. . .
M “The election came down to the Republicans putting an elected official who was not even running for office on every ballot in America.”
L “And putting him on trial. This race was about race. American politics is a perennial battle between fear and hope. The midterm elections were a verdict on whether a Black man should be President of the United States. And the verdict is in. Those American people scared into voting are more than uncomfortable with a Black man and his very Black woman in the House for Whites. And then toss in Ebola and ISIS or ISIL or whatever it is and fear cripples the citizenry.”
M “In recent decades, every President who has won a second term and had a Senate majority to lose has lost the Senate majority.”
L “The Republicans could not say that a candidate is in the same party as the ‘n-word’ guy. ‘Reggin’ and ‘monday’ are too blatant. They unleashed a cacophony of dog whistles. ‘Romney – Obama Care’ passed as the ‘Affordable Care Act’ and was excoriated as ‘Obamacare.’ Republicans accused all incumbent Democratic Senators over and over and over and over of casting the deciding vote for ‘Obamacare.’ ‘Obamacare’ is the socially acceptable substitute for the ‘n-word’ today.”
M “Money carried the message and the day. They say the sword is mightier than the pen, but the pen that writes the campaign checks is mightiest. Justice Roberts’ plan in Citizens United is unfolding like a carefully choreographed chess game.”
L “It is always about money. Obama won in 2008 in substantial part because he rejected public financing and substantially outspent McCain. Americans were fearful then, but in the perennial battle between fear and hope, hope triumphed over fear. Bush had made such a mess of the economy and foreign affairs that a continuation of Bush was frightening. The fear of another Bush combined with the hope espoused by Obama was right for the times. In this race, spending by the mega PACs bought the elections for Republicans by appealing to race and avoiding any concrete policies. Few of the Republicans were honest enough to concede that the Republicans have used all available resources to stymie legislation and then blamed Obama. The public voted against what they were told is ineptitude in Washington.”
M “In 2008, in their gut, many devout Republicans said they simply could not stomach ‘President Palin’ at the helm.”
L “Many pundits proclaimed that America was ‘post-racial’ then, yet America was and is still very involved in the racial mix and maelström.”
M “When the finals are held in 2016, virulent racism will not be on the national exam. Gender is much less incendiary. America is much closer to a ‘post-gender’ electorate.”
. . .
M “Maryland and Massachusetts are lapis lazuli blue and yet both elected Republican governors. At some point, citizens tire of taxes and regulations.”
L “I was heartened to see that four red states – Alaska, Arkansas, Nebraska, and North Dakota -–adopted provisions to increase the minimum wage. And the blue city of San Francisco joins the Emerald City in adopting a minimum wage. You cannot spend money if you do not have money.”
M “Oregon, Alaska and the District of Columbia adopted more rational and realistic marijuana policies. Reduce civil rights violations, increase tax rolls and cut spending on prisons. Regulate marijuana like alcohol and discourage and dissuade the use of both.”
. . . .
L “Save your Confederate dollars. The South is rising again.”
M “Will they substitute as the world’s reserve currency?”
. . .
[Fall of the Berlin Wall: Yesterday – 25 years]
Bumper stickers of the week:
Deal race, buy votes
Save your Confederate dollars. The South is rising again.
Lee surrendered. I didn’t.
The New Confederacy – Same Old Same New
The New Confederacy – Same as it ever was
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