Like your life depends on it

"Vote like your life depends on it" is a slogan popular among Democrats. But the large numbers that support Donald Trump (42 percent according to FiveThirtyEight's compilation of polls) obviously think the same from their corner.

Beyond that, I have little to say about polls. After 2016, none of us should trust them. They can be skewed by the Bradley Effect — in this case GOP voters lying about their intentions — vote suppression tactics, gerrymandering, Trump's firehose of lies and distractions, maybe more interference from the Russians. Remember, 80,000 votes in three states decided our fate two years ago. Hillary Clinton won the popular vote by 3 million votes — despite the factors listed above, plus media malpractice in overlooking Trump's deep corruption, unfitness for office, and Kremlin meddling.

From where I sit, our lives do depend on at least Democrats winning the House. If Republicans, who are complicit in Trump's corruption and malgovernment, hold all the branches of government, then it's over. I don't see how we come back. It's going to be difficult enough with a hard reactionary Supreme Court thanks to the evil Mitch McConnell (and I don't apply the adjective lightly).

Under continued GOP control, we will not only shirk essential American leadership in addressing human-caused climate change, we will make it worse by releasing more carbon into the atmosphere. There's no upper bound to worse, either. This is the greatest existential crisis humanity has faced.

More tax cuts for the wealthy, more cuts to domestic programs, then the big enchiladas: repealing the Affordable Care Act (instead of merely sabotaging it) and coming after Social Security and Medicare. No checks on Trump's power. No accountability for his crimes. Mueller is likely toast. An American Reichstag fire would provide the "president" and his supporters a convenient boost into full-blown authoritarianism. As Paul Krugman points out, Republicans must lie about their intentions because their actual programs are highly unpopular. 

My supposition is that few Trump voters were motivated by economic troubles in the Heartland, globalization, or a revolt against elites. If that were so, why vote for a self-proclaimed billionaire who was sure to install (and did) the wealthiest cabinet in history, members of which have profited by the "shareholder value" shift that has hollowed out manufacturing and the middle class?

Instead, many projected on him their anger over the various lost- and losing battles in the culture war. Many are poorly informed and were indoctrinated by Fox "News" to believe the centrist President Obama was a socialist devil not even born in the United States. And others were well-educated and well-off financially, motivated by the certainty that Trump would open the federal government for looting and send regulatory watchdogs to the pound.

Extreme, un-American rhetoric is now commonplace in the Republican Party. Dog whistles are long gone. Especially on friendly media venues and in rallies, calls to ethnic and racial antipathy are regularly employed. I hesitate to brand them all racists. Many are brainwashed by the right-wing media, others legitimately concerned by record levels of immigration — ones I call white majoritarians. Of course there are racists and anti-semites, some unhinged to violence by Trump's propaganda and conspiracy theories. But the careless use of "racist," like "privilege" and "white men" (who is this white man? Albert Schweitzer? Adolf Hitler?) only feeds their own feeling of victimhood.

To be sure, as a friend put it: The left is annoying in a Life of Brian way, while the right is dangerous in a Life of Adolf way.

Hillary Clinton did her best to thread the needle of our Cold Civil War. But she lost just enough counties that Obama won to get the 2016 election within stealing distance.

Purists who want the Democrats to go all in on a Bernie Bros platform are consigning the party to a permanent string of losses. The far right outnumbers the far left.

Democrats need to be campaigning on protecting Social Security, Medicare, and the Affordable Care Act. An even simpler slogan comes from the filmmaker and writer Steven Beschloss: Vote American.

Will it be enough, for a Democratic victory to save the republic and our experiment in self-governance? I don't know.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Comments

[soleri]

The difference between the left and right is that liberals still believe in compromise, process, norms, and empiricism. The right believes only in power that makes the rich richer, the public square poorer, and political discourse poisonous. I know in my own worst moments how I will begin to resemble the very things I loathe about so-called conservatives. It's not easy having this kind of conversation in a country where we know good people on the other side, but there will ultimately be a harsher reckoning if we don't have it now. Pathological lying is killing America, and it's not only Donald Trump doing it. It's every Republican who denies climate change, minimizes the humanity of "others", actively engages in crimes against democracy like voter suppression, and lies about basic facts. such as being in favor of pre-existing conditions coverage in ACA.

