“There’s no question Trump is going through self-immolation. He’s killing himself,” said former Sen. Judd Gregg (R-N.H.). “All swing states are won by independent votes, and he’s alienated the independent vote almost every day with some foolish statement that marginalizes him, and as a result the party—and the majority of independents are educated women, and they’re just turned off by the guy and what he says.”
“Downballot Republicans, I think, are very worried,” Gregg continued. “Instead of running your campaign, you’re defending his statements and eccentricities and his marginalization [of Harris]. It’s really bad for a candidate if you can’t run your own campaign. You have to spend all your time defending stupid comments, divisive comments and disruptive comments.”
That’s exactly right… they don’t like how since the postwar period, so many of the “wrong” kind of people have been able to get, not only a bachelor’s degree, but some even have gone right on through to getting advanced degrees and have managed to make important contributions to how we understand the world. They want to make academia white, straight, and male again, especially in the humanities.
Well… they also want to privatize it? So they can get their friends cushy jobs running universities? They don’t like the idea of a public good overall. All things need to be used to enrich some already rich asshole.
dog, i hate her rhetoric! she seems to think that, because her parents fled Castro’s Cuba, that she is the authority on “socialism”. problem is, Miami Cubans seem to agree, and when politicians can be painted as “socialist” the Cubans will not vote for them, fearing a replay of the Cuban revolution of 1959 here.
it is not the same.
how do i argue this is not true? how do i tell my neighbors that their fear of Democrats is unfounded?
not on you, @milliefink , i just ask out loud, because this is an issue that can separate me and my Cuban neighbors.
How does she feel about Batista, the mafia and the US sugar companies owning most of the country?
She’s 62, has never lived there and was born in the U.S. Maybe there’s hope for the younger people? They’re hopefully going to be even less connected to that history. Not that that’s immediately helpful.
there is hope in the younger generations that have grown up here, without the toxic rhetoric of people like Salazar. i am in an area that for some reason, brings wealthy retirees to either spend their days in a community, and the very wealthy, second-home or vacation home owners that overwhelmingly tend to be miami cubans. i do have interactions and conversations with them on the daily. it is always best to avoid politics and stick to the weather and fishing reports.
They are aware that Castro didn’t come to power via an election, yes? I’m not sure they’ve thought this through fully, have they?
Good question! First, point out that Castro came to power by a revolution, not by getting voted into office. You could maybe ask them why they think democratic politicians are “socialists” and what do they think that actually means (other than just pointing at Castro…)? Ask them what policies they see as “socialist” and maybe point out how it’s not?
It’s worth a shot, but yeah, it’s tough to get people out of that mindset…
Refer then to Ana Navarro. She’s not Cuban, she’s Nicaraguan, but she lives in Miami and is a conservative Republican. She has also in the past expressed concern about socialism, but in a much more realistic, measured way. And she spoke at the DNC, and is supporting Harris. She also supported Biden in 2020. I can’t remember if she voted for Clinton in 2016 or voted 3rd party, but she’s never supported Trump.
ETA: I don’t guess she technically spoke at the DNC, but she was the celebrity host one night. I don’t remember which night.
“We should be afraid?” Fuck that. I’m damned tired of being afraid. I’m pissed at what these asshats want for my country, my loved ones, for me. I am angry.
This reminds me somewhat of our Heimatvertriebene. Definitely not the same, but there are similarities, like the toxic right wing rhetoric and the usual “everything was better in the old homeland” narratives; “I used to own/be somebody”, that sort of thing.
Most of it slowly faded away over time as every new generation assimilated itself more thoroughly and got comfy where they were. The last huge rearing up was due to Willy Brandt’s Ostpolitik; there were still a lot of first generation expellees around then.
But I do know people who see themselves as “fourth generation Silesian expellees” - who have no clue whatsoever what they actually want, politically. They just repeat phrases.
But thinking may lead to questioning oneself. And possibly brain damage; thinking hurts! No, no, simply perpetuating a narrative is so much more convenient.
I’m not sure they’ve thought this through fully, have they?
