Hi friends,
There’s so much going on, as usual. I’m trying to focus on how we move forward toward a more just and responsive democracy.
Disaffection with politics is rooted in the persistent frustration that politicians too often disregard the will of their constituents in order to attend to the desires of the big donors. It’s not the only reason, of course.
Right now, the role of money in politics is definitely in the spotlight. Biden is raising piles of money and Trump is shopping for a VP who can bring in the big donations. So the general election season will be expensive, as well as unusually long.
The vision for a second Trump term is outlined in
the Heritage Foundation's well-funded Project 2025, which already has published a 920-page policy book from 400+ contributors. Think of it as a transition team set in motion years in advance.
This is from the wonks who want to staff the executive branch with people who will break norms and rules and probably the Constitution in order to rapidly increase presidential power.
Trump’s own plan is to use the Justice Department, the FBI, and the intelligence community to bludgeon his political enemies.
It is likely that Trump has given little thought to what the policy guys (yup, three white men) want to do with expanded power, except for cutting taxes and closing the border. That makes him more dangerous, not less so.
An innocuous-sounding group, American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC), is a proponent of Project 2025. US corporations like FedEx and Pfizer help to fund ALEC. This nefarious behavior must be exposed and we need to bring pressure to bear on these corporations.
Tell FedEx and Pfizer to reject Project 25 so that we can pursue sensible policies for immigration, climate change, and abortion care.
If you take action here, you believe that the sheer number of us speaking up has an impact. And you are not wrong, as we have seen when corporations and politicians begin to inch their way in our direction, under steady pressure.
It is also true that there is more greenwashing and virtue signaling than meaningful action; that is not a reason to give up. It’s a reason to stay with it.
When I talk to young people about voting, I always emphasize the importance of registration and voting as a means of becoming a person whose opinions will matter to politicians. We want our leaders to listen when we advocate for the issues that are important to us.
Looking at the polling data is probably unwise, since it adds to feelings of hopelessness. It is also misleading, because of the likely voters who are not being polled.
Laura Brill of the Civics Center notes:
If the term “likely voter” were to reflect the full strength of young people who are actually likely to vote in November, pollsters would have to make some effort to find and to survey likely voters who are not yet registered.
Since the big polling organizations do not poll new voters, the results are distorted. While it’s true that new voters don’t have a voting record, the last five presidential elections have shown that more than 75 percent of newly registered voters turnout. In 2020, a whopping 86 percent of registered 18-24 year-olds voted.
If you know a young voter, remind them that the pollsters aren’t counting them (yet!) and their potential impact is huge.
The robocall script used by the two men was tailored to capitalize on voters’ distrust of the government:
“Mail-in voting sounds great, but did you know that if you vote by mail, your personal information will be part of a public database that will be used by police departments to track down old warrants and be used by credit card companies to collect outstanding debts?
The call then warned that voters should not be “finessed into giving your private information to the man” and should “beware of vote by mail.”
This insidious campaign is not as horrifying as the physical threats and violence behind other vote suppression efforts. It did, however, rob people of their voting rights. The National Coalition on Black Civic Participation had to commit significant resources to work to counter harmful disinformation.
The two men, Jacob Wohl and Jack Burkman, were convicted of a similar scheme in Ohio, for which they were required to perform community service. They also face charges in Michigan.
Efforts to suppress peoples’ votes must be met with defiance as well as serious consequences.
Squad member Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez just made her first-ever contribution to the the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee because of the fear that a Republican majority in the House would refuse to certify a Biden win.
[Her] $260,000 contribution is specifically earmarked for the party’s Voter Protection Program. It is the first time a member of Congress has given money to a program that works on voter registration, poll observation and litigation.
Thoughtful people are trying to get voters to focus on what Trump did and Biden is doing as president, since past behavior is the best indication we have of future behavior.
Check out Chris Hayes’ WITHpod: The Stakes. The first episode is about immigration policy and it’s very informative!
with love,
L