Discover and read the best of Twitter Threads about #LiveBlue
Most recents (17)
Ohio’s runaway train of power-seeking Republican legislators are looking to take the next step toward preventing voters’ will from mattering. That step takes the form of Issue 1, and we must defeat it on August 8. (Thread)
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#ResistanceUnited
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It’s worth noting initially that this same legislature just made a law banning August elections—only to set this one when they saw motivated Ohioans working toward putting an amendment on the ballot to protect women’s reproductive rights.
nbcnews.com/politics/elect…
nbcnews.com/politics/elect…
The bill makes four changes, outlined in the initial graphic in this thread, all designed to make it harder for citizens to amend the constitution. Yes, this is a proposed amendment to restrict a constitutional right for citizen action.
With the challenge and restriction in Florida of @TheAmandaGorman’s inspiring “The Hill We Climb,” it’s clear conservatives are running out of books to ban. So with tongue planted firmly in cheek, I recommend Frank Baum’s The Wizard of Oz. (Thread)
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#ResistanceUnited
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Most obviously, we know today’s MAGA crowd hates Dorothy. And they undoubtedly object to the portrayal of The Wicked Witch of the West, and particularly the treatment of someone so MTG-like as a villain. So even though the rainbow isn’t part of the book, it’s clearly dangerous.
Further, after carefully cultivating their core voters and bludgeoning them with right-wing media gaslighting, the notion that anyone should be interested in either a heart or a brain is deeply antithetical to their mission statement.
I recommend this whole thread from @chrisgeidner, but Judge Hinkle’s opinion itself is fantastic. A thoughtful judge, after examining the record and laying out discussions of real human experience with transgender identify and care.
#ResistancePride
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#ResistancePride
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“The elephant in the room should be noted at the outset. Gender identity is real.” The judge goes on to describe—based on science, medical best practices, and individual experience—how and why it is both real and innate for individuals, rather than chosen.
He also notes that defendants admitted the reality of gender identity. It turns out that, whatever the endless campaign bloviating might be, those who actually engage with facts here *know* this is the case.
The US Constitution took effect on March 9, 1789. Its Preamble lays out the goals for the nation that would operate under it. And if you read it, it’s clear the current GOP is working against every one of them. (Thread)
#ResistanceRoots
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#ResistanceRoots
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1. To “form a more perfect Union” requires learning from past and present to come together more perfectly. Republicans are attacking history and current factual information to divide us.
2. To “establish Justice” is to create and defend our laws and institutions in ways that are just. Republicans are fighting reform efforts, supporting murderers and insurrectionists, and attacking our federal law enforcement agencies.
I’ve seen a lot of reporting and commentary trying to find “balanced” blame on the debt ceiling battles. So sure, folks, let’s look at all sides of the problem. (Thread)
#ResistanceUnited
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#ResistanceUnited
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1. The House GOP. The @HouseGOP want everything, no compromises, in exchange for the chance to demand more next spring. No specific demands, just broad cuts. They just want to tear it all down.
thehill.com/homenews/house…
thehill.com/homenews/house…
2. House democrats. The @HouseDemocrats want a clean debt limit increase, and every member agreed on this. They feel budget bills should be debated and passed in Congress, not demanded as ransom in exchange for a semi-functional government.
thehill.com/homenews/house…
thehill.com/homenews/house…
There are good reasons Americans don’t trust our government institutions. We’ve moved from a “trust, but verify” model to a “just trust us and shut up” model. And this may feel pie-in-the-sky right now, but we could change that.(Thread)
#ResistanceUnited
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#ResistanceUnited
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1. Congress. We need a new Voting Rights Act—in part because the Supreme Court gutted the one we have, but also in part because some of the threats have changed. The way districts are drawn has turned the ideas of democracy and representation into punchlines.
We should demand fair districts in every state. This doesn’t just mean balancing democratic and Republican districts against each other, but creating more competitive districts. Representatives aren’t accountable to their districts because they are designed to go to one party.
There are many problems with conflating religion and politics, but one of the biggest is it covers up all matters of nuance and, at times, reality. (Thread)
#ResistanceUnited
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#ResistanceUnited
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I was raised in a Christian, Republican home. And at the time, I learned and bought into the idea that those two terms were virtually synonyms. Republicans were “good,” and Democrats must therefore be evil.
This covered all manner of sins, so to speak. The notion that a Jimmy Carter was somehow immoral or evil, and Reagan a beacon of goodness, seems almost laughable when you look into the lives, actions, and policies of the two.
A bit of local democracy in action to share. Last night I attended a school board meeting—something I don’t do often enough. The topics included a series of proposed policy changes, two of which in particular seem troubling. (Thread)
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#ResistancePride
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The proposals were put out to address changing federal and state definitions/interpretations of “sex” in Title VII and Title IX. Specifically, they were deleting the parenthetical that defines prohibited discrimination to include the bases of gender identity and sexuality.
The problem in a nutshell: Ohio is challenging the federal definition as applied to Title IX. But with the definition in flux, the board chose to eliminate the language in question—and leave LGBTQ students feeling unsupported, written off.
The trend of silencing elected representatives seems to be spreading. The @TNGOP and @MTGOP have acted with callous disregard not only for the representatives they silence, but for all the citizens whose representation they are cutting off. (Thread)
#ResistanceUnited
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#ResistanceUnited
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The complaints about “decorum” are simply bogus. State Congress should not be using Pleasantville as the model for their operation, letting those with more power decide whether they want to hear unpleasant truths about their actions or biases.
Whether you call this nation a democracy or a republic, that is not how it is supposed to work. If you are a citizen of these or other states where a GOP majority is using these kinds of shenanigans to cut off voters from representation in government, this should wake you up.
