How to raise hell for members of congress
Congressman Steve Israel reveals the surprisingly simple way you can give your congressperson hell — and no, it isn't calling or writing a letter. It's more important now than ever.
Posted by Mic on Wednesday, December 14, 2016
I think it might be time to start the debate of what we do next. Ferret-Head-Elect and his cabinet are a disaster. It’s a given.
What I’m interested in – what do we do next? I have no faith in the media or anyone currently in office. Chaos, confusion and sycophancy have displaced courage and integrity.
So my question is…what is next? Do we take the fight to them, using their own playbook? I’m not of the mind to reach across any divide. I think the results speak for themselves, there are more of us and we are on the side of knowledge, decency, and inclusiveness, so it’s time we acted like it.
I think it’s time to get up off the ground, put on our big-people panties and start to look for solutions.
I’m not sure what to do next, but we are a community of smart, thoughtful people and I think we should begin to take advantage of that and begin brainstorming. Where do we start? DNC? Local politics? Organizing community groups? I think we need to find a strong voice to galvanize our movement.
On the local politics note: I have a friend who made noises about running for the school board, which is one of those that was overtaken by out of state republicans and then two years later was taken back, by force (good for them) by the locals. I discouraged her, saying she didn’t need the hassle. I have since told her I was wrong, she is definitely a voice we need in local politics and I will support her in any way possible.
What are your thoughts on where we go next?
Major Major Major Major
For those of us who can’t watch the linked video, what is it?
Thoroughly Pizzled
We need to meet people in person, in our communities. The Internet isn’t real life.
TaMara (HFG)
Discussion with a friend offered these suggestions: The larger discussion is an ends, ways, means discussion. What should the strategic objective of Democrats? What is it that we are trying to achieve? For 2018 it should be to run a Democrat in every election – municipal, special district, state legislative, state house/cabinet, House, and Senate. The effect here is two fold: 1) forcing the GOP to compete and contest every election and 2) actually begin to take back some elected offices.
Another objective in 2017 and 2018 needs to be educating/training the Democratic system of members of the House and Senate that any compromise on Medicare, Social Security, the ACA, infrastructure that is done as a public giveaway to the private sector, privatization of public education, national right to work, etc will see support for those elected Democrats be diverted to primary challengers.
I thought those were a good place to start.
Corner Stone
@TaMara (HFG):
I would disagree to an extent. IMO, we should work to compete in every state, but not every race. There are some seats that simply aren’t going to change or be competitive in the near to mid term. Finding a decent candidate, convincing them to run, and then committing funds, time, effort to a dead race does not seem like a great party building exercise.
My suggestion would be on the ground locals familiar with the area(s) should work to bubble up best targets and then we crowd source funding to focus on making those races competitive over the next few cycles.
rikyrah
Primal nonsense: A message to “progressive” radicals who voted Trump to punish Democrats
Spandan Chakrabarti
December 18, 2016
After an election campaign where Russia hacked, Wikileaks leaked, and the media played willing instruments of a foreign power whose goal was the selection of Donald Trump as president, Hillary Clinton still won nearly 3 million more votes than the supposed victor. Even after an election in which the far Left, the entire Right and a foreign power joined forces to drive a false narrative of the Democratic nominee as untrustworthy, it is her opponent looking to enter the oval office with the lowest of approval ratings in memory.
But that isn’t stopping the media’s attempt to portray the Democratic party in tatters. An essay out this weekend in Politico Magazine depicts the story of a black “progressive” woman in Colorado who voted for Donald Trump along with her chronically ill son, out of her “disgust” for the Democratic party and its “establishment.” Rhetorically, Politico asks if Democrats will care enough to win her (and people like her) back.
Rhetorical or not, there should not be any consternation about the clear answer to that question. No. The likes of Kim Cohen (the star of Politico’s story) not only have no place in shaping the Democratic party of the future, they have written themselves out of any positive aspects of the American experiment itself.
Democrats should not be pursuing the vote of someone who believes that their personal misgivings with the Democratic party is so important that they have “nothing to lose” by handing over the levers of power to the most corrupt, regressive regime in at least a century. The Democratic party should not be salivating over the vote of someone whose manufactured outrage against the Democratic party “establishment” is enough to overcome any semblance of patriotism.
schrodingers_cat
We use this forum to vent and snark but it can be more than that. This blog has a lot of expertise we can do original analysis if not original reporting. One of the biggest problems in this election was the media. T is a their creature, if not for an able assist from them, we would not be here.
gogol's wife
@Major Major Major Major:
It’s Steve Israel telling us we have to act like the Tea Party. But who’s our Dick Armey?
gogol's wife
And you won’t see my comment for an hour or so because I’m in moderation again.
schrodingers_cat
@rikyrah: I live in deep blue area, I am surrounded by these idiots. I have got into arguments with them too. My threshold for nonsense has gone to zero since the election day.
Kay
Because Donald Trump wants pictures of press appearing at his event, so they were happy to oblige. It’s so phony, this supposed adversarial relationship. He attacks them on Twitter no matter how he’s covered, which allows them to portray themselves as battered First Amendment warriors- it benefits both sides.
schrodingers_cat
@Kay: Politco alumni cover politics like showbiz or sports. They are vile. In my opinion they are worst than the Republicans.
