Welcome back to Lucid. Mark your calendars for our next live Q&A, Friday, March 18, 1-2pmET. A registration link will be sent on Friday morning. I look forward to seeing you there.
I love the basis of SuperMajority empower their greater influence in society.
Intergenerationally speaking, I lost my healthy active 90-years young mom to covid. I am amazed at the callousness of society when people inquire what her age was & then, almost drop the conversation. Like a life that didn't matter due to her age ( oh well ). And yet a covid death is not good. We have work to do to turn the ship around to become a more caring refined civilization. There are issues on dignified aging in America that are purposefully shelved.
Thank you to the Biden administration for the daily inflection points of compassion, as balm to heal the battered populace.
Kudos to the unsung workers & home healthcare workforce. Thank you Ruth for this interview as bedrock for healthy society. I'm so inspired by Ai-jen's insights, work and goal-setting. Step by step, broadening the swath can change and empowerment can happen.
As a male it is surprising to see how women don't use the power they have in this world. Especially in the US when they do have the right to vote. I understand why women voted against the ERA in the 70's and why many still support Trump and mysogynistic religious leaders and the religions themselves. The power of propaganda is strong as are tribal loyalties and cultural expectations. What many women are taught from a young age makes them feel like they can't do better or that that what they are told is better will make them worse off. Equal rights was presented to many that they could no longer be a stay at home mom. That they would be forced to work. All it was intended to do was ensure that if they did work that they would be treated equally. Liberal minds tend to be more rational thinkers. If you want to bring in more women that are more conservative or even in the middle appeal to their emotions. Expect the billonaire men that control the think tanks to lash out. They don't want to pay anyone more money. Not to men or women. They don't want to provide time off, health care, any benefits or even a minimum wage. Even though it benefits society and in turn benefits them. When the poor vote down a tax increase on the wealthy it shows how easily the human herd is manipulated. When women voted against the ERA it showed how easily women could be turned against each other. In Canada abortion isn't a political issue. Healthcare is universal. The US should be ashamed but there are stakeholders that need to buy into change and humans fear change. Help them not fear it. Provide the support needed to change. The Democrats failed their base. NAFTA made trade better for the countries involved. It crushed blue collar workers in states that were union. Nobody cared about them. Not only must a leader care a leader must plan for the future of those people. They can't afford college with no job, can't afford to pay their mortgage, can't sell their home in a town with no jobs. Progress passed them by and hurt them and they later voted for Trump. He offered hope. False hope brings in the authoritarian. We let the opportunity happen. If women want equality and a voice they have to vote and vote in their best interests. That takes effort to reach those that are apathetic voters and those that don't vote at all. Obama lost Congress after two years and didn't accomplish much the following 6. Hard to get anything passed without control of both the Senate and House. That message is necessary and it wasn't explained to Obama voters that they needed to support those that would support him if they wanted progress. Voters aren't that smart in the US. Let's not pretend they are. Beating Trump during a pandemic was a gift. He would have won if Covid had not shown up. He would have won easily. Reach out to younger women. They have a lot to lose beyone body autonomy. Reach out to older women that will outlive the Social Security that others want to take away. Working women have a lot to lose as well.
You are so right, equal rights was debated and wrongly framed or presented as an 'either or' . When I talk to women Trump supporters, they view equal rights as personally offensive. As if they as homemakers have not been adequate contributors. That is not the goal of equal rights as you point out...it just widens choices. Whererby all choices can be good.
Thank you Ruth and Ai-jen for this interview highlighting the invisible, unsung participants that contribute to epitome of a refined civilized society in upholding its caring notion.
In your struggle in Texas -such a great state - I share my suggestions from personally highlighting a (corruption) issue in Illinois. 1) Address all listeners as fellow taxpayers. 2) Look thru an issue one day at a time thru a prism to learn the various audience's investment to effectively communicate to advance your goal. Invert the audience you speak to, find all audience's. 3) Monetize all messages for these taxpayers. Drill down to costs per person, per company, per taxing paying, or tax benefitting entity if possible. 4) Percentages of costs are more effective to a listener.
