Case in point. My single 49 year old son pays $599 per month for health insurance with $2,000 deductible and copays of $25. He works remotely. He is moving from LA to Spain. His new health insurance is $1,500 per YEAR (1,350 euros) with 0 deductible and no copays. Spain's health system is considered equal to the USA's. Shall we discuss the influence of the insurance industry and the health care oligarchy?
Is anyone talking about the fraud that exists in this election? Is it fraudulent to tell your constituents we don't need your vote, just stay home, or ... pick any lie that was said from any source and ask yourself if it rises to the level of identifiable fraud?
If fraud through lying from any source has influenced voters to act on that lie or other false statement, isn't that enough to declare a fraudulent election voiding the results?
I'd love to hear some answers that are contrary to what I'm proposing.
I can see huge issues and people arising to challenge this idea, but if it is true then it needs to be raised.
Stephen .. see my Substack. Look at the November 27 news post that addresses election fraud. There was no fraud. There was voter suppression, disinformation, misinformation, and blatant lies, but no fraud except for the occasional fool that thought they could vote a dead parent or spouses ballot.
No, the Dems lost through ineptitude. I am an elections specialist and I put together detailed voter education info that I tried to GIVE to Democratic candidates. No one would listen. That's why they had over 65,000 provisional ballots cast in North Carolina. Lots of other stuff that the Dems could do to increase effective voter turnout. They don't do it.
I agree with your comment on the Dems. But I disagree with your assessment that there was no fraud. All those lies, disinformation., etc., constitute fraud. There were threats of explosions at some states voting places that were attributed to Russian trolls. That kept some voters away. There were more instances of Russian interference. Was that part of the republican strategy to allow those kinds of voter intimidation? If the Dems had been doing those things, the Republicans would have been screaming.
Your logic in claiming there was no fraud is based on your moral values, and good for that. But we don't live in that political world right now, and if we don't start pushing back against the kind of dirty tricks that we saw in this election RIGHT NOW, there won't be any democracy to defend.
It is now no secret that the Russians have been attacking our political and social systems with great success. This election is proof positive that we have been had.
We have to fight back with everything we have, or there won't be anything to fight for. This is it. It is now or never...
I don't disagree that it's a problem. The issue is getting laws crafted that would address it, getting them passed, and getting them enforced. In the current environment, all three are huge hurdles (although it's appalling that I have to say that).
I agree with the hurdles. But if we are going to win this war, and that is exactly what it is, we must find a way to overcome those obstacles, setting aside our moral values. Moral values cannot be applied when we are attacked from all sides; we are in a war. Let that sink in for a while. Our enemy is from within and from without. We are surrounded, and the enemy is at the gate.
Trust me, I'm with you an this and I'm going full throttle on pushing people to action. But the problem, or so I'm realizing, is that people seem content to be social media commentators and not activists.
I agree and I confess, I haven't written any letters as I suggested. But I'm just getting started. Seeing the number of readers here moving up is the kind of encouragement I need to keep this crazy ball rolling.
Thanks for all the positive responses to my posts. I'm encouraged to continue with this thread.
But there is something I have to say, a coda of sorts, that will allow my to rest this evening.
I've writen the word war several times in reference to what others are doing to our wonderful society, our evolved culture and way of life.
But I need to write about that in practical terms.
We need to approach the problem, with caution, solidarity and grace. Peace must be our guiding light. For if a single shot is fired by anyone, of any persuasion, it is over. Everything is lost. There is no turning back from that destructive event. I've said this many times and many places, no one wins in war, everyone loses. That is the sum total of all I learned in Vietnam.
There are many among us who would happily start shooting, ostensibly to save their idea of democracy and to protect those who share and encourage their deluded idea of democratic principles and practices.
We can't let them reach that point of no return.
Here's my suggestion for how to start: if you believe that this election was truly won by fraud, write your senators, your Congress persons, your govenors, asking them to consider your arguments and take appropriate action. Give them a chance to consider your thoughts, but don't take no for an answer. Let it be known to other sympathetic members of the voting public your thoughts and reasonsed arguments. But do so in a way that avoids a style or process that encouraged violence. Back down and walk away if you receive that kind of response. We need people who will consider thoughtfully how to proceed with this idea.
Peace and love to all. Let that be your mantra going forward.
The reason we are in this dire predicament now is that our educational systems have been under attack from outside forces, namely communist governments whose sole objective is to destroy democratic governments wherever they exist. Attacking our schools is the first and primary target of those who would want to destroy us. Education here is an easy target and one they started focusing on a long time ago. In that regard, they won several years ago. Electing Trump is the clean-up phase.
