This says it All: “Therefore the latest polling tells us less about Trump than it does about the catastrophic failure of not just Democratic campaign professionals, but also civil society and the media, to effectively inform voters of the consequences of the choice they had before them.”
AMEN Sir! The MSM went in the corporate tank the day Roger Ailes took over the Reagan White House.
They killed the Fairness Doctrine ( how unfair is that) and right wing hate speech went viral coast to coast. The truth died that day.
Bill Moyers: “ Truth is the oxygen of Democracy.” Without it. We have the present nightmare. Shame on us all.
We all forget, or maybe aren't aware of two realities, that should ALSO be considered in terms of retrospective spasms when it comes to the 2024 election.
1) In 2024 (as in 2020 and before that in 2016), Tr*mp did not secure even 50% of the popular vote. More people voted for candidates NOT Tr*mp than for him. Which means despite NEVER once winning an actual majority of the popular vote in three elections, our flawed system has still allowed him to be put into the office of the Presidency...twice(!).
Further, when you consider the voting eligible population, of whom over 30% did NOT vote in any three of those elections, you understand that his share of the electorate has not only missed the 50% mark, but not even topped a 33% threshold!
In three elections, 12 million more Americans chose to vote for someone NOT Tr*mp. That's the clear (super) majority speaking.
2) But, if that margin doesn't seem high enough given the naked racism, nativism, sexism and LGBTQ-hatred that are hallmarks of Tr*mp/MAGA's kleptocracy (a corrupt government of wannabe mob bosses extorting everyone from universities and law firms, to wholesale industries and countries), keep in mind that between 2020 and 2022, 19 million Americans were systematically purged from voter rolls; in 2024 alone, that number was 4.7 million.
Before we go around looking for reasons to blame the outcome of the election (primarily) on what individual Democratic electeds and/or the Democratic party writ large did or did not do (which, trust me, I have no interest in defending per se), let's please not lose sight of the effect of outright voter suppression and disenfranchisement.
MAGA or Conservative, gutting our elections has been core to the Repub's playbook since Bush v. Gore in 2000, and has ONLY accelerated under Shelby v. County and the January 6 Big Lie to undermine what free and fair elections we still have.
Solutions will always be inadequate, if we don't recognize and address ALL the root causes of the fascist takeover underway, not just the pet causes, which the media/punditry/consulting class adulate.
Tr*mp and MAGA are a truly, unpopular minority (polls tell us that, but polls don't get to the heart of just how much they are an aberration, as Mike so eloquently explained in his Substack Live with Anat). It is literally a case of the Emperor's New Clothes.
The media sane-washes and normalizes the horrors we're seeing, but that makes them no less horrific: abductions, human trafficking, and imprisonment in foreign concentration camps. Seriously, this is where we are?
We must not forget WE—the people who are FOR the freedoms to decide if/when/or how to start or grow our families, to earn a living wage, to read and learn about the truth of our past, to afford healthcare, to realize our personal dreams, and to love who we love—WE are the supermajority and WE have the agency and power stand up and fight back.
Mike does point to the failure of Democrats to protect voting rights or to enshrine abortion rights or to harden protections of democracy as key factors leading to the apathy of 2024 voters.
You note that "we" have the power to stand up and fight, but I'd point to the absence of sustained protests, sustained boycotts, or a general strike.
This says it All: “Therefore the latest polling tells us less about Trump than it does about the catastrophic failure of not just Democratic campaign professionals, but also civil society and the media, to effectively inform voters of the consequences of the choice they had before them.”
AMEN Sir! The MSM went in the corporate tank the day Roger Ailes took over the Reagan White House.
They killed the Fairness Doctrine ( how unfair is that) and right wing hate speech went viral coast to coast. The truth died that day.
Bill Moyers: “ Truth is the oxygen of Democracy.” Without it. We have the present nightmare. Shame on us all.
Is Eyore a grumpy Democrat?
We all forget, or maybe aren't aware of two realities, that should ALSO be considered in terms of retrospective spasms when it comes to the 2024 election.
1) In 2024 (as in 2020 and before that in 2016), Tr*mp did not secure even 50% of the popular vote. More people voted for candidates NOT Tr*mp than for him. Which means despite NEVER once winning an actual majority of the popular vote in three elections, our flawed system has still allowed him to be put into the office of the Presidency...twice(!).
Further, when you consider the voting eligible population, of whom over 30% did NOT vote in any three of those elections, you understand that his share of the electorate has not only missed the 50% mark, but not even topped a 33% threshold!
Reference source: https://election.lab.ufl.edu/voter-turnout/
In three elections, 12 million more Americans chose to vote for someone NOT Tr*mp. That's the clear (super) majority speaking.
2) But, if that margin doesn't seem high enough given the naked racism, nativism, sexism and LGBTQ-hatred that are hallmarks of Tr*mp/MAGA's kleptocracy (a corrupt government of wannabe mob bosses extorting everyone from universities and law firms, to wholesale industries and countries), keep in mind that between 2020 and 2022, 19 million Americans were systematically purged from voter rolls; in 2024 alone, that number was 4.7 million.
Reference source: https://www.brennancenter.org/issues/ensure-every-american-can-vote/vote-suppression/voter-purges
Before we go around looking for reasons to blame the outcome of the election (primarily) on what individual Democratic electeds and/or the Democratic party writ large did or did not do (which, trust me, I have no interest in defending per se), let's please not lose sight of the effect of outright voter suppression and disenfranchisement.
MAGA or Conservative, gutting our elections has been core to the Repub's playbook since Bush v. Gore in 2000, and has ONLY accelerated under Shelby v. County and the January 6 Big Lie to undermine what free and fair elections we still have.
Solutions will always be inadequate, if we don't recognize and address ALL the root causes of the fascist takeover underway, not just the pet causes, which the media/punditry/consulting class adulate.
Tr*mp and MAGA are a truly, unpopular minority (polls tell us that, but polls don't get to the heart of just how much they are an aberration, as Mike so eloquently explained in his Substack Live with Anat). It is literally a case of the Emperor's New Clothes.
The media sane-washes and normalizes the horrors we're seeing, but that makes them no less horrific: abductions, human trafficking, and imprisonment in foreign concentration camps. Seriously, this is where we are?
We must not forget WE—the people who are FOR the freedoms to decide if/when/or how to start or grow our families, to earn a living wage, to read and learn about the truth of our past, to afford healthcare, to realize our personal dreams, and to love who we love—WE are the supermajority and WE have the agency and power stand up and fight back.
Mike does point to the failure of Democrats to protect voting rights or to enshrine abortion rights or to harden protections of democracy as key factors leading to the apathy of 2024 voters.
You note that "we" have the power to stand up and fight, but I'd point to the absence of sustained protests, sustained boycotts, or a general strike.
Exactly, how are "we" fighting?
Happy birthday Mike!
Happy belated birthday Mike! 🎂