I would like to think my hundreds of hours of highlighting a tax scheme that resulted in federal bankruptcy court contributed to the outlawing of unallocated support, child support reserved. Hopefully permitting children rightful legal status over their non-custodial wealthy parent.
I hope those few steps may give you hope or short-cuts to achieving goals for Texas.
I hear your discouragement. State governance is the ethical battleground. In Illinois a couple weeks ago a 22-count federal indictment for the former Speaker of the state House in power for 20 years running the state. Decades of discouragement lifted. Lessons learned in Illinois is corruption costs in fleeing populace or industry due to high taxing, & personal taxes and pocketbooks that corruption doesn't pay. Stay focused in Texas, it's too good a place to lose.
Madigan's daughter was the Illinois Attorney General from 2003 to 2019. So can't have the daughter responsible for investigating her father. He kept getting re-elected which necessitates a need for term limits. The voters likely knew he was corrupt. They did not care. Mayor Dailey was corrupt. Like Trump he kept his name out of decisions but like the mafia never wrote anything down or made a phone call that could be taped. Never likley said to anyone to directly do something. No paper trail. Hard to convict. It's a stain on the Dems for letting Madigan tarnish the brand. Same with Blago. Trump tarnished the Republican brand. They need to police their own but they can't. It's human nature to overlook or not even notice the flaws in one's own tribe. Like the current Republicans afraid to stand up to Trump Democrats in Illinois were afraid to stand up to Madigan.
Agree. In Illinois people kind of thought it cute almost, ,,, folklore legacy, what were known for, wierd nostalgic, prohibition era grandparents' stories, association with Al Capone.
All seemed so innocent to storytell, laugh, acknowledge and accept as normal --- until it starts to really fray the economic fiber of the state and people and industries leave to find new homes.
Not that at all. Much, much more to what happens and why. More than I can write here. Corruption is part of the problem but not why Illinois has people and corporations leaving.
Corporations will leave when they find another environment better designed to enrich the corporation and those at the top. It is hard for Illinois and all states in the United States to compete with other countries that have no employee protections or corporate taxes. Illinois also can not compete with other US states that will not tax corporations or the rich to pay for services. Cook County and Chicago lose corporations to neighboring cities and counties that offer better deals to lure away corporations like Sears if they still want to or have to stay in Illinois. There are valid economic reasons that this happens. Then there is greed for the corporations. Of course economic self interest for the consumer. Humans think short term. What is best for me now. Even if it ends up costing them more in the long run. One can buy from a local or buy from China.
To save a dollar they buy from China. They forget that the local company buys from them or from someone that buys from them. So when the local company goes out of business the loss is much greater than the dollar saved. We alllow pollution which makes products cheaper and keeps businesses local in fear of losing them. That cost is pushed down the road. We don't tax corporations or the wealthy enough to pay for government services and push that cost down the road. We give "in Illinois" our teachers nice pensions and that cost is pushed down the road. Those that vote for those pensions and those receiving the penisons can move out of the State and leave the bill to others. Ken Griffen wants to buy Chelsea. It will cost a few billion. Money he has because he spent millions to save himself billions by defeating a tax on the wealthy in Illinois. All propaganda to make the voters that have no money fear more taxes when the tax change was not about the poor, the middle class or the elderly. It was to help them which Griffen doesn't want to do. We won't tax the wealthy or industries like stock trades but we put a tax on retail items and restaurants that have workers that make very little and have no benefits. Then allow the corporations and those that own them pay little to no taxes at all. They defeat the system by controlling those in power and voters are not smart enough to band together to stop it. In Detroit the Fords were able to get public money to build a stadium for their business. The worst team ever. The city is broke. The Fords are worth billions. Wife is DuPont rich in her own way. Yet they get public funding for the Lions that they can sell for billions. Yet can't afford to pay for the building for the fans? Sure they can. They don't have to so why would they? Global Warming? Companies don't care. Most people don't care. We will kill every fish in the oceans to eat and then complain there are no more fish to eat. Managing what is there now is the smart thing to do but how to tell humans alive now that they can't eat so that others in the future can? How do we tell humans in Brasil to not cut down the rain forest. They are alive now.
