This week at progressive state blogs is designed specifically to focus attention on the writing and analysis of people focused on their home turf. Let me know via comments or Kosmail if you have a favorite state- or city-based blog you think I should be watching. Here is last Saturday's edition. Inclusion of a blog post does not necessarily indicate my agreement with—or endorsement of—its contents. |
At The Mudflats of Alaska, Zach Roberts writes—Are you suffering from political nostalgia?
Are you suffering from political nostalgia? Was your dipnetting or berry picking interrupted this week by the Republican Convention? Do you long for the days where the inexperienced candidate with narcissistic qualities and a private email problem was wrapped into one person — Sarah Palin?
Does it seem strange to you that David Duke, a white nationalist, Holocaust-denying, former Grand Wizard of the Ku Klux Klan thinks the time is perfect for him to run for U.S. Senate instead of secretly folding white hoods and watching episodes of Archie Bunker in an actual bunker?
Are you still saying “All Lives Matter” when you have seen an unarmed behavioral therapist trying to help an autistic man, lay on the ground with his hands up, get shot by the police?
Does a wall on the north side of Texas sound like a good idea when you hear a rape victim was jailed for a month after she left the courtroom and refused to testify against the convicted serial rapist who had raped her?
Remember when mass shootings were “breaking news” and not just a regularly occurring news story with location and body count changes?
It seems bad. It seems worse than before. It seems like George W. Bush, smiling and dancing at a funeral for fallen police officers, was not really that inappropriate.
At Dick and Sharon’s LA Progressive of California, Robert Borosage writes—Democratic Convention: The Big Dawg Still Can Howl:
Clinton’s job was not simply to reintroduce someone who has been before Americans for over a quarter of a century, it was to make the case that she “is the best darn change maker I have ever known.” [...]
The speech focused on the personal and largely omitted the political. “She voted for and against proposed trade deals,” he said in passing. It wasn’t substance but temperament that he touted: “This woman always wants to move the ball forward. That is just who she is.”
The country and the party have been transformed since Clinton was president. Democrats no longer are in a defensive crouch on social liberalism. No Democrat would pay tribute to conservatives as Clinton did when he announced that “the era of big government is over.” The Democratic Party platform – reflecting a debate driven by progressive movements and the Bernie Sanders campaign – repudiates large parts of Clinton’s legacy: the corporate globalization strategy, the fiscal austerity, Wall Street deregulation, mass incarceration and the death penalty and more.
Not surprisingly, Hillary Clinton did not lead these transformations. The new Democratic coalition was forged by President Obama. The new agenda was framed by political movements and progressives. Hillary Clinton has adjusted to the new reality, sometimes with agility, sometimes awkwardly.
At The Progressive Midwesterner of Illinois and Wisconsin, Aaron Camp writes—Why I can no longer support Alan Grayson:
Earlier this year, I endorsed Alan Grayson for the U.S. Senate seat that is up for election this year in Florida, and in 2014, I included Grayson on my bucket list of political figures that I’d like to meet in person. However, I am officially pulling my endorsement from Grayson, and, if I were to write an updated bucket list of elected officials and/or other political figures that I’d like to meet in person, Grayson’s name would be nowhere to be found on such a list.
It is a known fact that Lolita Grayson, Alan Grayson’s ex-wife, has repeatedly accused Alan Grayson of abusing her. Now, we have documented footage of Grayson abusing a member of the press. I will admit that I have given Alan Grayson too much of a benefit of the doubt when it comes to the domestic abuse allegations that his ex-wife has leveled against him. However, I cannot reasonably give Alan Grayson the benefit of the doubt any longer when it comes to his track record of abusing others. The Alan Grayson that is currently on the campaign trail is not the highly-effective progressive and the most electrifying man in American politics that I have long admired Grayson as. Instead, the Alan Grayson that is currently on the campaign trail is a thin-skinned b
At Up North Progressive of Michigan, Up North Progressive writes—Pokemon Go Puts a Stop to Traverse City U-Pick Raspberry Farm:
Folks heading out to Potter Road Raspberry Farm in Traverse City this weekend will be in for an unpleasant surprise. The farm is closed all weekend long, and after they reopen on Monday, July 18, u-pick will no longer be available. The change is due to an unpleasant situation that happened on Thursday, July 14, when people arrived not to pick berries, but to play Pokemon Go, the new game that encourages people to get out of the house to find characters. Game players were not using the best judgment while out playing the game, and became a nightmare for owners Brenda and Mike Mahn.
