I’m prepared to tweet for 450 hours straight about the importance of ending the filibuster.
AAAAA Auto Repair: 555-STOP-GOP RR #11 West Va
Why is literally everyone’s love language expensive gifts?
from French filibustier, used of pirates who pillaged the Spanish colonies in the West Indies
Though they both shape and contour the torso, corsets are more restrictive than bustiers.
HISTORICAL “filibuster”:
a person engaging in unauthorized warfare
a person engaging in unauthorized warfare
Philia, of course, is brotherly love—love between equals. CS Lewis spoke of it in his lecture “The Four Loves.”* Frodo and Samwise share philia in The Lord of the Rings. Lewis and Tolkien also had philia love between them. Philia has nothing to do with filibusters.
* Anyone know the other three loves Lewis discusses in that lecture?
You got it! Storge, Eros, and Agape. If you’re tired of thinking about the Philadelphia accent (City, yes, of Brotherly Love), you should hear CS Lewis’s accent. Irish-English-Absurd. It’s a wonder. Try this, Kate Winslet!
Clôture is the French for closure.
Move to change words cloture and filibuster in the Senate to “closure” and “piracy.”
My argument is that these words are more accurate. And that WE ARE NOT FRENCH.
Move to change words cloture and filibuster in the Senate to “closure” and “piracy.”
My argument is that these words are more accurate. And that WE ARE NOT FRENCH.
A drummer for the Allman Brothers once got very high and told a room of fans backstage at the Beacon the WHOLE PLOT OF THE LORD OF THE RINGS. I was there.
He started: Bilbo was a hobbit who lived in a hole. Not like a nasty hole. It was called Bag End...the ring...Sauron...the five armies...Smaug.
Time collapsed in slants.
The sun came up and went down again. Minds reeled.
...no but then the Orcs!
Time collapsed in slants.
The sun came up and went down again. Minds reeled.
...no but then the Orcs!
THAT is how you filibuster. You can just threaten. Democrats *have* to call GOP bluffs and make them talk. And if one of them can summarize JUST The Hobbit without notes & without missing a character & WITH different & appropriate voices, I might vote against cloture myself.
*can’t
But really not everyone can filibuster like an Allman Brother because very few U.S. Senators are that high for that long; nor do they know their Tolkien.
But really not everyone can filibuster like an Allman Brother because very few U.S. Senators are that high for that long; nor do they know their Tolkien.
Strom Thurmond filibustered for 24 hours and 18 minutes against, oh what was it, right, the Civil Rights Act of 1957.
His opener was that civil rights constituted "cruel and unusual punishment.” And then he was off and running.
Thurmond was a Democrat during his daylong 1957 aria about civil rights and cruelty. The Civil Rights Act of 1957 passed. In the 1960s, he voted against the 1964 Civil Rights Act and the 1965 Voting Rights Act. And to hell with it he also became a Republican.
The name Karen has plummeted in popularity, & this year it has its lowest-ever ranking since the name hit the scene in 1932.
In other news, the name Donald also has its lowest-ever ranking on the annual list, which started in the 1880s.
In other news, the name Donald also has its lowest-ever ranking on the annual list, which started in the 1880s.
Essie Mae Washington-Williams was an American teacher & Pulitzer-nominated author. She was born to Carrie Butler, a 16-year-old Black girl who worked as a servant for Strom Thurmond’s parents & was arguably trafficked by them. Washington-Williams’s father was Strom.
Strom, never a popular name, exists now mostly in the name Stormfront.
“Dear Senator,” by Essie-Mae Washington-Williams, is required reading.
Strom Thurmond, not long after the statutory rape of Carrie Butler, said he wanted to save the world from “mongrelization.”
amazon.com/dp/0060761423/…
Strom Thurmond, not long after the statutory rape of Carrie Butler, said he wanted to save the world from “mongrelization.”
amazon.com/dp/0060761423/…
Here is the great @BrentNYT on Washington-Williams, in 2003. Please read.
nytimes.com/2003/12/26/opi…
nytimes.com/2003/12/26/opi…
Under Senate rules, a filibuster can only be stopped if 60 senators vote to end debate in a process called cloture.
This means, in theory, that 40 senators representing some 35m Americans can hang up a legislation against the will of 60 other senators, repping some 295m people.
That's why people call it "undemocratic."
The filibuster—and the threat of the filibuster—is a dirty tactic used by a party willing to do anything to sabotage legislation that MOST PEOPLE WANT.