Simplist explanation for why the world is a mess. Humans are tribal and their minds are made for living with a group of about 100 others at most. Now we all live in a tribe of 7 billion.
Our civilizations, knowledge and exponential growth have outpaced the evolution of our minds. We are not capable of handling the responsibility and of cooperating in such large socieities.
The argument that Illinois is not good for business is false. It is simply a race to the bottom that is created by the wealthy and corporations to get public goods for free or at a heavily discounted rate. Nothing new.
Can they govern better? Sure. This is not advocating just more taxes. Or taxing the rich. It's about making rational decisions and allocating resources fairly for the good of all.
Moving out of the state makes sense for many because of the taxes. Why stay?
The problem didn't begin recently it's a 40 year old issue. The debt has piled up and the people responsible are leaving. It's a result of both the Democrat/Republican parties and also the citizens that allowed it. Same with the National Government. It's easy to spend money when there is no limit. Very easy to govern that way.
Much harder to say no. Yet voters don't vote for leaders that tell the truth. They vote in liars because they want things they can't have and don't like being told no or that their taxes will go up.
As Texas cities grow it's becoming more liberal but the rural areas and the control the current politicians have will be hard to overcome. It will take a great effort to stand up but it can be done. It will take an effort to boycott the Texas companies and to expose them if they support the mysogyny. Like Ukraine enlist the support of others in the US. You are not alone. If Southwest is located there I won't fly Southwest unless they stand up for women and gay rights. They should relocate or put their money behind candidates for equal rights. Best if they stay and only hire people that are for equal rights. Liberals leaving isn't good for those that remain. It's really not a big difference although it appears to be. Conservative white mysogynists are losing their advantage and they are acting out and working very hard to keep it. There is a big difference in who turns out to vote. They will not just give up their advantage to be nice. They like what they have. Women and minorities have to demand it and vote for it.
Just as Disney needs to stand up for the rights of minorities and gays in Florida. Talk is cheap. They have to do more.
If every LGBTQ American and every women for equal rights dropped Disney Plus for just a month the message would get across very quickly. Attendence at Disney World supports the whole Orlando economy. If LGBTQ and women stopped attending they would suffer greatly. No moms then no kids.
Authoritatian wannabe Florida idiot govenor would not last long.
Humans are short sighted and can't think long term. Humans are not easy to organize to do such simple things as proposed above.
Agree, monetizing an issue is the language they understand first. Even when communicating with fellow voters, referring to them as fellow taxpayers tends personalize a message and garner some attention.
Your examples of SW Airlines and Disney are good.
Times' awasting here in the U.S.,hope more jump on the bandwagon.
One doesn't have to live in Texas to understand the issues you are having. I live in a Red County in a Blue State. I'm not a Democrat I'm independent. I'm an atheist and can't run for office because of so many superstitious nutters that like to be lied to even in Blue States. There are reasons humans are conservative, liberal, libertarian etc. That's how the human mind works or imo doesn't work. Then there are the effects of one's environment on the human mind to consider. I can't make voters smarter. I can't make voters less susceptible to lies and propaganda. Republicans are more organized on the local and state levels. It was done on purpose. They were organized. Republicans have the support of a very motivated group that actually votes. They feel like they have something to lose. So they show up. Women are half the voters in Texas so why are there laws against abortion? Lot's of women support the mysogynistic men. There are reasons they do. I can't change them just as the US could not change the Afghan culture. Lies work and people want to be lied to. Scapegoating works. Attacking the opposition works. Tribalism works and religion is politics. This is something the Republicans understood that if they controlled the religious vote it would guarantee them power in enough states to have dominance in DC. The Democrats appeal to urban, educated voters. I can't change the demographics but the demographics are changing in Texas. The voters in Houstan, Dallas, San Antonio and other large cities are more liberal and they have to vote in all elections. As those cities grow in population Texas may turn blue. Not sure when but it is possible. Sure they suppress the vote. Don't let them. Get an id even if it's hard. A US Passport was a pain. Cost wasn't cheap yet it can be done. If one wants to vote they will find the money for the driver's license or whatever ID is necessary. Voters have to want it more than the people that want to suppress them. Giving up and blaming others is a human reaction to a feeling of hopelessness but there need not be any. Biden can only pass the laws if he has the support of Congress. That is on all Americans to show up so he can do so. Right now he can't get many things passed because he doesn't have the support of the House and the Senate. It's that divided. If voters skip the midterms don't blame Biden. Blame the voters that voted for Trump nutters or those that didn't exercise their right to vote. The hope is that the Purple which are the many not