Mzinformation
I have a question. The bloody Republicans are loud. They know how to get their message out. They are masters at tapping into anger and fear. If outrage is what resonates then the Dems need to be relentless in calling out – loudly- every damn thing these crazies are/will be doing. Where is our outrage at the lies and misrepresentations? Somehow the media – such as it is – must be engaged in reporting truth. Talking to Trump supporters is like yelling through plate glass because they are so misinformed. We need a vehicle for disseminating the truth.
Starfish
They are doing a Women’s March in Denver. Are you going?
ryk
@Corner Stone: I agree. Here in Misery, there are many places where it is a waste of time to even bother running as a Democrat. I’ve often wondered if the answer is for liberals to join the Republican Party and fight it from within.
Steeplejack (tablet)
@Major Major Major Major:
Retiring Rep. Steve Israel (D-NY) says that calling or writing letters to your Congressperson doesn’t work. What works is showing up at an event and pointedly asking them why they voted a certain way or what their view is on a certain issue. He cited the Tea Party “town hall” disruptions as a prime example.
Chris
@schrodingers_cat:
QFT.
Ohio Mom
I don’t think calling offices and talking to interns should be completely discounted as a supplemental activity to town meetings and the like. It’s a fast and easy thing to do, you do push up the number of hash marks for your cause, and maybe, just maybe, you help educate a young person.
Last month I called the offices of my three congresscritters about leaving Medicare alone. I thought I might have heard a new neuron connection being formed in one of those twenty-something Republican’s heads when I told him that in the bad old days, Mom and Dad were spending so much money on Grandpa’s and Grandma’s medical care that they didn’t have any leftover to help their children get through college or pull together their down payment for their first home. I’m guessing he was smart enough to hear the subtext, which was of course, That could have been you, Buddy.
Now, any teacher will tell you that it usually takes a number of exposures to new information before it sticks. I’m not claiming anything except perhaps planting a seed. But it was also good practice for me in learning how to be more persuasive.
Booger
@gogol’s wife: Oh great, now we have to mount a Dick army?
Emma
Locals. Pick a state we can take back. I semi-jokingly proposed an informal pack called the Tunch Bunch. There’s expertise in this group as to how to choose and where to direct it. $10 a month per member, more if you can afford it, those who can’t can do in-kind or drop bucks when they can.
schrodingers_cat
@gogol’s wife: The new upgrade doesn’t like the apostrophe in the nym. I had similar problems.
Hurling Dervish
I live in a college town, in a state that is on the edge between red and blue. It’s a given that the elected people in our town will be democrats. But not so much in the state. Unfortunately, our Democratic chair thanks it’s enough just to make sure the town supports its state reps and senators. I’d like to see the safe towns reach out and target a specific, ridiculous rightwinger. One by one we can take it back.
Hurling Dervish
Emma got to my point before I did. I agree with her.
schrodingers_cat
@Emma: NH, its small, went for O twice and narrowly now for Hillz. People are not fundies even if they may be somewhat cray cray about taxes and such.
Betty Cracker
@gogol’s wife: “Pussy Riot” would be the ideal counterpart to “Dick Armey” from a semantics perspective, and they already know who Putin is. :)
Major Major Major Major
@Ohio Mom:
But, since he’s a republican, he’ll only understand if it actually IS him.
O. Felix Culpa
Actions taken and/or underway: (1) Calling legislators on a regular basis about specific issues and action plan. (2) Meeting with local legislators about specific issues and action plan. (3) Running for Ward Chair as part of overall movement to reactivate the Democratic Party at the local level. (4) Preparing for 2018 gubernatorial election to win back the governorship. (5) Organizing local community and church to represent (!) in Jan. 21st march. (6) Donating to ACLU, Planned Parenthood, and National Resources Defense Council. (7) Trying not to get horribly, horribly depressed.
OT: A former work colleague who became a friend just passed away this morning from pancreatic cancer, one month after diagnosis. Still a relatively young guy. F*ck f*cking cancer.
Betty Cracker
@Kay:
So true. During the campaign, Baquet of the NYT offered to martyr himself for democracy by publishing Trump’s tax returns — if only some third party would hand them over. Meanwhile, he couldn’t be bothered to cover the corrupt hometown shithead except as a novelty act. Worse than useless.
JPL
@O. Felix Culpa: I’m so sorry.
LAC
@rikyrah: hi, lady! I read that piece. Good stuff. One of things I think we need as a party is to stop letting elements in it hijack the importance of being politically engaged and voting. We allow too often the self appointed loudmouths, all snuggled in with their money and houses in order, to fill blogs and airwaves with ” both sides do it” and “both parties are the same” cynicism that might be great clickbait and TV watching, but do nothing to encourage investment in continuing progress in this country.
I do not have much in answers. I take hope in my amazing articulate 22 year old who made damn sure that she voted this year and who is in for the fight. We owe these kids better than this shitshow.
schrodingers_cat
@Betty Cracker: MSM bots were so amused by T during the campaign. Did you see Frontline about the two candidates? Hillary was covered as an ambitious, ruthless, vengeful wife. While the Orange One was covered indulgently like a lovable rogue. I have not seen political coverage by PBS since that show aired.
Ohio Mom
@Major Major Major Major: Anna Freud pointed out that All learning is overcoming resistance.
You don’t know what butterfly wing flapping is going to cause what else. Probably nothing but my feeling is, as long as I’m calling to call my representative’s office, I might as well have some fun with it.
