOU to complete our 2023 Audit, but you NEVER RESPONDED. Take the Platform Audit NOW >> (link)

I feel so ashamed, because you wanted me so badly and I never called.

The RNC Award Committee selected YOU for our highly coveted GOP Golden Elephant! Claim your benefits HERE: (link)

All is forgiven!

Ronna McDaniel: I’m proud to share I was re-elected to run the RNC for another cycle! Will you help build momentum for 2024? ACT >> (link)

Why is it you’ve lost momentum, Ronna?

Is something wrong? You were SELECTED to represent the GOP in your area & never responded! Fill out your Republican sample Ballot: (link)


Earl! Where’s your response to the Presidential Preference Poll?? Complete HERE: (link)

Uh-oh!

You’ve been PRE-SELECTED! Claim your 600% INCREASE & help CRUSH our End-of-Month Goal! 1 HR >> (link)

Well, if you’re only going to offer a 600% Increase, rather than a 2000% Increase like earlier this month, why should I pay any attention to you?

You were nominated over almost ANY OTHER PATRIOT in CO for the GOP Golden Elephant! Why haven’t you accepted? CLAIM >> (link)


HOW MANY TIMES ARE WE GOING TO HAVE TO ASK? Submit your Republican Sample Ballot! We’ve asked you SO MANY TIMES!
Act NOW >> (link)

I’m beginning to think you’re onto me!

We’ve RARELY do this, Earl. You’ve been CHOSEN to become 1 of the FIRST to receive the GOP’s 600% IMPACT Offer.
Claim: (link)

I’m not sure it’s all that rare, to be honest, looking at your history over the course of the month.

Are you awake, Earl? We chose YOU to join the Republican Advisory Board, but you FAILED to accept your spot! Claim NOW: (link)

Oh, no! Will they still have a quorum?

NOTICE: The GOP upped your impact to 650% for 1 HOUR. Don’t share. This special link is for you only, Earl. Donate: (link)

Oooh … I get my own, special, unique link, which is incremented one tick from the link on the previous text message.

Is something wrong? You were SELECTED to represent the GOP in CO & never responded! Take the Republican Verification Canvass: (link)

How exactly would I have represented them?

For the FIRST TIME in 2023: We’re activating an End-of-Month IMPACT INCREASE!
Find out how much: (link)

Yes, it’s incredible how at the end of the first month in 2023, you are activating an end-of-month fundraising thing for the first time in 2023!

Earl, we never do this for anyone. We just reopened the Patriot Life Membership list for the next 20MIN. Claim your spot: (link)

“20MIN!”

We just released our FINAL LIST of Lifetime Achievement Award Nominees! See if you made the cut >> (link)

I’ll betcha I did, if I donate something.

You were nominated over almost ANY OTHER PATRIOT in CO for the GOP Golden Elephant! Why haven’t you accepted?
CLAIM >> (link)

Does it come with an actual elephant? Because that would be awesome.

Earl, Our End-of-Month goal is CRUCIAL to taking back the White House. EVERY CENT counts. Will you chip in? 700% Impact: (link)

That is a remarkably mundane fund-raising request.

HOW MANY TIMES ARE WE GOING TO HAVE TO ASK? Submit your Republican Sample Ballot! We’ve asked you SO MANY TIMES! Act NOW >> (link)


You’re in the 95th percentile of ALL our supporters. Will you keep your TOP spot? Contribute ASAP for a 700% IMPACT! HURRY >> (link)

Oh, no! I might lose my top spot of contributors! Eeek!

Earl, we never do this for anyone. We just reopened the Patriot Life Membership list for the next 20MIN. Claim your spot: (link)

Didn’t you just do that a few days ago?

Make your FIRST EVER contribution of 2023 & help Republicans keep pace so we can CRUSH our fundraising goal. Act NOW >> (link)

So it’s good (for certain values of “good”) to know that the texts aren’t completely random, but that there’s some tracking of contributions going on.

We’ve authorized a 750% IMPACT for the NEXT HR to help CRUSH our End-of-Month goal! This offer is for YOU, Earl.
Claim: (link)

Where’s that 2000% one? I know you can do it, GOP!

Earl! Where is your response to the Presidential Preference Poll??
Complete HERE: (link)


This is the HIGHEST rank the Republican Party can bestow, Earl. Accept your RNC Merit Badge HERE >> (link)


Is something wrong? You were SELECTED to represent the GOP in your area & never responded! Fill out your Republican sample Ballot: (link)

And again with the mixed messages.

One final note. The link on each text was slightly different, incrementing alphabetically (/aca, /acb, /acc, /acd …). Thus, if Earl clicked on a given text, the GOP would know which one made him actually click.

I’m sure there’s nothing they’d do with that information.

At any rate, while I suppose I should feel faintly guilty for keeping Earl from his Very Important Texts and Opportunities to Accept Rewards and Respond to Surveys and Give Money … I can’t also help feeling that Earl might be a bit more relaxed without the GOP sending his text messages every 3-4 hours.