The game was released only a week ago, but already there are stories all over the country about criminal activity and people getting hurt because they were too engrossed in the game to pay attention to their surroundings. A girl in Pennsylvania stepped into traffic while playing the game and was hit by a car. A man in New York hit a tree playing Pokemon Go while driving. There was the man who was stabbed in California, the girls in San Diego who found a dead body, and two grown men went over a bluff and had to be rescued because playing the game was more important than watching where they were going. In Quebec, Canada, two police officers were injured in their vehicle when a person playing Pokemon Go while driving crashed into them. There are reports of people being robbed while playing too.
And now, vandalism forced a raspberry farm to close to the public during the raspberry picking season.
At The Wheeling Alternative of West Virginia, waner writes—More on Capito, in-the-know West Virginians, and "the war on affordable electricity":
That didn't take long -- one day to be precise [...] This morning's Intelligencer editorial is back to praising West Virginians for being smarter than everyone else and for fighting the good fight on the use of coal:
West Virginians were reminded Tuesday night of why, when it comes to defending reasonably priced electricity, we fight virtually alone. Few other Americans seem to be aware of how President Barack Obama’s war on coal affects them.
The editorial notes that most of the networks carrying the Republican National Convention decided to switch to their talking heads rather than carry Shelley Moore Capito's convention address. Consequently, according to the editorial, they missed a chance to inform the nation on the financial consequences of shifting from coal to natural gas and alternatives [...]
That's quite a conspiracy and it apparently includes Fox News since they also skipped her speech. Here's a simple alternative scenario: Americans (even a majority of Republicans—see here, for instance) know that natural gas and a number of alternative energy sources are now cheaper than coal while causing less damage to our environment. For them, the war is over.
At SPB:SaintPetersBlog of Florida, Peter Schorsch writes—Debbie Wasserman Schultz would make history were she to lose party chair and re-election in same year:
Outgoing DNC Chair Debbie Wasserman Schultz is facing the strongest challenge of her congressional career back home in South Florida from Democrat Tim Canova.
And if Wasserman Schultz is unsuccessful in the Aug. 30 primary, a new Smart Politics report finds that she will be only the second party leader—either Democratic or Republican—to lose both a position as chair and elected office in the same year. [...]
Smart Politics also notes that the only party leader to both lose both an elected seat and chairmanship end in the same year was 1866, New Jersey Governor Marcus Ward replaced Raymond as head of the Republican Party. Later that year, the freshman failed in his bid for re-nomination to the congressional seat, losing to Charles Spencer.
At Blogging Blue of Wisconsin, Zach Wisniewski writes—VIDEO: Bernie Sanders gets booed for urging his supporters to support Hillary Clinton:
Watch as Democratic Sen. Bernie Sanders gets booed by his own supporters after he called on them today to support presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton and her running mate Tim Kaine. [...]
As many of you know I was a strong and proud supporter of Sen. Sanders’ presidential campaign, but I can’t support this kind of behavior. While I appreciate the disappointment so many of Sen. Sanders’ supporters feel at the lengths the Democratic establishment went to hinder Sanders’ campaign, there will come a time when the Democratic establishment is held accountable for their undemocratic behavior.
This election is too important to “sit it out” or vote for a third party candidate, because we can’t allow Donald Trump to win this election and turn our country into the worst version of itself.
At Washington Liberals, Don Smith posts a couple of now-familiar photos, with some added text under—Lack of diversity in GOP interns:
At Appalachian Voices, Lara Mack writes—If I had a hammer ... Finding collective power at the “March on the Mansion”:
Last Saturday, more than 600 Virginians gathered at the footsteps of Governor McAuliffe’s mansion in Richmond to demand energy justice for all citizens of the Commonwealth. Chartered buses arrived from major cities including Hampton Roads, Charlottesville, Harrisonburg, and Roanoke, as well as rural areas like Nelson County and Montgomery County.
I helped organize the bus from Harrisonburg, where I live, and we started our drive to Richmond with the song If I had a Hammer:
“If I had a hammer I’d hammer in the morning
I’d hammer in the evening All over this land
And I’d hammer out danger I’d hammer out a warning
I’d hammer out love between my brothers and my sisters All over this land…”
This well-known song was written by Pete Seeger and Lee Hays in 1949 in support of social justice efforts of the time. For us, starting with the historical tune was a clear reminder that this march was not just about fracked-gas pipelines, climate change, coal ash, and renewable energy, but also about the stories and struggles of people impacted by corporate power and monied special interests.