FlipYrWhig
@rikyrah:
Why do people give three shits about this idiocy about The Establishment? For fuck’s sake. Why do avowed progressives whine so much?
At any rate, I just about guarantee you that this person doesn’t _actually_ care about The Establishment, she just hates Hillary Clinton. I just about guarantee that she would have voted for Joe Biden, who’s been in national politics for 45 years and a major figure for 30. The only good thing about Hillary Clinton losing is that “progressives” may finally have to give up their hate-boner for The Clintons. And when they continue losing, which they will, maybe they’ll eventually realize it’s because there aren’t enough of them, and not because THE ESTABLISHMENT stabbed them in their backs right to their faces under the bus. Haha who am I kidding, that’s what they’ll say forever.
hovercraft
@TaMara (HFG):
Help.
I was perusing the recipe for your Citrus Drop Cookies, and noticed that under the ingredients you have baking powder, and then in the recipe itself you say baking soda, can you clarify which one it should be please. I’m not a baker, but this looked nice and simple, and I thought I’d give it a try. I’m not sure how much if any difference it would make.
Thanks.
Ohio Mom
@Hurling Dervish: Back when GW was running for his second term, we stopped in Ithaca to visit friends on the way back to Ohio from vacationing in NYC. As we drove out of town, there was a moment when we passed an invisible line. On one side, only Kerry signs, the other, only Bush signs. My husband joked, Looks like we’re definitely out of Ithaca now.
randy khan
There has to be action on multiple fronts.
1. Do what we can to slow down or stop the onslaught of horrible actions coming from the Administration and Congress. That starts with pressure on members of Congress and Senators – emails, calls, letters, showing up at town hall meetings, whatever you can do. Target both your own people and other key members (mostly Senators), generally Democrats, but some Republicans might be susceptible to pressure, too. And, yes, you should pressure your own people even if they are evil (and show up at town hall meetings, although I would say only in organized groups) because they need to have some doubt in their minds.
2. Encourage others to pressure their representatives as well. The more the merrier, and people often need to be asked to give themselves permission.
3. Support development of the Democratic Party across the country – donations to the right funds (including non-party groups like Emily’s List) and to campaigns that aren’t in your back yard.
I know there’s more, but the key point is it’s not just one thing. A lot has to happen, and we all need to be engaged in doing it.
hovercraft
Sorry for screwing up the hyperlink.
O. Felix Culpa
@randy khan: Co-signed.
randy khan
@ryk:
Getting a decent candidate in every district helps statewide – first, it diverts money from other races, but more important if you get a decent candidate who bumps up the votes for the D side by even a couple of percent, it redounds to the benefit of the state-level races as well. There are a lot of close state-level elections, and when you concede the local districts, you give your voters less incentive to turn out.
gogol's wife
@Betty Cracker:
In Russia during the protests they had ribbons that said, “For a Russia without Putin.” Maybe “For an America without Trump” could be our slogan?
SatanicPanic
@Steeplejack (tablet): My groups of friends has given this some thought. It’s tough to get people to show up to townhalls, but we can probably get one or two to do it. For the members of our group that can’t, we’re putting together postcards that will be branded with the same logo, but everyone will write their own messages. This gives everyone a regular activity that they’re doing and even if it’s small, hopefully having 10-20 people all write a local pol with the same message will have an outsized impact. And then if we can show up at a townhall and mention that we have a couple dozen people who we’re reporting back to, that will have an outsized impact.
gogol's wife
@gogol’s wife:
That way we could annoy both of them at once.
NCSteve
What do we do?
We do this. For the full four years, even after the inevitable constitutional crisis removes Combover Caligula, we do this, in D.C. and in every state capitol:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moral_Mondays
zhena gogolia
I’m going to try a new nym. (gogol’s wife)
schrodingers_cat
@FlipYrWhig: I know a black progressive Bernie sis IRL too. In her 60s, so not a kid. Bernie did poison the well, though his minions may deny it.
Raven Onthill
Head for the hills?
After the economic team of Kudlow and Mulvaney have crashed the economy again and, possibly, defaulted on the national debt, ain’t going to be a lot left to do. And then there’s all the rest.
No, one thing. Work hard at the state level. And keep reminding the Trump/Republican voters that this is what they voted for, this is what they asked for. Don’t let them off the hook, don’t make excuses for them. As with alcoholics, make them own it.
Jinchi
The left needs to remember that people vote for candidates in this country, not against them. That means we need to focus on getting out our own message, identifying our own leaders and spokespeople, and only secondarily responding to the latest outrage on the right. Unfortunately, even left-wing media sites focus overwhelmingly on the right-wing. There has been plenty of press about Republican plans to repeal Obamacare. Not much about Democratic plans to oppose them.
This last election was almost entirely reactive, Trump was a narcissist, Trump was a racist, Trump was a bigot, Trump was a con-man, Trump was a sexual predator. And “Not-Trump” won the election by a pretty good margin. The down side is that he still won the presidency.
TaMara (HFG)
@O. Felix Culpa: I am so sorry, I lost two of my uncles, 9 months apart to pancreatic cancer. Still hurts.
Major Major Major Major
@Ohio Mom: I certainly wasn’t saying don’t do it :) just slagging republicans.
TaMara (HFG)
@NCSteve: See I love that idea. It’s been brought up a couple of times. We should expand on it and how to implement it.
