{"id":612,"date":"2024-11-11T05:51:16","date_gmt":"2024-11-11T10:51:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/growpurpose.com\/skipjack\/?p=612"},"modified":"2024-11-11T16:05:31","modified_gmt":"2024-11-11T21:05:31","slug":"reasons-for-hope","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/growpurpose.com\/skipjack\/2024\/11\/11\/reasons-for-hope\/","title":{"rendered":"Reasons for Hope"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<div>I saw a photo yesterday of a sign in front of a church that I think says it all.\u00a0 It read, \u00a0\u201cThis, too, shall pass.\u00a0 It may pass like a kidney stone, but it will pass.\u201d<\/div>\n<p><div><i>Yes!<\/i>\u00a0 It\u2019s going to hurt for a while \u2013 no question about it, there is unavoidable darkness ahead \u2013 but already cracks are beginning to appear in the MAGA wall.\u00a0 There are concrete reasons for us to hope.<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<p><div>Example:\u00a0 Social media has been flooded with stories of Trump voters who are shocked \u2013<span>\u00a0<\/span><i>shocked!<\/i><span>\u00a0<\/span>&#8212; to learn that Trump\u2019s promises to them are going to cost them a lot of money. \u00a0They are just coming into the understanding that the tariffs he promises will be nothing more than sales taxes on just about everything they buy, and that he wants to weaken Social Security, cut Medicare, cut Medicaid and abolish Obamacare. \u00a0These people, mostly uneducated white men, are just coming into the understanding that instead of<span>\u00a0<\/span><i>helping<\/i>\u00a0them financially, Trump will seriously<span>\u00a0<\/span><i>hurt<span>\u00a0<\/span><\/i>them financially.<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<p><div>At this point it becomes personal.\u00a0 When they realize that Trump has lied to them, cheated them just like he cheats people who work for him, when they see their money is flowing into rich people\u2019s pockets, they will revolt \u2013 at least, those who have the guts to admit they were wrong will revolt.\u00a0 They will join us \u2013 and we will welcome them &#8212; as we get over our shock at Trump\u2019s election and organize to turn away this attempt to convert the United States of America into a tyranny<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<p><div>They\u2019re bound to recoil further \u2013\u00a0 all us probably will &#8212; \u00a0when Trump begins to implement the horrors of Project 2025<span>\u00a0<\/span><i>(see note below).<\/i>\u00a0 Trump said he\u2019d never heard of\u00a0 Project 2025 but he didn\u2019t support it<span>\u00a0<\/span><i>(?)<\/i>, but we know that\u2019s a\u00a0 lie.\u00a0 His choice for vice president,\u00a0 J.D. Vance, wrote the Introduction for it.<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<p><div>The question is, why are all these people so ignorant?<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<p><div>Most of them get all their news from social\u00a0 media and\u00a0 such right-wing sources as Fox News and News Max, sources that feed their audiences a steady diet of slanted and distorted information.\u00a0 Those sources made it possible for Trump to dupe them into thinking that our envy-of-the-world booming economy is terrible, and that Vice President Kamala Harris is a stupid, crazed extremist who orchestrated a coup against President Joe Biden and doesn\u2019t care about ordinary Americans, while Trump is being unfairly assaulted by those communist-soaked Democrats. \u00a0He duped them into thinking that Democrats \u201cfailed to listen to\u201d or \u201clost touch\u201d with the middle and working classes .<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<p><div>All of that is outrageously, demonstrably wrong. Virtually every policy that Harris promoted was designed to help the middle class, blue-collar workers, and the working poor.\u00a0 Childcare tax credits, earned income credits for the working poor, lower prescription drug prices, protecting affordable healthcare, increasing the minimum wage, protecting unions and workers\u2019 rights, providing for in-home care for elderly and homebound, subsidizing first-time homebuyers, building affordable housing, student loan forgiveness, prosecuting price gouging, a middle-class tax cut \u2013 Harris supported them all.<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<p><div>It&#8217;s hard to believe such ignorance exists, isn\u2019t it? \u00a0But it undeniably does. \u00a0For example\u2026<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<ul>\n<li>An Ipsos\/Reuters poll from October showed that voters who were misinformed about immigration, crime and the economy tended to vote Republican, while those who knew the facts voted for Democrats.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<div><\/div>\n<ul>\n<li>Catherine Rampell and Youyou Zhou of The\u00a0Washington Post\u00a0showed before the election that voters overwhelmingly preferred Harris\u2019 policies to Trump\u2019s<span>\u00a0<\/span><i>if they didn\u2019t know which candidate proposed them.