Blue or Red that do vote will show up and vote and decide who wins. It is a large segment of the population. It's possible the Republicans are so wackadoodle that they will alienate that segment of voters of whom many don't like the Democrats either. They have upset many core Republicans too. Yet many Republicans sided with the wackadoodles and then the wackadoodles attacked them after they got power. Those Republicans also neeed to stand up and find strength and courage in numbers. Or else we could lose our democracy and freedoms very easily. The safeguards of Congress and the Supreme Court are not strong enough to stand up to an authoritarian leader with enough accomplices in place. Resigning is the worst thing. As is silence or acquiesing to such a group or person. Humans tend to trust too easily and are naive to what an authoritarian is doing. I can only speak out to my small circle of family and friends and comment on the interent to combat their dark free speech. Most Americans do not follow politics or care as you and I do or the others on here. They care when things go wrong. They have lives to live, kids to raise, classes and tests to take and jobs to work at. They rely on others to do the running of the country. The Republicans are failing them and they don't know it because they can't understand correlation and causation and can't comprehend the actions taken now have consequences in the future. What are YOU doing to organize voters in Texas to combat this? Start a Facebook or another Social Media group to get like minded people together. It's possible. Strength is in numbers.
Agree re: Republican organizing techniques. Independent/ liberal leaning taxpayers need to be less cerebral -- and more action-oriented, detailed organized locally/ by county, practical and goal setting & achieving to make meaningful change.
Thank you Ruth and Ai-jen for this focus.
I love the basis of SuperMajority empower their greater influence in society.
Intergenerationally speaking, I lost my healthy active 90-years young mom to covid. I am amazed at the callousness of society when people inquire what her age was & then, almost drop the conversation. Like a life that didn't matter due to her age ( oh well ). And yet a covid death is not good. We have work to do to turn the ship around to become a more caring refined civilization. There are issues on dignified aging in America that are purposefully shelved.
Thank you to the Biden administration for the daily inflection points of compassion, as balm to heal the battered populace.
Kudos to the unsung workers & home healthcare workforce. Thank you Ruth for this interview as bedrock for healthy society. I'm so inspired by Ai-jen's insights, work and goal-setting. Step by step, broadening the swath can change and empowerment can happen.
As a male it is surprising to see how women don't use the power they have in this world. Especially in the US when they do have the right to vote. I understand why women voted against the ERA in the 70's and why many still support Trump and mysogynistic religious leaders and the religions themselves. The power of propaganda is strong as are tribal loyalties and cultural expectations. What many women are taught from a young age makes them feel like they can't do better or that that what they are told is better will make them worse off. Equal rights was presented to many that they could no longer be a stay at home mom. That they would be forced to work. All it was intended to do was ensure that if they did work that they would be treated equally. Liberal minds tend to be more rational thinkers. If you want to bring in more women that are more conservative or even in the middle appeal to their emotions. Expect the billonaire men that control the think tanks to lash out. They don't want to pay anyone more money. Not to men or women. They don't want to provide time off, health care, any benefits or even a minimum wage. Even though it benefits society and in turn benefits them. When the poor vote down a tax increase on the wealthy it shows how easily the human herd is manipulated. When women voted against the ERA it showed how easily women could be turned against each other. In Canada abortion isn't a political issue. Healthcare is universal. The US should be ashamed but there are stakeholders that need to buy into change and humans fear change. Help them not fear it. Provide the support needed to change. The Democrats failed their base. NAFTA made trade better for the countries involved. It crushed blue collar workers in states that were union. Nobody cared about them. Not only must a leader care a leader must plan for the future of those people. They can't afford college with no job, can't afford to pay their mortgage, can't sell their home in a town with no jobs. Progress passed them by and hurt them and they later voted for Trump. He offered hope. False hope brings in the authoritarian. We let the opportunity happen. If women want equality and a voice they have to vote and vote in their best interests. That takes effort to reach those that are apathetic voters and those that don't vote at all. Obama lost Congress after two years and didn't accomplish much the following 6. Hard to get anything passed without control of both the Senate and House. That message is necessary and it wasn't explained to Obama voters that they needed to support those that would support him if they wanted progress. Voters aren't that smart in the US. Let's not pretend they are. Beating Trump during a pandemic was a gift. He would have won if Covid had not shown up. He would have won easily. Reach out to younger women. They have a lot to lose beyone body autonomy. Reach out to older women that will outlive the Social Security that others want to take away. Working women have a lot to lose as well.