TaMara (HFG)
@randy khan: This can’t be repeated enough.
SatanicPanic
The day after the election several people I know had the same thought- we need to start organizing. So one friend of mine set up a group of all the people he knows (turns out a lot), and started getting people together to meet and plan strategy. I did the same with my group of friends. It turns out that’s pretty easy- there are a lot of people who are upset and who want to talk about it and want to do something. literally all it took was saying to people “let’s get together and talk.” And we’re already getting stuff done. We’re building a network of people who can be counted on, that’s key
Edited slightly.
O. Felix Culpa
@JPL: @TaMara (HFG): Thanks. Steve was a professional-level bassoonist turned tech support guy (the rare type that can speak English and treat users with respect), broadly read, funny and kind. He adopted one of my son’s rescued feral kitties and named her Calpurnia. A good man. I miss him terribly.
PIGL
@Mzinformation: I cannot be engaged in the way you were asking because the owners of the media want things exactly as they are. owners of the major media in the United States wanted President Trump elected. Any serious discussion has to begin with that.
cmorenc
This may seem like a Hell of a role model to invoke, but it’s hard to argue with success.
– the GOP in the immediate aftermath of Obama’s seemingly enormous breakthrough victory for the Progressive side in 2008. Remember how Obama seemed positioned by the obvious economic and foreign-policy disasters of the Bush Administration to be in as potent an agent for social transformation as FDR in 1933?
The GOP waged unrelenting subversive war and opposition against the Obama Administration, and organized their partisans into an effective resistance movement (aka the “Tea Party”), that eventually succeeded in coopting the MSM into unwitting co-conspirators, the ones who weren’t fifth columnists for the GOP to begin with.
We can do the same thing, but probably with a LOT better material to work with in the likely fuck-ups and fuck-overs the Trump Administration will inflict over its first year or two. Because the 2018 Senate map doesn’t have nearly the potential for an upheaval as did the 2010 map for the GOP, and the 2010 redistricting did the same for the house, our actual opportunity to retake much of government won’t come until 2020, but the prospects for the GOP looked pretty glum back in early 2009, did they not? And yet, their determined opposition succeeded in grinding the potential reach of Obama’s administration to nearly a halt. Let’s learn from that and stop forming circular firing squads among ourselves over who among us is responsible for fucking up in 2016.
hovercraft
@rikyrah:
That “progressive woman” and her chronically ill son, can go f**k themselves. This is a country, who we elect determines who lives or dies, who has access to decent housing, jobs, education, food, water, healthcare, and even something as basic as air, it is not like your relationship with a person who has pissed you off. These people who voted their pique, deserve their plight, unfortunately they’ve dragged the rest of us down with them. I agree with the author of the article, the offer to them should be NOTHING. They voted to f**k us all, and they should not be rewarded for that. If you lack the maturity to not cut your nose off to spite your face, then you lack the maturity to be taken seriously, you are incapable of behaving rationally, so just STFU and let the grown ups handle this. Also too, POLITICO can also STFU, we don’t need a GOP mouthpiece to concern troll over what we should do next, we have enough actual ‘liberals; doing that as it is.
Major Major Major Major
@Jinchi: the democrats plan to oppose repealing Obamacare by opposing repealing Obamacare. There’s not much else congressional democrats can do other than filibuster and make noise. If it hasn’t been reported on that’s a failure of the media, not democrats.
Your point that people vote for candidates and not against them is fairly well-taken, though it’s contradicted by your second point that many more people voted for not-Trump, as well as the fact that we had normal turnout figures etc.
Adam L Silverman
@gogol’s wife: I’ve dug them all out, including with the new nym. And I’ve emailed Alain twice. If I don’t hear back from him within an hour or so, I’ll send him a text.
Frank Wilhoit
Whatever we do tactically, along the way, at every step, we must leave a record for history.
Jinchi
@Major Major Major Major:
Yes, they can make noise. Are you hearing any? I heard plenty of outrage from Tea-Partiers after Obama’s win in 2008.
The problem is that “not-voting” for Trump didn’t equal voting “for” Clinton. People could just as easily vote third party or sit out the election.
No, we didn’t.
Betty Cracker
In my circle of family and friends who are Democrats, and from what I’ve observed from elected Democrats and those commenting in the various media outlets, the reaction to Trump’s election seems split between those who see it as very bad but essentially normal and those who view it as a genuine existential threat to democracy. The eventual consensus on that will shape how the party reacts, IMO.
ChrisGrrr
I’m looking for Moral Mondays to get here.
Direct help for those nearby who are now at more risk, in the meantime, because of their lineage or religion or gender or sexual orientation.
I’ll support and work on / for new media sources that are deliberately objective, no matter what ox is gored.
(My HoR “trusted servant” is an archtypical GOPee automaton. One of my Senators is a windmill, and the other is Rubio. The county Democratic party apparatus, which was profoundly impotent, is being seized by Sanders disciples.)
gvg
Another article in the WP about the decline in Media due to loss of circulation and add revenue. . Different than I had seen before in that it says their has been a new set of losses for print nationwide-source Warren Buffet. also a worry that journalists may be arrested for printing something Trump doesn’t like.
She said ProPublica had been doing good reports lately. Anybody else agree?
maurinsky
I think there needs to be more engagement from Democrats at the local and state level, particularly in red states, and there needs to be resistance from a citizen standpoint.
