Obstructionists to which powerful forces feign helplessness

Dartagnan of Daily Kos discussed a statement from 100 democracy scholars calling on Congress to pass national voting rights laws to counteract the GOP led state legislatures enacting voter suppression laws. Dartagnan included several quotes from Summer Concepcion of TalkingPointsMemo. Concepcion wrote:

“Collectively, these initiatives are transforming several states into political systems that no longer meet the minimum conditions for free and fair elections,” the group wrote in the statement issued through the website “New America” on Tuesday. “Hence, our entire democracy is now at risk.” The group warned against the consequences of a democracy under threat, which, they said, includes the potential proliferation of violence.

From the original statement:

When democracy breaks down, it typically takes many years, often decades, to reverse the downward spiral. In the process, violence and corruption typically flourish, and talent and wealth flee to more stable countries, undermining national prosperity. It is not just our venerated institutions and norms that are at risk—it is our future national standing, strength, and ability to compete globally. [...] Democracy rests on certain elemental institutional and normative conditions. Elections must be neutrally and fairly administered. They must be free of manipulation. Every citizen who is qualified must have an equal right to vote, unhindered by obstruction. And when they lose elections, political parties and their candidates and supporters must be willing to accept defeat and acknowledge the legitimacy of the outcome. The refusal of prominent Republicans to accept the outcome of the 2020 election, and the anti-democratic laws adopted (or approaching adoption) in Arizona, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Iowa, Montana and Texas—and under serious consideration in other Republican-controlled states—violate these principles. More profoundly, these actions call into question whether the United States will remain a democracy.

Dartagnan added:

The key point made in this statement is the failure by Republicans to abide by the central tenet of any democracy, which is the respect for the outcome of elections. Once that principle is discarded—for whatever reason—democracy simply cannot survive. That is what we are facing now.

Dartagnan also quoted Greg Sargent of The Washington Post discussing the filibuster and loyalty to it.

An acceptance that protecting democracy will never, ever, ever be bipartisan, and will happen only on a partisan basis, is fundamental to accepting the reality of the situation that Democrats face.

Dartagnan concluded:

A party to a democracy that relinquishes the tools in its power to preserve that democracy, for the sake of some obsolete notion of bipartisanship when none actually exists, will be equally condemned by history as those who brought it down. Unless all Democrats—including Joe Manchin—accept that fact, this democracy simply cannot be expected to endure.

Jay Rosen tweeted a link to Greg Sargent’s column and added:

The people who study it for a living are trying to get our attention. American democracy is in peril. Now. Not eventually. Now. Read Greg's column and the scholar's statement. It's not a drill.

Thomas Zimmer tweeted:

My one objection concerns the Statement’s final sentence: “History will judge what we do at this moment.” I know this is supposed to lend more weight to message, and I share the overall sentiment. But I still wish we could stay clear of the “history will be our judge” myth. I understand the longing for some form of higher justice and the hope that “history” might be able to deliver it. But that’s not how it works. ... “History” rarely agrees on anything. A certain narrative about the past may gain the upper hand, and hopefully that’s because it’s more plausible than whatever came before; and certain people will hopefully get the criticism they deserve. But that’s not at all guaranteed. ... Until very recently, “history” - at least as it was told and remembered by a broader public - judged Robert E. Lee as a noble man and brilliant warrior, a valiant defender of his home and a model for future generations. Oh yes, things have begun to change, and eventually many people - “history,” perhaps - have come to judge Lee differently, as a traitor who chose to betray his country in order to defend the institution of slavery. But it took about 150 years for that to happen, and historical “justice,” if anyone wants to call it that, didn’t come naturally - it was the result of a long and arduous struggle, the result of which was never preordained and might not last. ... So, no: Don’t count on history to “judge,” and certainly don’t wait for it to deliver justice. That’s on us, now. And really, this only underscores the importance of the Statement of Concern and the acute danger it addresses: No one is coming to our rescue, certainly not “history.” Once democracy is gone, it’s gone. It is up to us to protect and preserve it. Right here, right now.

Robert Reich tweeted:

Why did we all bust our as*es getting Democrats elected to the presidency and in control of both houses of Congress if they can't do a simple thing like protect voting rights?

Sarah Kendzior tweeted:

They don’t actually care about preserving the filibuster on principle. The filibuster is the bureaucratic mechanism that, if abolished, destroys the Dems’ excuses and inertia and forces them to fight autocracy. The latter is what they don’t want to do. Manchin and Sinema are there to play the role Mitch McConnell once played — obstructionists to which powerful forces feign helplessness. The problem runs deeper than two Senators, and includes an unwillingness among Dem leadership to fight for US democracy or even sovereignty. I don’t think all elected Dems are on board with this approach — I don’t think most are. The problem is top down. The Dem officials who actually care about this country, who actually seek to protect it, need to be rigorous and unsparing in their defense. Time is running out.

