HOW ROE DIED is Hawk's Eye View of the cause of death. Rahm Emmanuel was a lead perpetrator. His stupidity in firing Howard Dean, DNC chairman and creator of the Fifty State Strategy was major. I would add that the Democratic Party deserves as much shame for this as he does. It didn't protect Dean or follow the Fifty State Strategy. How is the party doing in rural counties, in Red and Purple states? Emmanuel had a concentrate on the winnable states strategy for the 2010 midterms. How did that turn out? Read Hawk's Eye View if you want to weep some more. This is a limb by limb, vein by vein autopsy. I don't think it is solely about the death of one of our constitutional rights to privacy. As TC has written, there is more to come. What about a national ban on abortion? I will not count the losses ahead... let's count instead the millions upon millions of us that will mobilize. We saved the Affordable Care Act; how about saving the USA from the 6 and that cadre with plans to rule our country in the coming Dark Ages, USA?
Thanks for the step-by-step exposition of how we got to this miserable day and for laying part of the blame on Rahm Emmanuel and Obama for not recognizing the progression of the movement conservatives.
I must voice my disappointment, too, in Biden for holding too long onto the hope that his "friends" across the aisle would work with him. McConnell would not and will not let that happen unless it inures to his personal benefit. Could Biden have foreseen that Roe v. Wade was on its last legs and have done anything to prevent Dobbs v. Jackson?
my own opinion is that yes, Biden 's own experience of a very different legislative reality certainly blinded him to these new realities, and he should have known better. as for not seeing the proverbial handwriting on the proverbial wall, it was wrong, but he shares that short-sightedness with everyone else in his party who did the same thing. now, it's time to sit back and LISTEN to the people who actually DID have a very clear sense this was happening. and yeah, those justices certainly all lied in their confirmation hearings, but it should also have been pretty obvious if they were all recommended by the Federalist Society, which doesn't make any bones about their positions on a wide variety of issues, including abortion rights. when TFF SAID that abortion was his big test for choosing justices, it was probably the one time he WASN'T lying.
I am dismayed that those Democrats who saw, or should have seen, the events unfolding did nothing to prevent this devolution into the dystopia we are now living in and which will likely get more dystopian before it gets better. It is now up to We, the People to get out the vote, ensure that the filibuster is tweaked or overridden, and expand SCOTUS. We've got our work cut out for us.
Tom, I think this dovetails to an earlier post you had which demonstrated that the late adoption by the GOP of anti-abortion advocacy was actually an intentional catspaw to recruit anti-Black evangelical leaders who were trying to broaden their appeal via opposition to abortion. Maybe a link would be helpful? (I think Prof. Richardson has posted similar.)
In retrospect it’s galling that we (or at least professional Democratic politicians) didn’t anticipate a “culture war” backlash when we elected a Black president. I recall Dean getting the boot. My memory (could be wrong) was that there was a little second guessing of the decision but not enough to matter. I guess we were all rather hopeful that the nation had turned a corner.
I recall election night in 2008. I was in Tokyo that day, having voted by mail before I left on a business trip. I hadn’t looked at any polling before I left and was too tired to check before going to bed. I got up early for a business breakfast and got back to the hotel a bit before noon Tokyo time. Turned on the TV and found the feed from American television. And that’s when I first heard that Obama had won and that McCain had just conceded. I was gobsmacked. I didn’t know what to feel. We actually had done it. We had overcome 400 years of evil. And then the camera focused on Jesse Jackson, standing in the middle of Grant Park, all by himself, no entourage, tears streaming down his face. And I started to cry, too. Sitting in that hotel in a foreign land.
I don’t know. Maybe we shouldn’t be too hard on ourselves. It was a cathartic experience and emotionally unexpected. I suppose it isn’t unreasonable that we thought the country had changed, that we finally were listening to the better angels. And that we could go back to business as usual. And drop our guard.