I cannot run for office because of the Hatch Act (unless I gave up my job, which I love), but I can get involved in my local Democratic party, which is very active. So I am doing that.
I’m also keeping track of how the country is changing – article today about Trump’s private security, made up of retired cops and FBI agents, for example. Propaganda is running rampant, of course, and I know I challenge it in my small way whenever I see someone passing it on as news.
One of the worst things about the media is how it feeds the cynics’ arguments, which hurts Democracy. I personally think one area that our party needs to laser focus on is voting rights. Expand the franchise and fight viciously against any attempt to deny people the vote.
Adam L Silverman
@zhena gogolia: So I’ve been in touch with Alain. He’s pretty sure its the apostrophe not interacting well with the updates that were done over the weekend. If you have any further troubles using this new nym, just shoot him and email directly.
germy
Over at LGM
Kay
@Betty Cracker:
It’s interesting to me only to the extent that it might show Trump’s team think he’s coming off as weirdly authoritarian so he needs a photograph where he’s surrounded by smiling journalists and giving a thumb’s up.
Why would they agree to a photograph? Why let yourself be used like that. Ugh.
It’s like he goes on FOX and says Obama “likes” him and talks to him- like how you tell the other 7th graders the popular girl called you. It’s borrowed credibility.
donnah
Ohio’s Planned Parenthood clinics are under constant attack, so we plan to donate to them and the ACLU more often. As Richard Mayhew advised, we have signed up for health insurance. We will also make donations to our womens’ shelter in anticipation of the loss of any funding they may get. We need to reinforce the organizations who help the most.
And every time trump fucks something up, and we know that’s going to happen a lot, we intend to shout it from the rooftops so the idiots who voted for him will be reminded daily how terrible he is and how terrible they are for voting him in.
Sometimes we can speak up in small ways that create an undercurrent of dissatisfaction, which destabilizes those in power.
gvg
@hovercraft: Remember that 1 person stories are picked for how many people will read about them and care even if it’s to get mad at them. they aren’t a statistically valid sample of why or how most people actually voted for how they did. It is currently popular to have stories of someone claiming they voted against what would be logically expected to be their interests. I am sure there have always been a few people who snap and lash out but I don’t think they are generally useful to study. I also didtrust every darn “voter” who says they previously voted Obama and now voted Trump. I think those people think thats the way to get shown on TV. You can’t prove your vote ever so it’s all on what you say.
Its much more useful to see what lots and lots of people say measured and counted and not giving lots of individual story attention. Because if 1/2 % went Obama Trump but about the same went Romney Clinton and around 50% went Clinton and 46% Trump…..then we need to tease out what were there reasons all together and keep on the good side of what we have while trying to peel off some just a few Trumps or independents etc. We can’t revamp our strategy’s based on one person saying?? in the media.
FlipYrWhig
@Jinchi: According to Cook Political Report, turnout was up 5.9% over 2012.
schrodingers_cat
@Adam L Silverman: It is the apostrophe. I can even edit my own comments after I got rid of it in my nym.
O. Felix Culpa
@Kay:
Agreed. It seems our press is not learning.
schrodingers_cat
I have an idea, why don’t we do an analysis county by county compare the results to 08 and 12 as to what changed. Most of this data is publicly available. We have enough expertise on BJ to pull that off, I think. We can collaborate on a wiki. What do you guys think?
We need to figure out what went wrong and where, before we can figure out how to right the wrong, without media filter. Also, what went right. After all, she did win the popular vote.
ETA: Yay I edited my comment, twice!
schrodingers_cat
@O. Felix Culpa: I could call them whores, but that would be an insult to sex workers. Collaborators is more like it.
Kay
@Betty Cracker:
Look at me, surrounded by all these CEO’s in my conference room, where I summoned them! See! I’m not a weirdo!
Why didn’t they insist he wait and meet with them at the White House? It’s so clearly intended solely for his benefit and to allow him to hold it on his turf surrounded by his awful lackies. It’s fucking propaganda and they’re all happy to go along with it. The POINT is the photograph. It’s the image he wants- they could be in there reciting the alphabet for all he cares.
To accept such a skewed, manipulative image is to participate in this marketing campaign. He’s not the King. They can refuse a summons to one of his crap properties. The gendarmes won’t be hauling them in if they insist he meet with them on neutral ground with someone other than loyalists present.
We had a prosecutor who kept oddly low chairs in front of his desk. I refused to sit in his weird subordinate chair so he can loom over me. I’ll stand there for an hour rather than participate in this game. Get some normal height chairs, asshole. It was a power play. That’s what all this bullshit is.
FoxinSocks
This is my immediate plan:
Every few days, schedule permitting, I’ll be going down to the White House to silently protest Russian interference in the election, because I can’t believe this is being ignored. If anyone would like to join me, they’d be most welcome.
In addition, I think locals need to create petitions for any Republican who either refuses to acknowledge or minimizes Russian hacking. The petition would be signed by individuals in that district/state that says because of Republican intransigence on this issue, they have betrayed the country and the signers of the petition will not vote for that member of Congress in any future election.
Major Major Major Major
@Jinchi:
Well, we did, actually. But you keep telling yourself whatever you need to believe your just-world fallacy that we lost for a good reason, especially your pet one. http://m.motherjones.com/kevin-drum/2016/12/raw-data-turnout-rates-2016-election
We got out voted. We lost.