Until he sends them money and gives them his actual mobile number.

Why didn’t Warren win the Democratic nomination?

Everyone’s looking for a single, simple answer. There isn’t one.

I would normally do this as a set of Twitter entries these days. But it’s a bit long, so …

As Elizabeth Warren — my primary choice — drops out of the field after a poor performance on Super Tuesday, the question that naturally arises is, why didn’t she win?

Everything seemed like it could have been there for her to do so. She had a remarkably high favorability score amongst Dem voters. She was usually at the top of the list as a second choice candidate. She was articulate, intelligent, passionate, showed her homework, and on and on.

Is there a magic, singular reason it didn’t happen? Nope. Instead, there are several reasons that coalesced to erode away her front-tier status — some of them her fault, some of them nobody’s fault, others …

It was a very crowded field. This was one of those years when everyone and their sibling decided to run in the Democratic field against Trump, heartened both by Trump’s own “anything’s possible” win in 2016 and his deep unpopularity. Remember those first few debates, where the contestants got mixed randomly across two nights?

Image result for first democratic debate

The result was that a lot of folks liked Warren and even would have been okay with her, but were able to find someone closer to their preferences as their first choice.  And among Warren’s own supporters, polls showed that they tended to be more excited about other candidates than other candidate’s supporters were, meaning other factors meant it was easier to peel off that support.

That said, to the extent that she, along with Sanders, were off to the further left side of the spectrum, she also suffered from direct ideological competition with Sanders, who came into the race with a large group of dedicated followers and the experience of 2016. If Sanders had not been in the race, a lot of that support would have presumably gone to her.

Image result for warren sanders gif

A lot has been made about sexism, given how we’ve gone from a large candidate tally that had multiple female candidates of varying credibility — Williamson, Gabbard, Harris, Gillibrand, Klobuchar, Warren — and have ended up with Two Old White Guys. (Gabbard remains in the race, but very much under the radar, and for reasons and goals that do not seem to be an actual run for the presidency.)

The sexism here is definitely a factor. Nobody credible said, “Oh, a woman can’t be President,” but plenty of people worried, “Hmmm, can a woman be elected President?” It wasn’t their own feelings that restrained them from supporting Warren, but their evaluation of other peoples’ feelings — the dreaded “electability” consideration. “Will Trump supporters who might be wavering consider voting for a woman?” “Will being a woman make her a particular target for Trump, like Clinton was?”

Image result for democrawtic women candidates high five

Even some folk who might overcome those questions in the abstract, when faced with the overwhelming urgency to defeat Trump, might have decided to play it safe and go for a guy.

That similarly came into play in the question of Warren’s progressive politics — my sense is that she sold that policy more effectively for a lot of people than Sanders has, having  more appeal to people closer to the center, but that whole “socialism” thing played into her electability factor as well. “I’d vote for her, but I’m not sure other people will” being the the self-fulfilling prophecy in the era of fearing Trump’s re-election.

Indeed, to the extent that the “socialism” thing has generated worry within the more centrist/moderate ranks of the Democratic party — where, even if they like individual proposals, it feels risky right now in a time of plague and with a Trump re-election at stake. Had Biden continued to falter, would Warren have been seen as a possible middle ground between Bloomberg and Sanders? The Biden resurgence at Super Tuesday, following his success in South Carolina, not only knocked out his immediate moderate competition, but ultimately Warren as well.

Image result for super tuesday results

While Warren seemed to be less seen as an enemy of the Democratic establishment than Sanders, it’s also been clear that establishment — whether from fear of a Trump re-election or fear of their own wealth — were less enthused with the progressive left than the moderate / centrist wing of candidates. I don’t think they particularly put their thumb on the scales in her case, but I think they are just as glad to see her go.

Warren got generally good marks for her debate performance, and everyone seems to agree that she gets the lion’s share of the credit for knocking Mike Bloomberg out of the race. But I found her outings at the debate a mixed bag, too reliant canned answers and repetitious anecdotes (she fared much better in 1:1 interviews and other less game show-style verbal outings). While her Vegas debate got her a small bump, I don’t think the debates helped her enough.

I’ve mentioned the problems of being, policy-wise, competing for the same ground against another major candidate whose turned out to be in the final contention. Subjectively, in the Twitter threads I followed, I found that there was a particularly vocal cadre of Sanders supporters who were aggressively resentful of her running as a progressive, “stealing” votes from Bernie, not being as ideologically pure as Bernie, and (worst of all) her occasionally criticizing or disagreeing with Bernie.

Image result for elizabeth warren snake twitter

I don’t actually think a host of snake emoji and hashtags and vitriol scared her off, but it made any positive discussion of Warren and her campaign more difficult.

One of Warren’s tag lines was her “I have a plan for that.” I think that, net-net, that was a positive for her: she’d thought about these things, came up with concrete ways to address them that didn’t rely on magical thinking, and pursued them with confidence.

