Category: Vote / Voting

Letters from An American for August 16, 2024

There is a lot in this one! I bolded a few areas; those are my own emphases, rather than Dr. Richardson’s.

Letters from An American for August 16, 2024

by Heather Cox Richardson

Read on Substack

The complaint of Republican vice presidential candidate Senator J.D. Vance (R-OH) last weekend on CNN that Democrats are bullying him by calling him weird has stuck with me. As I wrote at the time, Republicans have made punching down their stock in trade for decades, and Vance’s complaint suggests that the Democrats are finally pushing back. It strikes me that behind this shifting power dynamic is a huge story about American politics.

Since the 1950s, those determined to get rid of business regulation, social welfare programs, government infrastructure spending, and federal protection of civil rights have relied on a rhetorical structure that centers “real” Americans who allegedly want nothing from government and warns that un-American forces who want government handouts are undermining the country by bringing socialism or racial, gender, or religious equality. 

In 2024, that rhetoric is all the MAGA Republicans have left to attract voters, as their actual policies are unpopular. Yesterday, Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump told reporters at his Bedminster availability that to win the 2024 election: “All we have to do is define our opponent as being a communist or a socialist or somebody that’s gonna destroy our country.” 

But it is not just Trump. A MAGA pundit has called Vice President Harris “Hitler and Stalin combined but times 200,” and on Wednesday, Republicans in Minnesota nominated Royce White as their candidate for the U.S. Senate. “We face an enemy that intends to bastardize our citizenship through an idea called globalism,” White has said. “We must begin to understand how the global affects the local and take a stand for God, Family, and Country.” White has also said that “women have become too mouthy,” and that “Donald Trump could get up on stage, pull his pants down, take a sh*t up at the podium, and I still would never vote for you f*cking Democrats again.”

The rhetorical strategy setting up Republicans against a dangerous “other” was behind Trump’s demand that Republicans in Congress kill a bipartisan border bill so that Trump could continue to demonize immigrants. You could see that demonization of immigrants today in Vance’s straight-up lie that Vice President Kamala Harris “wants to give $25,000 to illegal aliens to buy American homes.” In fact, Harris today called for Congress to expand plans already in place in the Biden administration, and none of those plans call for giving money to undocumented migrants.

Also in that vein today was the announcement of Representative James Comer (R-KY), chair of the House Oversight Committee, that he is opening an investigation into Minnesota governor Tim Walz’s work in China. Walz is the Democratic vice presidential nominee. He went to China in 1989 as part of a teach-abroad program and went on to coordinate trips for students in China, becoming a vocal advocate for human rights in that country as leaders cracked down on opposition. But by suggesting this cultural exchange is nefarious, Comer can seed the idea that Walz is somehow operating against the interests of the United States.

This longstanding rhetoric that positions Republicans as true Americans defending the country against those who would destroy it has metastasized into the determination of MAGA Republicans to replace American democracy with a Christian nationalism that cements the power of white patriarchy. Vance has been in hot water for his derogatory remarks about “childless cat ladies”; interviews have resurfaced in the past few days in which he embraced the idea that the role of “the postmenopausal female” is to take care of grandchildren. 

The New College of Florida is in the news today for illustrating the logical progression of the idea that Republicans must protect the nation from those who would destroy it. The New College of Florida was at the center of Republican governor Ron DeSantis’s program to get rid of traditional academic freedom. He stripped the New College of its independence and replaced officials with Christian loyalists who tried to build a school modeled after those that Viktor Orbán’s loyalists took over in Hungary. New College officials painted over student murals celebrating diversity, suppressed student support for civil rights, and voted to eliminate the diversity, equity, and inclusion office and the gender studies program. Faculty fled the New College, and more than a quarter of the students dropped out. To keep its numbers up, the school dropped its admission standards. 

Yesterday, Steven Walker of the Sarasota Herald-Tribune reported that the school cleared out the Gender and Diversity Center, throwing the books it had accumulated into a dumpster. Officials said the books are no longer serving the needs of the college: “gender studies has been discontinued as an area of concentration at New College and the books are not part of any official college collection or inventory.” 

The image of piles of books in a dumpster in the United States of America is not easily forgettable. 

But the dominance rhetoric of the MAGA Republicans was never just about political power. Political power always went hand in hand with corruption. A new book by Joe Conason called The Longest Con notes that the modern right-wing movement has its roots in the promise of grifters after World War II to protect America against the communists they insisted were infiltrating the country. Their promises to defend true Americans against an enemy was always about getting cash out of the deal. 