Botsplainer
@Kay:
He has no friends, only acquaintances with whom he shares temporary goals.
If you look at Mike Allen’s twitter feed on the journalist drink and meet, he had other photos. There was the spread of sad sandwiches, bags of Lay’s potato chips and buckets of mayo and mustard. Bottles of lavishly labeled (and undoubtedly shitty) Trump sparkling wine. Based on those, I have little doubt that, as one wag suggested, he provided Bud Lite for the beer drinkers and Jack Daniels for mash drinkers. Scotch drinkers probably got Usher’s, gin and vodka were Glenmore. In other words, everything on the cheap. He didn’t know how to be a truly generous host, and is incapable of knowing how to pick up a tab for people he’s fucked over for months. If he had integrity and wanted to fete them appropriately to buy some goodwill, he’d have run that thing like a wedding.
As it was, he spent less than $1000, based on what photos I saw, and maybe half that.
Kathleen
@Ohio Mom: Thanks for your insight. I will strive to become more focused in my calls to Chabot. Excellent advice.
Major Major Major Major
My news alert app says that the Russian ambassador to Turkey was just shot
Elizabelle
@schrodingers_cat: great idea
Percysowner
Here is a guide for changing the political landscape based on how the Tea Party advanced its agenda. It is also available in a downloadable PDF because the Google Docs version got overloaded.
zhena gogolia
@Adam L Silverman:
Okay, I’m trying with new nym — thank you for your efforts.
Kathleen
@O. Felix Culpa: My deepest condolences.
comrade scott's agenda of rage
@randy khan:
I live in the second reddest county in Misery and can attest to the efficacy of the above. Rurl Dems and left-leaning rurl independents need incentive to vote. They also need to be asked for their vote meaning statewide candidates need to actually campaign here. McCaskill learned this from her gubanatorial bid: she never campaigned outside of Dem strongholds and lost. When she ran for the Senate two years later, she was *everywhere* in the state. Sure, she still lost my all-cracker, rurl county but she lost it by a lot less than she had two years earlier and our demographics didn’t change.
TerryC
@Botsplainer: well, given the venue, the price may have been several times that because things do get overcharged-for inside big hotels. We’re talking $5 8 or 12 ounce cans of Coke. Same with the chips.
zhena gogolia
@Major Major Major Major:
Scary story.
zhena gogolia
But I don’t have an edit function.
ETA: Okay, now I do.
zhena gogolia
Давай посмотрим, могу ли я писать кириллицей
СЛАВА БОГУ!
Stan
@Ohio Mom: Ithaca, my god, what a classic ivory tower.
You’ve got two great schools there, and a damned smart bunch of progressives, and what do they do? Nothing.
The surrounding area is not merely pro-republican, there are a LOT of confederate flags displayed.
I used to live there and still pass through frequently.
zhena gogolia
ЗА АМЕРИКУ БЕЗ ТРАМПА!!!
Jinchi
@Major Major Major Major:
I don’t know what you think my pet fallacy is. But from your own link:
So what is your pet fallacy for why the Democrats lost the election? And how do you think we should go about making sure it doesn’t happen again? That’s the point of this thread after all.
SatanicPanic
@Percysowner: Follow that advice, but get people together to do it. All of you have friends, I’m sure, do that. I’ve brought this up a couple times here, but we did a BJ meetup a few years back, why not do more of those? Even people who don’t have tons of IRL friends could get something together that way.
matryoshka
@ryk: Hey, I’m in Misery too, as are a couple of others who comment here (and likely some lurkers too). InMourning, for one, proposed a Misery meetup. Anyone think that would be helpful? Know of any protests going on here?
SiubhanDuinne
@Adam L Silverman:
Needs a comma after “him.”
/
Major Major Major Major
@Jinchi: perhaps I’m mistaking you for a poster with a similar name whose pet cause is why we lost the election.
I think we got out-voted in a rather banal manner personally–it happens, the world is unjust–but suffer in general from a lack of state and regional party development.
SiubhanDuinne
@Major Major Major Major:
@zhena gogolia:
Was hoping someone here would mention this story, which I find definitely scary. From what few details have emerged, he was wounded, not killed. At least three (or three additional?) people were also shot at the scene — a photography exhibit.
Edit: So far, I’ve not seen anything about the gunman, whether he was shot or captured or escaped.
Edit 2: NPR says gunman was shot and killed.
Spanky (ex P-man)
Go to Digby’s site to get the link to the download. Her fundraiser is pinned to the top, and you ough to think about pitching a few bucks in if you can.
Major Major Major Major
@SiubhanDuinne: the report I saw said the gunman shouted something about ‘we die in Aleppo, you die here’
So this isn’t how world wars start at all.
Spanky (ex P-man)
@Major Major Major Major: POTUS: “Michelle, are you done packing yet? Hurry up!”
Feebog
Regarding Town Halls, I live in a reliably blue district in the San Fernando Valley. The same Republican has run and lost by roughly the same margin for the last several elections Alan Sherman. You would therefore think than Town Halls hosted by my Dem Rep would be pretty easy. NOT SO! The wingnuts reliably show up in numbers of about 2 to 1 and are reliably obnoxious and rude. Lesson; show up to the town halls. Support your Dem rep if you are lucky enough to have one and get on your Republican rep at these meetings. I’m not suggesting you should be rude and obnoxious, but the right question can easily fluster a lot of these lightweights.