The correction that we must take if we have the chance and still have an office of education is to start teaching students how to read, write, and mat as well as learn how our government works. It is in their favor to support democracy and not listen to the song that says, "Hey teacher, we don't need more education." That's very successful Russian propaganda. Think about that. When was that song first introduced? A long time ago, it's an old song. My kids used to listen to it.
That sadly, is immoral, unethical and just plain old disgusting ... but not technically illegal at this point (although the foreign election interference would be). That's why we've got to get the right people in office/get voters on board to get that fixed.
Definitely FRAUD occurred!!!! AND the Citizens United decision MUST be legislatively demolished!!! FElon purchased the election and used Starlink to alter ballots. He’ll continue to use his money to control our governmental processes—and to funnel taxpayer revenue to his own pocket.
I have really enjoyed your substack and thoughts on what needs to change. Thank you!
I'm curious, is there something we could be doing to insist the Democratic Party start putting these things into practice (or at least talking about plans for these actions)? Should we be writing the DNC? Our Democratic representation?
There are a few Dems on this, Elissa Slotkin among them, https://sharonlawrence.substack.com/p/elections-where-is-our-project-2025 (incoming Senator for Michigan). As you'll see in that post, I've started sketching out ideas. I plan to add Lucas's comments to that post ... as this and the last column were outstanding.
You asked whether there was something we could be doing to insist that the party start putting these things into action. I think things like what Lucas and others, including myself, are doing, can help. It's very difficult for candidates in rural counties to get more than a handshake and a smile in a crowded reception line from the party leaders. Phone calls, email messages -- they go unanswered.
As lifelong Dem in NYS, I call my Party to account for the continued wishy-washy response to GOP-ERs bullpajamas programs & lies...hit back Harder, Dems..or get out of the way!
Hit back where? Hit back how? It makes no difference if it hits the front page of the NYT for Tuesday's edition. The converse will hit entire show of Fox and most conservative radio stations for the entire day for the next 3 weeks and beyond.
Several years ago, during the ACA debate, Roy Blunt said you could not get a hip replacement in Canada if you were over 50 because the Canadian socialized healthcare system would not allow it. Canada said that was BS and the next day Roy Blunt retracted it.
I was driving to several branch offices for work, in outstate areas and I listen to conservative radio to keep me awake while I drive. It works pretty good. For at least the next two weeks, while I was traveling, the message that you could not get a hip replacement in Canada if you were over 50 was repeated and repeated. Not one mention that Roy Blunt retracted the statement the next day.
Hi Joe. Hope you and your hip are doing better & thanks for reviewing & responding to my comments. The Msg is "Get out to local/town/county govt meetings" to speak your concerns. Petition or phone your Reps...That’s where your taxes go. Dems need to "wake up" and Brew the coffee, not just sniff it.
Hard to believe that here in America so many people live with such utterly broken infrastructure. If they want to make it great, they ought to be tackling issues like this community has faced. But that’s not what they mean or want.
Democrats are tackling those issues. Democrats are making it better. NO-ONE, including me, knew about it. I did not know ARPA existed. Democrats need a new message delivery system. Probably internet based. What ideas do you have to deliver the message of ARPA and other Democratic acts.
The corporate oligarchy PAYS the right wing disinformation machine to get its message out; Dems and Progressives have no equivalent source of big bucks to communicate with voters. In fact, so-called "liberal" media and Dems pretty much depend on the same source of funding.
What is needed is a people's communication network that supplies tools to help make people's lives better at the local level, not just squawk out chicken-little warnings about fascist Trump and his fascist minions. The challenge is in building community in the first place, as corrupt capitalism has all but destroyed it and replaced it with corporate-owned housing that is little more than worker barracks.
It is the very foundations of our economic system that are the problem, not just the trim around the exterior.
There are thousands of Substack, Facebook, YouTube channels etc already established who are discussing Democratic ideas. We don't need to build the community, we need to provide a way to tie them all together. Keep their group the same, but let suggestions and comments from their smaller group be posted and heard by a candidate or some Democrat governing body. And have the candidate aggregate and respond to those suggestions and comments.
Difficult, but doable in this day of the interactive internet.
I am going to read the books you recommended. I couldn’t agree more—Democrats need to go back to their roots and it will mean a total overhaul. Love the song!
Also here is some free reading material, the book "1632" by Eric Flint. This is the first book in the 1632 universe which now comprises over 30 books. It is a good fun read (here is also the wiki page to see if you would find it interesting).
Love this fire and vision here, Lucas. We absolutely gotta start breaking shit to get back on track. Not in the destructive “burn it all down” way Trump and Republicans are about to attempt to do. More like the way you’re describing. Keep preaching it brother.
I understand the messaging of breaking shit, but none of what I saw Lucas sounded like breaking something. He proposed new laws, which I agree with, to curtail the outside influence on politicians.
