Oct 29Liked by Martyn Wendell Jones, Joe Perticone
Great newsletter. I really appreciate that you were on the ground with the Casey campaign. I get the impression a lot of reporters are phoning it in. You are an excellent writer retelling your observations.
I don't think Dems have abandoned far-left voters. Perhaps Dems are taking them a bit for granted, or not overtly courting them, but that does not translate into abandonment. They have made clear they welcome a wide spectrum of voters and want to make room for folks from AOC/Sanders to Cheney/Kinzinger, from Michael Moore to J. Michael Luttig, from Daily Kos to The Bulwark. I think far-left voters understand the stakes, understand that we must win the election and then wrangle over legislation and policy later. Jill Stein's current arguments don't seem far left to me at all, so I suspect most progressives would rather have a seat at the Dem table than risk being rounded up by Trump. If, as folks at the Atlantic say, some think Harris is too centrist and others think she is too liberal, while all agreeing Trump would be a disaster for the country, the Constitution, and democracy, the campaign has done an excellent job of creating a winning coalition. Harris is all about including as many voices and perspectives as possible; Trump is all about excluding as many voices and perspectives as possible. Far-left voters will continue to play the role under Harris that they have done for several decades now: pushing their ideas, working to persuade, until suddenly, those ideas seem centrist to more and more people. The battle this election is no longer between the center and the center-right, but between the center-left and a radical (fascist) far-right. What looks like the moderate center now contains many popular ideas and planks that would have been considered far-left not that long ago. I hope Harris wins, we hang on to the Senate, and gain the House so that the far-left can continue to play that creative and influential role!
I find there to be too many leftists who want to vote from a place of ideological purity, rather than harm reduction. This worries me in MI in particular, especially when your best chance of protest and moving key planks is having her instead of Trump.
We will see, but I’m not optimistic. The leftists are self defeating. The religious right and fascists lock arms just to stomp on liberals, moderates, etc….even if they actually hate each other.
PA resident here… I thought gas prices where I live were lower than they have been in a while. A couple of weeks ago I noticed regular was under $3.00 and was pleasantly surprised.
Joe has built up all this sartorial credibility with us, and then, when we are least expecting it, ruins all those good taste points by using a crunchwrap supreme as an unit of measure. I feel so disillusioned...
I admit I don’t understand all the references, but Joe’s sartorial observations gave me a much needed laugh! I wouldn’t mind more of that; it’s refreshing and unexpected from Joe. ‘Still waters run deep.’
Here in the wasteland known as Texas, gas prices in San Antonio fell to 2.39 a gallon, down from 2.99 yesterday and 2.59 on Sunday...the gas tax in PA is the biggest reason for their high gas prices. If you've driven the turnpike, you'd understand why. It is a WWII era road trying to support 21st century vehicles and traffic...
We've broken almost every voter turnout record, but I don't think it'll be enough for Harris. Too many brainwashed bigots. My hope is on the Senate and flipping some seats in the state legislature, as well as our state Supreme Court. The brainwashed bigots don't care much about down ballot races, but suburban moms do when school vouchers and reproductive rights are basically on the ballot.
PA resident here, who lives about 20 miles from the Ohio line, and drives to Indiana at least 5 or 6 times a year. Yes, our gas prices are higher than Ohio, but that's been true for years due to our higher taxes (and reliably awful roads despite the tax). Bob Casey has nothing to do with the gas tax in Pa. What cracks me up is I hear all these ads for McCormick calling Casey a crazycommieliberalsocialistfirebrandleftist. And I'm like, "Have you actually MET Bob Casey?" I am a faithful Casey voter if for no other reason than back in 2008, Casey was one of the first high profile Democrats to come out in support of Obama.
As someone who grew up in PA, I can say that residents have long had a love/hate relationship with paying higher gas taxes in order to maintain more than 40,000 miles of state-maintained roads and highways, including the often-maligned Turnpike. (Many decades ago, we learned this stuff in PA schools.)
Delighted to see Harris/Walz signs in front of two properties next to my dad's place in very red Adams County, PA in recent weeks. Doesn't sound like much, but that's a big change.
