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Republicans are so rude

Rush Limbaugh, Republican media bully

We all know that many Republicans are fine with a violent, illegal insurrection against our government, as well as lying, cheating, stealing, adultery, graft and corruption by GOP leaders and minions. But what many of us have learned over the past few years is that Republicans can also be so damned rude.

In particular, there is a noticeable trend of Republican strangers who hit us with their political beliefs within minutes of meeting us, as well as acquaintances who do the same thing without knowing or asking about our political beliefs and values.

–It’s the Uber driver who, with a captive audience in his car, starts complaining about “Biden” being responsible for “these gas prices.”

–It’s the neighbor who says the problem is “the New York libs” without knowing or caring that the person they are speaking to may indeed be one.

–It’s the a service person who walks into your house, and within five minutes, starts denouncing our “corrupt government” with its “high taxes” and how it’s “disgusting” that “they’re gonna spend another $1.6 trillion on the pandemic.” Yes, all of these are real examples, and the last one just happened here this week.

Republicans may wish they never win a tiny House majority

Is it Taps for the GOP?

As of now, the Republican Party can be fairly described as having failed miserably in the 2022 midterm elections. Considering that the party in power almost always loses many seats in Congress in the first midterms two years into a new president’s term, and given the headwinds of COVID, Russia‘s war against Ukraine, and the resulting high inflation in the U.S. and around the world, the Democrats wildly exceeded expectations of a sweeping Republican “Red Wave” this time. Specifically, the Democratic Party has retained control of the U.S. Senate with at least 50 votes (Vice President Kamala Harris can provide the 51st vote for the Democrats in case of a 50-50 tie), and it may even gain a Senate seat in the upcoming Georgia runoff election on December 6.

Additionally, Democrats have increased their number of state Governorships held, gained seats and majorities in state legislatures, defeated the Republican candidates for Secretary of State who deny the results of the 2020 presidential election (and who would have been in a position in charge of elections in their state to meddle in the 2024 elections), and, where abortion rights were on the ballot, voted to protect such rights. One only need to look at the current Republican Party meltdown, including piling on Donald Trump, to judge the political consequences of the midterms.

Nevertheless, the results of the midterm elections in the U.S. House of Representatives are still unknown. According to the Associated Press, Republicans have won 217 seats, Democrats have won 209, and the outcomes for the remaining 9 seats are still being tabulated. The magic number to gain majority control in the 435-member House is 218. Thus, a number of pundits and news media organizations are projecting that Republicans will win the narrowest of majorities, by approximately one to five seats. If that occurs, Republicans may wish it never happened. Here’s why:

Elon Musk’s Twitter acquisition is the latest attempt to stop progress

Where Twitter may be headed

Sometimes it takes a history professor to put things in perspective. In a mind-blowing Twitter thread last weekend, Professor Walter D. Greason of Macalester College in St. Paul, MN did just that. Specifically, Greason described the conservatives’ efforts to destroy liberal/progressive advances that have been boosted by the internet and social media, which he calls “convergence.” Gleason names Elon Musk‘s takeover of Twitter as the latest attempt to stop such progress, i.e., Republican “counter-convergence.” After the jump is Greason’s fascinating Twitter thread. If you have Twitter, you can click on “read the full conversation on Twitter” at the bottom of his first tweet. If not, we have included key tweets from the thread:

Anatomy of a Republican conspiracy theory

The Republicans’ positive plan

Nearly everyone knows that inflation is a problem, and that there are various proposals to solve it. However, some Republicans this year have been spouting a conspiracy theory: that the U.S. Federal Reserve is waiting until after the November 2022 midterm elections to raise interest rates, in order to help President Joe Biden and the Democratic Party. While this is just the latest in a long line of right wing conspiracy theories about the Fed, this particularly silly theory can be easily debunked a few steps:

–The current Federal Reserve Board Chairman is Republican Jerome Powell, who was appointed by Donald Trump. This fact alone should be enough to destroy the conspiracy theory. Moreover, of the seven Governors on the Fed’s board, three are Republican, which is normal during a Democratic administration. And in addition to Powell, these other Republicans were also appointed by Donald Trump. Given that the Fed Board’s votes to raise interest rates this year typically have been unanimous, one would have to believe the truly ludicrous theory that these Trump appointees are voting to help Biden and the Democrats.

–As indicated above, the Fed has been raising interest rates all year long. The Federal Funds Benchmark rate, which started at .25 percent early this year is now 3-3.25 percent, enough to sharply raise mortgage, auto loan and other rates. So if the plan was to delay rate increases until after the election, the Fed has failed miserably.

Democrats’ midterm election “Freedom” theme takes hold

Democrats in array this time

When one thinks of a political party marching in lockstep, using the same campaign phrase, the Democratic Party usually does not come to mind. However, that’s just what’s happening as the 2022 midterm elections approach. As we indicated in July, the Democrats, starting with President Joe Biden, began saying that “Freedom is on the ballot” in the upcoming elections:

In what could not be a coincidence, President Biden was joined at the same time with the same language by Democratic Congressman Eric Swalwell:

Those two concurrent tweets were enough to identify a theme here, but now President Biden and Rep. Swalwell have been joined by more Democrats expressing the “Freedom” message for the midterms:

President Biden to celebrate Inflation Reduction Act in road show

President Joe Biden, about to take his show on the road

Bloomberg News reported yesterday that President Joe Biden will hold a celebration event for the Inflation Reduction Act (“IRA”) on September 6 at the White House, followed by a tour across the country to tout the IRA’s benefits. Here is the tweet from Bloomberg White House reporter Jenny Leonard showing the memo from White House Chief of Staff Ronald Klain which outlines the plans for the IRA celebration:

The U.S. Senate passed the Inflation Reduction Act on August 7. The U.S. House passed it last Friday. In both cases, the IRA received no Republican votes. Vice President Kamala Harris had to cast the tie-breaking 51st vote for the IRA in the Senate. President Biden is expected to sign the IRA later today.