The problem with so many plans was two-fold. For some folk it came across as too intellectual and wonkish. Like the Emperor’s “too many notes” critique in Amadeus, for some people her intellectual rigor and professorial background was a turn-off  (which, coupled with societal sexism, probably didn’t help, either).

The other problem is that, when she felt she needed to revise something — from a misunderstanding, or because she saw a way to improve it, or even for political practicalities — it left her open to attack. This came up in particular over her shifting on Medicare For All; her shift (however you characterize it) on implementation timing didn’t improve her appeal to moderates who think M4A is either an awful idea or an election killer, and it was throwing chum into the tank for the Sander supporters who wanted to characterize her as No True Progressive And, In Fact, Probably Just Plain Evil Hssssssss (that Sanders politely disagreed with her and has spoken positively about her M4A support didn’t do anything about that kind of attack).

Image result for elizabeth warren plans

The question of age has come up in this election. While Warren always showed remarkable vigor, physically and mentally, she was sometimes lumped in with the other older candidates by some folk, and, to get back to the sexism thread, age is always more of a handicap for women in the public limelight than for men.

While some media outlets and individuals seemed warm to Warren, the nature of contemporary news coverage of elections netted out against her.  She got face time when she was rising, but once that had stalled and she was further back in the pack — 3rd to 5th — she became yesterday’s news, to the extent that she was sometimes left out of polls or reporting on them, even in favor candidates that were doing worse but were the media flavor of the week (as Klobuchar and Buttigieg took turns with late in the campaign).

The media loves a horse race, competitive drama. When Warren wasn’t providing that, the media coverage dried up, whether or not it shouldn’t have. Super Tuesday was a poor showing for her, but the coverage of that night made it out to be a two-person race regardless of what primaries were still to come or the nature of the convention. That didn’t help.

The last element in the room, so to speak, was the whole Native American heritage kerfuffle.[1] Warren’s initial error in letting family stories about that heritage convince her to identify for a time as Native American (though not with any actual harm done or advantage gained, from all that it has been investigated), and then her attempt to confirm that family story through DNA testing would always have been a blot of misjudgment on her record. But its gleefully racist misuse by Trump made it be seen as a liability in the election, and there were enough folk who felt, despite Warren’s repeated explanations and apologies, that it a serious problem that it gave more ammo to her critics within the party (again, generally from the Sanders camp) as if she had been gleefully stealing money from Native American babies while wearing a Washington Redskins jersey, hisssssssss.

What should have been — in the face of a thousand racist (etc.) transgressions by Trump, or of Biden lying about his background in the civil rights movement, or even some of the baggage Sanders is carrying around — a road bump became, not the iceberg that sunk Warren, but a wound that never was allowed to heal.

No list of “Why did this happen in the election” is complete without mention of possible foreign interference (thanks, Trump, for letting that particular concern about our democracy metastasize). Nobody’s suggested that Warren was a target for opposition (or support) by, say, Russia. But I can’t see her as a potential president that Russia would consider in their interests, like Trump, nor is she as divisive as her ideological niche competitor, Sanders.  If nobody actively targeted Warren, the general partisan and intra-partisan conflict that Russia has fomented certainly worked against her.

None of these were conclusive. None of these factors explain everything. Individually Warren could have survived any of them. Cumulatively, though, they drove her campaign to the point of non-viability to win outright, or even to have a substantial delegate role in the convention.[2] Her decision to suspend her campaign is, sadly, probably the best one.

But I’ll always regret she didn’t get the nomination and become the next President of the United States.[3] Thanks, Senator Warren!

 


[1] I am not Native American, so I acknowledge my perspective here has limitations. It did seem that I saw a lot more criticism of Warren on this from non-NAs than from NAs and tribal representatives, esp. after she apologized early days in the campaign.

[2] Note that there is a timeline out there where we end up with a contested election and Warren gets drafted as the compromise candidate between Biden and Sanders– this kind of possibility is one reason why candidates always suspend their campaigns, not end them (though campaign finance is a much bigger reason). I deem this scenario highly unlikely, but it is not outside the bounds of historic possibility. Just saying.

[3] It has been suggested that either Biden or Sanders might offer her the VP role. I don’t think she would take it; more importantly, she is of more value in the Senate, both for her ongoing contributions and because, if she was elected as VP, the GOP governor of Massachusetts would name her, presumably GOP, successor, and Senate balance is nearly as critical as the White House.

That said … Senate Majority Leader Elizabeth Warren has a nice ring to it.

Tweetizen Trump – 2019-10-07 – “My Great and Unmatched Wisdom”

Trump’s betrayal of the Kurds is just another step in dismantling US foreign policy and reputation

And when people ask, “Why do other countries not trust or like the US,” it’s because we pull shit like this.

That’s the US telling Turkey, “Hey, you feel free to go in and attack the Kurds that we convinced to disarm because we would protect them while they helped us fight ISIS, but you guys have always (and not without some reason) considered them terrorists and know that the Kurds have aspired for an independent state for over a century, so, hey, it’s all yours, we’re out of here because nobody’s paying us to be here.”

