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Alan Archibald's avatar
Mike Wicklein's avatar

This is very serious stuff and demands our attention. I grew up about 70 miles west of DC in Hagerstown. It was a nice safe place to grow up for kids. We could ride our bikes anywhere and stay out all day during the summer and just play. My high school friends who stayed there are mostly Trump supporters, (except for the artists & musicians) those of us who got out are mostly not. We had the same up-bringing...and many of my friends who stayed or didn't, went to college. A lot of this feels like it's rural vs urban. Those of us who have lived a more diverse life and interact with a broader spectrum of people have a different point of view. I'm really trying to figure out what action I can take, what use of my time, talents and resources can help make a difference. Heather does an excellent job of compiling and interpreting the happenings and trends. We need to harness this information and use it to keep this democracy more healthy than not....and it's an on-going job, there will likely never be an end game to this.

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Herb Klinker (FL and Umbria)'s avatar

For the life of me, I do not understand the prioritization of the Democrats political agenda. We are at a crossroads in America. The Democrats are not only doing a horrible job of messaging, they're talking about the infrastructure legislation far too much, while virtually ignoring the disenfranchisement of millions of their supporters by failing to enact legislation to restore voting rights.

It's like showing everyone your plans to build a big bookcase in your den, while your house is being threatened by a raging wildfire. If your house burns to the ground, the bookshelf will burn right along with it.

The Republicans are playing the long game far better. They want to tie up the infrastructure package because they know that Manchin and Sinema are their allies They can drag this on and on, all the while getting the state legislatures to enact more restrictive voting legislation. The infrastructure bill is wildly popular, but it has zero chance of being enacted and implemented unless the Democrats not only hold their majority, but strengthen it.

It's time to move the infrastructure bill to the back burner and turn up the heat to pass the two voting rights bills under consideration. It's time to recognize that relying on traditional methods of legislative negotiating no longer hold any value. In short, it's time to call the fire department!

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