Oh yeah, all of that. I told people it was like Bobby Kennedy hadn't been assassinated and we won 1968 finally.. But having been a community organizer (for more than voter registration, which was what Obama's community organizing experience was) when they fired Dean and shot down OFA, I knew a wrong turn had been taken.
But I was happy as hell on January 20 to watch Bruce Springsteen and Pete Seeger sing the second verse of "This Land is Your Land" on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial (the "communist" verse) to Barack and Michelle and feel like we'd won.
And then we spent the next eight years and the four after that learning we had to fight all over again for all of it.
I think if Obama had been more experienced (he had the thinnest C.V. of any president almost ever, until his successor) things might have been different. he listened to a lot of the wrong people (like Rahm) because he knew them.
You nailed it. Obama. Emmanuel. Howard Dean! How could Obama allow that firing to happen? My eyes were fogged by the magic of Obama. But, when I saw him drink the glass of water in Flint, the fog started to lift. Now, this. (And, Biden was there. So, why did he call McConnell an honorable man? Why all this nonsensical talk the last 17 months about bipartisanship? It’s driven and continues to drive me crazy. We need fierce leadership.) ❤️🤍💙
I sometimes wish you weren't the historian that you are because it would be much easier to dismiss your presentations as fantasy constructed on rumors and legends. However, you are quite capable, a good researcher and an excellent writer and, given the summation you delivered today, it becomes incumbent on all of us to choose capable candidates, work to get them through the primaries and then work even harder in the general election to get them into office and keep reminding them of who they owe their jobs to. The course we're on can still be changed but if we thought that ending the war in Vietnam and regaining the civil rights that black people should never have lost was hard, that was just a warm-up.
btw, EVERYONE needs to GRAB the latest issue (June 27th) of "The New Yorker" for the profile on DeSantis. it's very important for all of us to know as much as possible about this guy, who is a lot more dangerous than he even appears to be (which is already pretty dangerous) because he's a whole lot smarter than he looks or talks, which means he's THAT much more ambitious and cynical. and ready to tell any lie at all if it brings him closer to....
yeah, but Tom...it really is a terrible series. the writing is so "on-the-money," I found myself wincing about every ninety seconds. nowadays, for a lot of cable series, the writing seems to take a backseat to the production values, which is a crappy development. this was NOT at all the case when the phenomenon began, with great writing on shows like "Deadwood" and "The Wire" (which also boasted tremendously innovative narrative strategies, which Simon has continued through the terrific recent "We Own This City", whereas Milch's genius is more purely literary). I think--I HOPE--this is just a "phase." jeez...I sound like you actually ASKED.
Your critique is right on, but I have to admit I liked the series. The problem was in the structure, the scenes flashing from one era to the other and a different subject, so they didn't have a lot of time to develop things. Which is why the writing so often was on the nose. But it was interesting doing the three first ladies who were unlike any before each of them. But making snippets here and there did make for a problem. It was because of only getting 10 episodes.
I also think Gillian Anderson (who now is determined to conquer "theatuh," and might actually think she's succeeding because she works all the time in ENGLAND, to no great effect) is a terrible actress (that weird prosthesis or whatever-it-is doesn't much help, either. Viola Davis has an impossible job (much too soon, I'm thinking). which leaves Michelle Pfeiffer, who has demonstrated she's a lot more than the best-looking girl in the class, which she obviously always was.