I like the breaking shit message because it gets notice, but if you actually break something, you had better have a fix in place, because something worse can easily take its place.
We need to be careful with the break shit message, because a lot of people, Democrats included want to see the government break. And lots of bad will happen if that occurs.
One other thought - stop being so modest about the good we have done / will do. Toot our own horns, and call out the GOP when they try to take credit for bills they voted against. No more Mr. Nice guy. Gloves off.
Does it help to know that Pelosi's husband is a billionaire hedge fund manager and that he and she have benefitted financially from NOT passing legislation to end this practice for many years?
Do you wonder why she hates progressives who are trying to stop this practice? Now you know why I support the progressive movement!
OK, "no ownership of stocks" is probably a bridge too far. Let's take baby steps: If you are a judge, or in congress, NO OWNERSHIP of individual stocks, and ALL stocks must be in independenly managed accounts with full discretion. This is what registered members of the financial services industry are required to do, with steep sanctions and fines for any breech.
Somewhat surprisingly, the person I've heard talk most about this in the wake of the election is Rahm Emanuel, who's regarded by much of the Left as a corporatist.
Which I think is unfair; he and Obama imposed pretty stringent rules about who the administration would hire, which ironically fed into the strengthening of the non-profit industrial complex / The Groups, because people with expertise being drafted into Democratic administrations have to come from _somewhere_. I think there fairer critique is that his style of moderation tends to forget the idea that "your reach should exceed your grasp". The Obama administration repeatedly sent initial drafts to Congress of things they thought everyone should be able to agree to, "pre-gaming" the negotiations, and then seemed shocked that Congress insisted on negotiating things further.
I love the anti-corruption platform within. How do we influence the choice for the next leader of DNC and how do we find out their stances on Lucas’ platform?
The Party, the candidates, and the electeds are far too disconnected from the people. That needs to change, too. MO missed a real opportunity to get real representation this last election. It’s pretty tragic.
I am re-posting comments I left following Lucas's Substack post about why people vote against their own self-interests:
This analysis [in the post about why people vote against their own self-interest] ignores important psychology studies that are critical in understanding what is going on.
One study showed that ones identity is more important in decision making than practical concerns. Though the Republicans have been attacking Democrats for years for thei "identity politics", the Republicans have been more successful than Democrats in getting Americans to identify themselves as "conservative" and be invested in that identity. This is consistent with the fact that voters overwhelming favored Kamala Harris' policies over Trumps when they did not know which candidate was favoring a particular policy; yet they favored Trump as a candidate over Harris.
Another relevant study is that people hate the thought of someone getting away with something to the extent that they will screw themselves rather than let the other person take advantage of them. The Republicans have been taking advantage of this by making voters think that "welfare queens", blacks, women, and immigrants are unfairly getting government benefits or unfairly taking advantage of equal opportunity rules. The experiment is simple. One person is given money --say $10. The second person is allowed to decide how that money should be divided. If the two people can agree on an amount, they each get that amount. If they can't agree, neither of them gets anything. The second person is actually an actor. If they second person offers to take half or less then half, the first person usually agrees. But if the second person demands more than half, more often than not the first person will not agree. So the first person would rather get nothing than get less than half and let the second person get more than half.
Related to these two studies is racism, sexism, xenophobia, etc. All of these "isms" establish a social hierarchy. In this last election on study reported that people who felt their social status threatened voted heavily for Trump. Working class, white males were most likely to feel threatened by the contemporary changes that are most obviously supported by liberals and progressives. Conservatives and reactionaries have always exploited this anti-egalitarian tendency in the human psych, e.g., the slave owning plantation owners ( and later the southern Democrats) who kept poor whites "in their place" by giving them social status above Blacks.
You said the town got the money from ARPA act that was passed by Democrats. That is Democrats making a difference and fixing real problems. You said Hayti got millions to fix their water systems from the ARPA. That is Democrats making a difference and fixing problem.
The state of Missouri (Republican) could have helped but did not.
Why would a county that was being helped by Democrats vote Republican? Do they know Democrats are helping them? Did the mayor say she wanted congress people to not buy stock before or after she got help from ARPA?
I did not know ARPA existed and I regularly watch the news. People who only listen to conservative media, most definitely did not know what ARPA is. The mayor who desperately needed ARPA did not know it existed. I'll bet nearly 0 Republicans voted for ARPA.
Without a new message delivery system, Democrats will fail. If Democrats passed a bill to stop all congress people from buying stock and writing books and taking donations from non people, NO-ONE WOULD KNOW ABOUT IT, just like they did not know about ARPA.
I agree that congress should not be able to buy stocks and I would ban all contributions from non people in a heart beat. And I would limit contributions to about what a normal person could contribute. But I don't see how that helps Hayti Heights or Hayti.