The filibuster—and the threat of the filibuster—is a dirty tactic used by a party willing to do anything to sabotage legislation that MOST PEOPLE WANT.
Filibuster is a weird word, as is cloture. Another weird one is "comity."
My private suspicion is that all the words around the tedious ritual of the filibuster come from "Mr. Smith Goes to Washington" (1939).
My private suspicion is that all the words around the tedious ritual of the filibuster come from "Mr. Smith Goes to Washington" (1939).
Krysten Sinema said yesterday that the filibuster is a key to "comity" in the Senate.
("Comity" is from the Latin "comitas," for courtesy.)
("Comity" is from the Latin "comitas," for courtesy.)
She's wrong.
Instead, it's the key to the uncanniness of the legislature's relationship with the citizenry.
Given the structure of the Senate, some very small states have very big voices in how laws get made.
BUT WHEN THE SENATE USES THE FILIBUSTER, THEY ARE SIMPLY NOT REPRESENTING US.
Given the structure of the Senate, some very small states have very big voices in how laws get made.
BUT WHEN THE SENATE USES THE FILIBUSTER, THEY ARE SIMPLY NOT REPRESENTING US.
In the 1580s a flibutor was a pirate.
Here's from an issue of @Harpers from 1893: "In its etymological import filibuster is nearly synonymous with piracy."
Here's from an issue of @Harpers from 1893: "In its etymological import filibuster is nearly synonymous with piracy."
piracy ≠ comity
piracy is a little bit closer in meaning to another French word that's currently all the rage in America: coup
Why does no one ever say, "My love language is driving your kids around"?
Republicans regularly cite "the people" as their reason for everything from trying to stop the vote certification on January 6 to concurrently staging a violent coup on January 6.
Mark Finchem, the AZ state lawmaker who claimed he was barely at the insurrection but was actually up front, tweeted on January 6: “What happens when People feel they have been ignored, and Congress refuses to acknowledge rampant fraud. hashtag st-pthesteal.”
No. People who voted for a candidate who lost have not been ignored.
People whose representatives are hamstrung by Senate tricks that torpedo popular legislation—those people *have* been ignored.
People whose representatives are hamstrung by Senate tricks that torpedo popular legislation—those people *have* been ignored.
Here via @davidrlurie is Sinema talking comity:
https://twitter.com/davidrlurie/status/1400171386019135495?s=20
It seems very sad that 1977, when these playlists feat whale sounds & Chuck Berry were launched into space, clearly marked a high water mark for culture.
And if the aliens visit the US now they will discover a world in which the 1619 Project is a target of govt censorship.
And if the aliens visit the US now they will discover a world in which the 1619 Project is a target of govt censorship.
“You shouldnta ghosted us when we first reached out. It’s the dark ages down here now.”
Sinema & Manchin should just take a real stand against the 1/6 commission and voting rights.
Sure, both are extremely popular. But instead of supporting the filibuster—THE DARK ART OF NOT VOTING AT ALL—they should just vote against the actual bills and admit who they are.
Sure, both are extremely popular. But instead of supporting the filibuster—THE DARK ART OF NOT VOTING AT ALL—they should just vote against the actual bills and admit who they are.
I mean: Both the 1/6 commission and the voting-rights bill are extremely popular. 56% of Americans want a commission and 80% support the content of the voting-rights bill.
The filibuster is a real Roman move. Who can forget how Sen. Cato the Younger (Stoic of Utica) (Stoic-Utica) used to run on and on orating about that prick Caesar?
The other senators, Stoics and non-Stoics alike, were getting bored as Cato rambled on and on.
They just wanted to change into dancing tunics and get to happy hour for some snails and boar.
They just wanted to change into dancing tunics and get to happy hour for some snails and boar.
Close of business was dusk. And the second the dusk hit—there was some impressionism there, judging if the empire light was gray enough—they'd tell Cato to zip it and start filing out. Without voting. No one even remembered the measure anyway.
Except Cato. He stayed in the Senate a few beats long, savoring some of his turns of phrase.
He even contemplated getting out from under his forefathers' shadow, and calling himself Cato the Forestaller. Or maybe Cato McConnell or Darth Cato.
He even contemplated getting out from under his forefathers' shadow, and calling himself Cato the Forestaller. Or maybe Cato McConnell or Darth Cato.
Man, some people. They just wring their hands and hold forth—filibuster, even—instead of DOING SOMETHING about the state of the world.
There is an orator who is far better than Cato the Younger who IS doing something.
She is Amanda Gorman.