What I find so infuriating about this election is the following: I get that Trump is crazy but has some charisma that I don’t get but might be attractive to voters. However, how the hell does that explain how close the race is for the senate and house? The last 2 years while maga was in power in the house was a fucking disaster. Just a burning pile of shit and yet…it’s close?!?? How can we ever get back to any normal government is if almost half our population never ever holds their representatives to account for the bat shit things they do? Seriously how can we prevent a slide into authoritarianism if it seems impossible to ever win great enough to force them to change?
Problem/conundrum. They'd rather drag the entire country into authoritarianism than give one inch of ground. If it's in the name of good, healthy change. I'm afraid we're simply boxed in.
But not all 47% of Trump voters will be maga. They have to be some “normal” republicans in that bunch. Maybe it’s 5 or 10%. How can they not want any of their politicians to do anything productive?
Well, these people are in the uncomfortable position of being in the minority, assuming they're there. They may have to keep their feelings unknown, from their crowd. They may vote the right way in the privacy of the booth, or drop box. And if that 5-10% helps elect Kamala, how great would that be?
But, so much is so badly deformed, it's going to take many more from Camp Trump to defect. To have a large enough base to join forces and start the change engines. Bottomline, right now we're starting with about $2 in the
bank, and we're needing millions.
That's how widely things have to turn. As in like the Titanic. And it can't be done without a major awakening in those who need to see a better path. But it's so hard to admit you had so much so wrong. It's embarrassing, maybe lonely. And it's going to require the stages of grief for many, many of his fan base. To emerge from their Trump torpor.
How bad do things need to get in Trump 2.0 for these folks to finally admit? I'm sad to be thinking what we all might have to suffer, before enough of this cult finally refuses any more chugs of the deadly Kool Aid. Because they must be partners with us in the change.
I’m going to be honest, I’m mostly venting but I’m venting because I just had to write that screed. My problem, a this is a very much a me issue, is like you, I think things have to get so much worse to be a big change. In fact, I’m not even sure that is enough anymore. Covid was a HUGE shock to the system where during the time people saw how fucking awful Trump was…and yet, they still didn’t change. My most optimistic perspective, and it ain’t very optimistic, is that America just hates everyone. We are going to go through a time period where not a single president can get elected twice. They are just going to get thrown out after one term.
The problem with this theory…is the senate and congress incumbency completely goes against this theory.
People have memory-holed Covid. Because it was so, so horrible We wondered if we were going to die, every day for months. And just how were we going to manage problems like having no toilet paper? Right? And we got a case of PTSD. So we shot that thing into the M-hole. This is how people cope. At the same time, they imagine times were more golden and sweet than they real were. Also, a form of M-holing. This is human nature.
Unfortunately, that has benefitted DT. Greatly. Memories are short, shorter every day in our our screenshot world. Can't remember something? Ask Mr. Google. These mental weaknesses, plus genuine recent trauma- which includes Trump for a lot of us- is why it's too easy for too many to just sleepwalk into DT world, part II. That's happening. The 'base' is happy, so sailing right along. The rest of are experiencing so much dread and disbelief, we're also almost zombies. But also being shuttled along towards the cliff. And can't grab onto any rock or branch to stop.
That's how this feels right now. JVL is correct that it's either the worst possible disaster. Or, if she wins, also a disaster. But not apocalyptic. Because the Trumpiness hangs around, but the repair can at least begin in Kamala's term.
You didn't think I could get more dark, but I managed it. These days that are trying our souls.
I find Bob Casey talking about the actual things that Senators do very interesting, the opposite of boring. This is exactly why I oppose MAGA and I enthusiastically support Bob Casey in my home state of PA. I also thought Bulwark was a place where ideas mattered and not just fluff.
JP has made a good point that I hadn’t thought about before. That anyone who would vote for both Gallego and Trump would seem to suffer from serious cognitive dissonance. I have a few possible reasons:
1) Gallego used to annoy me because he was basically just too loud. But he has toned down his more radical side.
2) Lake is truly a female version of Trump, right down to the claim that she has evidence that her gubernatorial race was stolen in 2022. Yet somehow we never get to see that evidence. But she just isn’t that convincing of an “enforcer” type as Trump is simply because she’s a woman. Trump tries to be menacing and is somewhat successful with that with his blustery talk. She just isn’t.
3) Lake spent a good part of her 2022 campaign deliberately alienating the McCain wing of the Arizona Republican Party. She’s has tried to sound a softer tone this time, but she’s not convincing in that either.