I understand how it gets votes by populist means. People want to hate the bad ass congress people, but that does not solve the problem of Hayti Heights or Hayti or Pemiscot County. It just gets more people hating congress which leads them to Trump.
Democrats actually helped. Republicans did not. Democrats lost. Republicans won. Unless you consider the people of Pemiscot County idiots, the problem is that they don't know what the Democrats are doing. And they don't know what the Republicans are NOT doing. It's a message delivery issue. The Democratic message is correct. ARPA is a good thing. NO-ONE knew about it.
The message did not get delivered to the people Pemiscot County. Republicans deliver their populist messages about religion, abortion, and those awful, evil Democrats who buy stock and help themselves while trashing the people of Pemiscot County.
Lucas & all, speaking of water and sewage, here's an excellent new resource for communities in the U.S. to find out about environmental grants and technical resources: https://ejtctac.org
It sounds to me like you still believe in the Democratic party of old. They lost me at their abandonment and attack of 1A.
"I'll be all around in the dark. I'll be everywhere. Wherever you can look—wherever there's a fight so hungry people can eat, I'll be there. Wherever there's a cop beatin' up a guy, I'll be there. I'll be in the way guys yell when they're mad. I'll be in the way kids laugh when they're hungry and they know supper's ready, and when the people are eatin' the stuff they raise and livin' in the houses they build, I'll be there, too." — Tom Joad, The Grapes of Wrath
The neoDemocratic party is about as democratic as was the German Democratic Republic—socialist authoritarian East Germany (DDR): in name only. Unfortunately, given the leadership we're talking about, your good intentions of trying to reform the party from within comes across as incredibly naïve. These people know exactly what they are doing, but one thing they can no longer do is claim to be the party of Tom Joad. This party, by the hijacking of its leadership, has become tone deaf, fact blind, and just plain dumb. Rich dumb. The kind of dumb you can be if you're rich because you never bear the consequences of your actions—others get to bear the cross they foreswear in pursuit of their own religion in the fantasy of their mind. They've left you—they just haven't told you, because they still need you as a foot soldier.
They committed so many political sins, they accused everyone—anyone right of far-left who didn't drink the kool aid—of a laundry list of epithets: climate change denier, science denier, vax denier, vaccine hesitator, grandma killer, racist, white supremist (the ignorant word for supremacist, or another attempt to change the language), xenophobe, transphobe, homophobe, misogynist, Trump supporter, Proud Boy, Flat Earther, Holocaust denier, and finally—until October 7—antisemitic. It wasn't that you were one of these things—you were all of them all at once. (Maybe all you did was ask what time it was.) You had to wait until the next week to find out what else you were.
They feel they don't need to persuade, because they are already in power—not because of that common accusation of the left thinking they are morally superior and don't need to justify their actions. The leaders of the party know they aren't morally superior—they know it's irrelevant, especially since both species of party claim to be morally superior: it's as if they divided up the moral landscape to ensure there is no overlap.
The party has to start over with fresh blood—not the neocon Losers that are in there now whose ideas lost the election. The Democratic party needs to do what the Republican party has been doing: primary these Losers out of office. That's how you break things. That's how you might end up with kintsugi.
Case in point. My single 49 year old son pays $599 per month for health insurance with $2,000 deductible and copays of $25. He works remotely. He is moving from LA to Spain. His new health insurance is $1,500 per YEAR (1,350 euros) with 0 deductible and no copays. Spain's health system is considered equal to the USA's. Shall we discuss the influence of the insurance industry and the health care oligarchy?
We need Medicare for all and evolve beyond third-wheel health "insurance."
It’s part of the problem!
THIS is the issue that moves the needle.
Is anyone talking about the fraud that exists in this election? Is it fraudulent to tell your constituents we don't need your vote, just stay home, or ... pick any lie that was said from any source and ask yourself if it rises to the level of identifiable fraud?
If fraud through lying from any source has influenced voters to act on that lie or other false statement, isn't that enough to declare a fraudulent election voiding the results?
I'd love to hear some answers that are contrary to what I'm proposing.
I can see huge issues and people arising to challenge this idea, but if it is true then it needs to be raised.
Yes or no?
Stephen .. see my Substack. Look at the November 27 news post that addresses election fraud. There was no fraud. There was voter suppression, disinformation, misinformation, and blatant lies, but no fraud except for the occasional fool that thought they could vote a dead parent or spouses ballot.
No, the Dems lost through ineptitude. I am an elections specialist and I put together detailed voter education info that I tried to GIVE to Democratic candidates. No one would listen. That's why they had over 65,000 provisional ballots cast in North Carolina. Lots of other stuff that the Dems could do to increase effective voter turnout. They don't do it.