She is Amanda Gorman.
.@TheAmandaGorman and @Phillipasoo are both asking people to donate to hold Sens Sinema and Manchin accountable to #EndTheFilibuster and get this extremely popular & urgent elections bill passed.
https://twitter.com/theamandagorman/status/1374900031698792448
Another thing I encountered on Amanda Gorman’s feed was this clip from CBS News. In a time when terrifying anti-Semitic violence is on the rise, @jodikantor & her grandmother Hana Kantor spoke about Hana’s experience in the Holocaust & why we must continue to insist Never Again.
https://twitter.com/CBSThisMorning/status/1395386801733480450
One of my children is shomer shabbos, puts on tefillin, & is otherwise observant. This kid has been told to hide his kippah under a baseball cap. It’s too dangerous now.
What does this have to do with ending the filibuster, you ask?
Well, first, as you know, I’m just filitweeting & trying not to cut & paste the phone book.
But second it’s civil rights legislation—which again has widespread support—that gets filibustered.
Well, first, as you know, I’m just filitweeting & trying not to cut & paste the phone book.
But second it’s civil rights legislation—which again has widespread support—that gets filibustered.
Disenfranchise some of us, you disenfranchise all of us.
Sidebar: Some are asking what "hold Manchin & Sinema accountable" even means. Good question.
Actblue is working with two orgs from WV & AZ (WV Can't Wait & LUCHA). Each exists in part to make their Dem senators more responsive to their constituencies. Links in the next tweets.
Actblue is working with two orgs from WV & AZ (WV Can't Wait & LUCHA). Each exists in part to make their Dem senators more responsive to their constituencies. Links in the next tweets.
Here's the West Virginia one (this is for Nana, Pop—miss you both & summertime in War—and my WV kin):
wvcantwait.com
wvcantwait.com
And here is Arizona. Dang, I have no credible connection to Arizona except an appreciation of Tombstone, the OK Corral, and that canyon.
luchaaz.org
luchaaz.org
But I DO know, yes off the top of my head, not at all by reading Vox, that 68% of Arizonans would rather PASS ACTUAL LEGISLATION than hang onto the literally ancient filibuster.
@SenatorSinema, come on. Your people are asking you.
@SenatorSinema, come on. Your people are asking you.
Sure, thousands of years ago Romans used the filibuster to shut down voting. And 150 years ago, there were shootouts at corrals. And 5 months ago there was a violent attack on the U.S. Capitol.
But this is not how disputes are settled, and laws passed, and progress made.
But this is not how disputes are settled, and laws passed, and progress made.
If you support the filibuster, you support voter suppression—IN THE SENATE.
And if you suppress the votes of senators, you block the For the People Act, which suppresses votes—ACROSS THE COUNTRY.
See? They're the same thing.
And if you suppress the votes of senators, you block the For the People Act, which suppresses votes—ACROSS THE COUNTRY.
See? They're the same thing.
In this FGA poll from April, 52% of West Virginians say they support the filibuster.
Worth noting: the q framed the filibuster as a mechanism that can sideline “controversial” bills, while ensuring the bills that do pass have bipartisan support. So: rather favorable framing.
Worth noting: the q framed the filibuster as a mechanism that can sideline “controversial” bills, while ensuring the bills that do pass have bipartisan support. So: rather favorable framing.
Here are some poppies.
Fields of poppies covered the Western front in the First World War. They are now a symbol of Armistice Day. They inspire hope for more peaceful times ahead.
My grandfather was in the Navy in the First World War. He was born in 1894! Anyone else have a 19th century grandparent?
Here’s my piece today on Sen. Sinema and the filibuster @latimesopinion — if you’ve come this far, you may recognize some of it. ;)
latimes.com/opinion/story/…
latimes.com/opinion/story/…
OK I admit I did not get a @SheweeWC or adult diaper so I could keep filitweeting without a break mea culpa but I have not forgotten my crusade
Here are the names of more than forty Arizona organizations pressuring @SenatorSinema to reverse course on the filibuster & actually PASS the legislation she claims to support
https://twitter.com/progress_az/status/1361804097817509889
After the grandstanding of Cato the Younger my GOAT filibuster was one in 2013, by Wendy Davis, then TX State Senator. I can’t remember what her diaper situation was but she came dressed for the occasion in Jazzercise shoes. She was filibustering restrictive abortion legislation
I don’t know the ins and outs of Arizona progressives. But this group is the one @actblue works with directly in pressuring Sinema to change course on the filibuster.
luchaaz.org
luchaaz.org
Paxton Smith did not delivery a traditional filibuster last Sunday at her graduation from her Dallas high school.