3) I also think that there might be some virtue signaling going on. I think that there might be some somewhat reluctant Trump voters who are trying to soothe their conscience by voting for Gallego.
OK – I thought of a one other thing. Lake was pretty vocal in her support for the 1864 abortion law when Roe was overturned. Then she tried to walk back her support when the shit hit the fan. But she still got roasted because of her obvious flip flop. I think this also shows that she isn’t considered a cult leader like Trump by the faithful. He can change his position every other day and no one bats an eye. She could have gotten away with it if she had the mindless fealty that cult members show for Trump.
"Casey’s Republican challenger, Dave McCormick, is a bit of a Sorkinesque villain: an obscenely rich hedge-fund CEO dogged by accusations of carpetbagging."
If I'm not mistaken, we've been to this dance before and in the same state. A coastal elite carpetbags to PA to run for Senate. Granted that McCormick moved to run in 2022, but IMO he's still a carpetbagger; he remained in PA most likely to try a second Senate run, and not because he has a deep heart-felt love of the state.
(As an aside, Dr Oz condemned McCormick for his venture capital company's investments in China, and his response was to call for Oz to renounce his dual citizenship from Turkey. When I try to listen for McCormack demand that Musk give up his other *two* citizenships (first S Africa, then Canada) all I hear are crickets. I hear the same thing when I listen for the condemnation of Trump [sic] merch being made in China. Let's take a look back to Jan 2022:
"former hedge fund executive David McCormick returned fire.
Great newsletter. I really appreciate that you were on the ground with the Casey campaign. I get the impression a lot of reporters are phoning it in. You are an excellent writer retelling your observations.
I don't think Dems have abandoned far-left voters. Perhaps Dems are taking them a bit for granted, or not overtly courting them, but that does not translate into abandonment. They have made clear they welcome a wide spectrum of voters and want to make room for folks from AOC/Sanders to Cheney/Kinzinger, from Michael Moore to J. Michael Luttig, from Daily Kos to The Bulwark. I think far-left voters understand the stakes, understand that we must win the election and then wrangle over legislation and policy later. Jill Stein's current arguments don't seem far left to me at all, so I suspect most progressives would rather have a seat at the Dem table than risk being rounded up by Trump. If, as folks at the Atlantic say, some think Harris is too centrist and others think she is too liberal, while all agreeing Trump would be a disaster for the country, the Constitution, and democracy, the campaign has done an excellent job of creating a winning coalition. Harris is all about including as many voices and perspectives as possible; Trump is all about excluding as many voices and perspectives as possible. Far-left voters will continue to play the role under Harris that they have done for several decades now: pushing their ideas, working to persuade, until suddenly, those ideas seem centrist to more and more people. The battle this election is no longer between the center and the center-right, but between the center-left and a radical (fascist) far-right. What looks like the moderate center now contains many popular ideas and planks that would have been considered far-left not that long ago. I hope Harris wins, we hang on to the Senate, and gain the House so that the far-left can continue to play that creative and influential role!
I find there to be too many leftists who want to vote from a place of ideological purity, rather than harm reduction. This worries me in MI in particular, especially when your best chance of protest and moving key planks is having her instead of Trump.
We will see, but I’m not optimistic. The leftists are self defeating. The religious right and fascists lock arms just to stomp on liberals, moderates, etc….even if they actually hate each other.
PA resident here… I thought gas prices where I live were lower than they have been in a while. A couple of weeks ago I noticed regular was under $3.00 and was pleasantly surprised.
Still $3.30 something in the Lehigh Valley.
Agree. Also a PA resident. These prices have been going down every week for several months. All is relative.
Joe has built up all this sartorial credibility with us, and then, when we are least expecting it, ruins all those good taste points by using a crunchwrap supreme as an unit of measure. I feel so disillusioned...
I admit I don’t understand all the references, but Joe’s sartorial observations gave me a much needed laugh! I wouldn’t mind more of that; it’s refreshing and unexpected from Joe. ‘Still waters run deep.’
He makes me want to dress better. I want to make him eat better tacos.
Here in the wasteland known as Texas, gas prices in San Antonio fell to 2.39 a gallon, down from 2.99 yesterday and 2.59 on Sunday...the gas tax in PA is the biggest reason for their high gas prices. If you've driven the turnpike, you'd understand why. It is a WWII era road trying to support 21st century vehicles and traffic...