You are so right, equal rights was debated and wrongly framed or presented as an 'either or' . When I talk to women Trump supporters, they view equal rights as personally offensive. As if they as homemakers have not been adequate contributors. That is not the goal of equal rights as you point out...it just widens choices. Whererby all choices can be good.
Thank you Ruth and Ai-jen for this interview highlighting the invisible, unsung participants that contribute to epitome of a refined civilized society in upholding its caring notion.
Saw an interview with her once before. She is top of the game. A real contributor. 🙏
In your struggle in Texas -such a great state - I share my suggestions from personally highlighting a (corruption) issue in Illinois. 1) Address all listeners as fellow taxpayers. 2) Look thru an issue one day at a time thru a prism to learn the various audience's investment to effectively communicate to advance your goal. Invert the audience you speak to, find all audience's. 3) Monetize all messages for these taxpayers. Drill down to costs per person, per company, per taxing paying, or tax benefitting entity if possible. 4) Percentages of costs are more effective to a listener.
I would like to think my hundreds of hours of highlighting a tax scheme that resulted in federal bankruptcy court contributed to the outlawing of unallocated support, child support reserved. Hopefully permitting children rightful legal status over their non-custodial wealthy parent.
I hope those few steps may give you hope or short-cuts to achieving goals for Texas.
Bluebonnets forever.
I hear your discouragement. State governance is the ethical battleground. In Illinois a couple weeks ago a 22-count federal indictment for the former Speaker of the state House in power for 20 years running the state. Decades of discouragement lifted. Lessons learned in Illinois is corruption costs in fleeing populace or industry due to high taxing, & personal taxes and pocketbooks that corruption doesn't pay. Stay focused in Texas, it's too good a place to lose.
Madigan's daughter was the Illinois Attorney General from 2003 to 2019. So can't have the daughter responsible for investigating her father. He kept getting re-elected which necessitates a need for term limits. The voters likely knew he was corrupt. They did not care. Mayor Dailey was corrupt. Like Trump he kept his name out of decisions but like the mafia never wrote anything down or made a phone call that could be taped. Never likley said to anyone to directly do something. No paper trail. Hard to convict. It's a stain on the Dems for letting Madigan tarnish the brand. Same with Blago. Trump tarnished the Republican brand. They need to police their own but they can't. It's human nature to overlook or not even notice the flaws in one's own tribe. Like the current Republicans afraid to stand up to Trump Democrats in Illinois were afraid to stand up to Madigan.
Agree. In Illinois people kind of thought it cute almost, ,,, folklore legacy, what were known for, wierd nostalgic, prohibition era grandparents' stories, association with Al Capone.
All seemed so innocent to storytell, laugh, acknowledge and accept as normal --- until it starts to really fray the economic fiber of the state and people and industries leave to find new homes.
It's not a fun story any more.
Not that at all. Much, much more to what happens and why. More than I can write here. Corruption is part of the problem but not why Illinois has people and corporations leaving.