I understand what an ordeal change can be, particularly for people who are caught in a daydream about their idyllic childhood or a tweaked sense of grievance about an America they can no longer love wholeheartedly. Our country has changed but it wasn't a conspiracy. We're obviously not and never have been a static nation. The pace of cultural churn has picked up faster than many of us would like in the past several decades. Globalization itself was happening long before we noticed the heartland losing its factories and mills. To blame this on politics or ideology misses how dynamic America has always been. Capitalism itself created the conditions for our anything-goes bacchanal of overconsumption and entertainment thrills. It's not the fault of liberals that people want new gizmos, fashions, and experiences. Capitalism unleashed an epic tease aimed directly at the hearts and minds of prosperous citizens worldwide: buy this and be happy!

The most toxic lie Republicans spread is that minorities are the "problem". This idea that dark-skinned "others" are ruining America is aimed directly at the reptilian brains of easily manipulated people who think the voting booth can be a time machine taking them back to Mayberry. It's a stunning breach of faith in our American ideal that we're all equal and worthy of the fruits of democracy. Racists and their fellow travelers are the very opposite of patriots. They are dividing and weakening America for the sake of power and a cheap score.

I am pessimistic that Democrats can turn back this tide of nihilism and cruelty. Republicans have normalized the worst traits of American citizens, and indeed, found its purest distillation in one human being and elected him president. They own the federal government and are the power vectors for vile billionaires making America a significantly worse nation than it otherwise would be. Democrats are not perfect nor should we pretend to be with purity rituals and head-in-the-clouds idealism. We're human and fallen, just as all people are. But we're willing to make it work if Republicans will simply meet us halfway in this broken nation we either love or fail. But we cannot desert the marginalized and poor. We must necessarily account for them. That's us as seed carriers of democracy. I'm sorry if they wear baggy pants, slouch, and speak disrespectfully toward their betters who call themselves Real Americans. Still, we either come together or collapse this noblest of experiments in self-government for the sake of nothing better than being "right".

[El Kabong]

As usual, I hope for the best and expect the worst.

[B. Franklin]

Wasn't it Stalin (whom Trump, given the opportunity, would have been happy to snuggle up to) who said "It doesn't matter who votes. It only matters who counts the votes"?

[Ruben]

Seven children in Utah will grow up without their father thanks to the useless, wasteful war in Afghanistan. Vote for Republicans. Vote for Democrats. It won't matter. The dying will go on. Why, because the MIC owns both corrupt parties lock, stock and barrel.

[soleri]

Ruben, you are an idiot.

[Cal Lash]

Now Walt, no more brewskis for you tonite.

[Cal Lash]

Years of continuous war:
Neo Cons: Democrats or Republicans?
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neoconservatism

[Cal Lash]

As America heads to the polls, the campfire crowd says, Trump is the man, he is my hero because he puts "America First." Its impossible for me to tell them he puts himself first and they dont care!

Will be interesting to see how the Phoenix mayor race concludes. The democrats near me do not like Gallego as they believe she is in bed with the "developers." They prefer the earthy Valenzuela.

[Cal Lash]

its gonna be a squeaker with Sinema and McSally

[soleri]

Cal, I'm not a Neocon but I do love any country that can forcibly stand up for human rights and liberty. We tend to think power is a terrible thing, but it can be a force for the good when it's applied judiciously (see: WWII). The problem that arises is when it becomes an excuse to bloat itself at the expense of the common good. Now, who can't get enough military spending? Republicans. Who talks first about the common good? Democrats. Yes, Democrats vote for those bloated defense budgets because in the minds of those fellers at the campfire, you can't kill enough brown-skinned people to keep America "safe". It's the perennial mindfuck in which a nation of sheep consoles itself that the wolf dressed up in a general's uniform will protect them.

