January 4, 2021--A Consequential Week

Among other things this consequential week, we will learn who will gain control of the Senate (elections in Georgia will determine if it will be the Republicans or the Democrats). 

We will learn if Joe Biden will be certified as the president elect (the Congress will meet and presumably, after some Republican telegenic posturing, do that). 

We will see if Trump can turn out more than a few thousand supporters to put pressure on Congress to steal the election from Biden and somehow retain Trump in office (he is making a major effort via Twitter to turn out an angry crowd larger than the one that allegedly attended his inauguration four years ago).

And, most important, we will see if Republicans still believe in democracy and our Constitution (it appears that well over 100 GOP senators and House members are prepared to say they do not at the congressional meeting and on the streets of Washington).

The Georgia elections will be Tuesday and the congressional confirmation meeting and the Trump demonstration will both occur on Wednesday.

So if you have a youngster at home this week make sure she or he can be encouraged to watch some of this on TV as their children and grandchildren will be reading about these events 75 years from now, if we are still teaching history and there will still be text books.

June 10, 2019--No Need to Vote

I've been hearing from friends who live in blue states that they're not planning to vote next year.

"You must be kidding," I've been saying. "You're lifelong liberals, Democrats, you can't abide Trump, and yet you plan to sit on your hands in November? The 2020 vote may turn out to be our last chance to rid ourselves of him. I'm not sure I want to be involved with you if this is your plan."

"Before you cut me off," one said, "I live in deep-blue Massachusetts. There we can already chalk up the Electoral votes for whoever the Democrats nominate."

"Or California where I live," another said. "Last time around it gave Hillary more than a four-million vote plurality. So what does my vote mean?"

"Then there's New York," one of my oldest friends said, "My vote won't count there either. The Democrat always wins at least 60 percent of the vote."

"I can't believe I'm hearing this," I said and was tempted to change the subject so we could remain friends.

"What's the counter argument?" my California friend asked, "So Biden or the nominee wins by 'only' three-and-a-half million popular votes. But still he cleans up in the Electoral College."

"You're right that what happens with the Electoral votes will determine who becomes president but the national vote also counts in some big ways."

"Enlighten me."

"First of all the potential size of the Democratic plurality will contribute to repudiating Trump. He won't be able to claim that there's fraud if the vote against him adds up to many millions. No matter what states the votes come from. As we know he's all about size."

"Fair point."

"Then there are the potential political consequences. With a big plurality the winner's coat tails will be longer and maybe more Democrats will be elected to Congress. This then could contribute to what legislation gets enacted and, perhaps most important, who can get confirmed to the Supreme Court. In other words, the size of the vote could enable the winner to claim a mandate. Pressure by the electorate to push Congress to protect the environment, women's rights, a sensible approach to foreign affairs. All sorts of things you support that have been gutted by Trump and his administration."

In general, after these conversations pretty much everyone says they will rouse themselves vote to help run up the numbers.

We'll see. 

May 1, 2019--Black Women

How sadly ironic that the spouse of our first black president and the first women to secure the nomination of a major political party lost the election because black women did not turn out in traditional numbers to vote for her.

The "her," of course, is Hillary Clinton and the "first back president," designated as such by Toni Morrison, is Bill Clinton.

So, if Joe Biden is to have a chance to win, especially in the hotly contested Electoral-College-rich Midwestern states--Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, and Michigan--he needs to do better with black women.

Initially in the primaries and then, if he is nominated, in the general election.

It is very early to make responsible predictions but since this is a critical issue, following the lead of the New York Times, which published an article Monday about how well Biden might do with African-American voters in these swing states, here are a few observations--

The Times dispatched a reporter to Pennsylvania, where there are many minorities, to get a sense of how Biden is faring with black voters.

Supported by recent polling data, it seems quite well.

At Bobbie's Coffee & Books in Germantown, when talk turned to politics, patrons said that Biden was either at or near the top of their list, mainly because of his partnership with Obama. 

Clara Walker, a small-business owner, said that Biden would have her vote "just for assisting Barack."

This was a common theme--Biden's support for Obama's agenda and how his presence and assistance contributed significantly to Obama's success.

