Category: protecting our elections

“Poking Holes in the Potatoes…”

I have written about Marc Elias several times. He and his legal associates are some of our country's most diligent, consistent, and successful defenders of voting rights and democracy in the courts. They were largely responsible for Trump's legal defeats after the election, and they continue tirelessly today. Please read the very moving story Elias … Continue reading “Poking Holes in the Potatoes…” →

Guess What! In 2022, “Republicans Lost and Voters Won in Court”

Photo by Mark Youso on Pexels.com Yes, it’s true, though it may not have seemed this way. In addition to the defeat of some of the most extreme Big Liars last November, the year was marked by plenty of victories for voters seeking to exercise their rights--via the courts. Much of the credit for these … Continue reading Guess What! In 2022, “Republicans Lost and Voters Won in Court” →

Has the Supreme Court Just Pulled Back From the Brink?

For those of you who are sensible enough not to follow all the machinations of the parts of our government that are really behaving very badly—that is, for people who’ve taken oaths to protect our democracy—the Supreme Court’s oral arguments about Moore v. Harper may not have been foremost in your minds. I understand. So … Continue reading Has the Supreme Court Just Pulled Back From the Brink? →

The Most Important Senator…

https://twitter.com/EarlOfEnough/status/1591635895400136704?s=20&t=V3RWtStXYgEEsHZ0y96qjg In a recent post about a potential Republican majority House of Representatives, I’d written: “Before I delve into the potential horror that may await us, I’m going out on a twig-thin limb with a prediction: the Democrats will retain their majorities and possibly pick up a Senate seat or two.” It’s getting a bit … Continue reading The Most Important Senator… →

Post-Election Day Musings…The Sun Begins to Shine

Photo by Darwis Alwan on Pexels.com I watched an ebullient President Biden, with spring in his steps, mount the podium Wednesday night to face the press that’s been dismissing him for so long. For an hour, he cheerily responded to questions. One commentator fondly called it an hour-long “humble-brag.” The President said he feels confident … Continue reading Post-Election Day Musings…The Sun Begins to Shine →

Be Prepared, But Don’t Be Scared, Ignore the Polls…and Vote!

BE PREPARED I found this helpful guide on Twitter, posted by our valuable fellow blogger Tokyo Sand, who blogs at politicalcharge.org. The FBI also offers assistance via its 56 local field offices: https://www.fbi.gov/contact as well as tips.fbi.gov. https://twitter.com/dhstokyo/status/1584411737755111424?s=51&t=sY9YsroB87uwcfYBAtmofA NOTE: THE HOTLINE NUMBERS IN THE GRAPHIC ARE FOR COUNTY/STATE AND NATIONAL DEMOCRATIC PARTY OFFICES--NOT GOVERNMENTAL SERVICES--UNLIKE … Continue reading Be Prepared, But Don’t Be Scared, Ignore the Polls…and Vote! →

“Anything You Care About Depends Upon Democracy”

NOTE: If you click on the Deadline White House video below and the Katie Porter video farther down--and I hope you will--you'll remain on Twitter (I'm not sure why.) On my computer, I can just click out of Twitter to return to this post, but on my iPhone, I had to leave and click on … Continue reading “Anything You Care About Depends Upon Democracy” →

Part 1: Civic Goodness

Indivisible Yolo (CA) members Scott Steward and Peggy Bernardy in Reno, Nevada Note from Annie: I am devoting my blog posts this week to honoring two of the tens of thousands of Americans who have been doing the hard work for us all prior to these crucial midterm elections. Scott Steward and Peggy Bernardy are … Continue reading Part 1: Civic Goodness →

How to Be a Part of the Solution

If you're feeling upset and frustrated about events you feel you can't control, consider how you might volunteer to effect change. And please don't tell me "I voted in 2020 and nothing's perfect." Democracy is worth the sustained effort to move it forward. This is a critically important election.

I Choose Hope for America

President Obama presents Congressman John Lewis with Presidential Medal of Freedom. Image commons.wikimedia.org It feels as though the Doomsday Clock for American democracy and stability took a swing in the wrong direction these past few days. Two greed-driven Democrats whose campaign coffers have been swelling with special interest money even though they’re not up for … Continue reading I Choose Hope for America →

This President Goes Where None Has Gone Before…

Save draft Preview(opens in a new tab) Publish Add title This President Goes Where None Has Gone Before... Biden Delivers Remarks To Commemorate 100th Anniversary ... The above video is almost 43 minutes long, but it gives an extraordinary view of President Biden expanding his leadership by assuming the roles of teacher/historian—even as he accelerates his role as Healer-in-Chief. When President Biden traveled to Tulsa to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the decimation of Greenwood, a section of the city that was called “the Black Wall Street,” he described in often graphic detail the horrors that happened there... He also tied such events—and the pervasive institutional racism still existing—to the need for the programs he’s proposed to help affected communities achieve the economic stability of home ownership and entrepreneurship, which the people of Greenwood and elsewhere had created of their own volition before the 1921 massacre.

Can Fannie Lou Hamer Save Our Democracy?

Marc Elias of Democracy Docket, whom I’ve written about before, is one of the most deeply committed individuals at the forefront of our battle to combat voter suppression. He was constantly in the courtroom during the post-2020 election challenges, beating back all the phony claims, and he’s fighting the good fight once again. In the May 25th issue of Democracy Docket, he describes a precedent set by civil rights activist Fannie Lou Hamer in the 1960s that could be employed today against anyone who is elected to office where voting discrimination has occurred.

Our Dickensian Moment…

“It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of light, it was the season of darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair.” I was struck by how appropriate Dickens’ famous opening words are to our current American crisis. Dickens, however, was speaking of A Tale of Two Cities. Our situation can, sadly, be described as “A Tale of Two Countries.”