Corporations will leave when they find another environment better designed to enrich the corporation and those at the top. It is hard for Illinois and all states in the United States to compete with other countries that have no employee protections or corporate taxes. Illinois also can not compete with other US states that will not tax corporations or the rich to pay for services. Cook County and Chicago lose corporations to neighboring cities and counties that offer better deals to lure away corporations like Sears if they still want to or have to stay in Illinois. There are valid economic reasons that this happens. Then there is greed for the corporations. Of course economic self interest for the consumer. Humans think short term. What is best for me now. Even if it ends up costing them more in the long run. One can buy from a local or buy from China.
To save a dollar they buy from China. They forget that the local company buys from them or from someone that buys from them. So when the local company goes out of business the loss is much greater than the dollar saved. We alllow pollution which makes products cheaper and keeps businesses local in fear of losing them. That cost is pushed down the road. We don't tax corporations or the wealthy enough to pay for government services and push that cost down the road. We give "in Illinois" our teachers nice pensions and that cost is pushed down the road. Those that vote for those pensions and those receiving the penisons can move out of the State and leave the bill to others. Ken Griffen wants to buy Chelsea. It will cost a few billion. Money he has because he spent millions to save himself billions by defeating a tax on the wealthy in Illinois. All propaganda to make the voters that have no money fear more taxes when the tax change was not about the poor, the middle class or the elderly. It was to help them which Griffen doesn't want to do. We won't tax the wealthy or industries like stock trades but we put a tax on retail items and restaurants that have workers that make very little and have no benefits. Then allow the corporations and those that own them pay little to no taxes at all. They defeat the system by controlling those in power and voters are not smart enough to band together to stop it. In Detroit the Fords were able to get public money to build a stadium for their business. The worst team ever. The city is broke. The Fords are worth billions. Wife is DuPont rich in her own way. Yet they get public funding for the Lions that they can sell for billions. Yet can't afford to pay for the building for the fans? Sure they can. They don't have to so why would they? Global Warming? Companies don't care. Most people don't care. We will kill every fish in the oceans to eat and then complain there are no more fish to eat. Managing what is there now is the smart thing to do but how to tell humans alive now that they can't eat so that others in the future can? How do we tell humans in Brasil to not cut down the rain forest. They are alive now.
Simplist explanation for why the world is a mess. Humans are tribal and their minds are made for living with a group of about 100 others at most. Now we all live in a tribe of 7 billion.
Our civilizations, knowledge and exponential growth have outpaced the evolution of our minds. We are not capable of handling the responsibility and of cooperating in such large socieities.
The argument that Illinois is not good for business is false. It is simply a race to the bottom that is created by the wealthy and corporations to get public goods for free or at a heavily discounted rate. Nothing new.
Can they govern better? Sure. This is not advocating just more taxes. Or taxing the rich. It's about making rational decisions and allocating resources fairly for the good of all.
Moving out of the state makes sense for many because of the taxes. Why stay?
The problem didn't begin recently it's a 40 year old issue. The debt has piled up and the people responsible are leaving. It's a result of both the Democrat/Republican parties and also the citizens that allowed it. Same with the National Government. It's easy to spend money when there is no limit. Very easy to govern that way.
Much harder to say no. Yet voters don't vote for leaders that tell the truth. They vote in liars because they want things they can't have and don't like being told no or that their taxes will go up.
Agree, taxpayers asleep at the wheel.
As Texas cities grow it's becoming more liberal but the rural areas and the control the current politicians have will be hard to overcome. It will take a great effort to stand up but it can be done. It will take an effort to boycott the Texas companies and to expose them if they support the mysogyny. Like Ukraine enlist the support of others in the US. You are not alone. If Southwest is located there I won't fly Southwest unless they stand up for women and gay rights. They should relocate or put their money behind candidates for equal rights. Best if they stay and only hire people that are for equal rights. Liberals leaving isn't good for those that remain. It's really not a big difference although it appears to be. Conservative white mysogynists are losing their advantage and they are acting out and working very hard to keep it. There is a big difference in who turns out to vote. They will not just give up their advantage to be nice. They like what they have. Women and minorities have to demand it and vote for it.
Just as Disney needs to stand up for the rights of minorities and gays in Florida. Talk is cheap. They have to do more.