Democrats co-opt Republican meme as “Dark Brandon” goes viral

The attack that turned into a compliment

In an amazing flipping of the script, Democrats have taken back a Republican phrase used to denigrate President Joe Biden.

It all started last October, at the Sparks 300 NASCAR race at Talladega Motor Speedway in Alabama. During winner Brandon Brown‘s post-race interview, some in the crowd began chanting “Fu*k Joe Biden!” The interviewer instead claimed, either unknowingly or deliberately, that the crowd was chanting “Let’s Go Brandon!”

Soon, Republicans started saying “Let’s Go Brandon!” as a euphemism for the epithet against President Biden. Even a number of leading Republican politicians began uttering the phrase, wearing t-shirts and masks displaying the phrase, and referring to the Biden administration as “the Brandon administration.” The “Brandon” saying was going strong as recently as this past weekend, at Donald Trump‘s Saudi-sponsored golf tournament:

https://twitter.com/magatalker/status/1554112313887805441

However, over the past week or so, Democrats have suddenly taken the “Brandon” epithet back, and have turned it into an instant smash hit for President Biden.

Growing Twitter army touts Biden, Democratic accomplishments

Twitter activism is a click away

It’s no secret that Democratic Party has been slow to come up with a unifying theme for the 2022 midterm elections. We recently suggested that President Joe Biden, Congressman Eric Swalwell and others may have hit upon the unofficial theme “Freedom is on the Ballot” in November. That’s pretty good, and it should be spread far and wide. But the other part that is needed, especially when defending the last two years of Democrats in control of the White House and the U.S. House (control of the Senate is more tenuous with a 50-50 tie), is a strong recital of the Democrats’ record of accomplishments during this time.

Here’s where Twitter comes in. President Biden in particular has been very good about touting his administration’s achievements. For example, Biden is correctly taking credit for actions (such as releasing millions of barrels of oil from the U.S. Strategic Petroleum Reserve) that have led to a summer of falling gasoline prices:

Likewise, Biden White House Chief of Staff Ronald Klain likes to get in on the action:

But in addition to these government officials, there is a growing army of citizens on Twitter who are spreading good news about President Biden’s and the Democrats’ accomplishments far and wide. Some of the prominent accounts in this Twitter army, including their Twitter page description and sample tweets, are:

Law enforcement failure in Uvalde shooting demonstrates need for Assault Weapons Ban

Protest by Teens for Gun Reform

Last Sunday, the Texas House of Representatives released an Investigative Committee Interim Report indicating that 376 law enforcement officers arrived at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, TX to confront an active shooter on May 24, 2022, but none of them acted to rescue the students and teachers. As a result, 19 children and two teachers were killed. The report in particular faults a lack of leadership and command, especially by school district police chief Pedro “Pete” Arredondo, who claimed to be in charge on the scene but did not act or order his officers to try to take down the gunman. Arredondo has since resigned.

The failure of so many officers in Uvalde to confront the shooter and try to save the children and teachers belies the Republicans’ frequently used “good guy with a gun” talking point, or the Republican idea that teachers should be armed in the classroom, as demonstrated by this sampling of tweets on the subject:

https://twitter.com/richardhine/status/1549039660596228096?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw

With midterm elections coming up fast, do Democrats finally have a theme?

“Freedom” is just potatoes to Republicans

The 2022 midterm elections are just 124 days away, and the results will likely make or break Joe Biden‘s presidency and the Democratic Party’s agenda. All seats in the U.S. House of Representatives, as well as approximately one-third of U.S. Senate seats, are up for grabs. If the Republicans gain a majority in either house of Congress, at minimum, the Biden/Democratic agenda will be stymied as they won’t be able to pass any meaningful legislation. Additionally, either house under Republican control will bog the government down in senseless hearings involving laptops and other shiny object distractions, in order for the GOP to try to score political points. Moreover, many state and local offices are up for election, which could determine how crucial matters ranging from abortion to elections themselves are handled. Suffice it to say that, if any Democrats claim “this is one of the most important elections of your lifetime,” they are not exaggerating.

Republicans, predictably, are bashing President Biden and Democrats over inflation and gasoline prices as their 2022 election theme. Fair enough, as the party out of power generally attacks on any economic front that it can, even though in this case, Russia‘s invasion of Ukraine, as well as leftover COVID-based supply chain problems, both of which can be laid at the feet of Donald Trump, are largely to blame. Indeed, inflation is a problem worldwide, and the United States is on the lower side of gasoline prices around the world.

Therefore, it would be really helpful if the Democratic Party would express a unifying and galvanizing theme for the upcoming elections, to counter the Republicans and drive all-important voter turnout. This has worked in the past, e.g., House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi‘s healthcare message for the 2018 midterms, which led to a Democratic takeover of the U.S. House, catapulting Pelosi to House Speaker.

As it turns out, President Biden and Democratic Congressman Eric Swalwell of California, among others, seem to be leading the way with a theme that can succeed for the Democrats in this year’s elections. That theme can be seen in recent tweets from Biden and Rep. Swalwell: