November 4, 2021
Elections 2021
** New Jersey. Brent Johnson. of NJ.com: "Phil Murphy, a Democrat who has pushed New Jersey in a more progressive direction and overseen the state's response to the coronavirus pandemic, won a second term as the Garden State's governor Wednesday night, narrowly defeating Republican Jack Ciattarelli in a bitter and closer-than-expected race that was too close to call for nearly 24 hours. The race was called by The Associated Press early Wednesday evening.... As of just before 7 p.m. Wednesday, Murphy's margin over Ciattarelli was less than a percentage point -- 50% to 49.2%. It's a difference of 19,440 votes out of 2.4 million cast, which if it holds up would make it among the closest governor's race New Jersey has ever had.... The Ciattarelli campaign criticized the call by the AP. 'With the candidates separated by a fraction of a percent out of 2.4 million ballots cast, it's irresponsible of the media to make this call when the New Jersey Secretary of State doesn't even know how many ballots are left to be counted,' Ciattarelli spokeswoman Stami Williams said in a statement. It's possible the race could still be contested. Mail-in and provisional ballots may be counted through Monday, and Ciattarelli could petition the state courts for a recount." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) The New York Times story is here.
New York. Jesse McKinley of the New York Times: "In a sharp reversal of political fortune, Mayor Byron W. Brown of Buffalo has seemingly triumphed in a write-in campaign for a new term, besting India Walton, a democratic socialist who had stunned Mr. Brown in a primary in June and had drawn national attention as a champion of progressive values. Ms. Walton -- a first-time candidate -- said on Wednesday afternoon that she likely would not be able to translate the energy of her surprising primary victory into a general election win. 'It seems unlikely that we will end up with enough votes to inaugurate a Walton administration in January,' she wrote on Twitter."
Christopher Mathias of the Huffington Post: "At least seven Republicans who attended the Jan. 6 rally in Washington, D.C., that turned into a deadly insurrection were elected to office Tuesday. Three were elected to state legislatures, and four won positions at the local level.... Among the Jan. 6 attendees who won office on Tuesday were two Republicans reelected to the Virginia House of Delegates: Dave LaRock and John McGuire. Earlier this year LaRock, responding to criticism from a Black elected official about his role in the insurrection, said the official should focus on 'the needs of the colored community.'" The story has been updated to report that at least eight GOP January 6 attendees have been elected, five of them to local offices. (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) A Washington Post story, which still has the number of January 6 rally-goers/election victors at seven, is here.
Tory Gavito & Adam Jettleson in a New York Times op-ed: "The Virginia election results should shock Democrats into confronting the powerful role that racially coded attacks play in American politics.... Crucially, the Republican [gubernatorial] nominee, Glenn Youngkin, was able to use racially coded attacks to motivate sky-high white turnout without paying a penalty among minority voters.... It will not work to ignore race and talk about popular issues instead.... The past half-century of American political history shows that racially coded attacks are how Republicans have been winning elections for decades, from Richard Nixon's 'law and order' campaign to Ronald Reagan's 'welfare queens' and George H.W. Bush's Willie Horton ad.... As Mr. Trump showed -- and Mr. Youngkin confirmed -- racially coded attacks do not necessarily repel Latino voters.... Democrats must confront it and explain that powerful elites and special interests use race as a tool of division to distract hard-working people of all races while they get robbed blind.... Forced to confront [race], [Barack] Obama offered Americans a vision that mobilized a broad, diverse coalition -- while also persuading white voters."
Alexander Bolton of the Hill: "Some Democrats, such as Sens. Tim Kaine (Va.) and Martin Heinrich (N.M.), are saying that the slow pace of progress on the Build Back Better Act, which has in turn delayed passage of the bipartisan infrastructure bill, hurt Democrats in Virginia."MB: Hey, let's ask Joe Manchin what he thinks about that! "... Manchin (D-W.Va.), who has slowed down negotiations on a massive $1.75 trillion reconciliation package, says the 'unbelievable' Republican victories in Virginia's statewide races Tuesday validate his concerns about inflation and moving the Build Back Better Act too quickly through Congress.... 'I've been saying this for many, many months, people have concerns, people are concerned,' he said...." MB: If "people have concerns," Joe, it's because you & your Republican friends have been raising those :concerns." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)
Marie: Anyhow, Joe, let's put this "unbelievable" setback in perspective. (1) Despite all the "Democrats are doomed" stories prominently featured by nearly every major media outlet Wednesday (almost all of which I chose not to link), Rachel Maddow pointed out that since the bygone days of Bush the Elder, the party in the White House has always lost the next year's gubernatorial races in both Virginia and New Jersey. That is, every president, in his first term, was zero for two. President Biden, on the other hand, is one for two. He beat out all recent presidents when Democrat Phil Murphy prevailed in New Jersey. (2) I watched a Nova show tonight about galaxies merging and so forth, and really, none of this matters in the grand scheme of things, does it?
Maine Ballot Measure. Taylor Telford of the Washington Post: "Maine voters approved an amendment Tuesday that enshrines the 'right to food' -- the first of its kind in the United States. The amendment to the state's constitution declares that all people have a 'natural, inherent and unalienable right' to grow, raise, produce and consume food of their own choosing as long as they do so within legal parameters. It was approved on Tuesday by 60 percent of voters based on unofficial results, according to Ballotpedia. The measure had been approved by the state legislature in May.... Maine state Rep. Billy Bob Faulkingham, a Republican legislator who sponsored the legislation, has called it the 'Second Amendment of food.'... But opponents contend the amendment is vague and could open the state to a range of food safety, legal and environmental challenges.... Animal welfare and farming groups say, for example, it could weaken animal cruelty protections or allow amateur farmers to unwittingly unleash invasive species."
Even stories that are not about Tuesday's election are about Tuesday's election: ~~~
~~~ Jonathan Weisman & Emily Cochrane of the New York Times: "Smarting from an off-year electoral rebuke, congressional Democrats pushed forward on Wednesday toward House votes as soon as Thursday on nearly $3 trillion worth of social policy, infrastructure and climate change programs -- but with a deep new worry: Would a legislative victory help or hurt their bruised political standing? The day after a defeat in the Virginia governor's race and an unexpectedly close race in the Democratic stronghold of New Jersey, the Democrats in Congress toiled to keep recriminations to a minimum. But centrists grumbled that the party's left flank had held back final passage of what they considered the most popular part of the agenda, a bipartisan $1 trillion infrastructure bill, while liberals blamed poor campaigns and ineffectual candidates."
Carl Hulse of the New York Times: "Senate Republicans on Wednesday blocked legislation to restore parts of the landmark Voting Rights Act weakened by Supreme Court rulings, making it the second major voting bill to be derailed by a G.O.P. filibuster in the past two weeks. Despite receiving majority support, the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act, named for the civil rights activist and congressman who died last year, fell nine votes short of the 60 required to advance over Republican opposition.... just one Republican senator, Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, joined all 50 Democrats in voting to open debate on a compromise measure that also has the support of Senator Joe Manchin III, Democrat of West Virginia, who helped negotiate the new version.... In the aftermath of the defeat, Senate Democrats said they would intensify internal discussions about altering filibuster rules or making other changes to allow them to move forward on voting rights legislation despite deep resistance by Republicans, who have now thwarted four efforts to take up such measures."
Felicia Sonmez & John Hudson of the Washington Post: "The Senate Foreign Relations Committee on Wednesday approved President Biden's nomination of former Chicago mayor Rahm Emanuel as U.S. ambassador to Japan, even as two Democrats on the panel voted in opposition. The nomination now advances to the full Senate. Emanuel has faced sharp criticism for his handling of police misconduct, including the 2014 police shooting of Laquan McDonald, a Black Chicago teenager. The two Democrats opposing Emanuel during Wednesday's voice vote were Sens. Jeff Merkley (Ore.) and Edward J. Markey (Mass.). In a statement Wednesday morning, Merkley said he had reached his decision after carefully considering Emanuel's record and 'the input of civil rights leaders, criminal justice experts, and local elected officials who have reached out to the Senate to weigh in.'... It is rare for a senator to issue a statement opposing a nominee chosen by a president of their own party." Merkley's statement is here. (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)
Zolan Kanno-Youngs of the New York Times: "President Biden on Wednesday said migrants separated from family members at the border would not receive hundreds of thousands of dollars for the damage inflicted by the Trump-era policy, rejecting an option for monetary compensation that had been floated in negotiations with lawyers representing the families. Representatives of the migrant families and government officials had discussed giving families $450,000 for each member affected by ... Donald J. Trump's 'zero tolerance' policy, which led to the separation of about 5,500 children from their parents.... But when asked on Wednesday about compensating the migrants, Mr. Biden denied the option was on the table. '$450,000 per person? Is that what you're saying?' Mr. Biden said when asked by Fox News reporter Peter Doocy about the payments. 'That's not going to happen.'" ~~~
~~~ Marie: Of course there is a no-cost way to "give" most of the family members $450K each: give them permanent residence status. Almost all of the young people will earn (and pay taxes on) at least $450K during their lifetimes.
Rachel Siegel of the Washington Post: "The Federal Reserve will start easing its vast support for financial markets this month, marking a highly anticipated policy change as central bank leaders grapple with major price increases in some parts of the economy but plenty of room to grow in the labor market. The Fed's announcement, made after its two-day policy meeting concluded Wednesday, comes as the economy continues to shift more than 18 months after the pandemic first hammered U.S. labor and financial markets. The S&P 500 and other stock indexes closed at record highs Wednesday amid fresh optimism about the economy's direction, but other concerns persist, including inflation, supply chain issues and a disconnect between many unfilled jobs and unemployed workers." A New York Times report is here. CNBC's report is here.
Adam Liptak of the New York Times: "A New York law that imposes strict limits on carrying guns outside the home seemed unlikely to survive its encounter with the Supreme Court, based on questioning from the justice on Wednesday during two hours of arguments. Several members of the court seemed to be searching for a way to rule narrowly in the case, which could involve deciding that local officials have too much power to deny licenses to people seeking to carry guns in public for self-defense while affirming the state's right to exclude guns from sensitive places." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ~~~
~~~ Marie: What's most "unlikely to survive" is public safety. I don't think the Supremes have any idea how stupid many gun-toting Americans are. I recently heard a person say a premedicated premeditated (thanks, Forrest!) murder (by gun) was justified because a teenager had told the shooter that the guy he shot had sexually abused her. IOW, it's okay to shoot people dead if you hear a rumor they might have committed a terrible (but non-capital) crime. Apparently the justices couldn't get past the Second Amendment to the Fifth & Fourteenth, which feature due-process clauses.
Trump's Campaign Paid for Insurrection Planning. Jacqueline Alemany, et al., of the Washington Post: The Trump campaign made "more than $225,000 in campaign payments to firms owned by [Bernard] Kerik and [Rudy] Giuliani -- including more than $50,000 for rooms and suites at the posh Willard hotel in Washington that served as a 'command center' for efforts to deny Biden the presidency in the days leading up to the attack on the Capitol on Jan. 6. The fact that campaign funds were used to finance efforts to subvert Biden's victory could complicate the former president's ongoing attempt to use claims of executive privilege to shield documents and testimony from the congressional committee investigating Jan. 6, according to some legal scholars.... 'Executive privilege is typically limited to the protection of communications involving a president's official duties -- not to those relating to personal or political campaign matters,' [former Watergate prosecutor Richard] Ben-Veniste said." Thanks to Ken W. for the link. ~~~
~~~ John Wright of the Raw Story: "A new legal fund has been established to support organizers of ... Donald Trump's 'Stop the Steal' rally on Jan. 6 who've been subpoenaed by the House Select Committee investigating the Capitol insurrection. And money raised through the fund will pay for counsel from the law firm of Trump's former acting attorney general, Matt Whitaker, according to Rolling Stone.... The magazine notes that the fund, which reportedly was set up by Matt and Mercedes Schlapp, 'will not help the hundreds of Trump supporters who have been charged with storming the building.'"
Murray Waas in the Guardian: "The high-profile federal criminal investigation of Rudy Giuliani in recent days has zeroed in on evidence that in the spring of 2019 three Ukrainian government prosecutors agreed to award contracts, valued in the hundreds of thousands of dollars, to Giuliani and two other American attorneys as a way to gain political and personal influence with the Trump administration. Federal investigators believe Giuliani and two attorneys who worked closely with him, Victoria Toensing and Joe DiGenova, probably violated federal transparency laws that require Americans working for foreign governments or interests to register as foreign agents.... Federal prosecutors in the southern district in New York have compiled a list of more than two dozen specific acts by Giuliani, Toesning and DiGenova as to how to advance the personal and political interests of a group of Ukrainian prosecutors and political factions in Ukraine with which they were aligned...."
The Pandemic, Ctd.
The New York Times' live updates of Covid-19 developments Thursday are here. The Washington Post's live Covid-19 updates for Thursday are here.
Fenit Nirappil & Lindsey Bever of the Washington Post: "Almost a year after their parents and grandparents became eligible, young U.S. children are now lining up for vaccines to protect them from the virus that upended their childhoods, in many cases keeping them away from schools, playdates and vacations. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention signed off late Tuesday night on smaller doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech coronavirus vaccine for children ages 5 to 11. Soon after, doctors and nurses began administering the first shots, and parents started scrambling to book appointments, many hoping their children could be partially vaccinated before Thanksgiving. White House officials have cautioned pediatric vaccinations won't start in earnest until next week after initial shipments of 15 million doses arrive, medical professionals undergo training on administering the shots, and doctors and hospitals plan clinics."
Maegan Vazquez of CNN: "President Joe Biden called the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's authorization of the Covid-19 vaccine for kids ages 5 to 11 'a giant step forward to further accelerate our path out of this pandemic,'" saying Wednesday that it's 'a day of relief and celebration' for parents around the country. 'The bottom line is: We've been planning and preparing for months to vaccinate our children. Our program will be ramping up this week and more doses (will be) shipped out each day so that we have it fully up and running by next week,' Biden said during remarks at the White House Wednesday afternoon." ~~~
~~~ The President's full remarks, as delivered, are here. Via the White House.
U.K. Ellen Francis & Claire Parker of the Washington Post: "Regulators in Britain granted approval to the experimental drug molnupiravir from U.S. pharmaceutical giant Merck on Thursday, marking the first authorization from a public health body for an oral antiviral treatment for covid-19 in adults. Experts say that if widely authorized, the medicine could have huge potential to help fight the coronavirus pandemic: Pills are easier to take, manufacture and store, making them particularly useful in lower- to middle-income countries with weaker infrastructure and limited vaccine supplies.... A global clinical trial showed the pill reduced hospitalizations and deaths by nearly half among higher-risk adult coronavirus patients diagnosed with mild to moderate illness, Merck -- which worked on the drug with partner Ridgeback Biotherapeutics -- said last month."
Beyond the Beltway
Florida. Gary Fineout of Politico: "Gov. Ron DeSantis vowed on Wednesday to create a fully-staffed statewide law enforcement office whose sole job would be to crack down on election crimes, despite previously praising Florida's smooth 2020 elections and rebuffing calls by members of his own party for an audit. DeSantis, who is running for reelection and is considered a potential 2024 presidential contender, is also pressing state lawmakers to increase the criminal penalty for violating new restrictions on collecting mail-in ballots. He also wants to enact a tight new 100-day deadline on when local election officials must scrub their voter rolls for those who died, moved or been convicted of a felony." ~~~
~~~ Marie: Just last night, Rachel Maddow was mocking Delaware Sen. Chris Coons' 2020 GOP opponent for wanting the cops to go after Coons for stealing the election from her (by 100K+ votes) and install her in the Senate or something. Now we find out a sitting governor is proposing a crime-busters force to maybe sorta do the same thing. Life imitates comedy.
Georgia. Richard Fausset & Giulia Heyward of the New York Times: “... a jury was selected on Wednesday in the trial of the three white men accused of killing Ahmaud Arbery, the 25-year-old Black man who was chased through a suburban Georgia neighborhood before being fatally shot by one of his pursuers in February 2020. The jury, which is made up of residents from Glynn County, where more than a quarter of the population is Black, includes 11 white people and one Black person. Anxiety over what the jury's racial makeup ... had been palpable among observers and participants in recent days.... [Overruling a prosecution argument,] the judge ruled that for each of the [defense's] eight stricken [Black] jurors, the defense had provided a 'legitimate, nondiscriminatory, clear, reasonably specific and related reason' as to why the potential juror should not be seated." ~~~
~~~ Marie: Now here's a case where lawyers likely will argue against due process: "The men's lawyers are expected to argue that their clients, who told the authorities that they suspected Mr. Arbery of a series of break-ins in their neighborhood, were carrying out a legal citizen's arrest under a state statute that has since been largely repealed." That is, it's okay to shoot a Black man dead if you think he looks like a criminal.
Nevada. Matt Bonesteel & Des Beiler of the Washington Post: "Prosecutors in Nevada said Wednesday that former Las Vegas Raiders wide receiver Henry Ruggs III reached a speed of 156 mph and had a blood alcohol level more than twice the legal limit before the early-morning crash Tuesday that killed a 23-year-old woman and her dog. Eric Bauman, chief deputy district attorney for Clark County, Nev., said Ruggs's Chevrolet Corvette was traveling at 156 mph about two seconds before he crashed into the back of a Toyota Rav4 driven by Tina Tintor on Rainbow Boulevard near Spring Valley Parkway in Las Vegas. When Ruggs's air bags deployed, his car was traveling at 127 mph, Bauman said.... Police also found a loaded gun in the passenger-side floorboard of Ruggs's car.... The Raiders released Ruggs, the No. 12 pick of the 2020 NFL draft, late Tuesday." ~~~
~~~ Marie: There are a number of reasons not to describe professional athletes as "heroes." Here are two: (1) There's nothing vaguely heroic about playing sports for money. (2) If you repeatedly tell some nitwit he's heroic, he'll think he's (a) heroic, (b) invincible and (c) too good to be concerned about other people.
New York. Brian Rosenthal of the New York Times: "New York officials said Wednesday they had struck a deal with the largest holder of taxi loans in the city to help rescue thousands of cabbies who have been crushed under paralyzing debt after years of exploitative practices in the industry. The move was a major win for drivers: As part of the deal, officials agreed to significantly expand a financial relief program that they had announced earlier this year that many drivers had criticized as insufficient. In all, the city could spend $100 million or more in a bid to potentially eliminate hundreds of millions of dollars in debt owed by the drivers. The final cost has not yet been determined. Mayor Bill de Blasio announced the deal with Senator Chuck Schumer, the majority leader, whose father-in-law once drove a cab in New York City.... In recent weeks, the Taxi Workers Alliance staged a hunger strike to urge city officials to agree to the guarantee, which was not part of the city's earlier relief program. The new plan has not yet been adopted by other lenders in the taxi industry, who carry about 60 percent of the loans taken out by drivers to buy medallions, the tin plates bolted onto the hoods of yellow taxis that allow them to pick up street hails."
Virginia. Christopher Miller of BuzzFeed News: "Neo-Nazis Christopher Cantwell and Matthew Heimbach on Wednesday ... were in a court.... 'What's your favorite Holocaust joke?' Cantwell, who is representing himself..., asked Heimbach, who was called to the stand by the plaintiffs as a witness, during cross-examination.... Attorneys for the plaintiffs interjected before any jokes were uttered. But Cantwell ... and Heimbach spent nearly an hour talking about their adoration for Nazi Germany, Adolf Hitler, the dictator's book Mein Kampf, and their belief that the Holocaust was a hoax. Hitler, Heimbach testified, 'did nothing wrong' in murdering some 6 million Jews. The exchange between the two neo-Nazis contrasted sharply with the testimony by Deborah Lipstadt, an acclaimed Holocaust scholar.... Lipstadt said that much of the messaging between some of the 24 defendants in the case constituted 'Jew hatred.'... Lipstadt also testified about the 'great replacement theory,' a topic that has been pushed by Republicans, as well as media outlets and figures loyal to that party's extremist right, such as Tucker Carlson of Fox News." ~~~
~~~ Marie: ... Which makes this Jewish News Syndicate report hard to fathom: "An exit poll conducted by the American Jewish Congress found a 10 percent decline among Jewish voters in Virginia in support of Democrats following the 2020 election."
Way Beyond
Afghanistan, Where It's Always Wartime. Victor Blue, et al., of the New York Times: "In the two months since the Taliban took control of the country, the Islamic State affiliate in Afghanistan -- known as Islamic State Khorasan or ISIS-K -- has stepped up attacks across the country, straining the new and untested government and raising alarm bells in the West about the potential resurgence of a group that could eventually pose an international threat.... After spending 20 years fighting as an insurgency, the [Taliban] finds itself wrestling with providing security and delivering on its hallmark commitment of law and order."
News Lede
CNBC: "The U.S. unemployment picture improved again last week, with initial filings for unemployment insurance falling to another pandemic-era low. First-time claims dropped to 269,000 for the week ended Oct. 30, down 14,000 from the previous period and better than the Dow Jones estimate for 275,000, the Labor Department reported Thursday."
