Acceptance, belonging, and compassion

Kos of Daily Kos took a look at the Civiqs polling data for various GOP leaders as rated by Republicans. The favorability rating of the nasty guy has dropped one point since September, from 91% favorable to 90%. Since the election the Republican view of their own party has dropped from 81% at the election to 64% now. The favorability rating of Moscow Mitch was 70% at the election, 62% in early December, 43% just after he recognized Biden’s win, to 39% when the Capitol was attacked, to 25% now. The rating for the vice nasty was at 91% at the election, 83% in early January, to 61% after the EC certification. Conclusion: Republicans are there for the nasty guy, not anyone else. Put another way, it’s his party. The coup attempt has affected the nasty guy’s business. Laura Clawson of Kos noted that Mayor Bill de Blasio canceled contracts under the clause of criminal activity – and inciting an insurrection definitely qualified. The PGA championship pulled out of one of the nasty guy’s golf courses. A couple banks have closed his accounts. The lease to run the Trump Hotel in DC could be terminated by Biden. Wrote Clawson:

What a shame it would be if Donald Trump not only became the first president ever to be impeached twice but also returned to a business completely trashed by his actions. It’s not enough accountability for what he’s done to the nation, but at least it’s something.

Christopher Reeves of Kos has been writing a Nuts and Bolts for quite a while. Each installment has been about some aspect of running a Democratic campaign with the hopes of getting fresh faces into government. I rarely read them (I have no intention to run for anything), though the latest one caught my eye because part of the title is ABC is the heart of our party and the picture at the top included AOC. Was it a misprint and they were saying AOC’s progressive stance is the heart? I had to read more and I’m glad I did. Reeves point is the core of the Democratic Party is a commitment to ABC – acceptance, belonging, and compassion. The party can go far if it’s candidates can stick to and demonstrate those values. Those are values I want in my government officials. Acceptance:

Asking the Democratic Party to accept rioters, traitors, and others should not be something we ever consider. The party, however, has room to accept those who are looking for a home and to be heard. Young people who care about the environment. Rural Democratic voters who want a seat at the table. Listening to voices within all of the diverse ethnic communities that make up the American coalition, because that Rainbow Coalition that Jesse Jackson talked about? It’s that acceptance that helps make people feel as though the Democratic Party is a place they can call home.

Belonging:

People must feel as though they belong to the group that you’re creating. They have to feel as though the acceptance is real, genuine, and that it provides them safety for who they are—that the acceptance provides them more than a “Well, we accept you;”—it’s a “You are welcomed.” This is the difference between just accepting a person or a position and welcoming it.

There is also buy-in. Candidates need to buy-in to the policies promoted by the leadership – and the leadership must also buy-in to the issues of a diverse base. Compassion:

It is eerie to hear how often Republican candidates and their party seem to refer to compassion as though it’s a sin, and that those who offer it are enablers. In truth, history has shown that it’s just who you decide to offer compassion to that matters. … The Democratic Party has to recognize arguments about future debt are, except for a small number, not arguments that influence a single person. Meanwhile, saving someone from ruin and protecting their children now matters.

Yeah, it can take me a few days to read the Sunday paper. Last Sunday’s Detroit Free Press had a full page editorial about the People of the Lie – the 28 GOP officials in Michigan who supported the nasty guy’s lie that he won the election. The propagandists, the state GOP chair and others who started talking about steal when mail-in votes for Biden started overtaking the nasty guy’s tally. The sore loser, John James, who didn’t concede to Senator Gary Peters until Nov. 24. The nullifiers, the members of the Wayne County and State Board of Canvassers who refused to certify Michigan’s election result. The co-conspirators, members of Congress who signed on to the Texas suit asking to overthrow the election in four states – including their own state. The Supremes refused the case. The inquisitors, state legislators who held a hearing to allow an airing of all the claims that had been rejected by the courts. Conspicuously absent were people who could rebut those claims. The bitter-enders, the three Representatives who continued to challenge certified election results when Congress reconvened after the insurrection. And the grownups, the GOP officials at the state and county level who helped prevent the effort to overturn Michigan’s election. I downloaded Michigan’s coronavirus data today. The cases per day is at about 2500-3000 and continues a downward trend from the peak in early November. The deaths per day is at about 50 and is also dropping from a high in early December.