This election is the most important one you'll ever vote in. If you bullshit yourself like Ruben that everything's a con and both sides are the same, you won't care who wins, even a would-be dictator. This becomes a moral question you need to ponder. At which point do your own political beliefs become a vehicle for moral collapse? I understand, and even share to a certain extent, the revulsion with this world its necessary compromises. We do the best we can with conflicting values and information. Yes, power will always favor entrenched interests. But this election is relatively simple. If you vote against Democrats, or don't vote at all, you're favor of more corporate control of our political process. You will further aid the forces of inertia that disable collective action on climate change. You will further marginalize the already marginalized and deepen the psychosis of a nation zonked on too much entertainment and too little consciousness.

Vote as if other people matter not because you're an unctuous do-gooder like me but because there's only one reality - this present moment. Camus would tell you to keep rolling that boulder up the mountain because, ultimately, that's the only way you can live with yourself. Don't give up just because you know it will all ultimately end in failure and death. Fight the good fight because we're all we have. We didn't want this war but it found us anyway. Today is as good as any other in which to die for something far greater than your own small self.

[Cal Lash]

Well said! Thanks.

[Cal Lash]

Brent Taylor added 3 new photos.
October 28 at 2:58 PM ·
Freedom: Millions Defy Taliban and Vote in Afghan Elections

“The secret to happiness is freedom… And the secret to freedom is courage.” – Thucydides
“In the truest sense, freedom cannot be bestowed; it must be achieved." – Franklin D. Roosevelt

It was beautiful to see over 4 million Afghan men and women brave threats and deadly attacks to vote in Afghanistan’s first parliamentary elections in eight years. The strong turnout, despite the attacks and challenges, was a success for the long-suffering people of Afghanistan and for the cause of human freedom. I am proud of the brave Afghan and US soldiers I serve with. Many American, NATO allies, and Afghan troops have died to make moments like this possible; for example, my dear friend Lieutenant Kefayatullah who was killed fighting the Taliban the day before voting began. 🇦🇫️

As the USA gets ready to vote in our own election next week, I hope everyone back home exercises their precious right to vote. And that whether the Republicans or the Democrats win, that we all remember that we have far more as Americans that unites us than divides us. “United we stand, divided we fall.” God Bless America. 🇺🇲️👊🏻

https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/brent-taylor-pleaded-with-yanks-to-vote-before-he-was-killed-in-afghanistan_us_5bdf9505e4b04367a87dcbc1

[Cal Lash]

Campfire Woman:
“I don’t care if he sprouts a third dick up there,” she said.
https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/donald-trump-lies-supporters-midterm-elections_us_5bdf78dde4b04367a87dacf5

[Creosote]

"If you vote against Democrats, or dont vote at all, you're favor of more corporate control of our political process."

It this a fucking joke?

Soleri, Say No To Drugs!

Finance is dumping money into Democrats campaign coffers at alot higher level than to the Republicans.

Or

Be a Soleri Democrat and vote for for Krysten Sinema who votes with Republicans upward of 70% of the time. but oh, oh we must SAVE THE REPUBLIC!

And has the nerve to bash those who don't tow the line with the Democrats.

Its people like you that are complicit in perpetuating the bankruptcy of american politics

[soleri]

Creosote, I have no idea who you are unless you're one of Ruben's numerous sockpuppets. You sound a lot like the kind of bots Russians and Republicans use to depress voting on the left so I can't take anything you say in good faith. What I do take seriously is the utter contempt people like you have for democracy itself. Lefty blowhards and Republican cynics have this trait in common: only the ideologically certain should vote. That means no compromise, no peace, and no faith in the only process we have to midwife change short of violence or authoritarianism. Democracy becomes democrazy when we no longer vote as if other people matter but only as if ideological phantoms matters. Say, tribal identity or near-theological certitude in certain economic prescriptions. If Republicans (and their lefty stooges) win tomorrow, democracy is finished in America.