But she did claim the clock as valedictorian to say whatever she wanted—in this case, that it’s inhumane and immoral for Texas to restrict abortions.
But she did claim the clock as valedictorian to say whatever she wanted—in this case, that it’s inhumane and immoral for Texas to restrict abortions.
I can’t believe how cool she looks in this strange academic tribal garb. She somehow defamiliarizes it.
I wonder if I could wear a red mortarboard and that rad gold braided regalia in solidarity, all summer.
I wonder if I could wear a red mortarboard and that rad gold braided regalia in solidarity, all summer.
Oh hey lookie here!
The mortarboard comes the biretta — a scholar’s hat derived from the Roman pileus quadratus, a type of skullcap with superposed square and tump (meaning small mound).
The mortarboard comes the biretta — a scholar’s hat derived from the Roman pileus quadratus, a type of skullcap with superposed square and tump (meaning small mound).
So Cato the Younger & Paxton Smith both delivered revelatory oratory in Roman garb!
Smith’s sublimely raised eyebrow is on the same side as her mortarboard tassel.
This is a classic expression of I Won.
This is a classic expression of I Won.
I wonder if the NYT made her put the gown & regalia on again or if this was a shot from her family (or a Dallas paper?) on graduation day.
Here is Paxton Smith’s valedictory address:
Important to remember that Smith did not get a “mixed response” and in spite of threats no one pulled the plug. She got CHEERS.
We must remember that huge numbers of our brothers and sisters and siblings in Texas are progressives.
theguardian.com/us-news/2021/j…
We must remember that huge numbers of our brothers and sisters and siblings in Texas are progressives.
theguardian.com/us-news/2021/j…
The thing I hate most about the filibuster threat with a supermajority cloture vote (so not the traditional talking filibuster) is that it misleads us about the character of the Senate — and the nation.
All the states, ALL of them, have huge populations of progressive voters.
All the states, ALL of them, have huge populations of progressive voters.
But one major party is counter-majoritarian and now officially anti-democratic.
So you look at Texas & think it’s a Ted Cruz lunatic gun state.
But more than 4 million Texans voted for @BetoORourke for Senate in 2018 — he lost to the odious Cruz by only 200k votes.
But more than 4 million Texans voted for @BetoORourke for Senate in 2018 — he lost to the odious Cruz by only 200k votes.
The media spent a long time exaggerating the far-right movement galvanized by Trump, and clucking over the “failure” of his opponent in 2016. We kept hearing how the rightwing country had soundly rejected HRC. BUT
Clinton in what’s generally understood as a democracy WON — she won 65,853,514 votes.
Nearly 66k people voted for her. That’s 2,868,686 more votes than Trump.
Nearly 66k people voted for her. That’s 2,868,686 more votes than Trump.
Sure, we get it, federalism, the electoral college, gerrymandering, etc. But just for those taking the temperature of the country, Hillary Clinton was way more popular than Trump in America in 2016. And Beto was nearly as popular as Cruz in TEXAS in 2018.
Also Paxton Smith was at a public high school in Dallas. Not a Waldorf school in Austin. And people were excited.
theguardian.com/us-news/2021/j…
theguardian.com/us-news/2021/j…
The country wants abortion rights. It wants a Jan 6 commission. It wants voting rights.
But a very small knot of carnies have this country hostage. Believe in lizard people. Believe Trump won. Unethically installed Kavanaugh and Coney Barrett on the Court.
But a very small knot of carnies have this country hostage. Believe in lizard people. Believe Trump won. Unethically installed Kavanaugh and Coney Barrett on the Court.
66m* (above)
...McConnell & co maintain this absurd anti-Democratic cloture thing & somehow force Sinema to abandon Arizona by backing the filibuster & skipping votes.
And that is how American democracy stops working.
...McConnell & co maintain this absurd anti-Democratic cloture thing & somehow force Sinema to abandon Arizona by backing the filibuster & skipping votes.
And that is how American democracy stops working.
Let’s remember that in ARIZONA @SenatorSinema has seen her popularity nosedive since she started literally saying F you to democrats, voted against raising minimum wage & started supporting the filibuster.
From Civiqs which does daily polling:
Sinema went from 41% favorable in AZ, 35% unfavorable at the start of February, to 29% favorable, 40% unfavorable—a dramatic overnight 17-point net drop.