\u00a0<\/i><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<div><\/div>\n<ul>\n<li>Republican strategist Sarah Longwell, who studies focus groups, told NPR, \u201cWhen I ask voters in focus groups if they think Donald Trump is an authoritarian, the Number One response by far is, \u2018What is an authoritarian?\u2019\u201d<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<div><\/div>\n<ul>\n<li>And as Michael Tomasky put it in an article for The New Republic, those right-wing sources made their followers believe that\u00a0 \u201cDemocrats and liberals are treasonous elitists who hate you, and Republicans and conservatives love God and country and are your last line of defense against your son coming home from school your daughter.\u201d<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>Amazing, huh?<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<p><div>But again, the good\u00a0 news here is that these folks are beginning to see the light.\u00a0 They are beginning to realize they\u2019ve been duped, and, one can hope, once they see it, once they feel it personally, they will rebel.\u00a0 They will join us.<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<p><div>So will those 93 million eligible voters who did not vote.\u00a0 Once they see the damage Trump is doing to our nation, they, too, will join us.<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<p><div>All that, though, is only what appears likely to happen, not what already has happened.\u00a0 But there is some good news there, too.\u00a0 Cracks are appearing in in that MAGA wall. In states all across the country, people who voted for Trump also voted for issues he opposes, including abortion rights, higher minimum wage, paid sick and family leave, and even plans to ban employers from forcing their employees to sit through right-wing or anti-union meetings.<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<p>\nVoters in Arizona, Colorado, Maryland, Missouri, Montana, Nevada and New York approved state constitutional amendments to protect reproductive liberty. In Missouri, where voters strongly supported Trump, 12 percent of those who voted for him also voted for abortion rights.<\/p>\n<div><\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<p>\nNorth Carolina voters, who gave the state to Trump, also elected Democrats Josh Stein governor, Rachel Hunt lieutenant governor, Jeff Jackson attorney general and\u00a0 Mo Greene top schools official. In addition, North Carolina Democrats broke the GOP supermajority in the state house, which was a top priority.<\/p>\n<div><\/div>\n<p><div>Other reasons to smile:<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<p><div>Michigan voters elected newcomer Elissa Slotkin, a Democrat, to the U.S. Senate.<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<p><div>Nevada reelected Democrat Sen. Jacky Rosen.<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<p><div>Wisconsin Democrats flipped 10 seats in the state Assembly after the state supreme court approved new legislative district lines\u2014setting up Democrats to take control of the state Assembly in 2026.<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<p><div>And, best news of all, Trump favorite Kari Lake lost the Arizona Senate race to Democrat Ruben Gallego.<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<p><div>Finally, many of Trump\u2019s promises will never come to pass.\u00a0 They can\u2019t.\u00a0 There are safeguards built into the Constitution to prevent it, and powerful legal organizations already are lining up to fight him.<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<p><div>The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), for one, is doing magnificent work to challenge every false move Trump and\u00a0 company try to make.\u00a0 As it wrote in a recent message to its supporters, \u201cIf Trump has a chance to enact the policies he&#8217;s been threatening since he left office in 2020, more families will be separated, more people will die without reproductive health care, and they will weaponize the federal government against protesters and political opponents. \u00a0We are prepared for this threat. We took legal action against Trump&#8217;s administration\u00a0434 times\u00a0when he was first in office, and we will do it again. \u00a0And we have the playbook to fight back \u2013 and win \u2013 once again\u2026<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<p><div>\u201cWe&#8217;re building a firewall for freedom in the states \u2013 working with governors, attorneys general, state legislators and local officials to protect our rights from executive overreach, while our national lawyers continue their work in federal courts. And we&#8217;re urging President Biden to use his remaining time in office to commute death row sentences, close abusive immigration detention facilities, and put a moratorium on federal agencies&#8217; purchases of our personal data so President Trump can&#8217;t weaponize it against us.