[HMLS]

My guess on Creosote: A partisan Republican in leftist clothing. Definitely an Arizona in your face airhead. Russian bots haven’t yet perfected Arizona stupid.

[Petro]

Scum vs. Scum

That is all.

(Vote straight Democratic ticket, though. Good God.)

[AZ Retiree]

Speaking of good God (please listen Mormon friends), the choice is obvious. Vote for Rethugs who are working flat out to disenfranchise millions from voting (& don't care how much help they get from Russian hackers) or Demos who have a hard time crafting a party line anymore. Pretty easy choice - we can work with Demos on improvement. Adults can see their is no moral equivalency between the two sides. We do have to vote like this is our last election. (Good news. Both college age sons voted early. Perhaps more students will vote this time.)

[soleri]

Let's review:

One party is willing now to actively suppress the vote of minority citizens. One party. It also wants to turn over women's reproductive rights to old white men. It denies climate change and any and all efforts at mitigation of it. It uses the judiciary to repress workers' rights. It poisons political discourse with race cards and dog whistles. It refuses to subject itself or its president to the rule of law. It is friendly with a foreign regime busy hacking our elections. Its rank and file hold Vladimir Putin in higher esteem than Barack Obama. Its billionaire donor class spends unchecked sums to misinform the public while its State TV apparatus convinces tens of millions of hapless rubes that their real enemy is dark skin.

Into this fever swamp of proto-fascism wades the Talton Fan Club to remind us that Democrats are just as bad.

PLEASE. GROW. UP.

[Cal Lash]

Good point Az retiree, LDS voters could make Arizona Blue. Toss in showup Hispanics and it would be deep purple.

[Cal Lash]

ADULTS. Childeren should be allowed a voice in the rooms, also.
It provides growth hormones.

[Cal Lash]

However i notice at 78 and aging my mind seems to be getting more child like everyday.

[Petro]

Tee hee.

[Petro]

I could be wrong, but I have a feeling that there are some "die-hard" Dems out there silently fist-pumping at the loss of that lefty-progressive Democratic candidate Beto O'Rourke to the vampiric Ted Cruz.

I could be wrong.

[soleri]

Petro, since your idea is little more than self-pity dressed up as a conspiracy theory, indeed you are wrong.

Beto O'Rourke may well become the front-runner for the 2020 Democratic nomination if he decides to run. There aren't many electric candidates out there who can galvanize attention and hope the way he has.

I doubt Beto will win the hearts of True Believers since he's neither an angry ideologue like Bernie nor a Total Explanation zealot who enraptures those citizens who confuse certitude with idealism. What he'll do is present himself as a positive force for change without making a litmus test out of his various policy positions. He's a realist, in other words. Or as your tribe will likely say, a "sell-out".

Despite the Dems capturing the House, this election is yet one more disappointing reminder that a near-majority of American voters are much more attuned to culture-war wedge issues than the real world itself. It's one more sign that Trumpism is a permanent feature of our politics now, and that there is no easy answer for it. Democrats need a divine intervention in the form of either a sharp recession or a Mueller report that shakes our nation to its core. Otherwise, democracy is over.

[Petro]

I get all shivery inside when soleri takes me seriously and writes shit to me.

[Cal Lash]

So far the best win by a democrat.
The Kansas Governor's race.

[Joe Schallan]

More walls! More prisons!! More guns!!! More old white men yelling all the time!!! VOTE REPUBLICAN!!!

[Rogue Columnist]

It appears Sinema would be leading if not for the Green vote — even though the Green candidate withdrew and said vote for Sinema. Usual center-left firing squad. This is why a mythical third party will only ensure continued right-wing dominance.