Gas prices are cheap in Texas right now (less than $2.70 a gallon on average). I have no idea how or even if that will affect election results here.
We've broken almost every voter turnout record, but I don't think it'll be enough for Harris. Too many brainwashed bigots. My hope is on the Senate and flipping some seats in the state legislature, as well as our state Supreme Court. The brainwashed bigots don't care much about down ballot races, but suburban moms do when school vouchers and reproductive rights are basically on the ballot.
Don’t forget OH, where our ticket splitters vote Donald Trump/Sherrod Brown but 70% of us are for Issue One, which draws new maps.
But gas is cheap.
PA resident here, who lives about 20 miles from the Ohio line, and drives to Indiana at least 5 or 6 times a year. Yes, our gas prices are higher than Ohio, but that's been true for years due to our higher taxes (and reliably awful roads despite the tax). Bob Casey has nothing to do with the gas tax in Pa. What cracks me up is I hear all these ads for McCormick calling Casey a crazycommieliberalsocialistfirebrandleftist. And I'm like, "Have you actually MET Bob Casey?" I am a faithful Casey voter if for no other reason than back in 2008, Casey was one of the first high profile Democrats to come out in support of Obama.
As someone who grew up in PA, I can say that residents have long had a love/hate relationship with paying higher gas taxes in order to maintain more than 40,000 miles of state-maintained roads and highways, including the often-maligned Turnpike. (Many decades ago, we learned this stuff in PA schools.)
Delighted to see Harris/Walz signs in front of two properties next to my dad's place in very red Adams County, PA in recent weeks. Doesn't sound like much, but that's a big change.
$2.95/gal in rural upstate NY.
Funny, I don't see any of those, "Joe Biden did that" stickers on the pumps.
The argument is that he has purposefully/artificially lowered prices to influence the election.
Thanks Joe.
What I find so infuriating about this election is the following: I get that Trump is crazy but has some charisma that I don’t get but might be attractive to voters. However, how the hell does that explain how close the race is for the senate and house? The last 2 years while maga was in power in the house was a fucking disaster. Just a burning pile of shit and yet…it’s close?!?? How can we ever get back to any normal government is if almost half our population never ever holds their representatives to account for the bat shit things they do? Seriously how can we prevent a slide into authoritarianism if it seems impossible to ever win great enough to force them to change?
Problem/conundrum. They'd rather drag the entire country into authoritarianism than give one inch of ground. If it's in the name of good, healthy change. I'm afraid we're simply boxed in.
But not all 47% of Trump voters will be maga. They have to be some “normal” republicans in that bunch. Maybe it’s 5 or 10%. How can they not want any of their politicians to do anything productive?
Well, these people are in the uncomfortable position of being in the minority, assuming they're there. They may have to keep their feelings unknown, from their crowd. They may vote the right way in the privacy of the booth, or drop box. And if that 5-10% helps elect Kamala, how great would that be?
But, so much is so badly deformed, it's going to take many more from Camp Trump to defect. To have a large enough base to join forces and start the change engines. Bottomline, right now we're starting with about $2 in the
bank, and we're needing millions.
That's how widely things have to turn. As in like the Titanic. And it can't be done without a major awakening in those who need to see a better path. But it's so hard to admit you had so much so wrong. It's embarrassing, maybe lonely. And it's going to require the stages of grief for many, many of his fan base. To emerge from their Trump torpor.
How bad do things need to get in Trump 2.0 for these folks to finally admit? I'm sad to be thinking what we all might have to suffer, before enough of this cult finally refuses any more chugs of the deadly Kool Aid. Because they must be partners with us in the change.
God damn it you are as depressing as me.
I’m going to be honest, I’m mostly venting but I’m venting because I just had to write that screed. My problem, a this is a very much a me issue, is like you, I think things have to get so much worse to be a big change. In fact, I’m not even sure that is enough anymore. Covid was a HUGE shock to the system where during the time people saw how fucking awful Trump was…and yet, they still didn’t change. My most optimistic perspective, and it ain’t very optimistic, is that America just hates everyone. We are going to go through a time period where not a single president can get elected twice. They are just going to get thrown out after one term.
The problem with this theory…is the senate and congress incumbency completely goes against this theory.