\u201d<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<p><div>There also are dozens of organizations that already are gearing up to become a drag on this new government.<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<p><div>More about that later.\u00a0 For now, it\u2019s enough that we stay positive abd be there for each other<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<p><div>Then, as the shock wears off in a few days, the resistance will begin.\u00a0 And as the church sign says, this attempt on our freedom \u201cmay pass like a kidney stone, but it will pass.\u201d<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<p><div><i>(Note: It would take up far too much space to list even an abbreviated list of Project 25 objectives, or President-elect Trump\u2019s promises, but I wrote a column on both last April 15 titled <\/i>Danger Ahead: Project 2025, <i>that provides a comprehensive list of both their objectives.\u00a0 If you would like to read that blog, <a href=\"https:\/\/growpurpose.com\/skipjack\/2024\/04\/14\/danger-ahead-project-2025\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">click <\/a><\/i><i>here.<\/i><i>)\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/i><\/div>\n<hr \/>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><em>\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n<div class=\"su-note\"  style=\"border-color:#d7d0d0;border-radius:3px;-moz-border-radius:3px;-webkit-border-radius:3px;\"><div class=\"su-note-inner su-u-clearfix su-u-trim\" style=\"background-color:#F1EAEA;border-color:#ffffff;color:#333333;border-radius:3px;-moz-border-radius:3px;-webkit-border-radius:3px;\"><strong>A FEW RELATED READINGS<br \/>\nprovided by the folks at GrowPurpose.com<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.politico.com\/news\/magazine\/2024\/11\/07\/10-democratic-thinkers-on-what-the-party-needs-right-now-00187993\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">11 Democratic Thinkers on What the Party Needs Right Now<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.thenation.com\/article\/politics\/2024-election-lessons-analysis-democrats\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Democrats Need to Fundamentally Rethink Everything<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/wagingnonviolence.org\/2024\/11\/10-things-to-do-if-trump-wins\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">10 ways to be prepared and grounded now that Trump has won<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/archive.today\/waxP2\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">What Can Women Do Now?<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/time.com\/collection\/time100-voices\/7173801\/elizabeth-warren-democrats-plan-after-2024-election\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Sen. Elizabeth Warren: Here&#8217;s the Plan to Fight Back<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul><\/ul>\n<\/div><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>&nbsp; I saw a photo yesterday of a sign in front of a church that I think says it all.\u00a0 It read, \u00a0\u201cThis, too, shall pass.\u00a0 It may pass like a kidney stone, but it will pass.\u201d Yes!\u00a0 It\u2019s going to hurt for a while \u2013 no question about it,&hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":619,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[16],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-612","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-article"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/growpurpose.com\/skipjack\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/612","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/growpurpose.com\/skipjack\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/growpurpose.com\/skipjack\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/growpurpose.com\/skipjack\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/growpurpose.com\/skipjack\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=612"}],"version-history":[{"count":10,"href":"https:\/\/growpurpose.com\/skipjack\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/612\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":626,"href":"https:\/\/growpurpose.com\/skipjack\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/612\/revisions\/626"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/growpurpose.com\/skipjack\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/619"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/growpurpose.com\/skipjack\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=612"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/growpurpose.com\/skipjack\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=612"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/growpurpose.com\/skipjack\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=612"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}