[Ruben]

There is only one human walking the face of the earth who can beat trump in 2020, Joe Biden. The rest of the pretenders would get chewed up and spit out.

There is one person who could damage the party so badly that it would handicap Biden badly, senile Pelosi.

I'm smiling this morning because Kobach in Kansas and Walker in Wisconsin were sent packing.

I'm sad this morning because of Gosar, AZ, King, IA, Cruz, TX. These are despicable humans.

[Cal Lash]

OLD PEOPLE
Obviously AZ LDS stayed big Red.
Sinema had to have 33 percent of LDS voters to win.
Seems that a number of Old rural Democrats voted light Red.
And i know a number of Old Hispanics (American Mexicans and Spaniards)
that are Red.
The Blue wave?
Fuhrer Donald might say I would rather be RED than DEAD.

[ὀστρακισμός]

The resistance may have to resist a bit harder - I think the Radical Leftists here would agree that last night was underwhelming.

Senate +
Republicans gain an even larger majority and are not forced to negotiate with the Maverick or the Flake. McConnell et al are onboard with the Trump agenda.

Confirming judges, including the next Supreme Court justice should be a more simple exercise.

House -/+
House Republicans were largely aligned with Trump, but leadership was not. Although seats were lost, the overall performance won't be too impacted.

On the other hand, the new Dem majority is likely to overplay the Psuedo-Russia scandal. I can see it now - crazy Adam Schiff repeating the same talking points, ad nasuem...

The next six years should be great! Don't worry, we'll take you Leftists along with us on the journey!

[B. Franklin]

The journey? You mean right into the ditch?

No thanks.

And about that "six years".

Your orange headed boy and his buddies will spend the next few months answering subpoenas...

And then, "poof", he'll be tossed onto the ash heap of history. Which really isn't fair to the rest of the ash heap...

[Cal Lash]

I see the local greek ruskie is back with unnecessary word vulgarity?
I do agree that the Russian election stuff will not go far and probably with Sessions gone, Donnie and his family will escape the prison they belong in for financial crimes.
The campfire crowd was happy that AR 15's and white jesus won the day.

[ὀστρακισμός]

I did/do hope that gaining these seats in the House alleviates some of the madness that ails the comrades of the radical left. I'm quite weary of the ridiculous marches and public events - which reminds me, remember seeing all those conservative protesters Tuesday night? No? Yeah, me neither.

@Franklin -
The journey to sub 4% unemployment, 1M+ job openings, and a roboust middle-class.

The journey to science over scientism (this is going to ruffle Leftists feathers - genetics is science, not feelings!), and considering the costs associated preventing supposed doomsdays that always seem to have a new "expiration date!"

The journey to confronting real global adversaries - concerned about global warming? China produces double the amount of C02 as the US. Concerned about the treatment of minorites? China has hundreds of thousands, if not millions in "re-education camps".

If the Dems that took power think like as you do, then their power will be short lived. Subpoenas, hearings, wild goose chases. It will all make for wonderful television and a fantastic 2020.

@the ineloquent racist
To you, the Mueller investigation is irrelevant. You've already convicted POTUS of his crimes. In this instance like most of your other prophesies, evidence isn't necessary, feelings suffice.

Overall, the only question I have is, what doomsday disaster do you all believe will take us out first? Trump, global warming, Russia, Yawm al-Qiyāmah, or the rapture? Will it happen before 2020 or after?

Can someone give me a date, I want to mark it down in my diary.

The end is nigh!

[Cal Lash]

Had to look up ineloquent. For sure i am not eloquent. Couldn't figure out what was meant by combining ineloquent racist so i googled it. Iowa Senator King came up.
Yep ur right, i "feel" Donald and his family are guilty of financial crimes.
As Menedez,Hunter and Collins. Will wait to see what the future brings.
Like other musings that you put out in other places i find them somewhat interesting but lacking in depth.
But keep scribbling.
As i have said here on a number of occasions i come here for fun and try not to get to serious.
Hasta luego

[Cal Lash]

Nigh? U meant near?
I learned two new words today.
thanks

[Ruben]

When a "reporter " becomes the news instead of reporting the news, then it's time they go. Acosta earned his ban. Good riddance. CNN, FOX and MSNBC are an embarrassment to real journalism. Thank God ABC, NBC, CBS and especially the BBC are still around.