Conason emphasizes how drumming up fears of an “other” was a deliberate grift to put money into the pockets of those who told small donors that their dollars were vital for defending the United States. The biggest prize for the extremists, though, was the control of government purse strings that allowed them to turn federal and state largesse toward their own cronies. Conason notes that under President Ronald Reagan, Republicans’ cuts to government oversight and reliance on the private sector to regulate itself, along with their belief that unfettered capitalism was a form of resistance to communism, led to a boom in corruption. 

That corruption has continued in the Republican Party, largely unaddressed as politicians insisted that those calling it out were simply un-American malcontents engaging in political hits against good, patriotic Americans. In contrast, as any corruption on the Democratic side can be expected to be sliced and diced in public, the Democrats have stayed relatively clean. 

And this is why Vance’s comment about Democrats bullying him jumped out at me. Republican dominance is cracking as Trump struggles and Vance offends people, and as that dominance falls away, the many things it covered are starting to get attention—among them, stories of Republican corruption. And they’re doozies.  

On Sunday, for example, Garrett Shanley of the Independent Florida Alligator, the student newspaper of the University of Florida, reported that when former senator Ben Sasse (R-NE) took over the presidency of the University of Florida, he “channeled millions” to his Republican allies and to secretive contracts. In 17 months he more than tripled spending from his office, with most of the money going to his former aides and political friends, most of whom continued to live and work outside the state. Sasse was appointed in November 2022 in an opaque hiring process and stepped down unexpectedly in July, citing family issues, although Vivienne Serret of The Independent Alligator reported that DeSantis allies on the Board of Trustees forced him out.

One of the biggest stories in the country these days is the corruption scandal in Ohio, in which dark money groups led by the FirstEnergy utility company worked with former Ohio House speaker Larry Householder to put into office politicians who, thanks to about $61 million in bribes, backed a $1.3 billion bailout for FirstEnergy paid for with tax dollars. 

On Monday, Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost agreed to settle the scandal. FirstEnergy will pay a $20 million fine, an amount that Marty Schladen of the Ohio Capital Journal notes is less than one-third the amount FirstEnergy spent to bribe legislators, and a fraction of the money ratepayers have had to pay because of the corrupt legislation the bribes paid for. 

Nothing better illustrates the grift at the center of today’s MAGA Republicans than Donald Trump’s Big Lie that he actually won the 2020 election and that it was stolen from him by those dangerous “others,” the Democrats. The Big Lie enabled the Trump team to continue soliciting donations in order to fight for the White House. According to Conason, Trump and his fellow election deniers pocketed $255.4 million between the 2020 election and the January 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol to stop the counting of the electoral votes that would make Democratic candidate Joe Biden president. 

On Monday, jurors found former Colorado election clerk Tina Peters guilty on seven counts in relation to her compromising of her county’s election system. Peters was determined to get voter information to My Pillow chief executive Mike Lindell, a key Trump ally, in order to prove the Big Lie. She is facing more than 22 years in prison.

—

Notes:

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cy8xqy0jv24o

https://www.politico.com/news/2024/08/16/tim-walz-james-comer-china-00174403

https://people.com/j-d-vance-post-menopausal-female-podcast-interview-8696246

https://newrepublic.com/post/184926/florida-new-college-ron-desantis-book-ban

https://www.wtsp.com/article/news/local/sarasotacounty/new-college-florida-books-dumpster-gender-studies/67-749fb5d8-6269-4507-827f-209c3403f7a6

Joe Conason, The Longest Con: How Grifters, Swindlers, and Frauds Hijacked American Conservatism (St. Martins: 2024). 

https://www.comicsands.com/royce-white-resurfaced-women-mouthy-2668973149.html

https://www.cbsnews.com/minnesota/news/royce-white-republican-nomination-us-senate/

https://www.alligator.org/article/2024/08/sasse-s-spending-spree-former-uf-president-channeled-millions-to-gop-allies-secretive-contracts

How Citizens United cleared the way for the biggest political bribery scandal in Ohio history
Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost settles with FirstEnergy for $20 million

https://www.jacksonville.com/story/news/columns/nate-monroe/2024/08/16/corcoran-trashes-books-to-stay-on-top-as-no-1-florida-goon-commentary/74824824007/

https://www.jacksonville.com/story/news/education/2024/08/15/new-college-of-florida-throws-away-hundreds-of-library-books-diversity-lgbtq/74814756007/

https://www.alligator.org/article/2024/08/reason-behind-sasse-departure

https://www.denver7.com/news/local-news/former-mesa-county-clerk-tina-peters-guilty-of-7-counts-in-election-security-breach-trial

https://www.axios.com/local/denver/2024/08/12/tina-peters-election-tampering-colorado-jury-verdict

https://www.msnbc.com/opinion/msnbc-opinion/kamala-harris-maga-jezebel-apocalypse-rcna164922

