Serenity Now!

Posted by: madamab on: November 20, 2022

• In: 2022 Elections | Congress | Current Events | democracy | Democratic Values | Democrats | elections | Open Thread
• 106 Comments

Hello Shinners,

What a week. We learned that the Democrats have lost the House, but only by a sliver. Nancy Pelosi is passing the baton, as are fellow octogenarians Steny Hoyer and James Clyburn, to a new generation of leaders. Hakeem Jeffries is the favorite to succeed her; if he wins election as Minority Leader, he will be the first Black American to lead a chamber of Congress in any capacity. Incredible that it it has taken this long, but sadly, not surprising.

As gifted as Hakeem Jeffries is, it will be near-impossible to equal Pelosi’s significance and prowess as Speaker. She was the first woman Speaker, and has been a beloved leader and powerful force for democracy during her long tenure. But I do think he is the right person at the right time for the job. He knows how to keep AOC and her fellow “Just Us” Democrats in line. And, women will stay in leadership with Katherine Clark (D-Mass) putting in her bid for the second-in-command. I didn’t know much about her, but she seems really promising.

Central to her approach as a member of leadership would continue to be her focus on women and families. In Massachusetts, before serving in the state legislature she was a lawyer for the state’s Office of Child Care Services.

As a member of the “sandwich generation,” taking care of young children at the same time as elderly parents, Clark said women’s struggles are always front and center for her. She is a member of the Women’s Caucus and has been instrumental in working with members to message around access to abortions. She worked to enable federal workers to have expanded fertility benefits and child care, and to provide federal support for child-care providers during the pandemic.

She also campaigned in 19 states and raised $12 million for Democratic colleagues during the mid-terms.

On the Senate side, Democrats sued the state of Georgia to allow early voting the Saturday before the runoff election between Walker and Warnock – and won. This is a YUGE victory, as lower turnout will benefit that brain-damaged werewolf-wannabe who should not be anywhere near the halls of power.

Herschel weighs in on the top issues of our time

So much else has happened…today we heard about another mass shooting in Colorado Springs at the one nightclub where LGBTQ+ people were welcome in that area. Of course it was a wingnut who had previously threatened violence, and of course it was an AR-15. Such a terrible tragedy, and so preventable. I don’t even have words at this point.

Also this week, Merrick Garland appointed a special prosecutor to continue his two ongoing investigations of der Drumpfenfuhrer and his enablers in Congress. To me, this is a good sign because it means he wants leeway to after not just Drumpf, but Republican Congresscritters as well, and will need to have the appearance of neutrality; not to QOP, because they’ll scream no matter what, but to swing voters and persuadable Republicans. Experienced prosecutor Barb McQuade weighed in on this decision.

With Smith, DOJ has a chance for a do-over. By all accounts, Smith is a hard-working, apolitical prosecutor, who once led the Justice Department’s Public Integrity Section, which prosecutes corruption public officials. Most recently, he has been working as a war crimes prosecutor in the Hague. Dwight Holton, a former colleague at the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Brooklyn, called Smith “a scrappy, no nonsense prosecutor who cuts through bullshit like a knife through hot butter.” All sounds like good preparation to investigate the former president. 

And of course, the Mango Moron’s announcement that he was running again, and Elon Musk’s fake poll to let him back on Twitter, both landed like a lead balloon. Without Rupert Murdoch’s vast media empire unequivocally backing Donald, the rest of the media doesn’t seem as inclined to hang on his every word. They’ve been doing pretty well so far – how will things play out?

Now that Trump is running for president, how should the media cover him? That’s a major topic today, and will be for the next two years — or however long Trump is in the mix.

Writing for The Conversation, Thomas E. Patterson — Bradlee Professor of Government and the Press, Harvard Kennedy School — writes that it’s up to the media to be responsible by, among other things, doing the following:

• Don’t play into his hands by letting him set the narrative.
• Call out his falsehoods, but don’t dwell on them.
• Don’t confuse access with newsworthiness. (This is a really smart point by Patterson.)
• Do notice when he trashes democracy.
• Avoid false equivalence.
• Provide context.

There’s more, and Patterson expands on his points with thoughtful examination. It’s good advice for journalists and those who follow this stuff closely. Give it a read.

And so far Musk’s takeover of Twitter has been a complete fail, with advertisers dropping by the droves and people setting up accounts on other platforms like Mastodon. As for me, my account is super limited and I don’t allow retweets or bot followers – I’m mostly there to read and support activists. Because of this, I’m sticking with it till either the investors pull Musk and restore the platform to normalcy, or the whole thing goes down.

With all of this happening in just one week, we need serenity now! This is a thread for us to post animals, music or whatever else gives us calm and happy feelings. Here’s mine – happy Sunday, all.

Tags: Open Thread, republicans, Trump