I agree with your comment on the Dems. But I disagree with your assessment that there was no fraud. All those lies, disinformation., etc., constitute fraud. There were threats of explosions at some states voting places that were attributed to Russian trolls. That kept some voters away. There were more instances of Russian interference. Was that part of the republican strategy to allow those kinds of voter intimidation? If the Dems had been doing those things, the Republicans would have been screaming.
Your logic in claiming there was no fraud is based on your moral values, and good for that. But we don't live in that political world right now, and if we don't start pushing back against the kind of dirty tricks that we saw in this election RIGHT NOW, there won't be any democracy to defend.
It is now no secret that the Russians have been attacking our political and social systems with great success. This election is proof positive that we have been had.
We have to fight back with everything we have, or there won't be anything to fight for. This is it. It is now or never...
I don't disagree that it's a problem. The issue is getting laws crafted that would address it, getting them passed, and getting them enforced. In the current environment, all three are huge hurdles (although it's appalling that I have to say that).
So we add that to our "to do" list.
I agree with the hurdles. But if we are going to win this war, and that is exactly what it is, we must find a way to overcome those obstacles, setting aside our moral values. Moral values cannot be applied when we are attacked from all sides; we are in a war. Let that sink in for a while. Our enemy is from within and from without. We are surrounded, and the enemy is at the gate.
Trust me, I'm with you an this and I'm going full throttle on pushing people to action. But the problem, or so I'm realizing, is that people seem content to be social media commentators and not activists.
I agree and I confess, I haven't written any letters as I suggested. But I'm just getting started. Seeing the number of readers here moving up is the kind of encouragement I need to keep this crazy ball rolling.
Thanks for all the positive responses to my posts. I'm encouraged to continue with this thread.
But there is something I have to say, a coda of sorts, that will allow my to rest this evening.
I've writen the word war several times in reference to what others are doing to our wonderful society, our evolved culture and way of life.
But I need to write about that in practical terms.
We need to approach the problem, with caution, solidarity and grace. Peace must be our guiding light. For if a single shot is fired by anyone, of any persuasion, it is over. Everything is lost. There is no turning back from that destructive event. I've said this many times and many places, no one wins in war, everyone loses. That is the sum total of all I learned in Vietnam.
There are many among us who would happily start shooting, ostensibly to save their idea of democracy and to protect those who share and encourage their deluded idea of democratic principles and practices.
We can't let them reach that point of no return.
Here's my suggestion for how to start: if you believe that this election was truly won by fraud, write your senators, your Congress persons, your govenors, asking them to consider your arguments and take appropriate action. Give them a chance to consider your thoughts, but don't take no for an answer. Let it be known to other sympathetic members of the voting public your thoughts and reasonsed arguments. But do so in a way that avoids a style or process that encouraged violence. Back down and walk away if you receive that kind of response. We need people who will consider thoughtfully how to proceed with this idea.
Peace and love to all. Let that be your mantra going forward.
💯💯💯💯💯💯💯💯💯💯💯💯
And I would argue that voter suppression, mis and disinformation and those blatant lies are fraud.
Dems definitely have some deep diving to do, and Lucas has some very good points and great places to start on turning it around.
The reason we are in this dire predicament now is that our educational systems have been under attack from outside forces, namely communist governments whose sole objective is to destroy democratic governments wherever they exist. Attacking our schools is the first and primary target of those who would want to destroy us. Education here is an easy target and one they started focusing on a long time ago. In that regard, they won several years ago. Electing Trump is the clean-up phase.
The correction that we must take if we have the chance and still have an office of education is to start teaching students how to read, write, and mat as well as learn how our government works. It is in their favor to support democracy and not listen to the song that says, "Hey teacher, we don't need more education." That's very successful Russian propaganda. Think about that. When was that song first introduced? A long time ago, it's an old song. My kids used to listen to it.
That sadly, is immoral, unethical and just plain old disgusting ... but not technically illegal at this point (although the foreign election interference would be). That's why we've got to get the right people in office/get voters on board to get that fixed.
💯💯💯💯💯💯💯💯💯💯💯💯
Definitely FRAUD occurred!!!! AND the Citizens United decision MUST be legislatively demolished!!! FElon purchased the election and used Starlink to alter ballots. He’ll continue to use his money to control our governmental processes—and to funnel taxpayer revenue to his own pocket.
I have really enjoyed your substack and thoughts on what needs to change. Thank you!
I'm curious, is there something we could be doing to insist the Democratic Party start putting these things into practice (or at least talking about plans for these actions)? Should we be writing the DNC? Our Democratic representation?
