USA Politics (redux)

[milk]

What "woke" "theory"?

This is a swamp of a discussion but the race seems to have partially turned on education and the moment is when Terry Mcauliffe said (something like) that parents shouldn't tell schools what to teach or have a role in curricula. I would say to look to someone like John McWhorter to understand something of what's gone wrong with the left. It's identitarianism and these new religious ideologies centered on oppression. 

Look to Minnesota as well...
Minneapolis voters reject replacing police with new agency
https://apnews.com/article/2021-election-minneapolis-cc108d1707d9cb8cbaa6135bb60e7fbd
...for a look at logical consequences.
I really fear for American. As it goes, so goes the rest of the world.
Here's a read:
https://www.irishtimes.com/news/world/us/democrats-must-look-beyond-joe-biden-and-kamala-harris-for-2024-1.4717320

Democrats must look beyond Joe Biden and Kamala Harris for 2024

US Politics: Donald Trump could face a beatable opponent through sheer Democratic inertia

"It is not too soon for Democrats (and democrats) to start worrying about 2024. Absent health or legal trouble, a twice-impeached Donald Trump is the likeliest Republican candidate. If he is to lose again, the alternative will have to sell well in Michigan, Wisconsin and other decisive states. It is not clear that Harris or, after three more years of wear and tear, even Biden will meet that test. Everything about the Democratic Party's ingrained culture suggests it will field one of the two regardless..."
"...Whatever the teleologists say, a nation's history can hinge on the right person showing up at an opportune time, or failing to. Senator Amy Klobuchar, transportation secretary Pete Buttigieg, congresswoman Ayanna Pressley: none of the mooted challengers emits a "person of destiny" aura."

Democrats stuck on corporate-friendly divisive ideologies will guarantee a republican congress elected next November and a big fat ruddy Trump ready to dismember American government and society in 2024. A lot of things will be too late to save by then, maybe including the planet. 

[T. D.]

https://www.bloomberg.com/opinion/articles/2021-11-04/virginia-new-jersey-election-results-worse-than-democrats-realize

This is a very good article. You may be able to get around paywall via Google.

Before Tuesday's elections I warned against overinterpreting the Virginia gubernatorial election as a national bellwether. I stand by that: Governor's races are the kind of election that shows the least correlation with national politics, and where candidate attributes and issues make the biggest difference.

But if you're a Democrat looking for some good news in the wake of Republican Glenn Youngkin's triumph over Democrat Terry McAuliffe, I have some bad news: Republicans did well in a bunch of other elections, too.
...
Democrats, meanwhile, ought to remember that Biden's diminished public standing is of relatively recent vintage. As recently as last summer, his approval rating was well above water, and the sophisticated take was he was doing about as well as one could hope in an era of high polarization. It then collapsed rapidly as oil prices soared, job growth slowed, and the delta wave alarmed Covid hawks even as vaccine mandates annoyed Covid doves. Meanwhile, congressional Democrats have chosen the worst possible option: loudly debating sweeping progressive policies that take some of the moderate sheen off Biden without actually passing progressive policies and making their proponents happy.
The White House and Congress desperately need to figure out what they want to do on the Build Back Better agenda. Then they need to do it and move on to addressing the more pressing concerns of jobs, wages, and quality of life.

[JBS]

https://www.bloomberg.com/opinion/articles/2021-11-04/virginia-new-jersey-election-results-worse-than-democrats-realize

This is a very good article. You may be able to get around paywall via Google.

Before Tuesday's elections I warned against overinterpreting the Virginia gubernatorial election as a national bellwether. I stand by that: Governor's races are the kind of election that shows the least correlation with national politics, and where candidate attributes and issues make the biggest difference.

But if you're a Democrat looking for some good news in the wake of Republican Glenn Youngkin's triumph over Democrat Terry McAuliffe, I have some bad news: Republicans did well in a bunch of other elections, too.
...
Democrats, meanwhile, ought to remember that Biden's diminished public standing is of relatively recent vintage. As recently as last summer, his approval rating was well above water, and the sophisticated take was he was doing about as well as one could hope in an era of high polarization. It then collapsed rapidly as oil prices soared, job growth slowed, and the delta wave alarmed Covid hawks even as vaccine mandates annoyed Covid doves. Meanwhile, congressional Democrats have chosen the worst possible option: loudly debating sweeping progressive policies that take some of the moderate sheen off Biden without actually passing progressive policies and making their proponents happy.
The White House and Congress desperately need to figure out what they want to do on the Build Back Better agenda. Then they need to do it and move on to addressing the more pressing concerns of jobs, wages, and quality of life.