In the face of people worried about the folk we took under our wing and promised to protect, Donald was right there with a more egomaniacal statement than is normal even for him.

“In my great and unmatched wisdom.”

Humility has never been one of Donald Trump’s strong points. Though usually even he doesn’t end up writing like one of Kim Jong Un’s publicists.

It’s also a laughable way to try to disarm grave and bipartisan concerns (heck, even Lindsey and Mitch seeming peeved) about his throwing our Kurdish allies once more to the wolves.

(I can imagine the Senate GOP actually using this as a cover to convict on Trump if they need to, even if it’s not one of the Articles of Impeachment. I can also imagine them using it as a cover to say, “How dare you suggest I am a lackey of Donald Trump? Look, I expressed sincere reservations about his Syrian policy, even though I didn’t really do anything about it.”

I’m sure the Trump Tower Istanbul has nothing to do with Trump’s caving to Erdogan’s desires to wipe out the Kurdish areas in Syria. And I’m equally certain Trump’s threat to “totally destroy and obliterate the Economy of Turkey” is as empty as … well, when he … did it before? (When was that, precisely, and how long did it take Turkey to recover in the last three years?)

Trump’s casual assertion that the US “captured 100% of the ISIS Caliphate” would probably irk some of those allies that assisted at great cost, like the Kurds, if they weren’t facing an attack from a Turkey that has longed to destroy their separatist aspirations.

(I’ve been reading a history of the post-WWI Paris Peace Talks, and it’s probably only one of those weird coincidences of history that it was a century ago this year that the West sold out the Kurds to the Turks, too.)

Finally, as Donald takes some well-deserved mockery for the ego, pomposity, and zaniness that is involved in referring to one’s “great and unmatched wisdom” ….

(Also waiting for the Trump fanatics to say, “Well,  you know, he is pretty darned wise!”)

Meanwhile, the one thing Donald is probably not worried about:

He’s not worried because Pat and his Christianist cronies have been more than happy to support Donald up to the gills, regardless of what he’s done, in order to get all the juicy anti-abortion, anti-gay, pro-religious-freedom-trumps-everything laws and regulations and Justice Dept., and they’re not about to actually turn on him now.

 

The Oil (and Gas) Must Flow

Should disrupting pipeline construction draw multi-decade jail terms? (No.)

I have no great problem with punishing those who vandalize pipelines, either during construction or, especially, during operation.

States and the feds moving to punish protesters that impede or disrupt construction with multi-decade prison terms? Yeah, that seems (sadly typical) pressing of the government’s thumb down on the scales in favor of a highly lucrative (and controversial) big business.

I mean, it’s not like there aren’t other laws on the books — for vandalism, for trespass, etc. — that can address such protesters in a more balanced fashion. But twenty years? That’s beyond penalties for Assault with a Deadly Weapon (felony) using a machine gun.

Do you want to know more?  Trump pushes up to 20 years in prison for pipeline protesters – ThinkProgress

On the Naming of Stadiums

“What’s in a name?” asked Maybelline-sponsored Bard William “Honda” Shakespeare.

Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum is undergoing a massive (and overdue) renovation, under the auspices of its lease to USC. But one aspect of that renovation — selling naming rights to United Airlines for $69M — is meeting strong resistance both from veterans groups (even if the words “Memorial Coliseum”) would remain, and from people who just don’t like commercialized stadium names, esp. on ones that have multiple Olympics and deep-seated community history.

Visualized Coliseum rebranding

Put me in that latter category. I still say “Mile High” to refer to Whomeverissponsiringitnow Field at Mile High. It’s, to my mind, a level of commercialism too far. (To be fair, United considers that sort of naming compromise — “United Airlines Field at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum” — to be a level of commercialism not far enough.)

That does raise the issue of, well, if United is willing to pay for it, who else is going to step up if they don’t get the eye-share of their brand every time the Coliseum is mentioned? That’s not an insignificant question. If sponsoring companies weren’t given the opportunity to put their names up in giant lights (and be mentioned by name in almost every news story about competitions there), perhaps they’d still give for a lesser option. Or perhaps we’d just need to reevaluate how such facilities are funded, or what level of luxury they actually need to accommodate.

I realize that, in part, it’s all a matter of commercial relations and business and money and who’s willing to pay for what. But sports stadiums have a funny role in a community. Even when publicly owned (as the Coliseum is, though leased with full rights to USC), they remain to some degree publicly funded (usually through tax breaks to their owners).  And, while they aren’t quite public property — like government buildings and public parks and the like — they do hold  a similar mindshare: a landmark, a place that represents the community and “their” sportsball teams, and, with time, something much more.

I’ll be curious to see how things work out back in LA.

Do you want to know more? United Airlines Says If USC Doesn’t Rename Memorial Coliseum, They Are Willing To Drop Out Of $69M Deal : LAist

Protecting incumbents is not my highest priority

Maybe the DCCC will stop sending me political junk mail if I post this.