There are a few Dems on this, Elissa Slotkin among them, https://sharonlawrence.substack.com/p/elections-where-is-our-project-2025 (incoming Senator for Michigan). As you'll see in that post, I've started sketching out ideas. I plan to add Lucas's comments to that post ... as this and the last column were outstanding.
https://open.substack.com/pub/sharonlawrence/p/elections-breaking-down-the-red-wall-a0b?utm_source=share&utm_medium=android&r=a5esd. Run yourself! You can do it!
You asked whether there was something we could be doing to insist that the party start putting these things into action. I think things like what Lucas and others, including myself, are doing, can help. It's very difficult for candidates in rural counties to get more than a handshake and a smile in a crowded reception line from the party leaders. Phone calls, email messages -- they go unanswered.
As lifelong Dem in NYS, I call my Party to account for the continued wishy-washy response to GOP-ERs bullpajamas programs & lies...hit back Harder, Dems..or get out of the way!
Hit back where? Hit back how? It makes no difference if it hits the front page of the NYT for Tuesday's edition. The converse will hit entire show of Fox and most conservative radio stations for the entire day for the next 3 weeks and beyond.
Several years ago, during the ACA debate, Roy Blunt said you could not get a hip replacement in Canada if you were over 50 because the Canadian socialized healthcare system would not allow it. Canada said that was BS and the next day Roy Blunt retracted it.
I was driving to several branch offices for work, in outstate areas and I listen to conservative radio to keep me awake while I drive. It works pretty good. For at least the next two weeks, while I was traveling, the message that you could not get a hip replacement in Canada if you were over 50 was repeated and repeated. Not one mention that Roy Blunt retracted the statement the next day.
Democrats need a new message delivery system.
Hi Joe. Hope you and your hip are doing better & thanks for reviewing & responding to my comments. The Msg is "Get out to local/town/county govt meetings" to speak your concerns. Petition or phone your Reps...That’s where your taxes go. Dems need to "wake up" and Brew the coffee, not just sniff it.
Hard to believe that here in America so many people live with such utterly broken infrastructure. If they want to make it great, they ought to be tackling issues like this community has faced. But that’s not what they mean or want.
Democrats are tackling those issues. Democrats are making it better. NO-ONE, including me, knew about it. I did not know ARPA existed. Democrats need a new message delivery system. Probably internet based. What ideas do you have to deliver the message of ARPA and other Democratic acts.
The corporate oligarchy PAYS the right wing disinformation machine to get its message out; Dems and Progressives have no equivalent source of big bucks to communicate with voters. In fact, so-called "liberal" media and Dems pretty much depend on the same source of funding.
What is needed is a people's communication network that supplies tools to help make people's lives better at the local level, not just squawk out chicken-little warnings about fascist Trump and his fascist minions. The challenge is in building community in the first place, as corrupt capitalism has all but destroyed it and replaced it with corporate-owned housing that is little more than worker barracks.
It is the very foundations of our economic system that are the problem, not just the trim around the exterior.
There are thousands of Substack, Facebook, YouTube channels etc already established who are discussing Democratic ideas. We don't need to build the community, we need to provide a way to tie them all together. Keep their group the same, but let suggestions and comments from their smaller group be posted and heard by a candidate or some Democrat governing body. And have the candidate aggregate and respond to those suggestions and comments.
Difficult, but doable in this day of the interactive internet.
I have voted Democratic my entire life (78 years) will continue to do so
until something better comes along however I thing the Democrats should
take full responsiblity for their current situation and not blame anyone
else.
One of the major problems of the Democratic Party in the inability to practice triage.
All issues are of equal importance. The two issues that should top the list are climate
change since that is an existential issue that will kill tens of millions if not billions.
The other issue is that since the founding of the Republic we have had, no matter what
political party is in charge, government of the rich, by the rich, and for the rich.
Note that I am distinguishing the rich from Capitalists since the last thing the rich want
to do is compete with one another and have to work for their wealth (thus the financialization
of the US economy). The are the modern equivalent of Adam Smiths's rentiers. The issue
is to break the stranglehold that organizations and individuals of wealth have on
elections and government processes. The deep state in Mike Lofgren's book of the
same name is the union of finance, big banks, the military industrial complex,
big tech, and all the elected and appointed officials they have paid for.
I would hope that you have read his two books "The Party Is Oven" and "The Deep State."
"https://www.mikelofgren.net/introduction-to-the-party-is-over-book/"
"https://www.mikelofgren.net/introduction-to-the-deep-state/"
The time in our history when the rich had the least control was during the great depression
since the voter then could see what system had failed. Coming out of WW II we had the
least wealth inequality in our history and the unions had their greatest power. The rich
could not let this continue so they used tactics described in the following song (classic use
of dog whistles). -
"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zo_7YE6V8po"
The Democrats need to become a Labor Party in deed as well as words. They
need to be honest and cut their ties to the rich.