February was when she betrayed her voters & started backing the filibuster
Sinema went from 41% favorable in AZ, 35% unfavorable at the start of February, to 29% favorable, 40% unfavorable—a dramatic overnight 17-point net drop.
February was when she betrayed her voters & started backing the filibuster
So @JoeManchinWV in his deep red WV — well, it makes sense. He’s on the chopping block as a Democrat as it is. But Sinema — her state went for Biden! And yet she too has turned counter-majoritarian. She is not doing what her voters wanted her to do.
You know the whole “this is not America” contention when everything lurches far right?
Well, it’s NOT, if America is measured not by its carnies in their Newsmax simulation but in the actual flesh-and-blood people whose moral commitments are not w/ the bullies.
Well, it’s NOT, if America is measured not by its carnies in their Newsmax simulation but in the actual flesh-and-blood people whose moral commitments are not w/ the bullies.
Time for an action item.
But first flowers.
OK, action item, thy name is @StrikePac
The fearless @RachelBitecofer is scorching the earth to fight GOP messaging and tactics, including the filibuster.
The fearless @RachelBitecofer is scorching the earth to fight GOP messaging and tactics, including the filibuster.
https://twitter.com/rachelbitecofer/status/1400532177943773187
.@RachelBitecofer will be a guest on Bill Maher’s show (heaven help her) on Friday to unveil ads that come knives out for the GOP
Among all the things to admire about Rachel, her life story is up there.
I don’t know if she has ever threaded about it. @RachelBitecofer ?
I don’t know if she has ever threaded about it. @RachelBitecofer ?
If you support @StrikePac they can hit hard in a way that will make Project Lincoln seem like a warmup
If we were in a time of actual conservative sentiment across the country, like the 1980s, liberals would face challenges. There would be debates. There would be locked horns.
There is massive will for gun control, relief bills, voting rights, greater enfranchisement, police reform, infrastructure rebuilding, an investigation into the domestic terrorism of 1/6...
Biden won handily & the Dem House & Senate are the Congress we voted for
Biden won handily & the Dem House & Senate are the Congress we voted for
But you wouldn’t know it to see front page coverage of the carnies & has-beens who somehow rep the Republican Party now.
And you wouldn’t know it from the GOP’s efforts to smother the truth that:
The majority of Americans are progressive. This is a progressive nation.
And you wouldn’t know it from the GOP’s efforts to smother the truth that:
The majority of Americans are progressive. This is a progressive nation.
That truth is terrifying to McConnell, Cruz, Graham, & the Newsmax Q Shaman lizard people crowd.
They try to play it like the majority are the elites with their woke whatever & lib tears.
That’s pathetic. THEY are the fatcats with a set of demented superstitions, a f-ckton of guns, Russia & other foreign ties, greed for power, & no shame at all in cheating to win.
That’s pathetic. THEY are the fatcats with a set of demented superstitions, a f-ckton of guns, Russia & other foreign ties, greed for power, & no shame at all in cheating to win.
They’re like those kids who cheated to get into colleges in Operation Varsity Blues.
The filibuster is a form of cheating. It’s what that college cheating expert (now in prison) calls “the side door.”
The filibuster is a form of cheating. It’s what that college cheating expert (now in prison) calls “the side door.”
You want to pass legislation the honest way? Have debate, deliberate, have a vote, and let the side that gets the most votes carry.
That’s the front door.
That’s the front door.
The back door is to threaten and bribe and blackmail and pay people off — it’s sort of the Trump way. It’s the city mayor/mob way.
The side door is the McConnell & current GOP way.
Gerrymander, put in racist voting restrictions that criminalize getting water while in line to vote, and FILIBUSTER everything.
Gerrymander, put in racist voting restrictions that criminalize getting water while in line to vote, and FILIBUSTER everything.
If you’ve come this far, throw a few bucks to this, and better yet circulate it among people on the Flyover Site, Facebook
secure.actblue.com/donate/end-rac…
secure.actblue.com/donate/end-rac…
I hope I’ve made it clear that I believe the true Roman-style talking filibuster, without the US supermajority cloture nonsense, has its uses. Cato just wanted to decry Caesar till nightfall and make everyone listen.
But the current version is undemocratic & grounded in racism.
It’s a way to cheat the majority, cheat the voters, cheat to get power.
You end up disenfranchising senators to disenfranchise people.
It’s a way to cheat the majority, cheat the voters, cheat to get power.
You end up disenfranchising senators to disenfranchise people.
