Monthly Archives: October 2024

In this election, forget your fears, and show your signs

Harris Walz yard sign

There have been many anecdotes, as well as reporting, in recent months stating that Democrats are afraid to put up signs or wear merchandise (shirts, hats, pins, etc.) representing their political choices in the 2024 elections. In other cases, Democrats are reporting that their Kamala Harris/Tim Walz and other pro-Democratic or anti-Republican signs are being stolen or destroyed. Similarly, a man was recently arrested for firing shots on three separate occasions at the Democratic Party headquarters in Tempe, Arizona. And last month in Portage County, Ohio, “Sheriff Bruce Zuchowski seemed to encourage his friends and supporters to write down the addresses of people with Democratic yard signs, sparking accusations of voter intimidation.”

Note that there have been very few reports of Democrats destroying or stealing Republican signs or committing other acts of vandalism. It’s almost always the other way around. This is all part of the Republicans’ pattern of thuggery and bullying, even terrorism. We have seen a steady increase in this behavior since the beginning of Donald Trump‘s years in the White House. Recall, for example, the deadly 2017 Charlottesville, VA Nazi march, where “Neo-Nazis, Ku Klux Klansmen and other white supremacists marched through the University of Virginia campus bearing torches and terrorizing students with chants of ‘Blood and soil’ and ‘Jews will not replace us.'”

Kamala Harris and Tim Walz are leaving it all on the field

One way to support the Harris/Walz ticket

Since Minnesota Governor and Democratic Vice Presidential candidate Tim Walz was a football coach, he knows the expression “leaving it all on the field,” which means, essentially, making such a complete effort that, whether you win or lose, there will be no regrets or second-guessing about what else could have been done. That kind of effort also naturally leads to more wins than losses. And that is precisely what Walz and Vice President Kamala Harris are doing in their shortened, stunning campaign for the presidential election of 2024. Indeed, at a rally yesterday in Madison, WI, Walz began with a similar sports analogy:

When the stakes are the highest, winners are the ones that step up. And that’s exactly what we’re going to do. You play all the way through to that final whistle, and that’s the exact energy that Kamala Harris and I are bringing to these final 14 days.

And then, sure enough, at the end of his speech, Walz said it:

We’re gonna leave it all on the field.

Walz’s appearance in Madison is part of a whirlwind of media appearances, interviews, rallies and other events by him, Harris, and surrogate heavy hitters including President Barack Obama (who appeared with Walz in Madison), Michelle Obama, President Bill Clinton, and others. The whirlwind has taken Harris and/or Walz to The View, The Howard Stern Show, the popular Call Her Daddy podcast, 60 Minutes, The Daily Show with Jon Stewart, Charlamagne Tha God‘s radio program from Detroit, and more. Even Republicans such as former Rep. Liz Cheney are campaigning with and endorsing Vice President Harris.

Did Kamala Harris just top her “Freedom” theme?

Vice President Kamala Harris

During their abbreviated presidential campaign, Vice President Kamala Harris and her running mate, Minnesota Governor Tim Walz, have used the “freedom” theme very effectively. In particular, they built on the prior work of President Joe Biden and other leading Democrats, and took “freedom” away from the Republicans. Harris, Walz and other Democrats thus have applied “freedom” to government interference in reproductive rights, gun violence against children in schools, voting rights, and more. The theme worked so well that we didn’t think it could be topped.

But now, weeks before the 2024 elections, Vice President Harris has been leveling a new attack against her opponent, Donald Trump, and it may be even more effective than the “freedom” theme. As was the case with “freedom,” this new attack goes right at a point that Republicans, specifically Donald Trump, have been making for years.

Republican response to hurricanes reveals their moral and philosophical bankruptcy

President Joe Biden holds briefing on Hurricane Helene in Raleigh, NC on Oct. 2, 2024

As millions of Florida residents brace for Hurricane Milton, just days after Hurricane Helene devastated Florida and multiple southern U.S. states, Republicans are playing cynical political games. On the one hand, elected officials like Florida Governor Ron DeSantis are bragging about how much his government administration is doing to prepare for Milton. On the other hand, DeSantis refused to take a phone call from Vice President Kamala Harris that would keep communications lines open and help coordinate federal aid to Florida. That’s after the first priority of hurricane preparedness for DeSantis was to order the removal of all suspensions and limits on gun sales in Florida, as if that has anything to do with the matter at hand besides kowtowing to the MAGA Republican base.

Meanwhile, Donald Trump and other Republicans keep lying about President Joe Biden’s actions, especially through the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), to assist victims of Helene, claiming that much less has been done to help them than actually has been done. At the same time, however, U.S. House Republicans refuse to vote for more funding for FEMA, or even to return from vacation to help with these emergencies.

However, all of this Republican hypocrisy and game-playing provides a silver lining for President Biden, Vice President Harris and the Democrats: in addition to the hurricanes providing yet more evidence of climate change, most of these cynical Republican actions fall into the largely Democratic frame that government assistance and involvement to help people are good and crucial things. If so, then Ronald Reagan’s infamous line from nearly 40 years ago …

I’ve always felt the nine most terrifying words in the English language are: “I’m from the Government, and I’m here to help”

… is as dead, gone and obsolete as the Republican government philosophy itself.

Photo by NCDOTcommunications, used under Creative Commons license. https://is.gd/V5zqWe

Women of Star Trek for Kamala Harris hold fun and successful Zoom call

Jeri Ryan, Star Trek actress and Democratic activist

Last night, another breakout group of Kamala Harris supporters, this time the Women of Trek for Kamala, held a successful Zoom call that was and is available for viewing here on YouTube. As the title indicates, it was hosted by actresses from the many Star Trek TV series and movies, including Jeri Ryan, Michelle Hurd, Denise Crosby, Stacey Abrams (who also doubled as a Georgia state representative and is a Democratic Party leader), and others.

The Women of Trek call follows a number of similar such calls that have taken place since Harris became the Democratic Party’s presidential nominee, including White Dudes for Harris, Cat Ladies for Harris, Deadheads for Harris, and more. These celebrity-studded calls have raised millions of dollars for the Kamala Harris/Tim Walz campaign; have had up to hundreds of thousands of participants; have raised awareness on many issues important to Democratic voters (abortion, climate change, gun violence, healthcare, job creation, small business support, etc.); and have urged voters to register and get out the vote. Importantly, the calls have brought together large numbers of Democrats into smaller communities of special interest to them.

Consistent with the Democratic Party’s inclusiveness, the call also included a prominent man, U.S. Senator Cory Booker. Of course, men (and people who identify anywhere on the gender spectrum) were welcome to register as participants on the call as well.

As a number of the guests on the Harris call mentioned, with just over 30 days until the election, the time for voters to take action is now. That includes everything from voting early where possible; donating to the candidates or party; making phone calls from home or at organized phone banks, sending texts or postcards, knocking on doors (whichever of these actions one feels comfortable and safe doing); and trying to convince friends, colleagues and loved ones to come out and vote for the excellent Democratic candidates.

Photo by Gwydion M Williams, used under Creative Commons license. https://is.gd/i3k9g8