Utah Phillips singing Solidarity Forever. -
"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OsPOgCPEeKs"
I am going to read the books you recommended. I couldn’t agree more—Democrats need to go back to their roots and it will mean a total overhaul. Love the song!
https://youtu.be/gYb9sRLUDyM?si=oyT6hQuvdeuupLbJ
Which song? In these troubled time I take refuge in music. Here is a link to Utah Phillips web page and two concerts he gave.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Utah_Phillips
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OHp6aGL0YWc
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nUWOoFHv9LI
Also here is some free reading material, the book "1632" by Eric Flint. This is the first book in the 1632 universe which now comprises over 30 books. It is a good fun read (here is also the wiki page to see if you would find it interesting).
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1632_(novel)
http://baencd.freedoors.org/Books/1632/index.htm
Love this fire and vision here, Lucas. We absolutely gotta start breaking shit to get back on track. Not in the destructive “burn it all down” way Trump and Republicans are about to attempt to do. More like the way you’re describing. Keep preaching it brother.
I understand the messaging of breaking shit, but none of what I saw Lucas sounded like breaking something. He proposed new laws, which I agree with, to curtail the outside influence on politicians.
I like the breaking shit message because it gets notice, but if you actually break something, you had better have a fix in place, because something worse can easily take its place.
We need to be careful with the break shit message, because a lot of people, Democrats included want to see the government break. And lots of bad will happen if that occurs.
One other thought - stop being so modest about the good we have done / will do. Toot our own horns, and call out the GOP when they try to take credit for bills they voted against. No more Mr. Nice guy. Gloves off.
Toot our horn where? Wednesday's edition of the NYT or StlToday?
We don't have a message delivery system to deliver the horn toot. We need one. We need ideas for one.
For rural areas? We need the pulpit.
Does it help to know that Pelosi's husband is a billionaire hedge fund manager and that he and she have benefitted financially from NOT passing legislation to end this practice for many years?
Do you wonder why she hates progressives who are trying to stop this practice? Now you know why I support the progressive movement!
Might have something to do with why she doesn't want AOC as the Senior Member of the Oversight Committee.
OK, "no ownership of stocks" is probably a bridge too far. Let's take baby steps: If you are a judge, or in congress, NO OWNERSHIP of individual stocks, and ALL stocks must be in independenly managed accounts with full discretion. This is what registered members of the financial services industry are required to do, with steep sanctions and fines for any breech.
Somewhat surprisingly, the person I've heard talk most about this in the wake of the election is Rahm Emanuel, who's regarded by much of the Left as a corporatist.
https://www.nytimes.com/2024/12/03/opinion/ezra-klein-podcast-rahm-emanuel.html
Which I think is unfair; he and Obama imposed pretty stringent rules about who the administration would hire, which ironically fed into the strengthening of the non-profit industrial complex / The Groups, because people with expertise being drafted into Democratic administrations have to come from _somewhere_. I think there fairer critique is that his style of moderation tends to forget the idea that "your reach should exceed your grasp". The Obama administration repeatedly sent initial drafts to Congress of things they thought everyone should be able to agree to, "pre-gaming" the negotiations, and then seemed shocked that Congress insisted on negotiating things further.
I love the anti-corruption platform within. How do we influence the choice for the next leader of DNC and how do we find out their stances on Lucas’ platform?
The Party, the candidates, and the electeds are far too disconnected from the people. That needs to change, too. MO missed a real opportunity to get real representation this last election. It’s pretty tragic.
I am re-posting comments I left following Lucas's Substack post about why people vote against their own self-interests:
This analysis [in the post about why people vote against their own self-interest] ignores important psychology studies that are critical in understanding what is going on.
One study showed that ones identity is more important in decision making than practical concerns. Though the Republicans have been attacking Democrats for years for thei "identity politics", the Republicans have been more successful than Democrats in getting Americans to identify themselves as "conservative" and be invested in that identity. This is consistent with the fact that voters overwhelming favored Kamala Harris' policies over Trumps when they did not know which candidate was favoring a particular policy; yet they favored Trump as a candidate over Harris.
Another relevant study is that people hate the thought of someone getting away with something to the extent that they will screw themselves rather than let the other person take advantage of them. The Republicans have been taking advantage of this by making voters think that "welfare queens", blacks, women, and immigrants are unfairly getting government benefits or unfairly taking advantage of equal opportunity rules. The experiment is simple. One person is given money --say $10. The second person is allowed to decide how that money should be divided. If the two people can agree on an amount, they each get that amount. If they can't agree, neither of them gets anything. The second person is actually an actor. If they second person offers to take half or less then half, the first person usually agrees. But if the second person demands more than half, more often than not the first person will not agree. So the first person would rather get nothing than get less than half and let the second person get more than half.