I'm not a progressive and even I can see the obvious retort: BBB is all about jobs and quality of life.

[T. D.]

Another good article, though it's more likely to be paywalled:

https://www.economist.com/leaders/2021/11/06/the-calamity-facing-joe-biden-and-the-democrats

The president needs to distance himself from his party's left fringe

...
The problem is not just Mr Biden, though. His party's left-wing, college-educated activist class consistently assumes that the electorate holds the same attitudes on race and on the role of the government as they do. Virginia is the latest example of this folly. America is a young, diverse country. The median age is under 40 and just 60% of the country identifies as white. The electorate is different. Taking an average of the 2018 and 2014 mid-terms as a guide, 75% of voters will be white and their median age next year will be 53. Democrats have a huge lead among the college-educated. But only 36% of Americans completed four-year degrees. That is far too small a base, especially as Republicans make inroads with non-white voters.
...
Countering the Republican message that he carries out the wishes of the radical left will require Mr Biden to be much tougher on his party's fringe. That may mean doing things they hate. He could campaign to hire more police officers in cities where the murder rate has spiked ("refund the police", perhaps), or pick fights with the school board in San Francisco, which thinks that Abraham Lincoln is a symbol of white supremacy.

If Democrats believe that grubby attempts to win power are beneath them, then they should look at what is happening in the Republican Party. Glenn Youngkin's election as governor of Virginia suggests that Republicans can win in swing states, even with Mr Trump as head of the party, by being cheerful, Reaganesque culture warriors who know how to throw red meat to the base. In a two-candidate race for the presidency, both nearly always have a real chance of winning. Mr Biden and his party need to think hard about what they are prepared to do to limit the risk of another four years of Mr Trump. Because that is where a failed Biden presidency could well lead.

[T. D.]

I'm not a progressive and even I can see the obvious retort: BBB is all about jobs and quality of life.

Look, I'm very strongly Democrat. Mostly by default*, as I loathe the GQP and would rather die than vote for it, but politics is often about settling for the lesser (in this case, much lesser) evil.
Just one simple request: Give me a clear 1-paragraph definition of BBB.

*Yes, an attractive third party would be great, but show me an electable one.

[JBS]

Look, I'm very strongly Democrat. Mostly by default*, as I loathe the GQP and would rather die than vote for it, but politics is often about settling for the lesser (in this case, much lesser) evil.
Just one simple request: Give me a clear 1-paragraph definition of BBB.

*Yes, an attractive third party would be great, but show me an electable one.

I understand the point you're making and fully agree with it, and with the Economist article you linked.

[Karl Henning]

Yes, an attractive third party would be great, but show me an electable one.

I wish I saw a path to having anyone other than Trump in the White House in Jan 2025. Maybe my brain's just weary of it all.

[milk]

https://thehill.com/homenews/media/579991-carville-blames-stupid-wokeness-for-democratic-losses
Carville blames 'stupid wokeness' for Democratic losses

"What went wrong is just stupid wokeness. Don't just look at Virginia and New Jersey. Look at Long Island, look at Buffalo, look at Minneapolis, even look at Seattle, Wash. I mean, this 'defund the police' lunacy, this take Abraham Lincoln's name off of schools. I mean that - people see that," Carville said.

[Herman]

https://thehill.com/homenews/media/579991-carville-blames-stupid-wokeness-for-democratic-losses
Carville blames 'stupid wokeness' for Democratic losses

"What went wrong is just stupid wokeness. Don't just look at Virginia and New Jersey. Look at Long Island, look at Buffalo, look at Minneapolis, even look at Seattle, Wash. I mean, this 'defund the police' lunacy, this take Abraham Lincoln's name off of schools. I mean that - people see that," Carville said.

Carville should just shut the #@! up by now, instead of talking out of both sides of his yapper. He's got zero bona fides.