[Ramjet]

Sit down-strap on your seat belt. the next two years are going to be a very bumpy ride.
The only winners will be the TV talking heads. They will go crazy deciding which eruption to cover.
Should be fun and inte3resting.

[Cal Lash]

comedy for the ruskie

Silverman said President Donald Trump’s “breaking up” with Attorney General Jeff Sessions “for the tenth time” shouldn’t distract people from how Democrats flipped the House of Representatives and the other victories they enjoyed.

She also questioned whether Republican wins were even wins at all. “I mean, we’re talking several seats won by indicted criminals and racists funded by Nazis,” she added.

And for Ruben
https://www.newsgrit.com/

[Cal Lash]

New AG, brings a man with a phony razor and and visions of time travel back to the good ole white biblical days.

https://www.miaminewtimes.com/news/trumps-acting-attorney-general-matthew-whitaker-was-part-of-world-patent-marketing-a-miami-based-invention-scam-company-10893091

[terry dudas]

Ruben's right.

[soleri]

I did/do hope that gaining these seats in the House alleviates some of the madness that ails the comrades of the radical left. I'm quite weary of the ridiculous marches and public events - which reminds me, remember seeing all those conservative protesters Tuesday night? No? Yeah, me neither.

Democracy is messy, which offends the frauds on the right who like to imagine themselves superior to all those vulgar citizens who don't look like their Aryan Brotherhood. It is true, of course. We look like America.

I won't apologize for marching, yelling at Republican mafiosi, or mocking their vulgar avatar of bad taste, depravity, and pathological mendacity. At long last, this is what modern conservatism has devolved to: an insane kowtowing to the vilest human being ever elected president of our disunited states.

Yes, you boobs vote. True, you don't allow modernity, complexity, or even a modest degree of scholarship to interrupt your bacchanal of self-pity and imagined victimization. You are what you are: a degraded daydream of what it means to be an American. You have no future because your contempt for us is entirely projection. You know how irrelevant you are without your stupid culture war and Fox News fearmongering. Once you sad sacks finally die off, America will be America again, a rough yet unmistakable work in progress. Dogpatch, wave goodbye.

[ὀστρακισμός]

The eloquent racist speaks.

Contempt for you? Absolutely not. Try pity.

Once we old sacks die off? I was born in the late 80's - and you were born in what, the swing era or was it the roaring 20's? I think you've got your abacus set up wrong.

Either way, don't forget to take your nitro and lithium. Your comrades need you.

[Cal Lash]

The ruskie spoke!
Grandioseness. Less salt. Have thyroid checked.

[therapist]

Nigh? U meant near?
I learned two new words today.
thanks lool :/

[soleri]

Contempt for you? Absolutely not. Try pity.

Oh, please. You're here to impress a small crowd of dumbfounded onlookers with your barroom impression of William F Buckley, Jr. It's amusing in the beginning but becomes quickly tedious when the crowd realizes you little more than a MAGA birdbrain with a thesaurus.

[Cal Lash]

lool
laughing outlandishly out loud
lool... that is soo funny

for the rooskie
https://www.loolclan.com/

[B. Franklin]

One of the unfortunate things about life is that certain strains of humanity never die off.

Instead, they continue to breed and, with increasingly rare exceptions, they never, ever, get any smarter.

[Ruben]

B. Franklin,

You are correct. Your statement is detailed in full at the start of the movie Idiocracy.

Trump has opened the door for the real possibility that, yet to be born, Dwayne Elizando Mountain Dew Herbert Camacho will someday be President.