If every LGBTQ American and every women for equal rights dropped Disney Plus for just a month the message would get across very quickly. Attendence at Disney World supports the whole Orlando economy. If LGBTQ and women stopped attending they would suffer greatly. No moms then no kids.
Authoritatian wannabe Florida idiot govenor would not last long.
Humans are short sighted and can't think long term. Humans are not easy to organize to do such simple things as proposed above.
It is not a easy fix.
Agree, monetizing an issue is the language they understand first. Even when communicating with fellow voters, referring to them as fellow taxpayers tends personalize a message and garner some attention.
Your examples of SW Airlines and Disney are good.
Times' awasting here in the U.S.,hope more jump on the bandwagon.
Agree, state government is the bedrock.
One doesn't have to live in Texas to understand the issues you are having. I live in a Red County in a Blue State. I'm not a Democrat I'm independent. I'm an atheist and can't run for office because of so many superstitious nutters that like to be lied to even in Blue States. There are reasons humans are conservative, liberal, libertarian etc. That's how the human mind works or imo doesn't work. Then there are the effects of one's environment on the human mind to consider. I can't make voters smarter. I can't make voters less susceptible to lies and propaganda. Republicans are more organized on the local and state levels. It was done on purpose. They were organized. Republicans have the support of a very motivated group that actually votes. They feel like they have something to lose. So they show up. Women are half the voters in Texas so why are there laws against abortion? Lot's of women support the mysogynistic men. There are reasons they do. I can't change them just as the US could not change the Afghan culture. Lies work and people want to be lied to. Scapegoating works. Attacking the opposition works. Tribalism works and religion is politics. This is something the Republicans understood that if they controlled the religious vote it would guarantee them power in enough states to have dominance in DC. The Democrats appeal to urban, educated voters. I can't change the demographics but the demographics are changing in Texas. The voters in Houstan, Dallas, San Antonio and other large cities are more liberal and they have to vote in all elections. As those cities grow in population Texas may turn blue. Not sure when but it is possible. Sure they suppress the vote. Don't let them. Get an id even if it's hard. A US Passport was a pain. Cost wasn't cheap yet it can be done. If one wants to vote they will find the money for the driver's license or whatever ID is necessary. Voters have to want it more than the people that want to suppress them. Giving up and blaming others is a human reaction to a feeling of hopelessness but there need not be any. Biden can only pass the laws if he has the support of Congress. That is on all Americans to show up so he can do so. Right now he can't get many things passed because he doesn't have the support of the House and the Senate. It's that divided. If voters skip the midterms don't blame Biden. Blame the voters that voted for Trump nutters or those that didn't exercise their right to vote. The hope is that the Purple which are the many not Blue or Red that do vote will show up and vote and decide who wins. It is a large segment of the population. It's possible the Republicans are so wackadoodle that they will alienate that segment of voters of whom many don't like the Democrats either. They have upset many core Republicans too. Yet many Republicans sided with the wackadoodles and then the wackadoodles attacked them after they got power. Those Republicans also neeed to stand up and find strength and courage in numbers. Or else we could lose our democracy and freedoms very easily. The safeguards of Congress and the Supreme Court are not strong enough to stand up to an authoritarian leader with enough accomplices in place. Resigning is the worst thing. As is silence or acquiesing to such a group or person. Humans tend to trust too easily and are naive to what an authoritarian is doing. I can only speak out to my small circle of family and friends and comment on the interent to combat their dark free speech. Most Americans do not follow politics or care as you and I do or the others on here. They care when things go wrong. They have lives to live, kids to raise, classes and tests to take and jobs to work at. They rely on others to do the running of the country. The Republicans are failing them and they don't know it because they can't understand correlation and causation and can't comprehend the actions taken now have consequences in the future. What are YOU doing to organize voters in Texas to combat this? Start a Facebook or another Social Media group to get like minded people together. It's possible. Strength is in numbers.
Agree re: Republican organizing techniques. Independent/ liberal leaning taxpayers need to be less cerebral -- and more action-oriented, detailed organized locally/ by county, practical and goal setting & achieving to make meaningful change.
Correlation = causation