This continuous harping about those stray wokesters is just ridiculous if you look at what's going on in the GQP. That party is not beset by a few radicals, it has been completely taken over by zealots who are quietly enjoying the way people tar the Ds as wokesters.

[milk]

Carville should just shut the #@! up by now, instead of talking out of both sides of his yapper. He's got zero bona fides.

This continuous harping about those stray wokesters is just ridiculous if you look at what's going on in the GQP. That party is not beset by a few radicals, it has been completely taken over by zealots who are quietly enjoying the way people tar the Ds as wokesters.

How to defeat the republicans? How? This is as good as handing the keys of government over to the republicans wholesale. And the repercussions are going to be devastating, not only to working people of all ethnic backgrounds but to the planet.

https://www.yahoo.com/news/indiana-school-admin-explains-schools-205752960.html
Indiana school admin explains how schools teach CRT without using that term: 'We're lying'

..."When we tell you that our schools aren't teaching Critical Race Theory, that it's nowhere in our standards, that's misdirection," Indianapolis district science coordinator, instructional coach, and administrator Tony Kinnett posted on Twitter Thursday...Kinnett explained that he is an administrator in the largest school district in Indiana which means he is present in "dozens of classrooms a week" so he "sees exactly what we are teaching our students."

"We don't have the quotes and theories as state standards per se," Kinnett said. "We do have Critical Race Theory in how we teach."

Kinnett continued, "We tell our teachers to treat our students differently based on color. We tell our students every problem is a result of 'white men' and that everything Western Civilization built is racist. Capitalism is a tool of white supremacy. Those are straight out of Kimberle Crenshaw's main points verbatim in 'Critical Race Theory: The Key Writings that Formed the Movement.'"

...In a Twitter thread, Kinnett posted screenshots of emails he says show school officials instructing teachers to tell parents Critical Race Theory is not taught in schools along with slides from a presentation acknowledging that it is indeed taught in schools...

[Herman]

"Kinnett explained that he is an administrator in the largest school district in Indiana which means he is present in "dozens of classrooms a week" so he "sees exactly what we are teaching our students."

Really?

Typically, administrators are in their office and they talk to fellow managers.

The usual complaint is that administrators don't know what's going on in classrooms.

This is not to say there is no talk about the history of race / racism in America (as there should be, in 2021); it's just that his "Hey psst: I know what it's like" doesn't make sense.

[milk]

"Kinnett explained that he is an administrator in the largest school district in Indiana which means he is present in "dozens of classrooms a week" so he "sees exactly what we are teaching our students."

Really?

Typically, administrators are in their office and they talk to fellow managers.

The usual complaint is that administrators don't know what's going on in classrooms.

This is not to say there is no talk about the history of race / racism in America (as there should be, in 2021); it's just that his "Hey psst: I know what it's like" doesn't make sense.

Democrats cannot afford to regress on gains they made during trum years. Loudoun County Virginia voted overwhelmingly for Biden; it is one of the most educated counties in America. McAuliffe lost Loudoun decisively. This was an epicenter of the fight over schools. This election is a disaster for Democrats. They need these places to beat trum in 2024. Tump sailing in will be a catastrophe. What is the message of Democrats next year and in 2024?

[amw]

Perhaps what we need is to dissolve the people and elect another.

[arpeggio]

The recent election in Virginia has really depressed me.

The racist element of Youngkin's campaign is really bothersome.

My daughter-in-law is Korean.  I have two wonderful grandchildren.  What kind of country are they going to live in if the racists get control?

[geralmar]

[Karl Henning]

One of Trump's "beautiful people"

Capitol rioter who hit officer gets over 3 years in prison

[Karl Henning]

Federal Judge Smacks Down Trump's Executive Privilege Claim

But appeals could keep his White House records relating to the Big Lie out of the hands of the January 6th committee until after the midterms—when it might cease to exist.

[SimonNZ]

Reuters unmasks Trump supporters who terrified U.S. election officials
Law enforcement has taken little action as backers of Donald Trump aim stark threats at election officials. Reuters tracked down nine of the harassers. Most were unrepentant.

[Karl Henning]

Trumpkins feel it's their right to harrass/bully. Pathetic!

[Daverz]

The GOP has also been suppressing their own voters...permanently.