Our voices were represented in an open letter, signed by more than 60 organizations, sent to Governor McAuliffe last month. Saturday’s march was the next step; We walked as a part of a legacy for democracy, environmental justice, and the power of community.
At Delaware Liberal, pandora writes—Bill Clinton’s Speech:
This started out as a comment, but morphed into a post. Last night I was asked a question on the DNC Convention post, “Was Bill Clinton’s speech sexist?”
No.
Oh, you want more? Ok.
Here are my thoughts on Bill’s speech. I disagree with Maddow. It wasn’t sexist, but it was a fascinating gender role reversal. Bill Clinton was the first man to give the traditional First Lady speech.
The role of the First Lady speech is to share personal stories of her and the candidate’s life together, to show what a good and loving parent the candidate is, to remind everyone of their spouses accomplishments, their strengths, etc.. Basically, the First Lady speech is an reminder and introduction to the candidate by the person who knows them best.
Bill did just that. [...]
Basically Bill Clinton’s speech was about Hillary – who she is, her accomplishments, etc.. One of his most powerful points (and one she’s made many times herself) is that while you may not support her, she will support you. Just look at her resume. She’s done the hard, non-glamorous, out of the limelight work. If you weren’t aware of that (and you really should have been aware of a lot of it) then the First Man spelled it out – just like every First Lady before him.
At Democratic Diva of Arizona, Donna writes—That Time Jerry Emmett Set Me Straight. On Tuesday, July 26, the 102-year-old honorary chairwoman of the Arizona delegation to the Democratic National Convention announced that 51 of the state’s 85 delegates cast their votes for Hillary Rodham Clinton
If you are active in Arizona Democratic politics at the state level, you have undoubtedly encountered Geraldine “Jerry” Emmett at a state committee meeting or a Heritage Dinner, usually accompanied by one or several from her coterie of fiercely loyal friends. She’s a delight to be around. She may not remember you but she has no problem regaling anyone in her presence with tales of her eighty some years of Democratic activism. I learned that she and I share a love for Joan Crawford movies at the Fourth of July Parade in Prescott (where Jerry lives) in 2010, while I was there for a campaign I was working on. She was a slip of a 96 year old back then, but she brushed off my suggestion that she be the honorary grand marshal of the parade the next year by grabbing my forearm and exclaiming, “oh, honey, I don’t buy green bananas!”
In February of that year, I accompanied a statewide candidate I was working with to a Democratic women’s luncheon in Prescott. Despite it being on a weekday afternoon, the room was packed with ladies of a certain age, the kind of stalwart women who mostly, and enthusiastically, supported Hillary Clinton in the 2008 primary. Jerry was one of them, and was the keynote speaker. I recall (I’m going off memory since I can’t find my notes) the usual round of several candidates giving pitches and then it was Jerry’s turn to speak.
What followed, from this woman who had supported Hillary Clinton with all her heart before, was a rousing defense of President Obama. It left an indelible impression on me, not just because of who Jerry was, but also because of who I was at the time. I had been a big Obama supporter in 2008, travelling to other states to canvass for him (as I have done for Hillary this year). But by early 2010, though I still loved him personally, I felt deeply betrayed and demoralized by President Obama. Like many other lefties, I thought he had sold us out the progressive hopes and values that (we believed*) we had propelled him to office with. We felt he wasn’t acting enough like FDR. You heard that a lot back then in Liberal Land.
Well, Jerry Emmett was having none of that.
At Burnt Orange Report of Texas, Andrea Greer writes—You Can Be Progressive. You Can Be Libertarian. You Can’t Be Both:
Did you watch the Gary Johnson/Bill Weld video ad and think huh, that doesn’t sound half-bad? Or have your family or friends been posting it, gushing that it’s the best political ad ever?
Do you consider yourself progressive, but find yourself wondering whether the Libertarian ticket is the way to go this time around?
You’re welcome to vote that way. But you don’t get to call yourself progressive while you do it. [...]
Progressives believe in using government as a tool for building and supporting the common good. Libertarians believe the common good is what happens naturally when people simply live the life they want to live with a little bit of personal responsibility.
You can believe that one of those ideologies is right and one is horsefeathers. But you can’t vote libertarian and claim to be progressive.