Kerry Chester, a network engineer, said, "I'm going to be completely honest: I think with the country going the way it is, I think we're kind of safer on the Democratic side going with a white man right now."

Working class white folks said much the same thing--

For example, Kevin Frantz, a retried firefighter, said, "I like his sincerity, his personality, his experience. I think he cares."

No wonder worried Trump sent out a stream of nasty tweets about Biden as he made his way successfully across his home state.

One further thought about Biden's appeal to black voters--

In most work situations African Americans report to white people. But in Obama's White House, white workers, beginning with Biden, reported to a black man--the president.

Biden was known to have had nothing but fondness and respect for Obama and was as loyal a second banana as a vice president has ever been. This has been widely noticed among African Americans and contributes in uncountable ways to his rapport with the former president and through that relationship to black voters.

We will learn more as the campaigns develop, but at this early stage it appears that Biden will not have a Hillary problem.

June 13, 2017--Jack: Stolen Elections

"I know you're fed up with me and I assume so are most of your readers." Jack was more than half right.

"Most for sure, but not all," I said. "I don't know this for certain, but most people who read my stuff are on the progressive side of issues and, I suspect, don't have too many people like you among their friends or acquaintances. In fact, some tell me that political things have gotten so heated and ugly that they don't want to have anything to do with Trump supporters. That would include people like you."

"'People like me'? I think I know what you mean, but enlighten me."

"Arch conservatives. Donald Trump voters. People I hear from tell me that you aggravate them. You upset them with your willingness to overlook and rationalize the crazy things Trump does. I know you won't admit it, but a lot of what he says and does is really crazy."

"To tell you the truth I am not so eager to talk to them either. They look down their noses at me. To them, maybe you too, I represent the uneducated unwashed. You think you understand me, have me all figured out. Actually, you have me stereotyped and . . ."

"You don't have your own stereotypes?"

"Could be. I'll have to think about that. But there is one thing I am certain of."

"What's that?"

"When it comes to being obsessed with the Russians meddling in our elections your people are a bunch of hypocrites. You too."

"This doesn't concern you?" I said, "That Russia, which could be considered and enemy of ours, may have interfered with our presidential election? Maybe even influenced the outcome? You're OK with that? You call that hypocrisy?" I was outraged.

"You guys have a big problem with this because your candidate lost. If she had won, I'll bet you and they wouldn't be so apoplectic about the Russian hacking business."

"I beg to differ. As an American, not as a Democrat or Republican, this is a very big issue."

"Let me come at this a different way. You're old enough, right, to remember the 1960 election? Kennedy versus Nixon?" I nodded. "Tell me how Kennedy won?"

"What do you mean? He won the popular vote and the Electoral College vote."

"And how did he manage to do that?"

"I think I know where you're going with this."

"A lot of credible historians, and not just liberal ones, feel that his running mate, Lyndon Johnson, rigged the election in Texas and Kennedy's father Joe paid off Mayor Daley in Chicago to steal the vote in Illinois. With Texas' and Illinois' Electoral votes Nixon would have had enough to get to a total of 270, one more than the 269 needed to win a majority in the Electoral College. In other words, plain and simple, your party stole the election."

"First of all, there's a big difference between a foreign power meddling in our election and . . ."

"And," Jack said, finishing my thought, "if the candidates win by playing conventional dirty tricks on each other, like buying votes in Chicago, that's OK with you? To me this sounds like splitting hairs."

"This is something we'll never agree about. I see a big difference between the two situations."

"And I see hypocrisy. OK, so answer me this, and tell the truth--you're sort of all right with what happened in 1960 because your guy won but are furious now because your candidate lost? If Hillary had won with Russian help, would you be so insistent that we have to get to the bottom of this?"

"I hope so."

"One final thing--back in 1960 did any Democrats or liberals speak out about how essential it was to find out if Johnson and Daley cheated? Stole the election for Kennedy?"

"I don't remember it that well," I said, not feeling I was on solid ground.

"Well," Jack said, "I looked it up and couldn't find anyone from your side of the aisle clamoring for an investigation or anything like that. Maybe I missed something. Perhaps one of your friends who read what you'll write about our conversation will find something to contradict me. My two dollars says they won't."