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/article/2024/aug/06/trump-kamala-harris-presidential-election

X:

atrupar/status/1824201300029936100

RonFilipkowski/status/1824457815269769685

patriottakes/status/1823742686228336772

swalker_7/status/1824138952917295337

MacFarlaneNews/status/1822620830674624629

Here’s a meme from email

This is a wonderful video from Harris-Walz

I got this in a Wonkette Substack, which is also loads of fun, but not as nice as the Harris-Walz video. I thought I’d leave it up to everyone if they want to read the Wonkette piece, which, again, is hilarious and has the above video. But in case someone’s not up for that sort of humor, the video is set up separately.

Creepy Bigots Declare Tim Walz Race Traitor For ‘White Guy Tacos’ Joke by Rebecca Schoenkopf

No way that ‘weird’ label is sticking to THEM! Read on Substack

Late and short. I will try to do better next week.

Tampon Tim?
Is that because he stops red waves?

One of my cousins back in MN has been re-purposing Biden/Harris signs and leaving them out on his boulevard. They all keep disappearing and showing up in people’s yards! 🙂

Thumbnail
 
 

 

 

 

Scotties Playtime first video

Hi grand people.   Yesterday I made what I hope will be daily videos.  I need to work on the audio, and I apologize for tapping on the desk so a small section of the video.  I did not think it was audible and only when I played it back did I realize it.  I would love better sound equipment.  Ron is wondering if a lapel mic would be better.  He also intends to but something behind me to absorb the sounds.  Once he saw the video he helped me adjust the lighting.  He did not like how the bright light was washing out my lips.  He said he was going to buy me lipstick.  😜😁😂💖  Anyway here is the video.  If you need CC it takes YouTube a couple of days I think to add that and sometimes it is sloppy at it.   Hope you enjoy.  Hugs.  Scottie

Some good election news here:

Wisconsin voters reject GOP-written ballot measures, US Senate race set with Hovde’s primary win

By  SCOTT BAUER Updated 5:49 AM CDT, August 14, 2024

MADISON, Wis. (AP) — Wisconsin voters on Tuesday rejected Republican-authored ballot questions that would have limited the governor’s power to spend federal money that comes to the state for such things as disaster relief, a big win for Democrats who mobilized against them.

In Wisconsin’s closely watched U.S. Senate race, Republican businessman Eric Hovde, who was endorsed by Donald Trump, easily won the primary. He advances to face Democratic Sen. Tammy Baldwin in a race that could determine majority control of the chamber.

And in two competitive congressional primaries, Trump-backed Republican Tony Wied defeated a current and former state lawmaker in northeast Wisconsin, and Democrat Rebecca Cooke beat a state lawmaker in western Wisconsin.

Wied will face Democrat Kristin Lyerly, a doctor who sued to protect abortion rights, in the race for the open 8th Congressional District seat. Cooke will try to knock off incumbent Rep. Derrick Van Orden, a former Navy SEAL who is one of Trump’s loudest backers, in the 3rd District. (snip)

Rejection of the ballot measures was a huge win for liberals.

Democrats, including Gov. Tony Evers, and a host of liberal groups and others organized against the amendments. They had argued adopting them would slow down the distribution of money when it needs to be spent quickly.

“This was a referendum on our administration’s work and the future for Wisconsin we’ve been working hard to build together, and the answer is reflected in the people’s vote tonight,” Evers said in a statement.

https://apnews.com/article/wisconsin-election-primary-amendment-hovde-baldwin-fe7b7aa8ffa75b171d109f416b3f312b

Where is the parity?

I initially wasn’t going to read this, but then I thought, well, let’s see if The Guardian is doing a little better on coverage parity than the other “big papers.” I think as far as exposing and telling news stories, The Guardian excels, but today I did not see what I’d hoped for, which is actual commentary or questions regarding the Don’s fitness for campaign and office, his ability to win, and if he should step down. I am disappointed, but at least the story of his campaign foundering is being told, unlike in other news media who try to behave as if the Don/Vance campaign is normal and not freakishly authoritarian and hateful. Anyway, here is this: https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/article/2024/aug/15/trump-campaign-leadership

Top Trump advisers in turmoil after campaign’s worst month of 2024

Senior aides see challenges from enemies real and perceived as the ex-president struggles against Harris

Donald Trump has privately expressed faith in his campaign leadership and no firings are currently expected, but senior advisers find themselves in the most vulnerable moment as they struggle to frame effective attacks against Kamala Harris, according to multiple people familiar with the matter.