I have no problem if the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC), the campaign arm of the House Democrats, chooses to come out as a lobbying and support group for incumbents only . Indeed, I’d rather they be honest about it.

I gave once to the DCCC, long enough ago that I’m sure they have spent more on postage sending me requests for further donations than I gave them the first time. Their open declaration that their priority is only around incumbent congressfolk further frees me from any sense of obligation to donate to them again.

I don’t necessarily have a problem with incumbents per se. Experience and individual track records can be a good thing. But I don’t feel that it’s in the party’s, or America’s, interest to place all our hopes (and money) on them.  Incumbency is not a virtue; nor is preservation of it except for those who benefit from such a mission. And while I expect that, given the truckling over the past few years by national and local GOP politicians to that narcissistic menace in the White House, I’ll be voting for and supporting Democratic candidates in 2020, I can donate quite easily and directly to the ones I care for, rather than hand money to a Preserve the Party Status Quo committee.

Do you want to know more?

Election cycle, or just another opportunity for political junk mail?

Yes!

I would be willing to bet a shiny nickel that department is better known internally as the “Department of Ripping Open Return Envelopes Looking for Donation Checks and Throwing the Useless Push Surveys Away”. https://t.co/iG9Tw5d2kF

I give donations to very specific individuals or causes. The “party” or “congressional committee” don’t count.

Minor props to the DCCC for not hiding the money solicitation at the end of the survey, like most of these do. It’s right there up front, so I can ignore it and add to the recycle bin.

Better Dead Than Red!

Trump has decided that fear-mongering about socialism is his path to the White House in 2020.

The question is not *whether* we will be a “socialist” nation, but how much and in what areas. (Ditto for “capitalist”.) This is not a binary decision, dog-whistles notwithstanding. https://t.co/uYmK0GeguZ

We are not a capitalist country. We do not have a free-wheeling free-market economy. We do not live in a Hobbesian war of all-against-all, Dickensian workshop, Ayn Randian anarchy. Indeed, most people reject Scrooge’s idea of a capitalist ideal for those who don’t succeed:

“At this festive season of the year, Mr. Scrooge,” said the gentleman, taking up a pen, “it is more than usually desirable that we should make some slight provision for the Poor and Destitute, who suffer greatly at the present time. Many thousands are in want of common necessaries; hundreds of thousands are in want of common comforts, sir.”

“Are there no prisons?” asked Scrooge.

“Plenty of prisons,” said the gentleman, laying down the pen again.

“And the Union workhouses?” demanded Scrooge. “Are they still in operation?”

“They are. Still,” returned the gentleman, “I wish I could say they were not.”

“The Treadmill and the Poor Law are in full vigour, then?” said Scrooge.

“Both very busy, sir.”

“Oh! I was afraid, from what you said at first, that something had occurred to stop them in their useful course,” said Scrooge. “I’m very glad to hear it.”

“Under the impression that they scarcely furnish Christian cheer of mind or body to the multitude,” returned the gentleman, “a few of us are endeavouring to raise a fund to buy the Poor some meat and drink and means of warmth. We choose this time, because it is a time, of all others, when Want is keenly felt, and Abundance rejoices. What shall I put you down for?”

“Nothing!” Scrooge replied.

“You wish to be anonymous?”

“I wish to be left alone,” said Scrooge. “Since you ask me what I wish, gentlemen, that is my answer. I don’t make merry myself at Christmas and I can’t afford to make idle people merry. I help to support the establishments I have mentioned — they cost enough; and those who are badly off must go there.”

“Many can’t go there; and many would rather die.”

“If they would rather die,” said Scrooge, “they had better do it, and decrease the surplus population. Besides — excuse me — I don’t know that.”

“But you might know it,” observed the gentleman.

“It’s not my business,” Scrooge returned. “It’s enough for a man to understand his own business, and not to interfere with other people’s. Mine occupies me constantly. Good afternoon, gentlemen!”

We do have, in the United States, what are properly deemed socialist institutions. We have Social Security Insurance for the elderly, and Medicare and Medicaid for the poor and aged and disabled. We help poor people heat their homes in the winter. We have public-built roads, and police and fire-fighting forces that have their costs divided up amongst the whole population, not just those who explicitly call on them. We have national (and state, and local) parks, not just private preserves for those who own them. We have regulations about pollution, and about safe food, and proven drugs; about overtime pay and child labor and a five day work week; about requiring lenders to tell you the truth with some degree of clarity when you borrow money. We have tax incentives for public policy ends, some of them to support individuals, some of them to support businesses. We provide support to farmers to help them deal with wide-swinging fortunes in commodity prices and the weather.

Those are all “socialist” ideas — and many of them were attacked as dire deep-red socialism when proposed, threatening the moral fiber of freedom in our country when they were passed.

That said, we are not a socialist country, either — at least not in the state-controlled-economy Stalinist-Communist model, which is what the anti-socialist commentators condemn. Supply and demand largely control the economy. People can start (and end) businesses. People purchase goods and services almost solely from privately owned companies and corporations that are “public” only insofar as their stock is sold to the public. People can spend their money pretty much as they prefer, and pass on much of their wealth to their children (or to their cats, or to a charity of their choice).

There are no Democratic candidates who are proposing the sort of Stalinist/Maoist collectivist state as their ideal — even the stereotype of Bernie in his wildest dreams.

But that’s not what you hear from Trump and the GOP. From their perspective, the entire Democratic field consists of Levellers and people who want to tax everyone at 100% and allocate money out to everyone on an even basis, regardless of whether they are patriotic “maker” entrepreneurs or lazy “taker” welfare queens.

One could have a serious discussion about individual policy proposals — Medicare for All, Tuition-free College, Child Care subsidies for working parents, whatever — looking at the pros and cons of their goals, the costs and benefits, the risks and rewards. Heck, one could have a considered relitigation of those socialist programs and policies already in our society.

But instead, the Right is pivoting Red-baiting mode, coloring any sort of “socialist” proposal as hurtling down Perdition Road toward a Venezuela or Cuba or Soviet Union. (If pressed, they’ll also condemn “Euro-Socialism” as a terrible evil, no matter how happy the people of the more socialist states in Europe poll as being.)

Ideally, as I said, we would debate individual proposals and policy points. Apparently Trump has decided — and the GOP have agreed to follow — the concept that anything done for the common good is some sort of crazed communistic “socialism,” and therefore should be painted as a horrifying evil. The goal of the Democratic candidate in 2020 — and of the party in general — has to be to note those areas where we already have “socialism” in what we as citizens accept as normal and beneficial, and clarify that the discussion should not be about facile philosophical labels, but about specifics as to what people do or don’t want, and the costs and benefits of pursuing that.

“Capitalism” and “Socialism” are neither necessarily contradictory, nor are they a binary choice of all-of-one or all-of-another. Making that clear is the best messaging that Democratic politicians could put forward, in opposition to the scaremongering already coming from the Trump campaign.

Do you want to know more? ‘High-level fear-mongering’: Trump’s economic team drives ‘socialism’ attack – POLITICO

It’s like sometimes they don’t even bother to pretend they aren’t comic book villains

With gleeful commentary about what a fine distraction the President is

A top US official told a group of fossil fuel industry leaders that the Trump administration will soon issue a proposal making large portions of the Atlantic available for oil and gas development, and said that it is easier to work on such priorities because Donald Trump is skilled at sowing “absolutely thrilling” distractions, according to records of a meeting obtained by the Guardian.

Joe Balash, the assistant secretary for land and minerals management, was speaking to companies in the oil exploration business at a meeting of the International Association of Geophysical Contractors, or IAGC, last month.

Why, yes, let’s absolutely “drill, baby, drill” all along the Atlantic seaboard (except Florida, through special concession to its politically sensitive barely-tilting-GOP population). What could possibly go wrong?

A reminder of what could go wrong, courtesy of the Deepwater Horizon disaster

Just as interesting was this bit, which I guess was the sort of thing one says behind not-quite-closed doors:

“One of the things that I have found absolutely thrilling in working for this administration,” said Balash,“is the president has a knack for keeping the attention of the media and the public focused somewhere else while we do all the work that needs to be done on behalf of the American people.”

Which raises the question of whether Trump does outrageous stuff and folk who want to operate without the “attention of the public” take advantage of it to scurry out under his cover? Or is Trump intentionally playing the media and public to allow these folk to do their own thing without that “attention.”?

In either case, it’s clear the Trump Administration focus is on cranking up American oil production as much as possible, which should make some large oil firms quite happy indeed.

Do you want to know more? US official reveals Atlantic drilling plan while hailing Trump’s ability to distract public | Environment | The Guardian

Allegiance

I’ve read Rep. Omar’s recent comments about the influence of the pro-Israel lobby in American politics and honestly, they only way they can be considered anti-Semitic is if you consider any criticism of the government of Israel or American foreign policy toward it to be, per se, anti-Semitic.

Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-MN

“But she’s talking about money! And everyone knows the libel against Jews as fat-cat wealthy people!” And, yes, those are pernicious and anti-Semitic stereotypes (ironically garbled from anti-Semitic prejudice that allowed European Jews to lend money at interest, then socially punished them for it).

But the money flowing into pro-Israeli lobbying coffers and political action committees isn’t just from American Jews. Political and financial support for Israel comes from a substantial chunk of the Christian Right (some of whom see an Israeli state as necessary for the End Times). Other non-Jewish Americans see Israel as a stalwart ally (which could be debated, though in Middle Eastern terms they’re probably better than a lot of the alternatives), or as a representative democracy in region full of autocrats (which makes unwillingness to criticize the actions of that democracy all the more odd), or believe in a Zionist goal of a Jewish homeland given the historically terrible and devastating history of European Jewry that culminated in the Holocaust.

So equating criticism of money spent on behalf of Israeli interests through PACs and lobbying with criticism of wealthy Jews is kind of a stretch, unless you make it a whole lot clearer that’s what you’re doing.

