I enjoy everything you write, however pessimistic. I don’t disagree with your main points but I maintain a greater degree of optimism than you and here is why:
I agree about the lack of responsibility of the media. We are in a life-death struggle to preserve democracy and keep brown people out of concentration camps, but the press sees it as the usual horse race.
On the other hand, the enormous Gen Z voting bloc doesn’t pay attention to said media and get their information elsewhere, including from wide-ranging activist groups.
As you note, there is a huge amount of disinformation out there and the press eats it up indiscriminately. The object of much of it is to fracture the left. This worked in 2016 and worked even better in Israel, leading to the repeated re-election of Netanyahu, an indicted criminal who is waging a war to stay out of jail.
Before I react to this with optimism on this aspect, let me reiterate that Hillary Clinton did win the election. She won the popular vote and the exit polls gave her a strong win even in the four swing states where we suspected hanky-panky with or suppression of election tallies--not surprisingly in majority black districts. The disinformation worked to suppress many voters but also to counteract suspicions that the election had been stolen.
This is where my optimism comes in, because the disinformation machine was overwhelmingly defeated in 2020 due to high voter turnout. Today, pro-democracy groups are doing the work to turn out the vote. Red Wine and Blue is one such group that targets white suburban moms. Think 2022 on steroids.
The idea that the Democrats aren’t messaging is a canard. Mainstream media has abrogated their responsibility to fair reporting, so the messaging is playing out on alternative media, such as Threads and TikTok.
A few other points: the left-leaning groups are buying disinformation about Palestine lock, stock, and barrel. None of them have a clue how to improve the quality of life for Palestinians. Biden does, but he is negotiating with a malignant sociopathic narcissist and he can’t come out publicly while negotiations are going on. There’s a good chance he will be successful way in advance of the election.
Secondly, Trump will most probably be in jail by the election. Even the skewed polls show him losing if this is the case. I don’t think SCOTUS will grant him absolute monarchy if for no other reason that it would grant immunity to Biden and Harris as well.
Finally, the most winning point for elections has been abortion rights. This will motivate turnout. Haley is a greater threat to Biden than Trump, but she has a terrible record on abortion, which she is doubling down on.
70-80% of Americans agree with progressive issues. The task is to get them to vote.
Maybe I am more pessimistic (maybe it’s because I interact with so many conservatives on a weekly basis because I live in a small city in NC which means that my church is quite conservative/my husband has been supporting Trump since the 2016 election despite all of my efforts to convince him that it’s completely unacceptable to support Trump). But I am genuinely worried about what will happen. I work with a lot of liberal women in their early twenties (I am 36), and the young voters don’t seem very pressed about much other than abortion rights. It makes me very nervous to think about who these young women are even planning to vote for (are they even planning to vote at all?), and even my peers spend all their time complaining about Biden and inflation. It is terrifying to think that what happened in 2016 could so easily happen again.
This is an absolutely extraordinary and vital piece of writing about repetitions the author is recognizing and calling out in the media, reminiscent of 2016. "And the stakes are much higher now, too, because we know what Trump is capable of, how much more anti-democratic his aspirations are, and what he plans to do if elected. And student protesters are threatening (yes, threatening) to withhold their vote from Biden unless he “changes his stance on Gaza.” I want this whole piece printed in a pamphlet ...!!!!
Keep on writing Susan. Yes, you may be preaching mostly to the already converted, but each article whips up enthusiasm among us to avoid the wrong result in November.
This shouldn’t surprise anyone after 2000 and 2016. Leftists help the GOP presidential candidates because above all they hate moderate, center-Left liberals. Someone like Trump feels less hateful to them than HRC or Biden because they’re too are authoritarian and totalitarian. The real problem is that ‘progressive’ news media are now full of younger leftists who have steered those newspapers in that direction, and it’s obvious by their pro Hamas coverage.
TLDR; I’ll point out that vote shaming, relating to a bloc of Independent voters like they’re stupid, is likely not going to change any minds. Perhaps a better approach is (1) stick with 300 to 400 words, and (2) build an election reform coalition between Democrats and Independents. Speaking of smart, I’ve heard that rank choice voting does away with the spoiler effect. No condescending posts required.
This piece isn’t directed toward the “Free Palestine” crowd. They would not be moved by the likes of me, no matter how sweet and brief my arguments. I’ve been there, believe me--I was a popular college teacher for decades, and saw a change near the time I retired that made me glad to retire. Then, it was about Hillary Clinton, but the wall of groupthink was very similar. My piece is written for those who have more influence than I do--who have access to the media, for example, and DO have the power to form coalitions of the sort you mention--and who just might appreciate my arguments and warning more than you apparently do. Which is fine!! I don’t expect everyone to appreciate a researched, carefully argued piece like this. I’m glad for those who do, but my work here isn’t meant to be an Op Ed. That’s a whole other genre. Thanks for taking the time to read it (although you seem not to have noticed that the bulk of the criticism--what you call “condescension”--is directed toward the mainstream media, who are the conduit to the voters you say I’m “shaming.”)
I enjoy everything you write, however pessimistic. I don’t disagree with your main points but I maintain a greater degree of optimism than you and here is why:
I agree about the lack of responsibility of the media. We are in a life-death struggle to preserve democracy and keep brown people out of concentration camps, but the press sees it as the usual horse race.