The past month, starting with Joe Biden’s withdrawal and his endorsement of Harris to succeed him, which propelled her to draw roughly even in key swing state polls, has easily been the most unstable moment for the Trump campaign since its formal launch in late 2022.

In that period, Trump has often committed one unforced error after another as he tries to frame arguments against Harris, struggled to break through the news cycle hyping Democrats’ enthusiasm, and suddenly found himself on the defensive with a narrow window left until November.

The sudden difficulty for the Trump campaign to lay a glove on Harris has led to Trump’s allies seeing an opening for the first time to openly challenge decision-making by senior aides and privately challenge whether some advisers should remain in their positions or be sidelined.

And the past month has been bad enough for the Trump campaign that advisers have taken those challenges – whether from enemies real or perceived – as serious threats or slights that necessitate devoting time and effort to slap down.

In a statement referring to the campaign chiefs Susie Wiles and Chris LaCivita, a Trump spokesperson said: “As President Trump said, he thinks Ms Wiles and Mr LaCivita are doing a phenomenal job and any rumors to the contrary are false and not rooted in reality.

“This campaign is focused on winning, and anyone not focused on electing President Trump and defeating Kamala Harris is doing nothing but hurting every American. Detractors and lobbyists are waging a destructive battle of rumor and innuendo, and they are well known and will be remembered.”

woman who is Kellyanne Conway in a pale blue dress
Kellyanne Conway at a White House meeting about the opioid crisis in 2019. Photograph: REX/Shutterstock

The anxiety principally stems from Trump’s recent meeting on 2 August with Lara Trump, his daughter in law whom he installed as head of the Republican National Convention, and Kellyanne Conway, who ran his 2016 presidential campaign.

Reached by phone, Conway said the meeting was focused on strategy and she told Trump that he defeated a female candidate in 2016 and could do so again in November. She said she never mentioned any names or titles of senior advisers on the campaign.

But the meeting raised hackles internally when Trump later relayed what Conway had said, which was interpreted by senior advisers as an incursion into their territory and an attempt to pitch herself to run the campaign, the people said.

The roller-coaster of anxiety diminished after senior aides felt reassured that Conway was unlikely to come aboard, at least for now, with Trump questioning her new lobbying for Ukraine and her suggestion in 2023 that Trump endorse a 15-week federal abortion ban.

But an undercurrent of nervousness has persisted. At least one other faction in Trump world with ties to figures associated with the Trump 2016 campaign is weighing whether to appeal to the former president to shake up the leadership, according to a person involved in the discussions.

The summer months have historically been the time that Trump makes changes to his campaign chiefs, as he did in 2016 when he installed Conway and Steve Bannon and David Bossie to take the reins, as well as in 2020, when he replaced Brad Parscale with Bill Stepien.

The 2020 campaign in particular carries some scar tissue for advisers, who have privately recalled in recent weeks that criticism over decision-making led to Parscale’s ouster, even if in his case, it was over questionable spending rather than resetting attack lines against their opponent.

A man (Tim Walz) and woman (Kamala Harris) wearing suits hold hands and they raise their arms in the air at a political rally
Kamala Harris and Tim Walz campaign in Las Vegas, Nevada, last week. Photograph: Julia Nikhinson/AP

The anxiety over the palace intrigue comes as the Trump campaign continues to have a difficult time landing consistent attacks against Harris and her running mate, Tim Walz, coming under fire for saying they intend to run the same playbook as against Biden.

The campaign’s bet is that the election will be defined on the same points as with Biden, the people said: the crisis on the US southern border, crime and inflation that has caused a rise in the cost of living.

Trump campaign advisers and external allies agree that Trump needs to attack Harris on her policy records, but the execution has often been poor.

At the heart of the problem is Trump’s annoyance at being managed, one of the people said. And even as Trump tries to keep on message – for instance, to focus on how Harris has shifted her positions to whatever she finds politically expedient – it can be unnatural or come out botched.

When Trump spoke at the National Association of Black Journalists’ conference this month, he falsely suggested Harris had only recently decided to identify as Black because it brought her political benefits, in remarks that were egregious even by Trump’s controversial standards.

Conway told Trump at their meeting, which came days after the NABJ conference, that he should stick to policy differences and not engage in personal attacks. Several campaign officials chafed at Conway’s advice when they learned of it, one of the people said, saying they had advised the same thing and saw her as stepping on their turf.

Kamalanomics (2)

by Robert Reich Go Kamala! Read on Substack

Friends,

On Tuesday, I noted that food prices remain high because there’s little to no competition across the entire food supply chain, which has allowed big corporations to engage in a price gouging free-for-all. https://open.substack.com/pub/robertreich/p/kamalaconomics

Four companies control most food industries, allowing them to coordinate prices instead of compete on the basis of lower prices. I offered this graph to illustrate the problem:

I urged that Harris announce that as president she’ll bust up food monopolies.

Well, I have it on good authority that on Friday she’ll announce a plan to prevent corporations in the food and grocery industries from unfairly jacking up prices on consumers.

She’ll call for the first-ever federal ban on corporate price-gouging in these industries.

Go Kamala!

Politico: Poll Shows Harris Surging Among Young Voters

Politico: Poll Shows Harris Surging Among Young Voters

August 12, 2024 Democrats, Kamala Harris

 

Politico Playbook reports:

A big reason Biden lagged in poll after poll earlier this year was weakness in the youth vote, with some surveys shockingly finding Biden trailing Trump. Now, with Harris atop the ticket, those dynamics have radically changed, according to a brand new poll from young-voter whisperer John Della Volpe for Won’t PAC Down.

The poll of 18-to-29-year-olds found Harris’ own approval rating jumping 16 points since the beginning of last month, to 49 percent from 33 percent.

And in a five-way race, Harris beats Trump in the youth demo by 9 points — that’s up 10 points since last month, when Biden was atop the ticket and behind Trump. In a two-way race, there’s been a 13-point shift toward Harris.

Read the full article.

New data shows violent crime dropping sharply in major U.S. cities

https://www.axios.com/2024/08/12/violent-crime-harris-trump-election

Illustration of a downward arrow made of crime scene tape.

Illustration: Maura Losch/Axios

New preliminary data from major U.S. cities shows a sharp drop in violent crime in the first half of the year — more than 25% in some communities — as the COVID-era crime wave recedes.

Why it matters: The drop in violent crime puts a serious dent in one of the most frequently used lines of attack by former President Trump and his allies, who have sought to tie Democrats to the issue since 2020.

  • It also gives Vice President Kamala Harris, a former prosecutor in San Francisco and California attorney general, a potent defense against attacks from the right on crime.

By the numbers: An Axios analysis of data from the Major Cities Chiefs Association found an overall 6% decline in violent crime among 69 cities during the first six months of 2024 compared to the same period last year.

  • 54 of the 69 major cities in the report saw drops in violent crime — defined as homicide, rape, robbery and aggravated assault — in the first half of 2024, according to the Axios review.
  • Columbus, Ohio, experienced the largest percentage decline in violent crime in the nation, with a massive 41% drop so far in 2024. Omaha, Nebraska, was second with a 30% decrease.
  • Miami and Washington, D.C., so far, have seen 29% declines in violent crime.
  • Austin, Texas, saw a 28% drop, followed by New Orleans with a 26% decrease. Both cities have been under fire for rising crime rates in recent years.

The intrigue: The Axios review also found that the number of homicides in the 69 reported cities fell by more than 17% during the first half of 2024 compared to the last period last year.

  • Boston experienced a dramatic 78% drop in homicides.
  • Philadelphia was among others that saw a big fall in homicides, with a 42% decrease in 2024.

Between the lines: The Major Cities Chiefs Association’s preliminary data did not include New York City — the nation’s largest city — since it did not submit violent crime numbers to the organization for the first half of 2024.

  • Data from New York City, which is released on its own website, couldn’t be compared to other cities in this report.
  • The NYPD’s communications team — seeking to shape discourse around crime in New York — has taken a substantially more aggressive stance with politicians, the media and members of the public this year.
 

State of play: President Biden immediately seized on the new preliminary violent crime numbers showing a decline to tout the Our American Rescue Plan’s assistance to police and gun violence legislation.

  • “Americans are safer today than when Vice President Harris and I took office,” Biden said in a statement.
  • “I will continue to urge Congress to fund 100,000 additional police officers and crime prevention and community violence intervention programs, and make commonsense gun safety reforms such as a ban on assault weapons.”

The other side: Trump has repeatedly posted misleading claims on social media that Harris has helped free people the Trump campaign described as dangerous criminals, according to the Washington Post.

  • “Harris is a pro-criminal extremist,” Trump campaign spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt told the Post.
  • Trump also has falsely claimed that many migrants who have or are trying to cross the border are coming from mental institutions and will commit violent crimes in large numbers.

Reality check: An Axios review of crime data along the U.S.-Mexico border found that those cities have some of the nation’s lowest violent crime rates.

The bottom line: Facts and data about crime are important, but history shows political campaigns can ignore the facts to exploit people’s fears about crime to change the narrative.