I don’t see any of that in Rep. Omar’s statements.

“But now she’s talking about allegiance, and we all know about the pernicious accusation that Jews have a divided loyalty between the nation and other Jews.”  I’m well familiar with that, including the analogous anti-Catholic prejudice that we seem to have gotten over as a nation. And, again, we see the twisted history of a persecuted community ghettoized and forced to band together against prejudice becoming, itself, taken as a “divided loyalty.”

But, again, Rep. Omar didn’t say that Jews were pushing for (or held) an allegiance to a foreign power. She was clearly noting that there are a lot of politicians who are so knee-jerk pro-Israel that, regardless of whether it is in American interests or not, they will support Israeli government actions. As might be demonstrated by, well, anyone criticizing Israeli state actions drawing criticism as being anti-Semitic and anti-American and pernicious and deserving of rebuke and punishment.

Sort of like what’s happening to Rep. Omar.

One might expect it in politicians and pundits framing everything about Israel as a false dichotomy — you either steadfastly stand behind the Israeli state, no matter what it does, no matter what level of apartheid it enforces, no matter how it deals in bad faith with the Palestinians, no matter how it drags down American relations with other states in the region — or you’re un-American, you’re anti-democracy, you want Israel destroyed, and you’re an anti-Semite.

Which does, in fact, seem to be the reaction going on. Which makes suggestions that some folk seem have as much allegiance to Israel as to America a rhetorically uncomfortable but not altogether unjust.

All of which is a ridiculous position to take. We criticize our own government for its actions … why can we not criticize Israel’s government? We can say that Trump, or Obama, or Bush, or Clinton are dumb or corrupt or destructive or whatever … why can we not criticize Benjamin Netanyahu as vigorously? We can say that the US is doing something wrong … why can we not say that Israel is doing something wrong. We can critique our government’s actions without suggesting that America should be destroyed … why is criticism of Israeli government policy made out to be a desire to see Israel destroyed.

It’s altogether possible that someone doesn’t think that Israel isn’t acting wrongly in its relations with its neighbors and with the Palestinian Arabs. Fine. But we should be able to have that debate without recourse either to (a) blaming it on the Jews or (b) being accused of blaming it on the Jews.

But if critical suggestions that a wide array of American supporters (not just Jewish ones) and politicians (ditto) seem to have knee-jerk support for anything that the Israeli government does draw fire as being inherently anti-Semitic … well, I think it merely confirms the suggestions being made.

Do you want to know more?

Being President for Fun & Profit

Oh, look — Donald is trying to use his official position to make money through one of his businesses. Again.

Emoluments Clause? What Emoluments Clause?

Do you want to know more? The Hill

The Minimum Wage is not a “gift”

Yes, Ivanka — AND people want to get a livable wage for what they work. The transaction goes both ways, remarkably enough. What makes you think someone working a minimum wage job isn’t working enough to warrant that amount, or more? https://t.co/ONTzuR8iUg

In case you thought all that ACA Repeal stuff was dead and gone

It’s not. The GOP are just waiting for a November win to get rid of the ACA, including pre-existing medical conditions (vague promises to the contrary notwithstanding). They’ve actually said that.

Again, remember why the ACA was passed:

1. People dying (or just chronically suffering, and unable to work) from lack of insurance coverage (no, you can’t go to the ER to treat your cancer, heart disease, or diabetes), either because their employers didn’t have to provide it, because they couldn’t afford individual policies, or because they had some vague “pre-existing condition” that meant insurance companies could either deny coverage or jack up the costs through the roof.

2. People being driven into bankruptcy because of medical bills on policies that had annual and lifetime caps, or that didn’t include critical coverage, or that didn’t cover things that, oh, hey, pre-existing conditions again!.

3. Because the basic ideas behind the ACA were supported by both the GOP and conservative think tanks like the Heritage Foundation … until it was a Democrat that was pushing them into law.

The GOP politicians today seems mainly concerned with getting rid of #3. If #1 or #2 happen again, well, none of them are likely to suffer that way.

Something to remember this November.




Opinion | Get Sick, Go Bankrupt and Die – The New York Times
What the midterms mean for the future of health care.

Original Post

Un-American radicals demand open borders, free stuff for illegals!

I mean, get a load of these libtards and the America-destroying policies they suggest — open borders, work permits for Mexicans, clear rejection of even a fence (let alone a wall), reference to their own family members being part of the invading horde, and, of course, suggesting all those folk who have sneaked across and are stealing our jobs and raping our women and breeding anchor babies like rabbits should get free stuff, as if they were as good as US citizens.

Where the hell did they dredge these un-patriotic crazies up, Europe? Good thing America knows better than to listen to traitors like this!

Original Post

The Trump “Gilded Age” Government Restructuring Plan

I have no doubt that there are any number of "Hey, we can cut down on government oversight and regulation of big business" consolidations going on here in the name of "efficiency". Also any number of "If we consolidate this stuff, then we can more easily cut its budget!" ploys.