Dean's "Fifty State Strategy" was brilliant. It worked. David Pepper of "Laboratories of Autocracy" put out a 2-minute video over the weekend illustrating with a WHITE BOARD exactly how this strategy has been used by rethugs against Democrats. If I can find the link, I'll post it. In a nutshell, Dems have given the entire fight over to the rethugs, focusing narrowly instead of broadly. Now we seem to have a DNC and a DNCCC that by and large does nothing except send out letters, texts, and emails soliciting donations. Every Dem candidate appears to be on his or her own. Judging from the number of solicitations I get every single day, there is absolutely NO plan, no strategy, no coordination at all. One would think, with mass murders and now individual murders via coat hangers and alley abortions, there would be more than enough ammunition for Dems to use, to mobilize, to strategize. But no. It's haphazard. Perhaps there are enough of us to "win" in 2020 as a ragtag bunch of angry revolutionaries, but the odds are against us pulling this off as long as the rethugs are funded by the deep and dark pockets of dirty KochKKKers and their ilk. Pardon my pessimism today, but all I see, hear and feel is anger and frustration and NO "Fifty State Strategy." We need Dean back at the helm, or, if not him, someone with his sharp mind, passion, and drive.
One question: what on earth was Emmanuel's "rationale" for abolishing a system that worked? I can understand that he held animosity for Dean and took revenge on him personally, but an entire STRATEGY? That's just boneheaded.
Well, Rahm is the perfect asshole for demonstrating the kind of moron who considers himself a legend in his own mind. Also his brother Ari, who as I point out, has only fucked up movies.
The Dimocrap fund-raising emails are such shit. "I'll fight for the right to choice!! Send money!" Great, glad to hear that. Are you going to vote to kill the filibuster so we can pass a law to protect the right? Do you have ANYTHING to present as a plan to overcome these Enemies of America?
my friend was over last night, and he's in a position to contribute some actual money every now and again. he was here for about two or three hours and got 17 solicitations from various places. 13 were from the DNC. are they nuts, or what? bugging people that often is gonna get those solicitations blocked by a lot of very loyal voters.
HOW ROE DIED is Hawk's Eye View of the cause of death. Rahm Emmanuel was a lead perpetrator. His stupidity in firing Howard Dean, DNC chairman and creator of the Fifty State Strategy was major. I would add that the Democratic Party deserves as much shame for this as he does. It didn't protect Dean or follow the Fifty State Strategy. How is the party doing in rural counties, in Red and Purple states? Emmanuel had a concentrate on the winnable states strategy for the 2010 midterms. How did that turn out? Read Hawk's Eye View if you want to weep some more. This is a limb by limb, vein by vein autopsy. I don't think it is solely about the death of one of our constitutional rights to privacy. As TC has written, there is more to come. What about a national ban on abortion? I will not count the losses ahead... let's count instead the millions upon millions of us that will mobilize. We saved the Affordable Care Act; how about saving the USA from the 6 and that cadre with plans to rule our country in the coming Dark Ages, USA?
Thanks for the step-by-step exposition of how we got to this miserable day and for laying part of the blame on Rahm Emmanuel and Obama for not recognizing the progression of the movement conservatives.
I must voice my disappointment, too, in Biden for holding too long onto the hope that his "friends" across the aisle would work with him. McConnell would not and will not let that happen unless it inures to his personal benefit. Could Biden have foreseen that Roe v. Wade was on its last legs and have done anything to prevent Dobbs v. Jackson?
Unfortunately, nobody could do that. It also came before his time in office, it was one of those "Trump cases" the "pro life" crowd was pushing.
my own opinion is that yes, Biden 's own experience of a very different legislative reality certainly blinded him to these new realities, and he should have known better. as for not seeing the proverbial handwriting on the proverbial wall, it was wrong, but he shares that short-sightedness with everyone else in his party who did the same thing. now, it's time to sit back and LISTEN to the people who actually DID have a very clear sense this was happening. and yeah, those justices certainly all lied in their confirmation hearings, but it should also have been pretty obvious if they were all recommended by the Federalist Society, which doesn't make any bones about their positions on a wide variety of issues, including abortion rights. when TFF SAID that abortion was his big test for choosing justices, it was probably the one time he WASN'T lying.
I am dismayed that those Democrats who saw, or should have seen, the events unfolding did nothing to prevent this devolution into the dystopia we are now living in and which will likely get more dystopian before it gets better. It is now up to We, the People to get out the vote, ensure that the filibuster is tweaked or overridden, and expand SCOTUS. We've got our work cut out for us.