Like many, I’m disappointed that Dominion settled. But I don’t think it’s a terrible thing for America. Rather, we should treat this as a starting point for a new front in the war against disinformation. (Thread)
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#ResistanceUnited
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The Dominion lawsuit felt incredibly strong—but there is no guarantee they would have won. Actual malice is a high bar. I think they had enough evidence to clear it, but it wasn’t a slam dunk with a jury.
And if it had gone all the way through, this was a case specifically about lies about, and damage to, Dominion. Any required on-air statements would have related to Dominion voting systems, rather than Fox’s general attacks on information and democracy.
Like many here, I got much more involved in politics in 2015-16. But while fear and frustration were certainly part of my motivation, what keeps me going isn’t what I’m against; it’s what I’m for. (Thread)
#ResistanceUnited
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#ResistanceUnited
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The two can look and even feel similar. At times they cross over. But I find if all I am doing is opposing the worst of what I see in politics, I lose sight of what really matters to me. I’m not aiming for the struggle; I’m aiming for something more.
The Constitution of the United States provides that it exists “in order to form a more perfect Union.” It’s aspirational, yes, but it is motivational too. It speaks to a nation that should aim to grow, to progress toward becoming a nation that works for everyone.
I’ve seen back-and-forth about whether the United States is properly considered a “republic” or a “democracy.” Since I both enjoy small points of order and get annoyed when people use them to distract from what matters, let’s discuss. (Thread)
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#ResistanceUnited
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The gist of it: we’re a representative democracy. It’s a kind of republic, but specifically includes (or should include) democratic election of those who are supposed to represent the interests of the people. One of the better breakdowns I’ve seen:
thoughtco.com/republic-vs-de…
thoughtco.com/republic-vs-de…
The key difference between this kind of system and a “pure” democracy should be the protection of individual rights. Indeed, the point of the Bill of Rights is to defend individual freedom against a tyranny of the majority—to protect the less powerful from the more powerful.
The most direct historic parallel to the scandals surrounding Justice Thomas came in May of 1969, when Abe Fortas resigned from the Supreme Court.
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nytimes.com/2023/04/11/opi…
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nytimes.com/2023/04/11/opi…
When Fortas resigned, it was related to payments for consulting work, as well as continuing to advise President Johnson after he joined the Supreme Court. The dollar amounts were much lower than the value of what Thomas has been receiving from a major donor.
The political calculus was tricky. Fortas was a part of some important First Amendment cases—and as a liberal judge, he stood to be replaced by Richard Nixon. A hard pill to swallow for Democrats.
Both Republicans and Democrats claim to value “freedom.” But the word means something very different to each side. It’s reductive for Republicans, and collective for Democrats. (Thread)
#ResistanceUnited
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#ResistanceUnited
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To Republicans, any governmental involvement in life reduces freedom; it means people are counting on the government rather than solely their own merit. It’s a seductive continuation of American mythology: bootstraps and grit. That’s how they justify a might makes right approach.
It’s a zero-sum freedom: one person has the right, in this mindset, to take from others. No one has a “right” to a peaceful society, to fair wages, to healthcare, to go through a day without being shot. You’re free to get what you can—even if your position guarantees a “win.”
Today’s indictment of the former president is important. It’s probably not the last indictment he’ll face, and probably not the biggest. (We can’t know till it’s made public.) But it’s huge. (Thread)
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wapo.st/40siTyt
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wapo.st/40siTyt
At one time, I thought this would be a sad day. This country put a man into office who has openly, brazenly flouted the law at every turn. An entire party power structure enabled him—and is still trying to enable him. Our democracy is not in good shape.
And this will be a process. Trump will push his lawyers to file every motion possible, legitimate or otherwise. He’ll campaign off of his “persecution.” Today’s gratification will yield to some frustration before the trial can occur.
The use of the word “woke” to mean aware of and awake to the realities and effects of social injustice and racism is far from new. You can go back to at least 1938 and Lead Belly to hear it used that way.
#ResistanceRoots
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#ResistanceRoots
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Of course conservative whites have worked to co-opt the word, reframing it to refer to rampant political correctness, or really any idea or slice of humanity they don’t support. That tactic is also not new, as the brilliant @michaelharriot describes here:
theroot.com/weaponizing-wo…
theroot.com/weaponizing-wo…
The right has turned lexicological acrobatics into an art form, playing word games to dissociate meaning and ideas entirely from their politics. It’s labels, mockery, and schism-creation, all to avoid reckoning with the cruelty and callousness of every policy they support.
@POTUS was hired by Americans to bring calm and normalcy to this country. Through his governing with steadiness and wisdom with a focus on Americans and this country first, he’s accomplished many legislative victories
#DemVoice1 #ONEV1 #LiveBlue #ResistanceUnited
#DemVoice1 #ONEV1 #LiveBlue #ResistanceUnited
@POTUS achievements have not gone unnoticed by Republicans, so they troll & critize him
Republicans paint Biden as soft on China as surveillance balloon despite him following advisement of the Millitary
6abc.com/chinese-spy-ba…
#DemVoice1 #ONEV1 #LiveBlue #ResistanceUnited
Republicans paint Biden as soft on China as surveillance balloon despite him following advisement of the Millitary
6abc.com/chinese-spy-ba…
#DemVoice1 #ONEV1 #LiveBlue #ResistanceUnited
Pentagon leaders have advised President Biden not to order the U.S. military to shoot down an alleged Chinese surveillance balloon
defensescoop.com/2023/02/02/mil…
defensescoop.com/2023/02/02/mil…
