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Peter Sagal Profile picture
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24 Dec, 4 tweets, 2 min read
We used to believe that difficult times being out the best in political rhetoric. “We shall fight them on the beaches!” Etc.

So what are the best examples of the Trump era?

Nominees: @RepAdamSchiff ‘s impeachment closing statement, and this:

President Elect Biden’s speech accepting the nomination:

cnbc.com/2020/08/21/joe…
Mayor @PeteButtigieg’s speech at the HRC in 2019.

sgn.org/sgnnews47_20/p…
What are yours?

(Rules: has to be spoken. Can be from any political party or position. We’re looking for great rhetoric, not Correct Opinions.)

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More from @petersagal

Peter Sagal Profile picture
26 Dec
Another worthwhile small film you may not have heard of that I would like to praise is "Avengers: Endgame" which I re-watched last night with my infant son. (He wakes up and cries every ten minutes, I'm not going to watch "Ikiru.") Spoilers, but c'mon, now.
I generally like the MCU movies -- they're all extremely well made, well acted, and most of all, smart. For the most part, they solve the biggest problem with comic book adaptations, ie: comic books are essentially stupid.
(I love comic books! But people solving problems by dressing up in tights and punching other people is pretty stupid. For evidence: see any comic book movie made before, say, 2000.)
Read 12 tweets
Peter Sagal Profile picture
20 Dec
A few words on Congressman Riggleman, who's leaving office shortly.

I first became aware of him when he ran for the office in 2018 and we made fun of him for being a fan of "Bigfoot erotica..." which... was sort of true! He's a Bigfoot lore enthusiast, though not a believer.
He won his election and served as a straightforward libertarian Republican. He himself owns and operates a distillery, so has a particular interest in deregulation of business, including the hemp business. congress.gov/bill/116th-con…
But in 2019, true to his principles (ie, Government should leave people alone to do what they want) he officiated a wedding between two of his campaign volunteers, both men. And the local GOP in his district Did Not Like That.

thehill.com/homenews/house…
Read 7 tweets
Peter Sagal Profile picture
26 Nov
A thread of thanks.

Ever since hosting "Constitution USA" on PBS 7 years ago I've given talks on the Constitution. The principle question I ask and then try to answer is: Why has our Con succeeded (+ or -) when so many others have failed or were instantly ignored?
Here's the Soviet Constitution of 1936, for example. Note: guaranteed universal suffrage, rights to work, health care, leisure time, etc. A liberal's dream. And of course, it was instantly and immediately ignored. Why wasn't ours?

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1936_Cons…
After a long chat, with care to mark the places/times it WAS ignored (see: Jim Crow), I arrive at this answer: because what binds us together in America is not culture or national origin but a kind of civic religion of democracy.
Read 14 tweets
Peter Sagal Profile picture
25 Nov
Is that Sen. Romney on the right with a two by four?
Just for the record, I unironically enjoy Mr McNaughton’s art and will brook no condescension.
That said, who’s the dude with the sunglasses?
Read 5 tweets
Peter Sagal Profile picture
12 Oct
An additional point on the "consent of the losers," as mentioned in a previous thread.

First of all, after thinking about the issue for a while, I saw it boiled down to that perfect phrase in this article by @urilf, here:

theatlantic.com/international/…
But it's also useful in thinking about the Civil War, and its causes. Usually we talk about the South's motivation for seceding, because it's been so intentionally obscured and lied about. They did it to preserve chattel slavery, period.

But why did Lincoln fight them?
He himself said, famously, that it was to "save the Union." "If I could save the Union without freeing any slave, I would do it; and if I could save it by freeing all the slaves, I would do it; and if I could do it by freeing some and leaving others alone, I would also do that."
Read 8 tweets
Peter Sagal Profile picture
12 Oct
Sen. Tillis made a point I often do: that every dictator in the modern world ran a country with a Bill of a Rights.

It’s true! Among those countries: the Soviet Union, Communist China.

Then he said the difference between them and the US was “we have a Constitution.”
Um, no.

1st of all the Bill of Rights IS the Constitution. First ten amendments thereto, in fact.

2nd, those countries also had Constitutions, which their leaders also ignored. It’s all just paper.
So what’s the real difference between them and us? I could go on about this — and do!— but it boils down to: in this country we’ve always* had the willing consent of the losers.
Read 7 tweets

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