Tom, I think this dovetails to an earlier post you had which demonstrated that the late adoption by the GOP of anti-abortion advocacy was actually an intentional catspaw to recruit anti-Black evangelical leaders who were trying to broaden their appeal via opposition to abortion. Maybe a link would be helpful? (I think Prof. Richardson has posted similar.)
In retrospect it’s galling that we (or at least professional Democratic politicians) didn’t anticipate a “culture war” backlash when we elected a Black president. I recall Dean getting the boot. My memory (could be wrong) was that there was a little second guessing of the decision but not enough to matter. I guess we were all rather hopeful that the nation had turned a corner.
I recall election night in 2008. I was in Tokyo that day, having voted by mail before I left on a business trip. I hadn’t looked at any polling before I left and was too tired to check before going to bed. I got up early for a business breakfast and got back to the hotel a bit before noon Tokyo time. Turned on the TV and found the feed from American television. And that’s when I first heard that Obama had won and that McCain had just conceded. I was gobsmacked. I didn’t know what to feel. We actually had done it. We had overcome 400 years of evil. And then the camera focused on Jesse Jackson, standing in the middle of Grant Park, all by himself, no entourage, tears streaming down his face. And I started to cry, too. Sitting in that hotel in a foreign land.
I don’t know. Maybe we shouldn’t be too hard on ourselves. It was a cathartic experience and emotionally unexpected. I suppose it isn’t unreasonable that we thought the country had changed, that we finally were listening to the better angels. And that we could go back to business as usual. And drop our guard.
But we are not going to make that mistake again.
I hope.
Oh yeah, all of that. I told people it was like Bobby Kennedy hadn't been assassinated and we won 1968 finally.. But having been a community organizer (for more than voter registration, which was what Obama's community organizing experience was) when they fired Dean and shot down OFA, I knew a wrong turn had been taken.
But I was happy as hell on January 20 to watch Bruce Springsteen and Pete Seeger sing the second verse of "This Land is Your Land" on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial (the "communist" verse) to Barack and Michelle and feel like we'd won.
And then we spent the next eight years and the four after that learning we had to fight all over again for all of it.
I think if Obama had been more experienced (he had the thinnest C.V. of any president almost ever, until his successor) things might have been different. he listened to a lot of the wrong people (like Rahm) because he knew them.
And Geitner. And Summers…
And Jamie Dimon...!
He's a good writer; the rest was romance.
Yep.
very, very well said. thanks, Gary.
This is one of those letters where I hate that Substack only has a “like” button. This one deserves a “😭” or a “🤬”.
Yes. It pisses me off too, to realize this.
I guess I should stop holding my breath for italics, right?
You nailed it. Obama. Emmanuel. Howard Dean! How could Obama allow that firing to happen? My eyes were fogged by the magic of Obama. But, when I saw him drink the glass of water in Flint, the fog started to lift. Now, this. (And, Biden was there. So, why did he call McConnell an honorable man? Why all this nonsensical talk the last 17 months about bipartisanship? It’s driven and continues to drive me crazy. We need fierce leadership.) ❤️🤍💙
it's because the billionaires have two parties and we need our own.
I sometimes wish you weren't the historian that you are because it would be much easier to dismiss your presentations as fantasy constructed on rumors and legends. However, you are quite capable, a good researcher and an excellent writer and, given the summation you delivered today, it becomes incumbent on all of us to choose capable candidates, work to get them through the primaries and then work even harder in the general election to get them into office and keep reminding them of who they owe their jobs to. The course we're on can still be changed but if we thought that ending the war in Vietnam and regaining the civil rights that black people should never have lost was hard, that was just a warm-up.
Exactly right.
