1/ Starting with FDR, we liberals became too icon dependent. Unless a political personality such as JFK or Obama inspired us, we, too often, disengaged. In 2020, we we rallied to defeat evil. But otherwise worthy and capable public servants such as (Cont) #ResistanceRoots #ONEV1
2/ Al Gore, John Kerry, and Hillary Clinton did not benefit from the passionate activism they deserved. Meanwhile, Republicans didn't necessarily need to be inspired by an iconic figure such as Ronald Reagan to engage. As the cliche went, "Democrats fall in love and (Cont)
3/ Republicans fall in line." Yes, Gore and Clinton won the popular vote and were screwed by the electoral college. And yes, their media coverage was absurdly unfair. But the carping about their perceived imperfections by Democrats made the elections close enough for (Cont)
4/ clusterf**ks to occur. Even as many Republicans knew, Gore, Kerry, and Clinton were defeated by vastly inferior opponents in Bush and Trump as both men had a documented history of incompetence and dishonorable character. Thankfully, GenZ has been passionate about their (Cont)
5/ activism even as Biden's persona does not make our hearts skip a beat like JFK or Obama. Well, now us older curmudgeons need to get over it. Biden's accomplishments so far have been transformative, and he's outfoxed MAGA assclowns at every turn. Simply put, he's EARNED (Cont)
6/ our support. Whining about Biden's age, rhetorical gaffes, or the corporate media is not a recipe for winning. Rather, what is needed is our devoted activism. Walter Cronkite is not returning from the dead to spread epiphany truth dust on the public. And candidates with (Cont)
7/ the rhetorical gifts and presence of FDR, JFK, or Obama are rare. So it's up to each of us to cut through the bullshit and engage with our family, friends, and neighbors. We have the power to be the force multipliers that save our democracy. And we must. The media is (Cont)
8/ not gonna change. And even if multiple prosecutions against Trump go the distance, MAGA world is far more likely to take up arms than honorably embrace truth, justice, and the American way. So voting by itself is not good enough anymore. We all MUST engage and persuade (Cont)
9/ America's pro democracy patriotic majority.
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1/ Fellow resisters, up to January 20, 2025, events are going to test us. Let's stay calm, always act with courageous integrity, and remain persistently vigilant. We should not overreact with irrational exuberance to good news until our democracy (Cont) #ResistanceRoots #ONEV1
2/ is secured. Likewise, we should not reflexively assume the worst with every setback. Jack Smith's case from what we know is strong. And judge Aileen Cannon being assigned to it might actually work to our country's advantage. It's not so easy to "fix" a strong case like (Cont)
3/ Smith has with the whole world watching. Meanwhile, Trump/Putin Republicans won't be able to whine about the DC venue or an Obama appointed judge. Either way, we must NOT sit back and wait for multiple prosecutions to save us. Rather, we must continue to resist GOP (Cont)
1/ At Thanksgiving in 2019, I warned my cousin that if defeated, Trump and his supporters would react as Saddam Hussein and his Baath Party did to his capture and trial in 2003. Just as there was no way Hussein and his core Sunni supporters would (Cont) #ResistanceRoots #ONEV1
2/ ever let its majority Shia population peacefully move on without him, Trump and his MAGA cultists would be ready to wage civil war. And we damn near had one. Trump's assclowns nearly pulled it off. Suppose Trump had succeeded on January 6th? Could you have just (Cont)
3/ accepted his coup and moved o with your life as if nothing had happened? Contrary to our pacifist image, millions of America's silent majority would've risen up against Trump's GOP MAGA Baathists and their AR-15s. Trump and his armed cultists would've, in turn, pursued (Cont)
1/ There is an entrenched history of false moral equivalences and gaslighting liberals in our politics. George McGovern is an instructive example. This dude flew 35 missions as a B-24 pilot in WWII and was married to one woman for 64 years. But... (Cont) #ResistanceRoots #ONEV1
2/ he also dared to promote peace and confront economic and social injustice. To be sure, McGovern was a flawed politician. Yet this patriot and family man from South Dakota was portrayed as a symbol of unpatriotic decadence. Indeed, Newt Gingrich often attacked Democrats (Cont)
3/ as "decadent George McGovern liberalals" to lead his far right political insurgency. Gingrich was a draft dodger who had cheated on his terminally ill first wife. We have seen this sort of gaslighting over and over again. George W Bush, a toxic mediocore man of little (Cont)
1/ Life and career of longtime GOP Senate leader and 1996 POTUS nominee Bob Dole is instructive on the GOP's descent from respectability to depravity. Dole was someone I never liked but had at one time respected and even (Cont) #ResistanceRoots #ONEV1 en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bob_Dole
2/ admired. Dole grew up in rural Kansas during the Depression. He enlisted in the army in 1942 and was wounded on the battlefield in Italy in 1945. As a result, he had limited mobility in his right arm and numbness in his left. Simply put, there's no denying Dole's valor. (Cont)
3/ And Dole overcame his injuries to lead an important and distinctive life. He joked that when he decided to run for office in 1950 for the KS House, he did so as a Republican because there were more of them in his district. Dole was elected to the U.S. House in 1960 and (Cont)
1/ Rise and fall of Joe McCarthy is instructive in understanding today's GOP. McCarthy epitomized the ascension of toxic mediocrity. He was an intel officer for a dive bomber squadron in WWII. Although his claims of heroism were exaggerated ... (Cont) #ResistanceRoots #ONEV1
2/ McCarthy was promoted to major. He was elected a WI senator during a GOP 1946 wave. Initially, McCarthy gained little traction or attention. Simply put, he wasn't very good at his job. But in February 1950, McCarthy's fame skyrocketed when he claimed to have a list of (Cont)
3/ communists in a spy ring working in the State Department. His claims were bullshit. But McCarthy got off on the attention, and his lies kept coming with claims of communist infiltration of the Truman administration. McCarthy also accused various politicians of communist (Cont)
1/ One catalyst to misogynistic toxic masculinity is men feeling left behind or alone. That's not an excuse for oppressing and abusing women. Not at all. Rather, we need to overcome the false MAGA narrative that progress for me and mine has to be (Cont) #ResistanceUnited #ONEV1
2/ a zero-sum game that requires revenge and retribution to win. The MAGA way is a recipe for calamity and catastrophe for all. Democrats are enacting policies to benefit all. Indeed, men without a college education are the primary beneficiaries of Joe Biden's (Cont)
3/ infrastructure and clean energy policies. Dignity of work and self-worth is a vital component to masculinity. GOP wants us men to feel left behind, victimized, and alienated as if only others who are angry accept us. Let us acknowledge that being a man poses (Cont)