Hunter of Kos reported that to justify the bills on voter suppression, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton (indicted for securities fraud) spent 22,000 staff hours (paid by Texas residents) working on voter fraud cases. With all that effort they found and closed out all of 16 cases. All of them were “false addresses.” That’s out of tens of millions of votes. There is no organized voter fraud in Texas. Or elsewhere. But the GOP is still pushing voter fraud. Laura Clawson of Kos reported on what Texas Democrats are saying after their walkout last week to stop that Texas voter suppression bill.

Democratic legislators in the state made clear what they think needs to happen to prevent it and other such bills from doing major damage to the right to vote: Congress must act. “We did our part to stop SB 7,” tweeted state Rep. Erin Zwiener. “Now we need Congress to do their part by passing HR 1 and the John Lewis Voting Rights Act.” “State lawmakers are holding the line,” tweeted state Rep. James Talarico. “Federal lawmakers need to get their shit together and pass the For The People Act.” ”Breaking quorum is about the equivalent of crawling on our knees begging the president and the United States Congress to give us the For the People Act and give us the John Lewis Voting Rights Act,” state Rep. Trey Martinez Fischer told The Washington Post.

Ari Berman tweeted a discussion of an article in Mother Jones and included quotes:

GOP enacting greatest assault on voting rights since end of Reconstruction and if Congress doesn’t pass federal legislation to stop new wave of Jim Crow 2.0 voter suppression laws Second Reconstruction will end like the first. “The same pattern that existed during Reconstruction—the enfranchisement of Black voters, followed by the manipulation of election laws to throw out Black votes, culminating in laws passed to legally disenfranchise Black voters—is repeating itself today.” "The vicious white backlash that has followed Biden's victory—an attempt to overturn the election, an insurrection at the US Capitol, a record number of bills to restrict voting rights—has all the makings of a concerted attempt to end the second Reconstruction" ... By early 1900s every Southern state had passed suppression laws & Black turnout fell from 61% to 2%.

A big beef producer, JBS, was hit by hackers. This is just a couple weeks after a big oil pipeline was hit by hackers. Leah McElrath offered some explanation:

Hackers associated with Russian organized crime operate with the blessing of the Kremlin and Putin. So far, they’ve gone after US fuel and beef supplies. What would you target next, if you were them and were trying to create popular unrest in the US? Streaming services? WDYT? [What do you think?] These attacks feel like a variation of the Kremlin’s social media ops’ that leverage existing cracks in US society and pour lies down them until they break open. The hacks are targeting commodities many Americans consider critical, creating experiences of artificial scarcity. The focus isn’t on Biden. Making him look bad would be a secondary gain. The goal of the Kremlin is to destabilize the US internally. I think they’re betting these hacks—by making people fear shortages—will cause Americans to turn against one another, like social media ops did. If I’m correct about the mindset behind these hacks, then it’s unlikely the next target will be something amorphous like streaming services and far more likely it will be something concrete. Like water. Even an unfounded perception of a possible water shortage freaks people out. Yeah. I think the next Russian hacks will be attacks on our water supply systems. Please note, if this does happen, that does NOT mean there will be water shortages. It means there might be temporary disruptions to try to make us *fear* water shortages. ... The Kremlin isn’t trying to go to war with the US. The Kremlin is trying to make us go to war with each other, literally and metaphorically.

Joan McCarter of Kos reported on something she thinks is both brilliant and horrifying. That something is offering hospital-level care at home. On the brilliant side: Patients are more comfortable at home. It is less expensive. There is less of a chance of catching someone else’s infection. On the horrifying side: It shifts much of the care to another family member – the visiting nurse may say here’s the equipment, good luck. It relies on adequate internet access. It also shifts much of the cost, such as wound care supplies and protective gear, to the family. Hunter of Kos wrote a fine snarky article, a late response to Biden canceling the Garden of Heroes proposed by the nasty guy. Hunter said the garden was a way for the nasty guy to fleece his followers. And he wants in on it. A garden with statues for 244 heroes? Better yet Garden of Heroes Bumper Cars where Abraham Lincoln can bump against Herman Melville. A Julia Child boat ride, a Calvin Coolidge restaurant.

If there is one thing that both Trump's most fervent allies and Trump's many detractors can agree on, it is that Trump's base needs to be scammed good, hard, and often. The entire Trump movement is set up to do precisely that. But it's not a bipartisan effort, and if there is one thing we have learned in recent months it’s that Republicans get very, very surly when Democrats refuse to be bipartisan. So we're jumping in here. I'm jumping in here.

Hunter ends with a disclaimer: “Money given to me will be spent by me on things I want to spend it on.”