SiubhanDuinne
@Major Major Major Major:
Yup. The second I saw the news alert, I thought “Sarajevo, Archduke Franz Ferdinand, uh huh.”
FoxinSocks
@SiubhanDuinne: Saw the barely blurred out photos. The Russian ambassador is dead. Real dead. As in pining for the fjords.
Mike in dc
For legislators, it’s mostly pretty simple. Obstruct. Criticize. Lather. Rinse. Repeat.
For citizens, organizing, putting pressure on both D’s and Rs, registering voters, get out the vote for midterms and off year state elections.
For the party, 50 state strategy, regional economic development proposals to appeal to rural voters and people in economically distressed areas. Recruiting top candidates for every seat.
Major Major Major Major
@FoxinSocks: That’s what Reuters is now reporting, yep.
Spanky (ex P-man)
@FoxinSocks: So Russian planes start bombing the Kurds in 3…2…1….
Blue Galangal
Pick one message. Make it a sound bite. Hammer it home at every opportunity. It’s not Medicare reform – it’s voucherizing Medicare. It’s not Social Security reform – it’s a Wall Street giveaway and Granny will eat cat food. Obstruct and STAY ON A SIMPLE MESSAGE as to why.
SenyorDave
@Botsplainer: If he had integrity and wanted to fete them appropriately to buy some goodwill, he’d have run that thing like a wedding.
As it was, he spent less than $1000, based on what photos I saw, and maybe half that.
He knows they are whores, and cheap ones at that. He spent the right amount.
Gin & Tonic
@Major Major Major Major: Russian media are saying he’s dead, Western media not so much.
Major Major Major Major
@Blue Galangal: Even better, make it the same message for each one.
They’re trying to take away money you’ve paid in [for program X] and give it to bankers.
They’re trying to take away money your children have paid in and give it to bankers.
@Gin & Tonic: I noticed the same thing after I posted, thanks for the clarification.
SenyorDave
If Trump and his people are taking credit for the stock market run up since he was elected, are they taking credit for the Russian envoy being shot? Makes sense because the predator-elect has certainly been conducting his own foreign policy since the election.
Gin & Tonic
@Major Major Major Major: This photographer has some huge brass balls, if you ask me.
Mnemosyne
@Spanky (ex P-man):
This makes me a little crazy, because I was pointing out back in 2008 that Tea Partiers were taking over local Republican parties via the Precinct Project, and no one paid any attention.
Democrats can do the same, we just need to get up off our asses and do it. If we don’t, the Paulites calling themselves Sanders supporters will do it, and then we’ll really be fucked.
Botsplainer
@zhena gogolia:
еб твою мать.
hovercraft
Here’s the story from TPM
MOSCOW (AP) — Russia’s ambassador to Turkey has died after being shot in Ankara, according to Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman.
A gunman opened fire on Russia’s ambassador to Turkey at a photo exhibition on Monday. The Russian foreign ministry confirmed he was shot, but did not immediately say anything about his condition.
Turkish police shot and killed the gunman, Turkish station NTV reported.
The ambassador, Andrei Karlov, was several minutes into a speech at the embassy-sponsored exhibition in the capital, Ankara, when a man wearing a suit and tie shouted “Allahu Akbar” and fired at least eight shots, according to an AP photographer in the audience. The attacker also said some words in Russian and smashed several of the photos hung for the exhibition. There was panic as people ran for cover. NTV said three other people were wounded in the attack.
Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said Karlov was shot “when an unidentified assailant opened chaotic gunfire during a public event in Ankara.” She said Russia was in contact with Turkish officials about the incident.
U.S. State Department spokesman John Kirby said U.S. officials were aware of reports about the shooting.
“We condemn this act of violence, whatever its source,” Kirby said. “Our thoughts and prayers are with him and his family.”
Copyright 2016 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Gin & Tonic
@Botsplainer: Did you look that up, or is that one of the useful phrases you picked up over the course of a productive life?
Botsplainer
@Gin & Tonic:
It was one of the first phrases I asked about in my first Russian class in college.
I always want to be prepared for important things.
Took four years’ worth. Still read kind of OK, verbal comprehension above 25%. My ability to carry on a conversation has gone completely to shit, though, and keeping the grammar on writing was always a struggle.
Calouste
@Major Major Major Major: Well, it’s only an ambassador, not the heir to the throne. And there is already a war going on in Syria, that’s not going to change.
hitchhiker
Still looking for a way to support the fight from afar. The idea of keeping it very local makes the most sense to me, but I live in Seattle, with a D gov, 2 D senators, a D member of congress, and 2 D representatives in our state house. Seattle went for HRC 11-1.
How can I be part of a local effort in one of the zillion places where local efforts have to happen?
Alabama Blue Dot
@Corner Stone: One of the benefits of running a Democrat (or liberal) in every race is normalization. Here in Alabama, Democrats act as if they don’t DESERVE to run for office. We know we’ll get beat, so why try? We should try because people get used to having us on the ballot, and out at candidate forums, and talking to people. We get people known, and then we have people in a position to take advantage of opportunities when they arise (like some conservative GOP’er getting convicted which happens with alarming regularity).
