I read all of Robert Caro a number of years ago. No better biography written.
So when I hear Portman, LaRose, Romney and others oppose the “federal takeover” of voting rights, I knew it sounded familiar.
1/
Indeed, that was the precise framing used by the Southern segregationists dedicated to stopping any and all civil rights legislation…but who knew they could no longer appeal to openly racist sentiments as their forerunners had
So they always grounded their obstruction…
2/
in the less charged narrative of a “federal takeover;” a takeover by outsiders; that the problems were already being solved within the states with no need for “federal interference.”
(And we know that those problems were NOT being solved)
3/
By eschewing the racist rhetoric of Southern predecessors, the “federal takeover” frame also made it easier for non-southern allies to join the cause of stopping civil rights legislation from passing.
It was a “vastly more effective” strategy.
4/
But as Caro points out, the impact was the same.
Those decades of obstruction rendered a cost on the Black citizens of the South in particular…a cost of “tears and plain and blood,” as even anti-lynching laws didn’t pass
5/
So as you hear “genteel” politicians of today throw around the term “federal takeover” as they oppose voting rights, but praise MLK, know that they are not only taking the 30s-60s segregationists’ side, they are adopting the most effective play from that segregation playbook
END
• • •
Missing some Tweet in this thread? You can try to
force a refresh
JD Vance flies to Indiana.
In the wide open, he and other federal officials pressure state leaders to rig Indiana’s map to help seal House elections outcome 15 months in advance.
1/
Specifically, by giving themselves two extra seats in the House, and eliminating all Democratic seats in the Hoosier State.
2/
In one twisted way, JD’s visit and open pressuring of state officials to hand him those House seats is helpful.
Because it makes perfectly clear that we are watching November 2020-January 2021 all over again—Trump’s just doing it before the 2026 elections rather than after.
3/
A brand new poll shows that, at + 10, @amyactonoh has the highest job approval rating in the state.
By a lot.
2/
Combine that with the fact that Vivek Ramaswamy has unusually high negatives (basically accomplishing this all on his own 👀) and this race for Governor is tied even in a sample that decisively voted for Trump.
Thank you to those Texas Democrats taking their courageous stand, and thank you to those supporting them in Texas and beyond. Standing up to the anti-democratic tactics of Trump and state leaders
1/
like Abbott is absolutely critical at the moment.
In fact, there is no choice.
As a matter of strategic action, and as a matter of message.
In fact, if our actions don’t match our words, we lose!
2/
For good and for bad, we project powerful messages way beyond the words we use. Drew Westen calls it our “meta-message”— what we communicate from our action or inaction, and the urgency with which we act.
3/