National Democrats
Handing an Enemy a Gift
If you’d asked me, Leave Afghanistan? a year ago I’d have nodded, said, Yes. We had tanks, jets, helicopters, drones – and Taliban didn’t – but we botched the war. But it turns out escape was an illusion. It’s an old story. We fight an enemy. We hand our enemy a gift. And the chickens…
Read MoreThe Republican World Today
Eyes locked on a television set, sitting ramrod straight, lean-faced, Dan stared at Joe Biden – in the middle of a sentence Biden lost his train of thought, stammered, waving his hands, face blank. “He’s senile.” Turning, Dan glared at me. “Those two polls about Trump that John Bolton or you did were a joke.”…
Read MoreThe Swamp: Alive and Well
The other day Mitch McConnell told Chuck Schumer that not one Republican Senator would vote to raise the debt ceiling…then in the next breath told Schumer how to raise the ceiling on his own without a single Republican vote. Schumer shot back: ‘This debt is Trump’s debt. It’s Covid debt. Americans pay their debts.’ To…
Read MoreThe Deadliest Fruit
Standing on stage at his rally in Ohio Trump bragged, ‘I won by a landslide’ – beside me, watching Trump’s video, my friend nodded. I leaned toward him. ‘Give me one fact that proves Trump won?’ He laughed. ‘Do I think the Democrats would steal an election…yes, in a minute.’ He didn’t need facts –…
Read MoreThe Result: Polarization
I clicked, up popped a long list of newspaper headlines on Twitter: Hate Crimes Against Asian Americans… Transgender athletes banned… Matt Gaetz accused of sex trafficking … Marjorie Taylor Greene calls Rep. David Cicilline, ‘Rep. Mussolini…’ Rep. Cicilline tells Greene ‘get lost…’ Biden stumbles three times… Trump rules the GOP… Howls rolled on. People cheered,…
Read MoreRolling Downhill
Profound faith: Laying wounded on a gurney staring up at the emergency room ceiling, an assassin’s bullet lodged an inch from his heart, hemorrhaging internally, Ronald Reagan said a prayer for the crazed young man who’d just shot him; later, fighting to win the Cold War, Reagan warned, If we forget we are one nation…
Read MoreLyin’ Eyes
When I was ten years old walking along a muddy dirt road beside a wide creek at the foot of a hill I glanced down, saw a black tree branch lying in a patch of sunlight in the mud – behind me my gray-haired uncle said, Stop. A snake reared up in the air in…
Read MoreThe Blessed Silence
I remember a thin, tall, blonde boy, back in high school, who’d set his tray on the table in the cafeteria, start talking – and he couldn’t stop; mocking a girl’s dress, a football player’s stammer, a math teacher’s hairdo he’d talk on and on. Trump likes to talk too. Morning, noon and night he’s…
Read MoreElection Nights
In the old days, when we all voted on election day, election nights had a kind of normalcy – votes trickled in, then rolled in, but huge puzzling swings were rare. Then early voting started and unexpected swings began to happen on election nights. For some reason Democrats like voting early while Republicans prefer walking…
Read MoreLooking Back at Georgia
Our nightmare came true. Democrats won the Senate. According to the exit polls more Republicans voted in Georgia than Democrats (Republicans: 38%, Democrats 34%) – which meant if the two Republican candidates each got 50% of the Independent vote, they’d each win by four points. They lost Independents 57-43%. Why? Most people walking around on…
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