J R in WV
@gogol’s wife:
Someone suggests “Maybe “For an America without Trump” could be our slogan?”
I would suggest “Make America Free Again!” because the first thing Trump is going to do is reduce our freedom. Hell, he’s already shut down a whole block on New York City for his Presidential Tower, charging NYC residents millions of dollars, while not preparing to move to the White House!?!?!?!
Wanting a private army to protect him from the Secret Service? Not as crazed as it first sounds.
I think the private army is to stomp protesters if they dare show up where he can see them, and in that case, the Secret Service owes the citizenry protection from the private army, arresting them, and shooting them if they resist arrest!
He knows the Secret Service won’t be opening fire on a big crowd of protesters who are peacefully holding signs denying Trump the love from all that he seeks. So he needs a private army, that can claim they killed all those protesters because they threatened, even endangered el Presidente-monstere Trump.
And then it will take real bravery for the second protest to show up. I don’t know if I have the stones to be the second in line for Trump-mandated murder!
Emma
@hitchhiker: Donate to Moral Mondays. Ask Kay which are the better groups in her state. Look at the local voting registration drives in red states.
zhena gogolia
@Botsplainer:
I hope that’s being used as an intensifier, and not being directed at me.
jurassicpork
Faithless: What you need to know about the Electoral College, by Mike Flannigan.
agorabum
@Jinchi: I’d disagree; the Democrats talked a lot about policy – when they did it wasn’t covered in the media, though. Obama’s speeches and Hillary’s speeches were filled with it. But the only soundbite would be 5 seconds about Trump.
What needs to be done is recognize that the party is actually bigger than the candidates. People need to be constantly reminded of Republican policy vs Democratic policy.
Uncle Ebeneezer
1.) Trying to come up with a plan/schedule/prioritization of issues/goals, for contacting my Reps on a regular basis via phone and Town Halls when they come to town.
2.) Trying to find a local (Pasadena) organization doing #1 that I might contribute to. Preferably a Secular/Progressive/Social Justice org led by PoC and Women.
3.) Starting to dig into the concept of Power Mapping (y’all might wanna check out this link, very good) for the best way to proceed in trying to use whatever influence I have and apply this to #1.
4.) Trying to wrap my head around the power structure/hierarchy of local gov structure (relationship between town council, city, supervisors, sheriffs etc)
5.) Donating to PP, ACLU, SPLC and Democratic Party.
sukabi
@Botsplainer: the pics of the food looked positively gross. Local school potlucks put on a better looking spread…but I guess that is his version of “great”.
libarbarian
Ask every GOP politician “Why do you support putting a Traitor in the White House?”
sukabi
@Major Major Major Major: when the dust settles, and IF there is a full autopsy of the vote, including the impacts of voter suppression (laws, purges, reduced access) broken-malfunctioning vote machines (casting and counting) AND EXACTLY where those impacts were felt the most, I’ll bet you’ll find that Democratic turnout was lower in those areas where it was impossible for democrats to actually cast their votes, not for a lack of interest.
laura
@TaMara (HFG): I lost a dear friend to pancan in April. It’s the worst. Ended a 30 year marriage and left friends and family with a moon crater of loss.
I’m so sorry to hear of your loss.
And, as wiser ones than I have said, fuck cancer.
Aleta
@Kay:
Not so different from buying the Miss U pageant to display his status in photos with beautiful women, and to enjoy dominating and humiliating them while he’s at it.
randy khan
@hitchhiker:
If I can believe Wikipedia, the Washington legislature is controlled by Rs in the Senate (barely) and barely controlled by Ds in the House of Representatives. So work with the local Democratic Party to help shift the balance would be good. (And, of course, even when you have Dems in seats, we need to work to keep them there.
hitchhiker
@randy khan:
Yes, we do have an R senate in Olympia — but my own senator is a very safe D. I’m married to the precinct officer in our congressional district, so it’s a given that we’ll be in on efforts to flip that.
It seems like there must be a way for activists in places like Seattle to support efforts in places like Grand Rapids … maybe a sister cities kind of thing, where we match up and help from behind the scenes.
Bill Arnold
Kinda geeky, but saw today (via boingboing) a nice 10-section manifesto from a Tor (including Tor browser) person:
Ten principles for user-protection in hostile states.
Sample:
…
Very good advice in general!!
(For those who are curious, In acausal trade, two agents each benefit by predicting what the other wants and doing it, even though they might have no way of communicating or affecting each other, nor even any direct evidence that the other exists. )
randy khan
@hitchhiker:
Even in the absence of such things (which I don’t know exist today), you can donate to state Democratic party organizations.
BillinGlendaleCA
@Adam L Silverman:
I think shooting him is a bit excessive, an email would probably suffice(Yes I know it’s a typo, couldn’t resist).
JoeSo
I was thinking, since KGB Agent Trump wants to hold rallies even after the election, why can’t we hold Anti-Trump rallies. It could be a good to way to spread the message and attract people who might be skittish about protests. Have good speakers who will inform people about why the Orange Menace is a threat to so many aspect of their lives and why they need to organize. Plus if they grow in size it might begin to attract our shallow media.
randy khan
@JoeSo:
This is kind of the Moral Monday strategy. I think it starts with the march the day after Inauguration.
Dan
I have to bring down Peter King. There is no reason for Long Island to have a Republican congressman. Not sure how to go about it yet.