WOULD YOU–WILL YOU–SUPPORT “THE DEMOCRACY PLEDGE”?

“Voters’ voices are loud, but for corporate America, consumers’ voices are louder. So, folks, let’s let them hear our voice.” The speaker is Glenn Kirschner, a former federal prosecutor and cofounder of a new effort called “The Democracy Pledge.” He's describing this campaign on a podcast.

SAVING OUR DEMOCRACY, PART 4 (and the last on this subject for now)

In truth, I hadn’t planned a fourth segment. But when I turned to Friday’s New York Times editorial page, this headline called to me: “Save Democracy: Kill the Filibuster.” So even though the filibuster has been discussed in the first three parts of this series, how could I ignore this piece? It sorta felt this was the right place to rest the series—at least for now. (And a four-part series has a kind of nice symmetry to me.)

“The Enemy Is Within” (An Acrostic for Nancy Pelosi)

Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, reacting to elected members who are threatening their fellow Representatives, said that "The Enemy Is Within." This acrostic is an homage to Pelosi, her colleagues and staffers--some across the aisle--who are laboring under the terrible circumstances her comment laments.

AMERICA: WHAT DO WE DO NOW?

I thought I was done with Trump. I hoped never to write about the man again. But what he and his supporters are threatening to do to our democracy today is beyond the beyond. How do we respond? And, my thoughtful readers from other countries whose lives are intertwined with ours, I welcome your perspectives too. We clearly need all the help we can get.

RAGE…DISGUST…COMPASSION…SADNESS…HOPE?

Last night, I finished reading Begin Again: James Baldwin’s America and Its Urgent Lessons for Our Own. The author, Eddie S. Glaude, Jr., is a Distinguished Professor of African American Studies at Princeton University. ... Though Glaude speaks of Baldwin’s rage, and his own rage, the rage that came to mind when I started this piece is mine.

Wondering Why the Election Ran So Smoothly After All? Here’s One Big Reason…

Russian meddling…Chinese meddling…even Iranian meddling. Deliberate sabotage of the US Postal Service equipment and personnel practices. Announced plans that would suppress the vote in predominantly minority areas by diminishing the number of available voting locations.... “Congress really failed our election officials,” said Liz Howard of the Brennan Center for Justice at New York University.

“BATTLE for the SOUL of the NATION”

I am including this video of the speech Democratic Presidential nominee Joe Biden delivered at Gettysburg in its entirety because I think it gives a good overview of the man and his values. I hope you’ll spend the full 22 minutes to watch it....I am as eager that it be seen and heard by folks outside the US as by American voters because I know the world needs reassurance that most of us in the US have not gone crazy.

THE TRUMPIAN AUDIT…WITH SOME POST-DEBATE COMMENTS

NOTE: I composed the acrostic below before last night’s debacle. I thought about not posting it because it seems almost quaint today. However, as I mull over Trump’s performance in the debate, I wonder whether the recent disclosures of his mounting financial problems—and the evidence many of us have long suspected that his alleged empire and fabulous wealth are in fact a house of cards—contributed to his unhinged performance.

Fighting Our “What If Trump Won’t Leave?” Paranoia

I had promised myself—and you—that I would stop talking about the gross elephant trampling through our Constitution (with apologies to real elephants, wonderful creatures that they are!).

My way of dealing with my strong feelings about Trump has been to make him tiny and powerless in my mind—even as I recognize his increasingly dangerous actions and expect them to continue to heighten as Election Day nears.

But then I read an article in The Boston Globe with the scary title “A bipartisan group secretly gathered to game out a contested Trump-Biden election. It wasn’t pretty.”

A Call to Action: Let’s Honor the Wisconsin Voters and Protect Our Democracy!

The Problem(s) Wow! Said she who always endeavors to be optimistic. Are we in trouble! First and foremost, of course, is this pandemic hanging over and among us. But the November election isn't far off, and with so much uncertainty about how wide the pandemic will spread and how long it will last, the concept … Continue reading A Call to Action: Let’s Honor the Wisconsin Voters and Protect Our Democracy! →

Chaos in America…BUT… We Can End It! (A Near- Acrostic Poem for Our Times)

Candidates flailing arms in the air, bent on talking, one over another
Hapless moderators—too many, too weak to control the mayhem
Another Democratic debate,
Offering less light than heat
Seemingly not laser-focused on the context: our closeness to the abyss.
...
BUT…

When an aroused people stands together
Elevating our shared goal beyond our individual predilections,

Some Positive Thoughts…and Actions to Save the House of Representatives

After watching the pre-Nevada caucus Democratic debate, I began writing this post with feelings of frustration approaching despair. There were many things to criticize, and I was emptying my angst onto this page, and thus preparing to send it on to you. 

With the latest evidence—which we already knew—from the Intelligence briefing to the House that reiterated Russian meddling in the 2020 election, which was followed by the President’s replacement of the acting intelligence chief with someone with less than zero qualifications for the job, I cannot and will not deny that we are living in increasingly perilous times. See The New York Times article here.

The question I’ve been pondering is this: as we search for someone who is best able to defeat Donald Trump, how do we handle ourselves? And that question makes me feel more closely attuned to my more optimistic, better self—the one that really believes we can find common ground.

“They’re Doing It As We Sit Here…”

It was a gorgeous sunny day, and we were visiting friends. But all four of us spent last Wednesday indoors, in front of the TV. We were watching Special Counselor Robert Mueller testify, first before the House Judiciary Committee, and then before the House Intelligence Committee...

And while many have faulted Mueller for his halting, weary performance and his insistence on sticking to the “four corners of his report,” much emerged from those hearings.