But I'll zero in on one headliner in particular, the consolidation of the Department of Education and Department of Labor into the Department of Proles Department of Child Labor Department of Education and the Workforce (page 25):

This proposal would merge the Departments of Education (ED) and Labor (DOL) into a single Cabinet agency, the Department of Education and the Workforce (DEW). The new agency would be charged with meeting the needs of American students and workers, from education and skill development to workplace protection to retirement security. Merging ED and DOL would allow the Federal Government to address the educational and skill needs of American students and workers in a coordinated way, eliminating duplication of effort between the two agencies and maximizing the effectiveness of skill-building efforts.

I.e., we're going to create a Department of Vocational Ed and Skills Training, to focus both our schools and our workforce on creating good workers for the factories and mines and sweatshops and fields of the future, under the auspices of the federal government.

Make America Gilded Again!

https://www.whitehouse.gov/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/Government-Reform-and-Reorg-Plan.pdf

[h/t +Stan Pedzick]

 

Original Post

Shuffling Around the Federal Government

So the Trumpists have thoughts on how to reorganize the federal government to make it more efficient.

Two thoughts:

1. Given the strong strain in Radical Right thought that looks to essentially geld / hamstring / abolish the federal government, any such proposals should be taken with a high degree of suspicion, even if they make surface sense.

2. Yeah, there are almost certainly ways in which a highly political and bureaucratic environment like the executive branch can be made more efficient.

3. On the other hand, beware lumping "enemies list" organizations together, esp. when there is no particular rationale for the consolidation. This is almost certainly a way to create a single throat to choke in budget negotiation. (E.g., the combination of the Labor and Education departments).




washingtonpost

Original Post

Regulation and Price Fixing and Socialism Are Bad!

Except, of course, when they’re apparently not.

(The assertion, by the by, that nuclear and coal-fired plants are immune to natural disasters and can just keep on chugging out energy in case of one, appears to be dubious, e.g. ,, https://www.nirs.org/wp-content/uploads/factsheets/naturaldisaster&nuclearpower.pdf .)

Originally shared by +Stan Pedzick:

I love how so called “free market” conservatives will do the complete opposite at the drop of a hat. Also, this should provide much entertainment as the entire power industry sues the DOE so that they do not have to raise rates to buy expensive power.

Of course, the easiest solution, the one that conservatives will not do, would be to buy and operate the aging expensive facilities themselves if they were so concerned about it. The USBR already operates almost every major hydro facility in the US, so it would be easy for them to drop a billion dollars to buy these plants and maintain and run them in case of an emergency.




Trump Prepares Lifeline for Money-Losing Coal Power Plants
Trump administration officials are making plans to order grid operators to buy electricity from struggling coal and nuclear plants in an effort to extend their life, a move that could represent an unprecedented intervention into U.S. energy markets.

Original Post

Complete this pattern …

Granted there are lots of twists and turns and nuances involved, but the basic sequence of events in each pair is clear:

1. People who can make money doing dangerous and risky things try to do so, leading to substantial societal loss and harm (affecting most strongly those who weren’t making the money).

2. Everyone wrings their hands and Stern Measures Are Taken to Ensure This Never Happens Again.

3. People who can make money doing dangerous and risky things convince Congress that the Stern Measures are overreaching, unnecessary, and, hey, what are the chances this could ever possibly happen again now that we are so much wiser? Also, here’s some money to help you get elected next time around.

4. Congress gets rid of the Stern Measures.

5. GOTO 1

Originally shared by +Katie H.:

Original Post

It’s GOOD to be the Secretary of For-Profit Education!

It means you get to get rid of / reassign the folk looking into fraud at for-profit schools and provide government jobs for all your buddies at those very same institutions without any more embarrassing encounters with the investigating team at the water cooler! It’s win-win for everybody!




Education Department Unwinds Unit Investigating Fraud at For-Profits
A team of lawyers and investigators had looked into advertising at big colleges. Now it mostly processes student loan forgiveness applications.

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Balancing the budget on the backs of poor children

CHIP (the Children’s Health Insurance Program) is highly popular (and highly effective), but the GOP in Congress let its funding lapse (they were “too busy” trying to repeal the ACA), and now Trump is proposing that Congress try to claw back some of the wildly imbalanced budget he’s responsible for (through big military hikes and huge tax cuts for the wealthy and corporations) by cutting funding for CHIP.

Yes, the policy position of the head of the GOP is that the tax cut he got passed for himself be paid for in part by reducing medical care funding for poor children.

It’s remarkably Dickensian, but, hey, that’s our president, and his party. Something to remember (yet again) this November, and certainly a question I’d like to see asked of every GOP congressional candidate heading into that election.

Originally shared by +New York Magazine:

Trump Adds ‘Cutting Children’s Health Care’ to GOP’s 2018 Platform https://nym.ag/2FZR1HZ




Trump Adds ‘Cutting Kids’ Health-Care’ to 2018 GOP Platform

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