People have memory-holed Covid. Because it was so, so horrible We wondered if we were going to die, every day for months. And just how were we going to manage problems like having no toilet paper? Right? And we got a case of PTSD. So we shot that thing into the M-hole. This is how people cope. At the same time, they imagine times were more golden and sweet than they real were. Also, a form of M-holing. This is human nature.
Unfortunately, that has benefitted DT. Greatly. Memories are short, shorter every day in our our screenshot world. Can't remember something? Ask Mr. Google. These mental weaknesses, plus genuine recent trauma- which includes Trump for a lot of us- is why it's too easy for too many to just sleepwalk into DT world, part II. That's happening. The 'base' is happy, so sailing right along. The rest of are experiencing so much dread and disbelief, we're also almost zombies. But also being shuttled along towards the cliff. And can't grab onto any rock or branch to stop.
That's how this feels right now. JVL is correct that it's either the worst possible disaster. Or, if she wins, also a disaster. But not apocalyptic. Because the Trumpiness hangs around, but the repair can at least begin in Kamala's term.
You didn't think I could get more dark, but I managed it. These days that are trying our souls.
Everything here. Squared. I agree we are fucked regardless…it’s how fucked.
Patrunyak sounds like it comes from the Slavic word for "parsley". :)
Loves your Ukrainian sunflower.
PA needs us. Pls consider phone banking in English or Spanis. Details in “Kamala for PA” slack.
I find Bob Casey talking about the actual things that Senators do very interesting, the opposite of boring. This is exactly why I oppose MAGA and I enthusiastically support Bob Casey in my home state of PA. I also thought Bulwark was a place where ideas mattered and not just fluff.
JP has made a good point that I hadn’t thought about before. That anyone who would vote for both Gallego and Trump would seem to suffer from serious cognitive dissonance. I have a few possible reasons:
1) Gallego used to annoy me because he was basically just too loud. But he has toned down his more radical side.
2) Lake is truly a female version of Trump, right down to the claim that she has evidence that her gubernatorial race was stolen in 2022. Yet somehow we never get to see that evidence. But she just isn’t that convincing of an “enforcer” type as Trump is simply because she’s a woman. Trump tries to be menacing and is somewhat successful with that with his blustery talk. She just isn’t.
3) Lake spent a good part of her 2022 campaign deliberately alienating the McCain wing of the Arizona Republican Party. She’s has tried to sound a softer tone this time, but she’s not convincing in that either.
3) I also think that there might be some virtue signaling going on. I think that there might be some somewhat reluctant Trump voters who are trying to soothe their conscience by voting for Gallego.
OK – I thought of a one other thing. Lake was pretty vocal in her support for the 1864 abortion law when Roe was overturned. Then she tried to walk back her support when the shit hit the fan. But she still got roasted because of her obvious flip flop. I think this also shows that she isn’t considered a cult leader like Trump by the faithful. He can change his position every other day and no one bats an eye. She could have gotten away with it if she had the mindless fealty that cult members show for Trump.
"Casey’s Republican challenger, Dave McCormick, is a bit of a Sorkinesque villain: an obscenely rich hedge-fund CEO dogged by accusations of carpetbagging."
If I'm not mistaken, we've been to this dance before and in the same state. A coastal elite carpetbags to PA to run for Senate. Granted that McCormick moved to run in 2022, but IMO he's still a carpetbagger; he remained in PA most likely to try a second Senate run, and not because he has a deep heart-felt love of the state.
(As an aside, Dr Oz condemned McCormick for his venture capital company's investments in China, and his response was to call for Oz to renounce his dual citizenship from Turkey. When I try to listen for McCormack demand that Musk give up his other *two* citizenships (first S Africa, then Canada) all I hear are crickets. I hear the same thing when I listen for the condemnation of Trump [sic] merch being made in China. Let's take a look back to Jan 2022:
"former hedge fund executive David McCormick returned fire.
... top rival Dr. Mehmet Oz quickly criticized McCormick over his former hedge fund’s considerable investments in China." https://www.foxnews.com/politics/pa-gop-senate-battle-david-mccormick-returns-fire-dr-oz-to-renounce-turkish-citizenship
And today:
"voters are expressing support for their favored candidate by wearing election merchandise.
What they may not realize is that the “Make America Great Again” Trump hat or “Childless Cat Lady for Harris” T-shirt they’re wearing quite possibly was made in China." https://www.voanews.com/a/made-in-china-election-merchandise-floods-us-market/7832970.html)
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