Reasons for Democrats to be Optimistic About the 2022 Mid-Terms

[lees1975]

One of the best articles in the media that I've seen, in Salon, is linked in this blog post.

https://signalpress.blogspot.com/2022/01/from-salon-reasons-for-democrats-to-be.html

"Ignore the media, even the mainstream media, and anything that speculates without pointing out facts. Amanda Marcotte, of Salon, did that in this piece and it is worth citing and sharing. Likewise, several Washington Post and New York Times political writers do the same thing. Both of those publications are worth the ridiculously cheap electronic subscription rates. MSNBC's evening lineup, specifically Joy Reid, Chris Hayes, Rachel Maddow and Lawrence O'Donnell, are A+. The weekend lineups are also excellent. Let's see if we can't improve their ratings.

Vote. Every time there's an election, get in line and cast a ballot. I got some strange looks at a recent gathering for local, city council candidates when I raised my hand and asked the question, "Do you believe Donald Trump really lost the 2020 election?" One of the candidates started in with the line that those issues really had nothing to do with the council election and I countered by saying I would not vote to put anyone in public office who believed that the 2020 election was stolen from Trump, regardless of the issues or the level of the election, and I got some applause for saying it. And I voted for the candidate who quickly and boldly said he believed the election was secure and accurate, and Trump was a liar. He won, by the way."

[Hortensis]

1. Good. And related, NBC evening news did another in its series "State of Extremism,"

reporting on the activities of right wing domestic extremists related to the January 6 attempt to stop certification of the presidential election. I don't watch the evening news much, so I was greatly encouraged to see coverage of the RW insurrection-attempt-in-plain-sight being reported as a series on evening broadcast news. They used the terms RW domestic extremists and extremists a number of times.

This episode was about the shift in tactics of RW domestic extremists' (outside government) from the federal to local levels, groups decentralizing in response to federal response to Jan 6 and a lot of them reengaging in local culture wars issues. "Prominent white nationalists" in the media are shifting similarly to the this new focus, as are groups like the Proud Boys, who see the anger and divisions of locals at town halls, school board meetings, and so on as good hunting grounds. The expert saw both reassuring signs (not described) and signs that the underlying problems of domestic extremism are becoming more pernicious.

(LW domestic extremists were not mentioned. They're fewer and most tend to be "kinder and gentler" extremists in comparison; but they routinely double team with RW versions against Democrats, modifying rhetoric as needed, to augment and capitalize on damage inflicted from the right.)

"Domestic extremism is really like a fluid that matches the container it's in at any given moment."

[lees1975]

3. I saw that and thought it was excellent

I've started going to my local city council and school board meetings to step up and counter these right wing nut jobs. We shall see what happens as a result.

[Hortensis]

4. :) Joining reason for optimism. That's great.

[RussBLib]

2. good article

it's refreshing to read something besides the usual doom-and-gloom hand-wringing that dominates some quarters

I think these are 4 of the reasons for optimism. The article contains a ton of info.

#1
demographic changes have been so dramatic that Republicans, in many places, decided to 'consolidate' their current position rather than take a riskier path that might expand their seats. In the end, Democrats should have a shot at far more seats than previously believed.

#2
While Republicans do control state legislatures in several of the states that are getting new seats, Democrats control state legislatures in states that lost seats, which also have to be redrawn.

#3
Observing vote totals from elections since 2010 show that the Republican share of the vote in congressional elections nationwide has shrunk by 5%.

#4
reason for Democratic optimism has to do with the "vomit inducing" line-up of Republican candidates running for office.

[Hortensis]

5. Good points. Besides out and out positive indicators, I appreciated

having pointed out that a number of things routinely cited as problems also have positive sides.

Such as #2, where more Democratic states losing seats from the census gives Dem-controlled legislatures the opportunity to redraw districts. Or just the reminder that traitorous legislatures have to get their legislation past their governors and that those statewide elections are gerrymander-proof. 36 states are electing governors in 2022.

And the MSM are increasingly reporting on the attempts to take over our government.