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In the Ahmaud Arbery trial…
“ [Overruling a prosecution argument,] the judge ruled that for each of the [defense's] eight stricken [Black] jurors, the defense had provided a 'legitimate, nondiscriminatory, clear, reasonably specific and related reason' as to why the potential juror should not be seated.”
The reason? Not white.
Marie: you and I watched the same programs last night and so appreciated Rachel's "hey, no biggie here, this kind of voting has taken place for years"–––and yes, watching Nova ––in the grand scheme of things our politics seem puny and don't really matter but it's hard to keep that in mind. I also watch Nature on Wed.nights–-a refuge from the talking heads and wallow in the dirt with the rest of the animals–-clears the mind and nourishes the soul.
Now I'm off to Texas to join the Q's to see if John, John will appear today–-maybe he got the date wrong, some say. And Rachel, by the way, did say that the number (in the hundreds) of people present on that green waiting for a dead man to appear so that he can hook up with Trump should be cause for serious trembles.
As an aside: I happened to watch "Invasion of the Body Snatchers" last Saturday and again thought of the connection we face today with these loonies. It wasn't clear in the film what exactly these pod people's agenda was–-it IS very clear what the agenda is for our Pods and GOPees–--a gradual takeover of this country according to–-not Hoyle--but back to the days of segregation and closed minds and hearts along with more power for the rich and less for the rest.
and AK: "The reason–-Not white:–--you bet!!!!
@PD Pepe: Yes, I often think of "Invasion of the Body Snatchers" when I see what has become of Republicans. I saw the first version of the movie within a couple of years of its release in 1956. My friend Lavonne Cole and I thought it was really scary. I think I saw the Donald Sutherland version on TV.
I believe House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy is DEFINITELY one of the pod people, described in Wikipedia as "a race of nomadic extraterrestrial parasites from a dying planet." What makes me so sure about Kevin is that the name of the star of the 1956 movie was ... Kevin McCarthy. Just to remind us that he was coming back as a political "leader," Kevin McCarthy did a cameo in the 1978 Donald Sutherland remake.
So ... see you in Dallas!
Haven't the time to develop the idea now, but PD's reference to the pod people and Marie's response made me think again of the current meanings of (or what should be the meanings of) "conservative" and "self-isolation."
Aided by the Founder's lack of foresight (how could they not have seen this coming!) and the serial shenanigans of Republicans, we have a distinct minority imposing its will on the majority. That will includes conserving everything that is bad or questionable about the country, racism, the influence of big money and the Covid virus (they seem to like it), to name but three.
And the psychological mechanism for doing so is to encourage vigorous self-isolation, not from Covid, no way, but from all fact and every reality they do not like.
As Marie says, "See you in Dallas."
Here's a interesting lengthy conversation about right wing white evangelical Christians. Many think they are living in a bible story and they have to stop the enemies of God. The ends justify the means and the rest of us are stuck dealing with the fallout.
"SHEFFIELD: You could basically argue that the Christian Right has transitioned from the traditional interpretation of ‘Save me from this cruel world, Jesus’ over to ‘I want to burn the sinners for you Jesus.’
And that Christian militarism was certainly visible on January 6th where you had many, many protestors there who had the signs proclaiming their devotion to Jesus. They had flags for Jesus, Christian flags, Jesus flags, Jesus Trump flags, and they were there to overthrow this government that had been imposed upon them by the servants of Satan.
DOUGLAS: I think your implication of Dominionism is exactly correct. This form of apocalypticism is seeing your political foes as the enemies of God, are sponsored by the enemies of God can tip over into, or be aligned with this notion that we need to retake the nation almost as a sort of precursor for for the End Times to occur for the return of Jesus and in the hastening of God’s kingdom.
"In fact, we’ve seen the reverse, we’ve seen the re-invigoration or the re-empowerment of, especially of Christianity, since the 1970s and 1980s became increasingly politicized.
So we’ve actually seen the re-invigoration of a kind of conservative white Christian religious energy that I think is intent on recapturing its symbolic, cultural, and political power.
And much of it does not regard its political opponents as legitimate actors, even when democratically elected. So I think once you’ve re-imagined in those supersessionist terms that you are God’s chosen people, in God’s chosen country, it makes compromise particularly impossible.
Because your opponents are the opponents of God. You don’t compromise with the opponents of God."