Courtesy of the great @waltshaub here is @NormOrnstein on how Democrats can sap the obstructionist power from the current filibuster & get the country moving the way the majority wants it to move:
washingtonpost.com/outlook/2021/0…
washingtonpost.com/outlook/2021/0…
.@waltshaub is subtweeting me. Some friend. So I’m gonna put his point right here in the name of free and fair debate on Twitter, the greatest deliberative body on earth:
https://twitter.com/waltshaub/status/1401308594008690690
Random picture of me and my daughter — sorry abt the filter
More poppies
In a hole in the ground there lived a hobbit. Not a nasty, dirty, wet hole, filled with the ends of worms and an oozy smell, nor yet a dry, bare, sandy hole with nothing in it to sit down on or to eat: it was a hobbit-hole, and that means comfort.
Sidebar: Even before they overturn Roe v Wade we need to stop treating routine gynecology like it’s something we have to ask SCOTUS permission for. Home uterine cleansing kits are already available. aidaccess.org/en/
The market is VERY good at getting sexual health, stamina & performance prescriptions to men online at forhims.com with nary a live doctor visit let alone spiel about his moral choices
The market is equally good at making vibrators — sorry, personal massagers — impossible to regulate.
There is menstrual underwear from @shethinx and bidets from Tushy and well-capitalized fancy startups for fertility, erectile issues, sex toys. Abortion can be solved in the private sector. Also it’s kit-for-kit so women in need get them too.
A good thing about the private sector is that it’s very NOT counter-majoritarian. There are few consumer companies I can think of that want to LIMIT access to their products.
Abortion might become one of those obsolete “crimes of moral turpitude,”
like adultery or premarital sex—just way, way out of the realm of legislation.
like adultery or premarital sex—just way, way out of the realm of legislation.
If I were thinking about a startup and making an investor deck I might be interested in the 58% of women 18-34 who are pro-choice & might be extremely grateful for a well-designed uterine cleansing kit that comes with excellent customer support.
Scotland’s health service offered at-home telemedicine abortions during the pandemic. Here’s the study.
srh.bmj.com/content/early/…
srh.bmj.com/content/early/…
Conclusions: This model of telemedicine abortion without routine ultrasound is safe, and has high efficacy and high acceptability among women.
.@hellotushy would be good at this. So would @wearehims or @shethinx or one of the fertility startups.
I have a way the private sector can approach voting right also.
Remember that to get policy that the majority wants, & since we have a counter-majoritarian party thwarting the majority in government, we might need to look to markets.
Remember that to get policy that the majority wants, & since we have a counter-majoritarian party thwarting the majority in government, we might need to look to markets.
That way would start with Woke Coke in Georgia.
In the next election Coke — which runs pro democracy events all around the world, except in the US — needs to set up Dasani trucks all over the state of Georgia.
It is now CRIMINAL to offer hydration to people waiting in the heat to vote in Georgia but Coke wouldn’t do that. Instead it would offer free Dasani and other Coke drinks in trucks, on street corners, near polling places but just accidentally.
The companies that signed the letters objecting to Georgia Jim Crow voter laws— especially the one drafted by Kenneth Chenault, former CEO of American Express, and Kenneth Frazier, CEO of Merck—need to work hard to GOTV. LOTS of freebies.
What companies, you ask? Super niche lib companies like Patagonia or something? Nope.
Target, Starbucks, MLB. MERCK ffs.
NYT: “it’s a new landscape: big companies trying to appease Dems focused on social justice, & populist Rs unafraid to break ties with big business”
Target, Starbucks, MLB. MERCK ffs.
NYT: “it’s a new landscape: big companies trying to appease Dems focused on social justice, & populist Rs unafraid to break ties with big business”
I don’t think Dems have welcomed this change as much as we might. Big companies are...not a bad ally. And since there are MORE of us as consumers and the tax breaks from Rs were not as valuable as they were made out to be, I say we accept the help with GOTV.
Consumerism and democracy are natural running buddies. We just need Coke to do here what it did in the former Soviet states & postwar Europe & sell our errant country on democracy again.
This story of the Kens didn’t get enough attention. They are pissed. They are motivated. They are rich and powerful. And so are other Black executives at Lazard, Citigroup, TIAA.
nytimes.com/2021/03/31/bus…
nytimes.com/2021/03/31/bus…
Cruz’s and Rubio’a decision not to take “woke money” — lol woke Merck — is a bounty for Democrats. Potentially. If they know what to do with it, and keep focused on consumerism as a proxy for enfranchisement.
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