Join us every Thursday morning to hear fellow Democrats share good news and recommendations. What good things have you seen or read or heard or experienced lately? What’s On Your Mind lets you connect with friends and influence progressive leaders in the community, week after week..

Short Read of the Week for April 8, 2021

In this morning's Short Read of the Week meeting, we chose to highlight the opening paragraph of Robert Hubbell's daily newsletter for April 7th, along with an article from The Rolling Stone (https://www.rollingstone.com/.../georgia-voting-bill.../) that nicely explains why the law really is "as bad as it seems, and worse."

The most powerful criticism of Georgia’s voter suppression law is this: It is predicated on the lie that Trump lost the 2020 election because of massive voter fraud. Indeed, the very existence of S.B. 202 validates the Big Lie and undermines trust in the American electoral system. The Georgia legislation posits that “If Republicans lose at the ballot box, it is because Democrats cheated and, therefore, we must reform the system to prevent future cheating by Democrats.” Those falsehoods will dissolve the sinew of our nation if left unchecked. Even if every provision of S.B. 202 protected and expanded voting rights (which they do not), the timing of the bill is intended to send the message that Joe Biden is president only because of massive fraud in the 2020 election. The insufferable breast-beating and eye-squinting rationalizations by the bill’s defenders must be met with fact-based, vigorous rebuttals. We cannot allow ourselves to be distracted, fooled, or exhausted by claims that “The bill is not really as bad as it seems . . . .” It is as bad as it seems, and worse.

And because it made us so grateful for President Biden's good judgment in choosing his running mate, and gave us hope for future Democratic administrations, we also chose to highlight this article about the husband of Vice-President Kamala Harris:

Doug Emhoff: 'charming' second gentleman embraces supporting role
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2021/mar/28/doug-emhoff-second-gentleman-kamala-harris
[our copy here]

And we had a great conversation about bans on homeless camping and how that might affect the political situation in Tillamook County. One of the reasons we talk about these issues in person is that it avoids the divisiveness, misunderstanding, and hurt feelings that often result from hashing them out on social media.

Will you join us next week?


Direct link to item: https://tillcodems.org/whats-on-your-mind/2021/4/8/short-read-of-the-week-for-april-8-2021.