And thank you.
btw, EVERYONE needs to GRAB the latest issue (June 27th) of "The New Yorker" for the profile on DeSantis. it's very important for all of us to know as much as possible about this guy, who is a lot more dangerous than he even appears to be (which is already pretty dangerous) because he's a whole lot smarter than he looks or talks, which means he's THAT much more ambitious and cynical. and ready to tell any lie at all if it brings him closer to....
Excellent post, TC.... I'd totally forgotten about the 50 State strategy and Howard Dean, and Rahm Emanuel's role.
I liked that in "the First Lady" show he was portrayed as an asshole.
yeah, but Tom...it really is a terrible series. the writing is so "on-the-money," I found myself wincing about every ninety seconds. nowadays, for a lot of cable series, the writing seems to take a backseat to the production values, which is a crappy development. this was NOT at all the case when the phenomenon began, with great writing on shows like "Deadwood" and "The Wire" (which also boasted tremendously innovative narrative strategies, which Simon has continued through the terrific recent "We Own This City", whereas Milch's genius is more purely literary). I think--I HOPE--this is just a "phase." jeez...I sound like you actually ASKED.
Your critique is right on, but I have to admit I liked the series. The problem was in the structure, the scenes flashing from one era to the other and a different subject, so they didn't have a lot of time to develop things. Which is why the writing so often was on the nose. But it was interesting doing the three first ladies who were unlike any before each of them. But making snippets here and there did make for a problem. It was because of only getting 10 episodes.
I also think Gillian Anderson (who now is determined to conquer "theatuh," and might actually think she's succeeding because she works all the time in ENGLAND, to no great effect) is a terrible actress (that weird prosthesis or whatever-it-is doesn't much help, either. Viola Davis has an impossible job (much too soon, I'm thinking). which leaves Michelle Pfeiffer, who has demonstrated she's a lot more than the best-looking girl in the class, which she obviously always was.
Dean's "Fifty State Strategy" was brilliant. It worked. David Pepper of "Laboratories of Autocracy" put out a 2-minute video over the weekend illustrating with a WHITE BOARD exactly how this strategy has been used by rethugs against Democrats. If I can find the link, I'll post it. In a nutshell, Dems have given the entire fight over to the rethugs, focusing narrowly instead of broadly. Now we seem to have a DNC and a DNCCC that by and large does nothing except send out letters, texts, and emails soliciting donations. Every Dem candidate appears to be on his or her own. Judging from the number of solicitations I get every single day, there is absolutely NO plan, no strategy, no coordination at all. One would think, with mass murders and now individual murders via coat hangers and alley abortions, there would be more than enough ammunition for Dems to use, to mobilize, to strategize. But no. It's haphazard. Perhaps there are enough of us to "win" in 2020 as a ragtag bunch of angry revolutionaries, but the odds are against us pulling this off as long as the rethugs are funded by the deep and dark pockets of dirty KochKKKers and their ilk. Pardon my pessimism today, but all I see, hear and feel is anger and frustration and NO "Fifty State Strategy." We need Dean back at the helm, or, if not him, someone with his sharp mind, passion, and drive.
One question: what on earth was Emmanuel's "rationale" for abolishing a system that worked? I can understand that he held animosity for Dean and took revenge on him personally, but an entire STRATEGY? That's just boneheaded.
Well, Rahm is the perfect asshole for demonstrating the kind of moron who considers himself a legend in his own mind. Also his brother Ari, who as I point out, has only fucked up movies.
The Dimocrap fund-raising emails are such shit. "I'll fight for the right to choice!! Send money!" Great, glad to hear that. Are you going to vote to kill the filibuster so we can pass a law to protect the right? Do you have ANYTHING to present as a plan to overcome these Enemies of America?
Crickets....
my friend was over last night, and he's in a position to contribute some actual money every now and again. he was here for about two or three hours and got 17 solicitations from various places. 13 were from the DNC. are they nuts, or what? bugging people that often is gonna get those solicitations blocked by a lot of very loyal voters.
Thanks for this well-researched, essential analysis. It is a benchmark.