Related to these two studies is racism, sexism, xenophobia, etc. All of these "isms" establish a social hierarchy. In this last election on study reported that people who felt their social status threatened voted heavily for Trump. Working class, white males were most likely to feel threatened by the contemporary changes that are most obviously supported by liberals and progressives. Conservatives and reactionaries have always exploited this anti-egalitarian tendency in the human psych, e.g., the slave owning plantation owners ( and later the southern Democrats) who kept poor whites "in their place" by giving them social status above Blacks.
You said the town got the money from ARPA act that was passed by Democrats. That is Democrats making a difference and fixing real problems. You said Hayti got millions to fix their water systems from the ARPA. That is Democrats making a difference and fixing problem.
The state of Missouri (Republican) could have helped but did not.
Why would a county that was being helped by Democrats vote Republican? Do they know Democrats are helping them? Did the mayor say she wanted congress people to not buy stock before or after she got help from ARPA?
I did not know ARPA existed and I regularly watch the news. People who only listen to conservative media, most definitely did not know what ARPA is. The mayor who desperately needed ARPA did not know it existed. I'll bet nearly 0 Republicans voted for ARPA.
Without a new message delivery system, Democrats will fail. If Democrats passed a bill to stop all congress people from buying stock and writing books and taking donations from non people, NO-ONE WOULD KNOW ABOUT IT, just like they did not know about ARPA.
I agree that congress should not be able to buy stocks and I would ban all contributions from non people in a heart beat. And I would limit contributions to about what a normal person could contribute. But I don't see how that helps Hayti Heights or Hayti.
I understand how it gets votes by populist means. People want to hate the bad ass congress people, but that does not solve the problem of Hayti Heights or Hayti or Pemiscot County. It just gets more people hating congress which leads them to Trump.
Democrats actually helped. Republicans did not. Democrats lost. Republicans won. Unless you consider the people of Pemiscot County idiots, the problem is that they don't know what the Democrats are doing. And they don't know what the Republicans are NOT doing. It's a message delivery issue. The Democratic message is correct. ARPA is a good thing. NO-ONE knew about it.
The message did not get delivered to the people Pemiscot County. Republicans deliver their populist messages about religion, abortion, and those awful, evil Democrats who buy stock and help themselves while trashing the people of Pemiscot County.
Lucas & all, speaking of water and sewage, here's an excellent new resource for communities in the U.S. to find out about environmental grants and technical resources: https://ejtctac.org
It sounds to me like you still believe in the Democratic party of old. They lost me at their abandonment and attack of 1A.
"I'll be all around in the dark. I'll be everywhere. Wherever you can look—wherever there's a fight so hungry people can eat, I'll be there. Wherever there's a cop beatin' up a guy, I'll be there. I'll be in the way guys yell when they're mad. I'll be in the way kids laugh when they're hungry and they know supper's ready, and when the people are eatin' the stuff they raise and livin' in the houses they build, I'll be there, too." — Tom Joad, The Grapes of Wrath
The neoDemocratic party is about as democratic as was the German Democratic Republic—socialist authoritarian East Germany (DDR): in name only. Unfortunately, given the leadership we're talking about, your good intentions of trying to reform the party from within comes across as incredibly naïve. These people know exactly what they are doing, but one thing they can no longer do is claim to be the party of Tom Joad. This party, by the hijacking of its leadership, has become tone deaf, fact blind, and just plain dumb. Rich dumb. The kind of dumb you can be if you're rich because you never bear the consequences of your actions—others get to bear the cross they foreswear in pursuit of their own religion in the fantasy of their mind. They've left you—they just haven't told you, because they still need you as a foot soldier.
They committed so many political sins, they accused everyone—anyone right of far-left who didn't drink the kool aid—of a laundry list of epithets: climate change denier, science denier, vax denier, vaccine hesitator, grandma killer, racist, white supremist (the ignorant word for supremacist, or another attempt to change the language), xenophobe, transphobe, homophobe, misogynist, Trump supporter, Proud Boy, Flat Earther, Holocaust denier, and finally—until October 7—antisemitic. It wasn't that you were one of these things—you were all of them all at once. (Maybe all you did was ask what time it was.) You had to wait until the next week to find out what else you were.
They feel they don't need to persuade, because they are already in power—not because of that common accusation of the left thinking they are morally superior and don't need to justify their actions. The leaders of the party know they aren't morally superior—they know it's irrelevant, especially since both species of party claim to be morally superior: it's as if they divided up the moral landscape to ensure there is no overlap.
The party has to start over with fresh blood—not the neocon Losers that are in there now whose ideas lost the election. The Democratic party needs to do what the Republican party has been doing: primary these Losers out of office. That's how you break things. That's how you might end up with kintsugi.