On the other hand, the enormous Gen Z voting bloc doesn’t pay attention to said media and get their information elsewhere, including from wide-ranging activist groups.
As you note, there is a huge amount of disinformation out there and the press eats it up indiscriminately. The object of much of it is to fracture the left. This worked in 2016 and worked even better in Israel, leading to the repeated re-election of Netanyahu, an indicted criminal who is waging a war to stay out of jail.
Before I react to this with optimism on this aspect, let me reiterate that Hillary Clinton did win the election. She won the popular vote and the exit polls gave her a strong win even in the four swing states where we suspected hanky-panky with or suppression of election tallies--not surprisingly in majority black districts. The disinformation worked to suppress many voters but also to counteract suspicions that the election had been stolen.
This is where my optimism comes in, because the disinformation machine was overwhelmingly defeated in 2020 due to high voter turnout. Today, pro-democracy groups are doing the work to turn out the vote. Red Wine and Blue is one such group that targets white suburban moms. Think 2022 on steroids.
The idea that the Democrats aren’t messaging is a canard. Mainstream media has abrogated their responsibility to fair reporting, so the messaging is playing out on alternative media, such as Threads and TikTok.
A few other points: the left-leaning groups are buying disinformation about Palestine lock, stock, and barrel. None of them have a clue how to improve the quality of life for Palestinians. Biden does, but he is negotiating with a malignant sociopathic narcissist and he can’t come out publicly while negotiations are going on. There’s a good chance he will be successful way in advance of the election.
Secondly, Trump will most probably be in jail by the election. Even the skewed polls show him losing if this is the case. I don’t think SCOTUS will grant him absolute monarchy if for no other reason that it would grant immunity to Biden and Harris as well.
Finally, the most winning point for elections has been abortion rights. This will motivate turnout. Haley is a greater threat to Biden than Trump, but she has a terrible record on abortion, which she is doubling down on.
70-80% of Americans agree with progressive issues. The task is to get them to vote.
I hope you’re right about all of this!!
Maybe I am more pessimistic (maybe it’s because I interact with so many conservatives on a weekly basis because I live in a small city in NC which means that my church is quite conservative/my husband has been supporting Trump since the 2016 election despite all of my efforts to convince him that it’s completely unacceptable to support Trump). But I am genuinely worried about what will happen. I work with a lot of liberal women in their early twenties (I am 36), and the young voters don’t seem very pressed about much other than abortion rights. It makes me very nervous to think about who these young women are even planning to vote for (are they even planning to vote at all?), and even my peers spend all their time complaining about Biden and inflation. It is terrifying to think that what happened in 2016 could so easily happen again.
Well, I don’t interact much with conservatives and I’m pessimistic. I think there’s reason to be.
This is an absolutely extraordinary and vital piece of writing about repetitions the author is recognizing and calling out in the media, reminiscent of 2016. "And the stakes are much higher now, too, because we know what Trump is capable of, how much more anti-democratic his aspirations are, and what he plans to do if elected. And student protesters are threatening (yes, threatening) to withhold their vote from Biden unless he “changes his stance on Gaza.” I want this whole piece printed in a pamphlet ...!!!!
Thank you so much for this wonderful comment! Ok for me to share it on “notes”?
Keep on writing Susan. Yes, you may be preaching mostly to the already converted, but each article whips up enthusiasm among us to avoid the wrong result in November.
This shouldn’t surprise anyone after 2000 and 2016. Leftists help the GOP presidential candidates because above all they hate moderate, center-Left liberals. Someone like Trump feels less hateful to them than HRC or Biden because they’re too are authoritarian and totalitarian. The real problem is that ‘progressive’ news media are now full of younger leftists who have steered those newspapers in that direction, and it’s obvious by their pro Hamas coverage.
Very true!
Hello from Feb 25 2024. You are exactly right.
Thank you!!
Yes share
TLDR; I’ll point out that vote shaming, relating to a bloc of Independent voters like they’re stupid, is likely not going to change any minds. Perhaps a better approach is (1) stick with 300 to 400 words, and (2) build an election reform coalition between Democrats and Independents. Speaking of smart, I’ve heard that rank choice voting does away with the spoiler effect. No condescending posts required.
This piece isn’t directed toward the “Free Palestine” crowd. They would not be moved by the likes of me, no matter how sweet and brief my arguments. I’ve been there, believe me--I was a popular college teacher for decades, and saw a change near the time I retired that made me glad to retire. Then, it was about Hillary Clinton, but the wall of groupthink was very similar. My piece is written for those who have more influence than I do--who have access to the media, for example, and DO have the power to form coalitions of the sort you mention--and who just might appreciate my arguments and warning more than you apparently do. Which is fine!! I don’t expect everyone to appreciate a researched, carefully argued piece like this. I’m glad for those who do, but my work here isn’t meant to be an Op Ed. That’s a whole other genre. Thanks for taking the time to read it (although you seem not to have noticed that the bulk of the criticism--what you call “condescension”--is directed toward the mainstream media, who are the conduit to the voters you say I’m “shaming.”)